Olaseni vs. Woodbury in PTL last Thursday
- Thread starter BonanzaHawk
- Start date
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
This is certainly good news.....
And hopefully bad news for our opponents.....
And hopefully bad news for our opponents.....
This is the quote I liked best: "What’s really starting to stand out, however, is his ability to put the ball in the hoop."
Woody seems to be the best bet for a go-to half-court player for me on the 2014 team. If he's holding his position well enough to finish on offense, that tells me that he's going to be better at that on defense as well- reducing his fouls. The strength training is finally starting to pay off. And if the fouls start to go down, then GO and Woody could actually play some minutes together.
Also, I recall Fran talking about what he feels the team needs to work on this year being half-court offense. At the time, everyone's thinking: no it's the defense, so that may have been overlooked. 2 years ago, Fran stated he wanted to get better at defense. We led the B1G in a few categories that year in defense. Last year it was offense- we led the B1G in offense. If it's half-court offense that Fran wants to focus on specifically this year, I'd say Woody is going to get more touches. And Olaseni will get his as well.
This is a big "if". We were a horrible post feeding team this year. We also use Woody too much out top as our main screener. The pick and roll etc. is not his strength, he needs to be on the block getting the ball not out at the circle setting screens all game.
At the draft McDermott senior said that McDermott junior became a completely different player after he added twenty pounds of muscle. Woody and Gabe both are just growning into their bodies. I expect both will be a lot better offensively and defensively this year. Olesani has said he might try to get up to 240 pounds this year and he was at 223 pounds last year. Woody looks like he has put on a few pounds too. With the added quick point guard, Iowa should be able to feed the big guys successfully this year.
goldenhawk96
Well-Known Member
Woody will never be a high flyer, but he continues to become more explosive. On PTL highlights there are already a couple of examples of him catching and attacking the rim for dunks or finishes where his hands are above the rim.Woody has come a long way from his first PTL game as a frosh: 0 points against J. Cole was a small indicator of some future struggles. Hopefully 26 ppg this summer indicate double digits (11, 12 ppg?) this coming year.
HawkeyeMHA
Well-Known Member
He's a huge key for us this year. He could be the difference maker for us. Work live to see him take the next step. Don't forget, sooo many of you wrote him off after year one.
jacknicholson
Well-Known Member
I agree it's an "if" But it's an easier thing to work at and improve then say making players better shooters if they aren't. With having some combo of MG, Jok, JO and JU on the floor all the time Iowa will have shooters that can space the floor and make teams pay for doubling Woody. If Woody is improved I think the emphasis to get him touches down low will follow.
HawkeyeMHA
Well-Known Member
Hello Jackie baby
Fran certainly seemed to stay committed to Woodbury. He often kept him in the game when he struggled and I thought he should have been pulled. No reason to think that Fran will be anything but more committed to him this year.
