Potential

[dahlhawk]

He needs to take over PMs place now.... I would like the Murrays to start and play together. They have a lifetime of chemistry of having done so. Kris would be more confident out there I think if he was starting and playing more with him. PMs shot selection leaves a lot to be desired out there. And if he's not rebounding/defending (which not many guys were yesterday) then he's not valuable enough to be starting over Kris. PM was out of position way too much on D too I thought which lead to being out of position for rebounds.

It's hard to keep Kris on the bench, that's for sure. Right now Pat either needs to play more interior defense or he might end up sitting. He is starting to hit the outside shot, just like Murray he needs more playing time. This is what I was worried about with JBo and Conner coming back. They are in the way of the young talent. Perkins, Murray, Josh, Ulis, and Sandfort need to play to get better. They already are showing us they belong. JBo has hit some weird wall and lost his mojo, Conner plays well with the second unit, JT is hot and cold. Fran has some tough decisions to make.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It's hard to keep Kris on the bench, that's for sure. Right now Pat either needs to play more interior defense or he might end up sitting. He is starting to hit the outside shot, just like Murray he needs more playing time. This is what I was worried about with JBo and Conner coming back. They are in the way of the young talent. Perkins, Murray, Josh, Ulis, and Sandfort need to play to get better. They already are showing us they belong. JBo has hit some weird wall and lost his mojo, Conner plays well with the second unit, JT is hot and cold. Fran has some tough decisions to make.

Yeah Pat on D likes to float around and gamble off his guy for steals/blocks. Gave up some open shots on his guy because of it. I love the energy he plays with. He's fun on the fast break and has improved his stand still jump shot. He falls in love with shooting tough sideways floaters with high degree of difficulty to them too much though. He's young yet too I shouldn't bag on him too much he's going to be a great player for us too. I just think in the here and now Kris playing more with Keegan would be the better route.

 

[thedukeofearl]

You made some good points. I cannot agree with the idea that JB and a Mac are two weak spots. We have been through the Jabo can’t play D routine numerous times. You need to watch him. As to Cmac. He is not a starter so his critics should quiet down. Coaches use him in places where they can take advantage of his skills. They do just fine with their choices. Jabo is playing limited minutes. So, what are our weaknesses? Rebounding, interior D, inconsistent free throw %, and shooting lapses.
BTW, this team will get better and make a lot of noise in the BT. This team has two or three point guards who drive teams crazy. Our ability to shoot inside and outside, convert offensive rebounds, press successfully, force turnovers, get steals, rattle other teams and flat out great effort will be a great show! This team is really, really athletic. Enjoy!

Right now Jordan is a decoy

He attracted 2 defenders most of the time in the Purdue game

Last night he could not get open because he had a defender
glued to him almost all the time

Theoretically, that should give the rest of the team room to move
around and get open

Keegan and Patrick are the only scorers on the floor

They were 12-26

The other three starters were 4-16

Despite all

Both the games at Purdue and the Illini at Carver came down to the wire

Exciting and entertaining games for certain

 

[InGoodCo]

I'm all for Jordan playing less, but we don't win at VA without him. He has a place.

 

[PCHawk]

Yeah Pat on D likes to float around and gamble off his guy for steals/blocks. Gave up some open shots on his guy because of it. I love the energy he plays with. He's fun on the fast break and has improved his stand still jump shot. He falls in love with shooting tough sideways floaters with high degree of difficulty to them too much though. He's young yet too I shouldn't bag on him too much he's going to be a great player for us too. I just think in the here and now Kris playing more with Keegan would be the better route.

I think Kris should start for Flip instead of Patrick.

 

[PCHawk]

I'm all for Jordan playing less, but we don't win at VA without him. He has a place.

The amount of minutes Bohannon got the last couple games are about right I think. The only thing is he should be getting those minutes off the bench. Fran doesn't normally sub until 6 or 7 minutes into a half. That means bench guys like Perkins need to cram all of their minutes into a 26-28 minute game instead of a 40 minute game. When you go as hard as Perkins does, you need some breathers. In fairness to Fran tho, Perkins looking this good as a fairly new development still.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I think Kris should start for Flip instead of Patrick.

I think it depends on the matchup but I'm not against that idea at all either.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I almost wish Keegan only got a little better this year, then came back next year and played like he is now. Imagine this team with one more year experience, 2 great recruits coming in, and opening up some available minutes with graduations. With what Purdue, Illinois and Michigan will likely lose, we would probably be the best team in the conference next year.

I will occasionally bring up the name Ray Thompson when discussing Iowa basketball. For those under the age of forty who are too young to remember, a great modern day comp fpr him is Keegan.

Watching Keegan out there last night I swear I was watching Ray Thompson. Athletic, smooth, great on the offensive glass, good anticipation on steals, made certain things look easier than they were because of sense of anticipation and bring in the right place ahead of time.

It's the anticipation that separates Keegan from players like Ricky Davis and Devyn Marble. And he's three inches taller than those other players, which will bode well at the next level.

 

[ohhawk]

Not in the glass half full crowd at this stage. Our production in the lane (O & D) is questionable and our 3 pt production thus far is inconsistent vs good defenses. We can improve and that is my hope. We have to have #1 Murray playing his best to be a Big Dance entry in the end.

Can't afford to lose games on our home court.

 

[trj]

Random thoughts:

The Murray twins are 21 in my head I keep thinking they are 19 for some odd reason.

The learning curve for Rebracca will be a little steeper than I original thought. He is definitely a 4 playing a 5 and some nights you just will not be able to hide it.

Tony Perkins is quickly becoming one of my favorite players on the team.

 

[trj]

Not in the glass half full crowd at this stage. Our production in the lane (O & D) is questionable and our 3 pt production thus far is inconsistent vs good defenses. We can improve and that is my hope. We have to have #1 Murray playing his best to be a Big Dance entry in the end.

Can't afford to lose games on our home court.

They weren't going 10-0 in conference play at home. What is realistic is 8-2/7-3. What they do on the road in conference play will determine their season. Can they get 2+ wins on road? If you think the answer is 'yes' then we are talking post season.

 

[HuckFinn]

Patrick should play a ton of minutes every game. Fran has never been shy about letting his players know that who starts is not the point. Too many posters have been unable to let that sink in. Fran and the players get it, thank God. Fran has used some unusual and creative lineups. Relax and enjoy the show!

 

[SomersHawk]

Was the Big O sick or something? Was weird he didn't get more PT against Cofi. I missed 1st half and only saw him get a couple minutes in 2nd. Seemed like he held his own.

 

[ohhawk]

They weren't going 10-0 in conference play at home. What is realistic is 8-2/7-3. What they do on the road in conference play will determine their season. Can they get 2+ wins on road? If you think the answer is 'yes' then we are talking post season.

I think 7-2 for the remaining schedule at home will be a challenge. Hopefully pick it up on the road. We shall see but I'm not joining the post season crowd just yet........too early for me.

 

[BigD]

I said if Keegan were to come back, which is highly unlikely.

I am hoping your wrong as I’d like to see the brothers play together one more season after this.

 

[BigD]

I think the issue Fran has is that his bench is such a higher quality than other teams. I like the idea of putting Perkins in for JBo because he has shown the ability to drive and hit threes along with being a strong defensive player. But I also think he plays well with Ulis and I don’t see Ahron over taking Joe T at this point.

The potential is definitely there for this team. Really need to figure out what our post player rotation is and get the ball into Keegan’s hand early. I think the team feeds off his aggressiveness and he has shown he can take a game over.

The was really my point about JBo. I would rather have Perkins to get the future of this team rolling.

I appreciate the good things that JBo has done. Boy when he is off though………… yikes!

 

[BigD]

Wow I missed the 2 Great recruits coming in. Did we get a couple of top 50 type players? Best team in the conference next year? Like your optimism but this is a second division team this year and next

I think your wrong about next year.

I like how broad shouldered Josh is. Cochbite didn’t just come in and bully his way through him. Love it when he blocked Cochbites shot. Also, how is that not a foul on Cochbite when you lower your shoulder into the player defending you over and over again and back them down into lane all the way to the basket? If our player just stands their ground and gets knocked down the refs will probably call it a flop.

Josh is going to be a load in the middle and once he gets his foot work down he will be hard to defend. When that happens people will want to get out of his way because it will be like having a wall pushing you around in the lane.

 

[Ree4]

As I watched that I just about thought that too. If I'm coach for the next game here's my lineup.

Ulis
Perkins
Murray
Murray
? Rebraca I guess but why the hell didn't Josh O not play more?? He only played 2 mins wtf

I remember one out of bounds play where he completely blocked off Keegan and gave a wide open layup - wonder if that had something to do with it.

 

[Ree4]

Right now Jordan is a decoy

He attracted 2 defenders most of the time in the Purdue game

Last night he could not get open because he had a defender
glued to him almost all the time

Theoretically, that should give the rest of the team room to move
around and get open

Keegan and Patrick are the only scorers on the floor

They were 12-26

The other three starters were 4-16

Despite all

Both the games at Purdue and the Illini at Carver came down to the wire

Exciting and entertaining games for certain

I noticed on fast breaks even on a 3 on 2 one guy was always guarding JBo and giving up the 2 on 1, a good strategy.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I remember one out of bounds play where he completely blocked off Keegan and gave a wide open layup - wonder if that had something to do with it.

I remember that play and yeah that wasn't good... He wasn't the only one that didn't play a perfect game and got way more mins. Rebraca comes to mind. But man he didn't get to work up a sweat. Wonder if media asked him about it