Re-watched the Exhibition
- Thread starter NikeHawk21
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mopkins
King Kong
Exactly. Assuming Dom plays 10 minutes or less, you're looking at bringing back 390 minutes (98%) of the team next year....basically everything
Also, the year after that we lose Ellingson, Wagner and Baer. They are all contributors for sure, but losing them doesn't really change anything. By then the young guys Nunge, Wieskamp, etc should easily fill the hole Baer left.
Motigerhawk
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the post, OP.
Im worried about perimeter defense being bad. Guard play wins in college basketball. And this being our weakness may turn into an achilles heel.
Im worried about perimeter defense being bad. Guard play wins in college basketball. And this being our weakness may turn into an achilles heel.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
45 to 46 points to a really good team at half is understandable. To William Jewell...well, that means you aren't very good defensively...yet. And I'm hopeful...but seriously...where's the passion defensively on the perimeter. Defense is about "want to" and "desire" to stop the opponent. I'm watching that thinking all we want to do is get the ball back and run to the offensive end...whether it goes through the hoop for them or not.
Adam
Well-Known Member
Defense alot of the time is a mindset. So is offense. Only a handful of players posses both. Most of them get snatched up by the blue bloods. Fran feeds off of the fringe guys with good offensive confidence and mindset. Maybe as we are upgrading our offensive fire power Fran will have a little more room to go snag a great defender or 2. Either way we have to make a couple of Elite 8's or better in close succession if we hope to land McDonald's All Americans that are great at both. Think of Frans obstacles since coming here. He had Gatens early who was a great scorer but average defender. Then he had Marble who he spent 3 years turning into a great scorer. Then White, Uthoff and Jok. He hasn't had much luck getting multiple scorers to gel in the same year. He has constantly had to keep digging for players to fill the offensive needs. With some of the young studs that we have now I believe that problem is solved. We have 3 bright years ahead of us with scoring talent. I believe we will now see a double down on coaching and recruiting emphasise around defensive abilities. A similar albeit slower model of what Izzo did for MSU.
P.S. Michigan St gave up 70+ points and won by less then 10 and trailed with 5 minutes to go in the Breslin Center to the power house Ferris St. Ever heard of them? Phew I sure am glad that Michigan St won't be very good this year.
Fran could have won that game 60-40 if he wanted to. I'm glad he doesn't coach that way. Who cares where our defensive points per game stat is? It will always be bad. I want our offensive points per game to be tops in the nation. I want our offensive points per possession to be top 10-20. I want our defensive points per possession to be at least top 50. That's exciting basketball and that's winning basketball. It's also great for recruiting.
trj
Well-Known Member
Iowa was bad defensively last year. Minus 3 or 4 games they did improve a lot the 2nd half of the season. Imo, the big issue was defensive rotation therefore causing guys to get late out on shooters. Some of it was an effort issue(mainly Jok) and some of it was a experience issue simply not knowing where your teammates are going to be.
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trj
Well-Known Member
Last year not withstanding the defensive points per possession numbers have been good under Fran given how he wants to play offensively. Remember, Fran likes his teams to get out in transition, quick buckets, therefore giving opponents a lot more possessions(more shots). Iowa's defensive numbers will be skewed because of it.
FirstDownHawkeyes
Well-Known Member
Not having a true center or really even a hybrid 4/5 rim protector hurt the most. Not only did most dribble drives make it to the hoop but defensive rebounding was atrocious. Just improving defensive rebounding would improve defensive efficiency significantly but also adding a shot altering body in the middle will make it even better. I expect defensive numbers to be more similar to what they had been over the previous four years.
trj
Well-Known Member
No doubt rim protection and defensive rebounding are an issue. I don't care if Iowa is giving up 70 points per game if they are scoring 74 points per game. The way Fran wants to play opponents are going to have a lot of possessions. The defensive numbers will never be what some want.
We grew up in an era where the game was played inside out. That has now flipped, the game is now played outside in. Yes, rim protection and rebounding have to be better. More importantly,last year Iowa gave up waaaay to many clean looks. You are scratching your head wondering why so and so is running late out on a shooter. JB gets beat off the dribble and Tyler Cook(not the only one) is stuck thinking do I cut off penetration or do I put a hand in the face of the shooter. Neither happens and you have a lay up or an open look. Imo. experience will help guys understand how defensive rotation works so they are not stuck in no man's land so often.
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trj
Well-Known Member
I agree. Everytime Iowa loses you will probably have to explain that to people, though.
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
It does feel that way. But we've always been able to get plenty of open 3 pointers under Fran. The issue is that we haven't always had good 3 point shooters. Now we do and we have quite a few of them.
Adam
Well-Known Member
Yes! Get excited. We also now have the most legitimate post game that we have had since Alford.
ArvadaHawk
Well-Known Member
I agree. Optimism for Fran's program is well warranted.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
That’s one way to look at it. It’s also the shot that counts for the most points.
Actually if you go by points per possession giving up 3 pointers is really bad.
