Rewatched the 2K games

[revkev73]

Iowa might be one of those teams who, after beating a team of equal of more talent hears from the opponents, "How did that lineup beat us by 12 points?"

Funny how good a team can be when it decides to play as a team.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I remember when Uthoff's team got to 3rd, there was talk about a possible collapse again. A lot of people thought that they were too mature of a team and too good to fall apart. I guess it's easy to think that when you're watching a team play really good. After the way they played in New York, it's also hard to invision a collapse, but I'm not going to trust it until the end of the year. I remember telling my wife it's a done deal we were playing in Des Moines. Ended up not even being close. That one still hurts because our tournament path location wise couldn't have set up better.

That team just ran out is scoring options. It was Uthoff or Jok, that’s it. Clemmons improved and played with confidence but he was still limited on that end. Woody was Woody. Mike G had some injuries but I think he just lost all confidence on the offensive end where teams were daring him to shoot from the outside (he shot under 40% from the floor that year - yikes). The bench on that team played out of their mind at the beginning of the year but wasn’t all that good. It’s such a long season.

Anyway we certainly won’t run out of offensive firepower this year, the question will be defense and limiting turnovers. But while that Uthoff team was playing for a quality seed, I think most people will be happy just to see this years team get back to the dance.

 

[Ian Pike Hammer]

Just rewatched both games because I’m weird like that. Sometimes it’s nice to watch without the emotion of winning or losing. Saw some things that maybe didn’t stick out watching live.

The good:

-Weiskamp defense. People remember his struggles on offense, but his defense was really good. Against Oregon he was on Paul White a 5th year senior and White could not get a step on him. In the zone Weiskamp’s athleticism and length allows him to cover a lot of ground.

-Moss jump shot. I know everyone wants him to do other things, but I don’t think people give him credited for how well he can stroke it. If his feet are set and he has room he can really shoot it. Made two in both games and had two others that were halfway down.

-Cook’s engagement. He’s just playing a lot harder and with much more emotion this year. You can tell he really wants the team to play well.

-Offensive rebounding. In two games where I would say our offense never totally clicked, although it was pretty good against UConn, we hit the offensive glass in both games and got a lot of extra possessions.

The bad:

-Kriener’s defense. Kriener had a good tournament overall I think and proved he’s a capable reserve big man, but his defense wasn’t great. In the Oregon game he gave up a couple baseline drives for easy buckets. In the UConn game he came in and UConn got two or three easy buckets on him before he picked up two quick fouls.

-Jbo. He didn’t have a good tournament in my estimation. Had some silly turnovers and had some difficulty handling the pressure. Didn’t shoot well either. I’m not overly concerned because I think he will get it going.

The part you don’t want to hear:

-We played two teams on bad nights. Okay I know someone is going to say well Iowa caused that, and they most certainly did in part. Last year I often said the reason teams shot the lights out against us is because we let them get their confidence and rhythm early so Iowa deserves credit for limiting the defensive breakdowns and easy baskets to let these teams get comfortable, but with that said I still have to call a spade a spade. I think I counted Oregon missed 7 or so layups in the second half alone and we were up between 7-10 most of the half. Iowa challenged some of these but for the most part these were routine shots for a college player. UConn started something like 0-13 on 3s with 15 turnovers, I don’t care how good you are, that’s not all great defense. Many of Uconn’s turnovers were unforced, a few travels and simple passes thrown away. That’s part of the game and it was nice to see Iowa catch some breaks.

Overall, two great wins at the Mecca MSG. A lot of things to be excited for going forward with this team. As Hawkeye fans we should also know not to get too high with our expectation as we have been let down before. Hopefully this team continues to play very hard and improve, but I think they’ve shown the potential is there for a very good season.

Can’t wait until our next game to watch this team again!

I was thinking the same thing. Exactly. Word for word. No, really. No...really. Really! No really.

 

[ModebaSan]

I’ve got a stat for everyone. Going back to last year, Iowa is 8-0 in games that Connor McCaffery has played in, when he was healthy. Coincidence or does he bring something else to this team? I think he knows how to get the ball to his teammates that are open and he likes to feed the post. Haven’t seen enough of his defense yet, but I think his length at the point gives opponents trouble at both ends of the floor.

 

[Northside Hawk]

That team just ran out is scoring options. It was Uthoff or Jok, that’s it. Clemmons improved and played with confidence but he was still limited on that end. Woody was Woody. Mike G had some injuries but I think he just lost all confidence on the offensive end where teams were daring him to shoot from the outside (he shot under 40% from the floor that year - yikes). The bench on that team played out of their mind at the beginning of the year but wasn’t all that good. It’s such a long season.

Anyway we certainly won’t run out of offensive firepower this year, the question will be defense and limiting turnovers. But while that Uthoff team was playing for a quality seed, I think most people will be happy just to see this years team get back to the dance.

We were getting huge contributions from Dom Uhl, Brady Ellingson, and even Dale Jones early in that year. Part of the bench you mentioned that was playing out of it's mind.

Uthoff gradually disappeared as the year went on, and other games as well (second half Iowa State) Fran was even questioning his lack of agressiveness, especially the Ohio State game and the BTT loss to "ridiculously hard playing" Illinois.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I’ve got a stat for everyone. Going back to last year, Iowa is 8-0 in games that Connor McCaffery has played in, when he was healthy. Coincidence or does he bring something else to this team? I think he knows how to get the ball to his teammates that are open and he likes to feed the post. Haven’t seen enough of his defense yet, but I think his length at the point gives opponents trouble at both ends of the floor.

He certainly could have helped. I think back at the point guards that abused Bohannon, like Glynn Watson, Vince Edwards, and Tony Carr.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

It is apparent that Iowa is making a concerted effort to block out much better. They are getting more possessions a game which really helps in close games and can tip the scale. Rebounds and limiting turnovers to gain possessions is really a key in basketball. Most wins comes from teams that do well with those two areas.

 

[NikeHawk21]

He certainly could have helped. I think back at the point guards that abused Bohannon, like Glynn Watson, Vince Edwards, and Tony Carr.

Vince Edwards was a 6’9 forward. Carsen Edwards is more of a scoring shooting guard.

Tony Carr abused pretty much everyone on the offensive end but I seem to recall him playing terrible in Carver his freshman year in an Iowa victory.

I don’t think Connor necessarily would match up well with any of those guys defensively, but we play mostly zone anyway.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Vince Edwards was a 6’9 forward. Carsen Edwards is more of a scoring shooting guard.

Tony Carr abused pretty much everyone on the offensive end but I seem to recall him playing terrible in Carver his freshman year in an Iowa victory.

I don’t think Connor necessarily would match up well with any of those guys defensively, but we play mostly zone anyway.

My bad. Wrong Edwards.

If one suscribes to the theory that our defensive breakdowns last year started with the guards, having another 6'5" player up there who can at the very least offer some resistance to a pass into the post can help whether man or zone.

Tony Carr didn't abuse enough teams to make the dance. Some teams were stopping him. I will say, however, that the late season Watkins injury hurt them in the BTT and probably prevented them from making the NCAA'S and they would have been a tough out had they made it. That starting five was built for an NCAA run.

 

[NikeHawk21]

My bad. Wrong Edwards.

If one suscribes to the theory that our defensive breakdowns last year started with the guards, having another 6'5" player up there who can at the very least offer some resistance to a pass into the post can help whether man or zone.

Tony Carr didn't abuse enough teams to make the dance. Some teams were stopping him. I will say, however, that the late season Watkins injury hurt them in the BTT and probably prevented them from making the NCAA'S and they would have been a tough out had they made it. That starting five was built for an NCAA run.

When Connor is out there in lieu of JBo then yes his size cohld potentially be a defensive upgrade. When he’s out there in lieu of Dailey or Weiskamp I’m not sure that’s the case. Remember JBo is still averaging near 30 minutes and that includes sitting almost the entire 1st half against UConn.

Connor’s great play in NYC earned him those minutes for certain but it’s tough to say he’s a major defensive upgrade just yet.

 

[Northside Hawk]

When Connor is out there in lieu of JBo then yes his size cohld potentially be a defensive upgrade. When he’s out there in lieu of Dailey or Weiskamp I’m not sure that’s the case. Remember JBo is still averaging near 30 minutes and that includes sitting almost the entire 1st half against UConn.

Connor’s great play in NYC earned him those minutes for certain but it’s tough to say he’s a major defensive upgrade just yet.

Improved defense will continue to be a team effort. And a team mindset.

Tougher tests are ahead. Like when we are in a hostile big ten arena and need one or two defensive stops.

That's when we will know. Early returns are encouraging. I think kenpom has us around 64 in adjusted D. A huge improvement.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Improved defense will continue to be a team effort. And a team mindset.

Tougher tests are ahead. Like when we are in a hostile big ten arena and need one or two defensive stops.

That's when we will know. Early returns are encouraging. I think kenpom has us around 64 in adjusted D. A huge improvement.

Absolutely and the team effort has been very fun to watch.

As some others have pointed out, it’s a lot easier to play defense when things are going well and you are up 10 then it is when you are down, so that will be the next test for this team.

 

[cincyhawk]

Just rewatched both games because I’m weird like that. Sometimes it’s nice to watch without the emotion of winning or losing. Saw some things that maybe didn’t stick out watching live.

The good:

-Weiskamp defense. People remember his struggles on offense, but his defense was really good. Against Oregon he was on Paul White a 5th year senior and White could not get a step on him. In the zone Weiskamp’s athleticism and length allows him to cover a lot of ground.

-Moss jump shot. I know everyone wants him to do other things, but I don’t think people give him credited for how well he can stroke it. If his feet are set and he has room he can really shoot it. Made two in both games and had two others that were halfway down.

-Cook’s engagement. He’s just playing a lot harder and with much more emotion this year. You can tell he really wants the team to play well.

-Offensive rebounding. In two games where I would say our offense never totally clicked, although it was pretty good against UConn, we hit the offensive glass in both games and got a lot of extra possessions.

The bad:

-Kriener’s defense. Kriener had a good tournament overall I think and proved he’s a capable reserve big man, but his defense wasn’t great. In the Oregon game he gave up a couple baseline drives for easy buckets. In the UConn game he came in and UConn got two or three easy buckets on him before he picked up two quick fouls.

-Jbo. He didn’t have a good tournament in my estimation. Had some silly turnovers and had some difficulty handling the pressure. Didn’t shoot well either. I’m not overly concerned because I think he will get it going.

The part you don’t want to hear:

-We played two teams on bad nights. Okay I know someone is going to say well Iowa caused that, and they most certainly did in part. Last year I often said the reason teams shot the lights out against us is because we let them get their confidence and rhythm early so Iowa deserves credit for limiting the defensive breakdowns and easy baskets to let these teams get comfortable, but with that said I still have to call a spade a spade. I think I counted Oregon missed 7 or so layups in the second half alone and we were up between 7-10 most of the half. Iowa challenged some of these but for the most part these were routine shots for a college player. UConn started something like 0-13 on 3s with 15 turnovers, I don’t care how good you are, that’s not all great defense. Many of Uconn’s turnovers were unforced, a few travels and simple passes thrown away. That’s part of the game and it was nice to see Iowa catch some breaks.

Overall, two great wins at the Mecca MSG. A lot of things to be excited for going forward with this team. As Hawkeye fans we should also know not to get too high with our expectation as we have been let down before. Hopefully this team continues to play very hard and improve, but I think they’ve shown the potential is there for a very good season.

Can’t wait until our next game to watch this team again!

Not to mention that Oregon travelled like 3000 miles for that game and body clock is 4 hours behind. It was a suprising win, but there are extenuating circumstances.

The Hawks are still picked tenth preseason. One thing remains true about college basketball - it's not the xs and os, it's the Jimmys and Joes. We have all seen how Fran's teams melt late in the year when they aren't even stressing their bodies playing defense. Now that they are, do we really think they can hold up for a .500 Big Ten season? They are, largely, the same group of players as last year. My expectations haven't changed, yet, and I'll enjoy the wins as they come. But I don't expect this team to make the NCAA.