Player evaluations - YTD

[hawkeye12345]

In no particular order I think it's time that we break down the players on the current roster just for giggles...plus I'm tired of seeing threads about wrastlin' dominate the site.

Matt Gatens - I was pretty harsh on the kid to start the season but he has certainly improved as the season has wore on. His stroke is effortless and he's capable of going off for 20+ each night IF he had a supporting cast. He is NOT a playmaker but could be an outstanding shooter if given the supporting cast.

Eric May - He can jump. He can play above average D. I'm not trying to be harsh on the kid but that's pretty much all he is capable of doing. He can't dribble and is looking to get rid of the ball as soon as he touches it. I had high hopes for him coming into the season. He needs to develop his ballhandling skills and a crossover.

Bryce Carthwright - The best on the team on the offensive side but is struggling a little on D. You can't really fault him on the D as he's being asked to do so much on the O side with almost no help or breather without Cully.

Mel Basabe - Outstanding player with tremendous upside. Turns it over a bit too much but he's a Freshman so that should improve. Great around the basket with a soft shooting touch. Looking forward to watching this kid for the next 3 yrs. With a true C on the roster this kid could become the leading scorer in Iowa history. He is currently averaging more per game during his Freshman year than 10 of the top 20 in Iowa's history did.

Jaryd Cole - Limited offensive skills due to size but plays with a ton of effort. He's developed a nice 10' jumper and limits his turnovers. It's hard to be down on this kid because he's given us 4 solid years. I wish he was 4" taller.

Devon Marble - I can't wait for this kid to move to wing permanently. He is an athletic wing player that is forced to play the point and does a nice job while in there. He plays a lot like Jake Kelly. A little lanky and awkward but has skills. I don't expect much out of him next year but I think by his Jr yr he should be getting consistent double doubles.

Zach McCabe - I'm not sure why some are down on this kid. He's got a nice stroke from the outside and he COMPETES. This kid isn't going to back down from anyone and he hustles his butt off. He's averaging more pts per game than Cole and is 3rd on the team in rebounds behind Basabe and Cole. Personally I think this kid and Marble should both be playing ahead of May. He makes some really stupid mistakes at times and I would attribute them to 1 of 2 things: 1) He's a Freshman; 2) He plays with a little too much passion. The game will slow down for him over the next few years and he will build some size / strength.

Brommer Dude, feel free to take a 5 hr energy before the game. The kid has just enough size and speed to be a really good PF / small C but simply lacks the energy.

David Palmer err Devon Archie - Please go back and watch the Xavier and Purdue tapes. You have potential which is so frustrating. Basketball really isn't that complicated.

The overall talent on this team is around a C- as compared to other top 25 D1 teams. Unfortunately most Big10 teams have A or B talent. I think you could put Gatens, Basabe and Cartwright in the B to B+ range - they would all play meaningful minutes for other Big10 team but may not start; McCabe & Marble in the C+ range - great role players that would average double digit minutes; Cole, May, Brommer in the D range - 3 to 7 minutes per game and Archie would fall into the 'participant' category and probably grab a few minutes early in the season or during blowouts.

 

[sioux34]

I am a little surprised at your assessment of Brommer. I generally find his excess energy to be a cause of his excess fouls. I have not seen him as lacking in energy.

 

[jo12208]

You're grading on the curve

 

[HawkI101]

You have some good evaluations, but I will take exception with May being a D and McCabe being a C. I can't imagine anyone saying that May is not better than McCabe, May has not only played better for the most part but has been hurt the last month doing so. He needs to be more aggressive.

Saying Gatens could "go off" is ridiculous. He can shoot and make open shots but that is not going off, he needs too much help to get open.

McCabe and Gatens are down right awful defensively. May can move to well with the groin. Cartwright gives up way too much penetration. Fran doesn't want to play zone but has to because we lack the athleticism to stay with a man.

 

[AtownHawk1]

The only one worth discussing is Basabe.

 

[EddyP]

Cartwright, Gatens, and Basabe are all pretty solid although they struggle to be consistent like every other player on this team. Not sure how I feel right now about May and McCabe. Both can do some good things at times and then nothing. Cole is gone next year and this season is essentially over so why evaluate him. I think Brommer and Archie have a lot of potential and if they come along could both make a huge difference for the team next year. Marble needs to hit the weight room and is a freshman but could be a really good player as early as next year. I think this team could be decent next year(lower to middle of the Big 10) but I think a lot of my optimism comes from thinking Brommer and Archie can develop.

Edit: Didn't realize Brommer and Archie were both juniors so scratch that develop part. I still think both have showed they can play at times and who knows. We are going to need their size which we don't have a lot of.

 

[IAJay]

Matt Gatens - I agree with everything you said. He is who we thought he was. Should not be the best player/ go to guy on a roster.

Eric May - I am very disheartened by his play this year. I thought he would benefit the most from Fran's system and thought he would be All Big Ten by his senior year. Wow was I wrong. He seems to be regressing more than anything right now.

Bryce Carthwright - Finally a pg who can get to the basket. Not a true pg by any means but a much better fit than Cully in this system and the Big Ten in general. Juco guards usually take a year to get acclimated with Big Ten basketball and BC seems to be fitting in well with that time line. Slight surprise for me because I thought Cully would unfortunately getting a lot of the minutes.

Mel Basabe - An actual Big Ten player. Fran needs to get 7 more of these before Iowa can dream of making the NCAA tournament. It would be interesting to see how he would be doing in the MAAC right now.

Jaryd Cole - Another guy who should be the 8-10 guy off the bench but has to start here.

Devon Marble - I am not nearly as high on him as others on this board. He is such a black hole and limited athletically that I do not see his ceiling be very high. If he can develop a consistent jumper at some point that would help a lot towards becoming a good role player.

Zach McCabe - Again, I think he is a type of player who should never be more than a role player on the Big Ten level. He does the little things well which every team needs but he is just to out manned athletically right now to compete at a high level.

Brommer Could be an average C in the league if he didn't seem to start hacking the instant he gets on the floor. Height is height here.

Devon Archie - Not a Big Ten basketball player. There is a reason his playing time is limited on the worst team in the Big Ten.

Overall overview- Unfortunately this season and even next really don't matter record wise because it is just a waiting game of getting Lick's recruits out of the system. You have to expect Fran's teams to struggle with Lick system players because the Hawks are no longer holding the ball on offense. This means there will be more beat downs the next few seasons than with Lick which could feel like the program is going backwards, but it is certainly not.

Now, Fran has a long way to go on the recruiting front to get me to buy in completely, but you can tell he has a plan in place compared to the previous regime. I hope he continues to mine out the major urban areas back east to find the hidden gems like Basabe because Iowa needs to get A LOT more athletic in the next few classes. If he can continue to bring in these skilled athletes the Hawks will have a system that is fun to watch and unique to the Big Ten as a whole. Have patience with him because he is no Todd Lickliter, thankfully, so even though the records may be worse progress is still being made.

 

[Hawkstrat]

I'll give this a shot.


Matt Gatens- Good player, lacks the foot speed and explosion to create separation or be a great defender. Decent handles, can get to the lane, but like I said before, getting to the lane doesn't do much when you can't create enough space to get a shot up. As always, he is a kid who takes too much flack for being forced to try to do things a player of his athletic ability shouldn't be asked to do. Needs to develop a mid-range or floater, or he will never be any better than he is now.

Mel Basabe - Like most freshman, he is up and down, but he is a talented player that looks much more natural right now, than he did at the start. That being said he also looks a bit raw, which makes me think he will be a hell of a player by the time he is done at Iowa.

Cartwright - Takes flack for forcing the issue at times, but he is the only player on the team that can get to the rim at will, and finish. Not a great PG, more of a scorer in a PG body, doesn't see the floor well and doesn't anticipate where the open man will be. Has trouble getting the ball to teammates in good position to score. Good shooter inside the arc, not so much outside the arc. Tough kid, I like him.

Cole - We all wanted him to be Brunner, an undersized kid that just bulls his way around, instead, he is a bit stone handed with a decent jump shot. Super nice guy, just not what you want out of a post in the Big Ten.

Dev Marble - Can finish with contact, lengthy kid, needs strength and needs to work on his jump shot. Another guy that is forced into more minutes than he should be.

McCabe - Can rebound, looks like he has a good shot, lets his emotions get the better of him. Has a tendency to do something stupid, passes up open shots in favor of a pump fake and dribble drive into heavy traffic and a turnover.

Brommer - Pretty good athlete really, fouls come in bunches, will do something well then will foul a ball handler 30 feet from the basket. Still, Fran is getting more from him than most expected.

Archie - Good athlete, surprisingly good passer, still completely lost at times.

May - The one guy that has all the tools to be what this team needs, but the man is timid and can't handle the ball in traffic. He limits himself to being a shooter that will occasionally wow you with a break away dunk, but until he can harness his athleticism with some ball handling ability this is his peak. He really improved his shooting in the off season, if he can do the same with his handles, there is no reason he can't be the best player on the team.

Cully Payne - Really disappointed with his lack of production.

 

[hawkIhoops]

Pretty accurate assessments IMO. Outside of Basabe, Cartwright and Marble, I have a tough time seeing the "others" improving much. Gatens can make shots if left wide open and May can dunk, but as we have seen in conference play, both can easily be neutralized by "in your face" defenders. Too bad Brommer and Archie don't have Cole's work ethic and heart, as both have more more physical tools than he does, but lack his tenacity. McCabe hasn't shown the shooting ability that everyone raved about, but I give him credit for sticking his nose in there and scrapping. I would like to see Stoermer get more PT, as we sorely lack perimeter scoring and he has shown the ability to knock down shots.