REALITY 101

B

BasketballMan

Banned
From ESPN. The last four words of the following are a killer.

Iowa: There are reasons Iowa's NCAA tournament chances were always a long shot. They include the 325th-ranked nonconference strength of schedule, sure, and the road losses to Purdue and Virginia Tech, not to mention that 80ish RPI. But more than any of that, the reason Iowa's route to the NCAA tournament looked so difficult two weeks ago can be summed up in one word: schedule. Down the stretch, Iowa's chances for marquee wins were few and far between -- a home game against Minnesota, a road game at (gulp) Indiana -- but the schedule also was peppered with RPI trip wires: Northwestern, Penn State, Nebraska, Purdue. On Saturday, Iowa tripped one of those wires, losing at Nebraska, 64-60. This nearly happened at Penn State last week (Iowa escaped 74-72), and maybe it was inevitable -- it is really hard to go an entire month without losing at least a game or two that you probably should have won. For the Hawks, the upshot is that whatever at-large bid hopes they now have probably rest on a victory at IU, and I'm not sure even that would be enough. I hate to quote John Lennon from his bitter post-Beatles comedown days, but as John Lennon said: The dream is over.
 
Perhaps that's difficult to accept reading it in black and white but making the dance was always a long-shot for this year's team, especially the way it started the season and how it had such a difficult time closing out games it could have won in the first half of conference action. I had no expectation of dancing and really only the slightest of hopes.

The Nebraska game, and even Penn State, were reminders of just how far this team still has to go before it can be considered good and competitive.
 
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I don't need ESPN to give me a "reality check", while we were all excited about the prospects of being considered for the NCAA tournament most of us understood the realty is this team struggles to close games and win on the road. A lot of us were worried about the Nebraska game, Nebraska has came close to knocking off teams that are better than Iowa. What hurts the most is how they lost, giving up a 16/19 point first half lead makes me sick every time I think of it. Almost all of us understood that Iowa needed a 4-1 finish with the only stumble being at Indiana but now that they have lost to Nebraska they need to win the last 4. With this team that does not seem to be a reasonable expectation.

Two words sums up this season: So Close!
 
LawVHawk said:
Perhaps that's difficult to accept reading it in black and white but making the dance was always a long-shot for this year's team, especially the way it started the season and how it had such a difficult time closing out games it could have won in the first half of conference action. I had no expectation of dancing and really only the slightest of hopes.

The Nebraska game, and even Penn State, were reminders of just how far this team still has to go before it can be considered good and competitive.
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The best teams in the nation all have a couple games you can point to that would show they have a long way to go before they are good and competitive.

We have proved all year that we are good and competitive. We have also proved that we are inconsistent and can have long stretches where we play really bad. These are not signs of a team that has a long way to go. They are signs of a team that's almost there.
 
ssckelley said:
I don't need ESPN to give me a "reality check", while we were all excited about the prospects of being considered for the NCAA tournament most of us understood the realty is this team struggles to close games and win on the road. A lot of us were worried about the Nebraska game, Nebraska has came close to knocking off teams that are better than Iowa. What hurts the most is how they lost, giving up a 16/19 point first half lead makes me sick every time I think of it. Almost all of us understood that Iowa needed a 4-1 finish with the only stumble being at Indiana but now that they have lost to Nebraska they need to win the last 4. With this team that does not seem to be a reasonable expectation.

Two words sums up this season: So Close!
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So close? Not known yet.
 
Hawks are the 6 year old kid standing at the entry to the amusement park ride. He's standing on his tip-toes trying to look just tall enough to enter, but he isn't able to maintain it long enough before stumbling back to his normal height. An inch too short.

Don't worry, kid. I got a ride over here just right for you. It's called the NIT.
 
1hawkeye1 said:
Hawks are the 6 year old kid standing at the entry to the amusement park ride. He's standing on his tip-toes trying to look just tall enough to enter, but he isn't able to maintain it long enough before stumbling back to his normal height. An inch too short.

Don't worry, kid. I got a ride over here just right for you. It's called the NIT.
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Its just like riding the Tea Cups. No need to check your nerves because its not very exciting, the only people who pay attention to the riders are their parents, its slightly fun at times, but the cool kids would never be caught dead on it.
 
1hawkeye1 said:
Hawks are the 6 year old kid standing at the entry to the amusement park ride. He's standing on his tip-toes trying to look just tall enough to enter, but he isn't able to maintain it long enough before stumbling back to his normal height. An inch too short.

Don't worry, kid. I got a ride over here just right for you. It's called the NIT.
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Great comparison. I like to think of them as the potty training two year old. They do so well for the longest time and then all of a sudden they are standing there ******* it away with a look of confusion on their face.
 
PCHawk said:
The best teams in the nation all have a couple games you can point to that would show they have a long way to go before they are good and competitive.

We have proved all year that we are good and competitive. We have also proved that we are inconsistent and can have long stretches where we play really bad. These are not signs of a team that has a long way to go. They are signs of a team that's almost there.
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Good point. Illinois barely beat Penn State and lost to Northwestern, both at home. Michigan beat Penn State at home by 8. Florida got dusted by Arkansas. All of those teams are tournament locks.
 
ILHawk said:
So close? Not known yet.
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Yeah it is, Iowa has been so close in many games this year. If they wrap up @Minnesota, @Purdue, @Nebraska, @Wisconsin, at home against MSU we would not be talking IF they would get in but rather what seed are they going to get. They were also pretty close against Indiana and @Ohio State.
 
ssckelley said:
Yeah it is, Iowa has been so close in many games this year. If they wrap up @Minnesota, @Purdue, @Nebraska, @Wisconsin, at home against MSU we would not be talking IF they would get in but rather what seed are they going to get. They were also pretty close against Indiana and @Ohio State.
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All true and I expect things to begin to change next season.
 
Xerxes said:
Its just like riding the Tea Cups. No need to check your nerves because its not very exciting, the only people who pay attention to the riders are their parents, its slightly fun at times, but the cool kids would never be caught dead on it.
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LOL, and if you ride it too much you get sick!
 
BBMan, I oppose your 'Clemmons needs to provide more scoring' mantra...

He's a point guard. He was recurited to distribute the ball, not necessarily score. IMO, he's been benched because Fran realizes even his starters have a hard time scoring.

EDIT: I guess Iowa had better work harder on their defense.
 
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1hawkeye1 said:
Hawks are the 6 year old kid standing at the entry to the amusement park ride. He's standing on his tip-toes trying to look just tall enough to enter, but he isn't able to maintain it long enough before stumbling back to his normal height. An inch too short.

Don't worry, kid. I got a ride over here just right for you. It's called the NIT.
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As I read the end of your post I was afraid a Penn State joke was coming.
 
HomerChampless said:
BBMan, I oppose your 'Clemmons needs to provide more scoring' mantra...

He's a point guard. He was recurited to distribute the ball, not necessarily score. IMO, he's been benched because Fran realizes even his starters have a hard time scoring.

EDIT: I guess Iowa had better work harder on their defense.
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HomerChampless - I've been accused (and guilty) of posting some stupid things, but, I don't recall posting anything about "Clemmons needs to provide more scoring"? Maybe my memory is going, but, I think you have me confused with someone else, cause I kinda agree with you on this one.
 
BasketballMan said:
HomerChampless - I've been accused (and guilty) of posting some stupid things, but, I don't recall posting anything about "Clemmons needs to provide more scoring"? Maybe my memory is going, but, I think you have me confused with someone else, cause I kinda agree with you on this one.
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Are you kinda pregnant? Either you agree or don't...;)
 
Since none of us can see into the future, I think it would be most prudent not to dispair but hope for the best. There is a bigger plan in motion here, and many of us get frustrated because we can only see a small part of the plan. I believe bigger and better things are in store, and I don't think we have to wait very long to see them.
 
Klondike53226 said:
Since none of us can see into the future, I think it would be most prudent not to dispair but hope for the best. There is a bigger plan in motion here, and many of us get frustrated because we can only see a small part of the plan. I believe bigger and better things are in store, and I don't think we have to wait very long to see them.
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Yes, Fran has laid the groundwork for a long term plan and folks will begin to really see it next year.
 
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