STORY: Ahron Ulis Hoping for Early Impact on Already Loaded Hawkeye Roster

I liked how he let the game come to him. He shared the ball and took open shots and drove the lane. Would like to see more smothering defense and moving without the ball more. Fran can coach him up in those regards though. Well maybe not the defense part.
 
I like that Ulis has the size to play both guard spots, which pairs nicely with the shorter Toussaint for the next few years. Ulis looks every bit of 6’2 with a nice wingspan. Sometimes having two point guards in the backcourt can be invaluable.

As far as next years goes, I see about 10 minutes total available for a freshman if everyone returns. Ulis and Perkins seem the most college ready at this point, but again, 10 minutes is next to nothing. It’s going to be a challenge for Fran to manage all the players expectations next year and to keep everyone happy.
 
Love his attitude as well. I'm not sold their will be many mins for him to get his first year. I mean if all goes well with JBo and JT makes a leap in his game along with CJF and CM the backcourt is pretty stacked. But ya never know how the dominos will fall and he very well may be called upon. We weren't expecting to see so many mins from JT this last yr either. His versatility with being able to play with and without the ball and defending hard and tough will suite him really well.
 
I like that all of the incoming guys want to show they've got game and get on the court. They will all be given the opportunity to show what they've got and as Fran likes to say, if they deserve to play they will play. If any of the five show they are aready it will be a pleasant surprise for us all.

Last season is still fresh in our minds and it would've been great to have had 1-2 more guys ready to go. Every season there are guys that go down with injury, maybe not as long or as bad as last year but, still, there will be opportunity.

AT this point I just hope they can all get on campus in June and start their acclimation to their new lives.
 
I like Ulis' attitude and any freshman who comes to town believing he can impact the team. I usually hear that from incoming quarterbacks. Arrive like you're going to win a starting spot and compete when you get here.
Agreed. As an athlete you have to have that attitude.

The question is if you come in and compete and don’t earn many minutes, how do you handle it? When reality doesn’t match perception how is it received? That will be interesting to follow especially with Ulis and Perkins, because both I think are ready to play at this level but might not have the opportunity next year.
 
Definitely. And plenty of guys don't handle it well and transfer.

Coaches don't always get it right but I do believe that they play the guys that give them the best chance to win. And that's usually based on what they see in practice and game minutes. All of the players see the same thing. If they're being honest with themselves, they get it.
 
Definitely. And plenty of guys don't handle it well and transfer.

Coaches don't always get it right but I do believe that they play the guys that give them the best chance to win. And that's usually based on what they see in practice and game minutes. All of the players see the same thing. If they're being honest with themselves, they get it.
It’s a very unique and really unprecedented situation in which we have a pretty full roster set to return and also bringing in a 5 man class.

My inclination is that Fran didn’t plan on taking 5 in this class but when he went down and scouted the Murray’s in Florida he realized they were simply too good to pass on. That’s a positive for Iowa in the long run.

The bottom line is we are all in for next year as it has the potential to be a special season at Iowa. After that the chips will have to fall where they may but I do think Iowa is set up to be at least a tourney level team even after Garza leaves.
 
It is really refreshing to see a loaded roster for a change. Perkins looks like the real deal too. Been decades since we had this much talent. Practices will be blood and guts. Will they even have a need for walk-ons?
 
This is not the year to force young guys on the court to keep them happy. Assuming everyone coming back is healthy, we have 8 legitimate Big 10 players ready to rotate, with maybe a 9th if Pemsl does end up staying. To me, you might have room to rotate in one of the guards for 7-10 minutes and maybe the center if Pemsl transfers. I believe Fran would do himself a service by redshirting at least 3 freshmen, if not 4, just so he is not tempted to force minutes to them and overextend his rotation.

We have a veteran team that is deep. The newcomers should understand that. If they do not earn a roster spot in the early season, they should embrace a season playing scout team against one of the most talented rosters in the nation.
 
It sounds like the incoming players are connecting and getting to know each other. I hope they’re all studs, develop great chemistry, push the starters hard in practice and talk about how the 5 of them are going to play together the next 3 (or 4) years and win it all. I like moxie.

For now I can’t even imagine worrying about minutes next year. Connor, CJ, Nunge, Pemsl, Bohannon, Garza (offseason) have all had health and injury issues in the past. I’m not saying they are all injury prone. I’m saying guys get sick/hurt and miss time. It’s happened 4 years running.
 
It sounds like the incoming players are connecting and getting to know each other. I hope they’re all studs, develop great chemistry, push the starters hard in practice and talk about how the 5 of them are going to play together the next 3 (or 4) years and win it all. I like moxie.

For now I can’t even imagine worrying about minutes next year. Connor, CJ, Nunge, Pemsl, Bohannon, Garza (offseason) have all had health and injury issues in the past. I’m not saying they are all injury prone. I’m saying guys get sick/hurt and miss time. It’s happened 4 years running.
The prior season to this one we went 9 deep and redshirted two able bodied players that would have been in the rotation Nunge and CJ (CJ had a minor injury early on but would have played if they wanted him to). Very limited injury issues or concerns that season.

Our picture this year is even tighter and more difficult than that. Saying there is no concern about minutes is wishful thinking.
 
This is not the year to force young guys on the court to keep them happy. Assuming everyone coming back is healthy, we have 8 legitimate Big 10 players ready to rotate, with maybe a 9th if Pemsl does end up staying. To me, you might have room to rotate in one of the guards for 7-10 minutes and maybe the center if Pemsl transfers. I believe Fran would do himself a service by redshirting at least 3 freshmen, if not 4, just so he is not tempted to force minutes to them and overextend his rotation.

We have a veteran team that is deep. The newcomers should understand that. If they do not earn a roster spot in the early season, they should embrace a season playing scout team against one of the most talented rosters in the nation.
I’m with you on this.

Best case I think you redshirt the Murray’s and either Perkins or Ulis. That second part is going to be a really tough sell though because both of those guys are college ready and do not want to redshirt.

Ogundele might occasionally be needed to take some fouls and grab some boards.

You just hope these guys buy into taking a backseat on what should be a really good team knowing there time will come. That’s how you eventually build a very good program.
 
The prior season to this one we went 9 deep and redshirted two able bodied players that would have been in the rotation Nunge and CJ (CJ had a minor injury early on but would have played if they wanted him to). Very limited injury issues or concerns that season.

Our picture this year is even tighter and more difficult than that. Saying there is no concern about minutes is wishful thinking.
I didn’t say “there is no concern about minutes.” You said that. I said “FOR NOW I can’t even imagine worrying about minutes next year.”
 
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