Perspective

sportstalent

sportstalent

Well-Known Member
Last night's game was fun to watch, just a great atmosphere and with Gus Johnson doing that game, it felt like more than just a Big Ten opener, more like a new beginning.
All those who questioned Matt Gatens, take a look at his numbers in the last four games. Unquestionably, Iowa's best player and will lead them this year in scoring. Kenyon Murray said it last night that Matt was Iowa's best player last year and it was nice to hear.

http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/blogs/sportstalent/191-its-raining-3s.html
 
sportstalent said:
Last night's game was fun to watch, just a great atmosphere and with Gus Johnson doing that game, it felt like more than just a Big Ten opener, more like a new beginning.
All those who questioned Matt Gatens, take a look at his numbers in the last four games. Unquestionably, Iowa's best player and will lead them this year in scoring. Kenyon Murray said it last night that Matt was Iowa's best player last year and it was nice to hear.

http://www.hawkeyenation.com/forum/blogs/sportstalent/191-its-raining-3s.html
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Why does Gus Johnson calling a game make it feel like a new beginning?
 
My only criticism of Matt Gatens is that he seemed to disappear for a long, long stint in the 2nd half. If your the leader of this team and I believe he is, then he needs to be a little more selfish when the team is struggling. I agree though with your assessment. Something about last nights game really felt good and Gus Johnson calling the game is a nice touch.
 
PatrickAdamovicz said:
My only criticism of Matt Gatens is that he seemed to disappear for a long, long stint in the 2nd half. If your the leader of this team and I believe he is, then he needs to be a little more selfish when the team is struggling. I agree though with your assessment. Something about last nights game really felt good and Gus Johnson calling the game is a nice touch.
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The offense should go through Matt, when Iowa gets in trouble they get caught standing around and force too much late in the shot clock. It should be a point to have at least him moving all the time to get him open.
I completely agree with you that Matt needs to be more selfish; he is too good of a player not to be.
 
sportstalent said:
Did you listen to what he said about the Iowa program and the direction it is headed with Coach Fran?
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I did, but is he all of a sudden some kind of basketball expert? Do you think he would hate on schools that are in the conference that employs him? He is an announcer and he was simply doing his job. What Gus Johnson says has no bearing on the future of this Iowa basketball program.
 
IAJay said:
I did, but is he all of a sudden some kind of basketball expert? Do you think he would hate on schools that are in the conference that employs him? He is an announcer and he was simply doing his job. What Gus Johnson says has no bearing on the future of this Iowa basketball program.
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Does/should it have any impact? Not really. But Johnson is a VERY popular announcer, one that recruits recognize immediately. Him spreading the good word can make an impression on potential recruits.

And nobody said he had to "hate on" anybody. But he doesn't have to lay on the positives so thick, either.
 
sportstalent said:
The offense should go through Matt, when Iowa gets in trouble they get caught standing around and force too much late in the shot clock. It should be a point to have at least him moving all the time to get him open.
I completely agree with you that Matt needs to be more selfish; he is too good of a player not to be.
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I think they mentioned this during the game that the coaching staff had talked to Matt about this. I recall one time on offense when Matt had a decent look and passed it up. It was right in front of our bench and you could see all the coaches reacting to it so I'm guessing this is something that will change.
 
tm3308 said:
Does/should it have any impact? Not really. But Johnson is a VERY popular announcer, one that recruits recognize immediately. Him spreading the good word can make an impression on potential recruits.

And nobody said he had to "hate on" anybody. But he doesn't have to lay on the positives so thick, either.
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Well he is going to be doing a lot more Big Ten games this year so don't get offended when he is fawning over Indiana and Penn State too.
 
IAJay said:
Well he is going to be doing a lot more Big Ten games this year so don't get offended when he is fawning over Indiana and Penn State too.
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Who cares. Would he be a better announcer somehow if he trashed the teams he was calling games for?
 
The good part about Gus Johnson doing an Iowa game is his voice rings very familiar with NCAA tournament action. Just that voice as you're watching the hawks play and the new energy in the arena, I can definitely agree with the OP about "a new beginning" just seems much better to watch than the last 3 years, especially!
 
deanvogs said:
Who cares. Would he be a better announcer somehow if he trashed the teams he was calling games for?
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Not at all. I am saying that very few announcers trash teams which is why I don't understand all the excitement about Gus Johnson doing one Iowa basketball game.
 
IAJay said:
Not at all. I am saying that very few announcers trash teams which is why I don't understand all the excitement about Gus Johnson doing one Iowa basketball game.
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The excitement is that Gus is one of the top announcers in the game today. He does all the big games for CBS and will do a lot of BTN games, but there was something different with him at Iowa. Honestly, I have not heard Gus talk about another program the way he talked about Iowa and how positive he was about Coach Fran and Iowa as a whole. Watching the Kentucky/Louisville game, he said some good things at times, but about each program equally. Keep in mind, Iowa is a bottom-dweller in the BT and Illinois is one of the better teams. How often does a commentator harp on the bottom-dweller and not the better team. Let me know the next time Dick Vitale pubs what Virginia is doing when they play Duke/UNC/Virigina Tech this season. It was just not the norm for a commentator, which gave the game a completely different feel. When Iowa beat PSU last year, I didn't know that Iowa was playing the game, it was all Talor Battle, same when Iowa won at Indiana last year, all about Tom Crean.
 
IAJay said:
Well he is going to be doing a lot more Big Ten games this year so don't get offended when he is fawning over Indiana and Penn State too.
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I'm sure he'll fawn over Indiana. They've got a lot of tradition. But he's not obligated to push the positives on any program.
 
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