Random thoughts

hawkIhoops

Well-Known Member
1) Continuing to run Basabe out there as a starter is becoming offensive to me as a fan. I don't care if it's Archie, Brommer, Olaseni or Stokes, but put somebody on the floor who acts like they care.

2) Every week McCaffrey talks about what he wants from Cartwright and and how Bryce is not a perimeter shooter, yet what does he do every freaking time when inserted in the game? Jack up a 3 followed by more bricks from the perimeter.

3) What exactly does Oglesby have to do to get more PT? I am sick of "May plays great D". Nobody plays great D and we need to win games by outscoring the other team, thus, IMO, Oglesby is a better option.

4) Here is a suggestion for the staff. Tell guys nearing or in foul trouble to let the guy go in for an uncontested layup vs. picking up these wimpy touch fouls that don't affect the shot, yet give the official a reason to blow the whistle.

5) I would suggest NOT banking any scholarships for 2013. The staff needs to find a juco scorer or physical rebounder. When you can't shoot or rebound, it's pretty tough to win games.

As much as I like McCaffrey, he did a poor job of evaluating this team after his first season. Pointless to recruit Olaseni only to sit him all year and a 3 point specialist isn't much help when you can't defend. White saved the class, but he has to do better than 1 for 3.
 
1) Continuing to run Basabe out there as a starter is becoming offensive to me as a fan. I don't care if it's Archie, Brommer, Olaseni or Stokes, but put somebody on the floor who acts like they care. I agree 100% with this. He is not interested right now and its pretty obvious. White needs to start.

2) Every week McCaffrey talks about what he wants from Cartwright and and how Bryce is not a perimeter shooter, yet what does he do every freaking time when inserted in the game? Jack up a 3 followed by more bricks from the perimeter. Another good point and I hope Cartwright's PT is cut drastically from here on out. Not even looking to distribute the ball like he did last year.

3) What exactly does Oglesby have to do to get more PT? I am sick of "May plays great D". Nobody plays great D and we need to win games by outscoring the other team, thus, IMO, Oglesby is a better option. Oglesby got 16 minutes last night to May's 19. Thats a pretty good balance and that is about where it should be.

4) Here is a suggestion for the staff. Tell guys nearing or in foul trouble to let the guy go in for an uncontested layup vs. picking up these wimpy touch fouls that don't affect the shot, yet give the official a reason to blow the whistle. I didnt notice many and 1's last night if any at all. Dont know what you are talking about.

5) I would suggest NOT banking any scholarships for 2013. The staff needs to find a juco scorer or physical rebounder. When you can't shoot or rebound, it's pretty tough to win games. I trust the staff to do whatever they need here and wont have an argument if they sign a JUCO or bank the scholly.

As much as I like McCaffrey, he did a poor job of evaluating this team after his first season. Pointless to recruit Olaseni only to sit him all year and a 3 point specialist isn't much help when you can't defend. White saved the class, but he has to do better than 1 for 3. Fail. You cant write off a class 2/3 of the way through their freshman year. You have no idea how Olaseni is going to develop and what kind of player he will turn into. That is the worst point in your post, by a long shot.
 
I agree about Basabe. I'd like to see some more Archie! Biggest problem is no defensive presence inside. Teams just get right to the basket time after time. Offense is putting up enough points to win in the B1G. We need stops.
 
@Section136: Ok, you hold your breath that a guy who can't get on the court behind Archie and Brommer is going to blossom and I will retain my grip on reality. We have gone down this project road for years and it simply hasn't worked. When you are good and have depth, you can invest 2 years developing a guy now and then. When you win 11 games, have a fan base in decline and apathy among students, you don't have that luxury. Add to that he has Woodbury and Meyer coming ahead of him year. Look, I like Olaseni, this isn't about him, it's just we need players not projects.

McCaffrey is the one who has said repeatedly Olaseni is the best rebounder in practice and we need some help in that department. I am sure he can block or affect a short or two given some minutes, which would help cover our horriffic D. I would just like to see something other than Basabe, Archie, Brommer at this point of the season.
 
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@Section136: Ok, you hold your breath that a guy who can't get on the court behind Archie and Brommer is going to blossom and I will retain my grip on reality. We have gone down this project road for years and it simply hasn't worked. When you are good and have depth, you can invest 2 years developing a guy now and then. When you win 11 games, have a fan base in decline and apathy among students, you don't have that luxury. Add to that he has Woodbury and Meyer coming ahead of him year. Look, I like Olaseni, this isn't about him, it's just we need players not projects.

Im not saying Gabe is going to turn into an all B1G player, but I just find it absurd that you are assuming he is never going to make a solid contribution for us. He just started playing organized ball a few years ago.

We have gone down this project road, you are right, but Fran is head and shoulders above Lick and Alford when it comes to coaching and developing talent. I would like to see what he can do with a project before proclaiming that we should never take one again.

And it appears to me that the fanbase is finally getting interested in Iowa basketball again, not declining.

How is it fair to write off 2/3 of a recruiting class when they havent even finished their freshmen seasons yet?
 
I would take Archie's five fouls, rebounding ability, occasional block and occasional put-back, and no FT skill, over Basabe's attitude and total lack of production. Mel would be quickly moving his way to the end of the bench on my team. Cartwright's inability to take care of the ball this year would have him sitting next to Mel.

I can only assume the staff knows something and assumes they can pull Mel out of his nosedive but this is just painful to watch.
 
Bottom line is Cartwright or Basabe are not holding up their end of the deal to their team or coaches. If Iowa was even getting half of what they did out of these 2 a year ago, this would be a pretty decent team. Iowa gets nothing out of them. Nobody was expecting this out of these 2. Fran keeps putting them in hoping the light switch turns on for them because he knows what theyre capable of, but at this point I think its a lost cause.
 
Im not saying Gabe is going to turn into an all B1G player, but I just find it absurd that you are assuming he is never going to make a solid contribution for us. He just started playing organized ball a few years ago.

We have gone down this project road, you are right, but Fran is head and shoulders above Lick and Alford when it comes to coaching and developing talent. I would like to see what he can do with a project before proclaiming that we should never take one again.

And it appears to me that the fanbase is finally getting interested in Iowa basketball again, not declining.

How is it fair to write off 2/3 of a recruiting class when they havent even finished their freshmen seasons yet?

That intrest will drop again if there are a few more games like last night. Also as others have said why not give Gabe some minutes instead of running the same stiffs out there.
 
It's not always easy to recruit instant all B1G players when you win 11 games in a season. Fran got the best players he could get, and lost a few that would have been nice gets. It happens. That was Fran's first class. I think that Olaseni is a project for a few years down the road and he's going to be a Doug Thomas player. Good defender that can block shots and thunder dunk, but I don't expect him to turn into Sullinger.

Who was Fran supposed to recruit to replace these guys? Also on Ogelsby being a sharp shooter, when he gets open looks I think he can make them, and his D is no worse than may's. When the talent around him is better a pure shooter is a great asset to have.
 
That intrest will drop again if there are a few more games like last night. Also as others have said why not give Gabe some minutes instead of running the same stiffs out there.

Agree to disagree on your fan interest point. I think most fans see the progress being made and are excited about the future.

I see no point in running Gabe out there to get pwned by Sullinger, Nix or Morgan. He isnt going to learn anything doing that. He needs to make progress in practice. The only thing I can find fault with the Gabe situation is I wish he had been redshirted.
 
I would get Archie as many minutes as he can handle as long as he is effective on the defensive end of the court. I also agree that Oglesby needs to get more minutes as he can consistently make shots vs. May who can't even make drive ins consistently. Olesani should also get some extended minutes when he is playing well. Basabe and Brommer bring nothing to the table at the present time. Same with Cartwright. He is a turnover machine with no defense most of the time.
 
1. Gesel/Marble/clemmons
2. Marble/Oglsby/Ingram/clemmons
3. White/May/Oglsby
4. McCabe/Basabe/White/Meyer
5. Woobury/Meyer/Olaseni
 
@ Section136. You make some valid points and my contention was not to write off the class, but to point out that the "help" McCaffrey brought in has not done much to close the massive talent gap we face.

As far as development goes, I think it depends how much kool aid one has consumed. Marble and McCabe obviously worked hard at developing their games after last season and it shows. Unfortunately everyone else has digressed or stayed the same. It is very possible this team won't win another game this year and finish last in the conference. Last night's loss was a knockout punch to any postseason hopes and to me shows lack of development because we once again can't guard shooters or stop dribble penetration. Nebraska is a chump team and they punked us at home.
 
Really? You know think it is very possible we won't win another game? Step back from the ledge.
 
@ Section136. You make some valid points and my contention was not to write off the class, but to point out that the "help" McCaffrey brought in has not done much to close the massive talent gap we face.

As far as development goes, I think it depends how much kool aid one has consumed. Marble and McCabe obviously worked hard at developing their games after last season and it shows. Unfortunately everyone else has digressed or stayed the same. It is very possible this team won't win another game this year and finish last in the conference. Last night's loss was a knockout punch to any postseason hopes and to me shows lack of development because we once again can't guard shooters or stop dribble penetration. Nebraska is a chump team and they punked us at home.

You probably said the same thing after losing to Campbell didn't you?
 
We are a poor shooting team that struggles to defend and rebound. I am not sure we play another team the rest of the year that is a favorable matchup. Maybe PSU at home.
 
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@ Section136. You make some valid points and my contention was not to write off the class, but to point out that the "help" McCaffrey brought in has not done much to close the massive talent gap we face.

As far as development goes, I think it depends how much kool aid one has consumed. Marble and McCabe obviously worked hard at developing their games after last season and it shows. Unfortunately everyone else has digressed or stayed the same. It is very possible this team won't win another game this year and finish last in the conference. Last night's loss was a knockout punch to any postseason hopes and to me shows lack of development because we once again can't guard shooters or stop dribble penetration. Nebraska is a chump team and they punked us at home.

Bahahaha. Last night was a crushing blow, but C'mon man. Stop it!

2Q==
 
1) Continuing to run Basabe out there as a starter is becoming offensive to me as a fan. I don't care if it's Archie, Brommer, Olaseni or Stokes, but put somebody on the floor who acts like they care.

2) Every week McCaffrey talks about what he wants from Cartwright and and how Bryce is not a perimeter shooter, yet what does he do every freaking time when inserted in the game? Jack up a 3 followed by more bricks from the perimeter.

3) What exactly does Oglesby have to do to get more PT? I am sick of "May plays great D". Nobody plays great D and we need to win games by outscoring the other team, thus, IMO, Oglesby is a better option.

4) Here is a suggestion for the staff. Tell guys nearing or in foul trouble to let the guy go in for an uncontested layup vs. picking up these wimpy touch fouls that don't affect the shot, yet give the official a reason to blow the whistle.

5) I would suggest NOT banking any scholarships for 2013. The staff needs to find a juco scorer or physical rebounder. When you can't shoot or rebound, it's pretty tough to win games.

As much as I like McCaffrey, he did a poor job of evaluating this team after his first season. Pointless to recruit Olaseni only to sit him all year and a 3 point specialist isn't much help when you can't defend. White saved the class, but he has to do better than 1 for 3.


My random rebuttals:

1. yea,right. We will await your positive critiques of Brommer's hustle next time he starts. It would be the first positive comment on bb and fb from you in years.

2. Agree. Bryce needs to at least get in the flow before jacking. He did hit a three last nite.

3. In one comment you imply that Oglesby was a wasted scholly and yet here you want him to play more...pick a lane.

4. The next time a Hawk does not try to defend a drive to the hoop,you will call him out for not hustling. So you are in a win-win deal,you can complain either way.

5. Agree.

As for this class already being labeled ''1 for 3''....simply,patently ridiculous. Not worthy of a rebuttal. Clearly not aware that recruits have a say in where they attend school, and that Fran cannot just go out and pluck a Zeller off the recruit tree at will.
 
Thoughts on Iowa basketball for this season.

1. McCabe has came out of nowhere and has earned a starting spot for next season, the only question is will it be at PF or Center?

2. There is a lot to like with the freshman, the problem is, they are freshman. White is a determined player and it is unlikely that he regresses next season with his work ethic. Oglesby needs to let the game come to him and just play. Gabe has shown some okay things at times, but he is just raw, setting and watching this season and practicing against BIG level players will help him continue to get better.

3. Iowa has a decent record, with a legit shot at finishing above .500. How can that happen when their two "best" players are in such a funk? It proves that there is some talent on the roster, with Marble being a player that may have a huge season next year.

4. Iowa stats three sophomores from a 2010 recruiting class that was ranked in the bottom four of the rankings, that is a solid foudation.

5. Iowa's defense has helped them win games, but it has also hurt them in losses like last night and both Purdue games. It will get better as Iowa gets closer to a full roster and more size down low. Rebounding has probably hurt them more than overall defense. Look at how many second-chances Nebraska and Purdue got in those three games when it mattered most.

6. Unless a gift falls into Iowa's lap, there is zero need to fill Payne's scholarship. As players develop and Iowa has a deeper rotation it will make sense.

7. Iowa really only loses Gatens, he is the only senior that has contributed every game, it doesn't mean he has starred in every game, but he shows up and does his job as best he can every game. Archie has had moments, nothing substantial or sustained, he is a defensive presence and it may be time to go a lot of zone with White/McCabe/Archie in the frontcourt in hopes to rebound better. It doesn't matter what defense Iowa plays, they are going to give up open 3's. At least attempt to control the boards.

8. Iowa has a great chance to finish above .500, last night was a lost opportunity, but that is not the first time this season. Without a true go-to guy and the inability to stop people when it matters most; it is expected. Definitely not happy about it, but there have been a lot of good things happen this season, rather than it just be filled with nothing, but negatives.
 

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