Takeaways: Hawkeyes Pass Road Test at Seton Hall

I’m sorry, but it makes me happy to see Fran’s kids succeed. Not only does that make our coaches life better, it makes Iowa better. It’s all resulting in positive vibes, results and success for Iowa. Can’t remember a time as a fan where things were so good sports wise and I’m enjoying it.
I’ll come back someday and tell y’all how it used to be
 
That was a very solid win. Most impressed with the way these guys get after it on both ends. Little things like guards following their shots, playing through every possession, just an instinctual flow.

I mentioned previous threads, it's just obvious there has been physical and skills development across the board. There's a tougher mentality and a physical intent. Definitely some addition by subtraction at the guard position and this Perkins / Ulis compliment is gonna minimize the undersized interior to allow Kris and Fil to keep battling and get to the line, where they're making shots!

Still a long season and some really good challenges to see if it bears out over the long haul but, so far, so good!
 
This is the best defensive team Fran has had since the Woodbury years. Maybe the best ever. These guys are all plus defenders. Its fun to watch. T

his team has four legit scorers who all score in different ways. We have the potential to have an absolute stud if Kris continues to ascend.

I have only two concerns right now.

1. Does a Robin emerge to Kris' Batman? That could be Tony or Patrick or some combination of the two.
2. Depth. We don't have a Kris Murray coming off the bench this year. Connor is great and I like what I see out of the young guards, but after that it looks thin. Let's hope some of these bench players develop so we have something deeper than a 7-man rotation during the conference slate.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
This is the best defensive team Fran has had since the Woodbury years. Maybe the best ever. These guys are all plus defenders. Its fun to watch. T

his team has four legit scorers who all score in different ways. We have the potential to have an absolute stud if Kris continues to ascend.

I have only two concerns right now.

1. Does a Robin emerge to Kris' Batman? That could be Tony or Patrick or some combination of the two.
2. Depth. We don't have a Kris Murray coming off the bench this year. Connor is great and I like what I see out of the young guards, but after that it looks thin. Let's hope some of these bench players develop so we have something deeper than a 7-man rotation during the conference slate.
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I'd say Tony is without a doubt Robin. And may actually be Batman at times. I think he's the guy who will set the tone for the Hawks this year. Relentless on both offense and defense. Tough as hell. Can score off the bounce, shoot or distribute. And about the best rebounding point guard I can remember.

I think the bigger question is who steps up as another scorer? My thought is that'll be Sandfort a lot of games this year. But maybe it doesn't need to be one guy. Maybe it's Patrick some nights. I think Rebraca will plug away and take what's there (which might not be a lot some nights).

I'd like to see Patrick get a little more dog in his game, a little more grit.
 
Hawkboys said:
Why are you sorry about this?
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I've always felt that our fan based has been pretty biased towards both Pat and Connor - their worthiness and overall value to the program. I've always cheered extra hard for both of them to excel and when they win and they do well it makes me happy. I am not sorry about it, I enjoy it.... poor choice of words. I've always got the impression that most of the posters on this site want Fran to fail and to an extension of that, his kids too.
 
Conner took some hard shots from posters for a long time. Most of them figured out his actual role and changed their tunes. The simple fact that he has been very comfortable, and does not start, with no drop off in leadership or effort, is gratifying.
 
HuckFinn said:
Conner took some hard shots from posters for a long time. Most of them figured out his actual role and changed their tunes. The simple fact that he has been very comfortable, and does not start, with no drop off in leadership or effort, is gratifying.
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He'll be a great coach one day, other than he might end up with more Ts in his career than his father.
 
HuckFinn said:
Conner took some hard shots from posters for a long time. Most of them figured out his actual role and changed their tunes. The simple fact that he has been very comfortable, and does not start, with no drop off in leadership or effort, is gratifying.
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The difference is he now cannot be left wide open at the 3. Last season his shooting was so bad that the offense was running 4 against 5 when he was on the court and that took away his passing ability. His defender would always cheat inside leaving him wide open because they knew he wouldn't shoot it and if he did he wouldn't make it. This year you can tell he's worked really hard on his shot so the defense now has to come out and guard him. This is making a HUGE difference.
 
ssckelley said:
The difference is he now cannot be left wide open at the 3. Last season his shooting was so bad that the offense was running 4 against 5 when he was on the court and that took away his passing ability. His defender would always cheat inside leaving him wide open because they knew he wouldn't shoot it and if he did he wouldn't make it. This year you can tell he's worked really hard on his shot so the defense now has to come out and guard him. This is making a HUGE difference.
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Despite his shooting last year, he still added significant value. It did not negatively impact his passing. Check out his assist to turnover record last season. We had plenty of points, tops in the BT, I think. I am glad he worked to improve his shooting, for sure.
 
HuckFinn said:
Despite his shooting last year, he still added significant value. It did not negatively impact his passing. Check out his assist to turnover record last season. We had plenty of points, tops in the BT, I think. I am glad he worked to improve his shooting, for sure.
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Huck, I think that number is deceiving because he was still a good passer and getting assists, it's all he could do in order to contribute to the offense, I'm saying it took assist opportunities away from him because of the opposing defense.

But I agree that he still added value. Like you said he doesn't create many turnovers, still is a good passer, and is pretty good on the defensive end.
 
There has been more scrutiny on Pat and Connor, and that is ok. We all lived through the Little Lick years and nepotism has become a war cry with regard to the Ferentzes the last few seasons.

But, on balance, I think most rationale fans can see that Patrick especially was more than worthy of a college scholarship at Iowa and is a legitimate starter in this conference. He was also easy to root for given that he is a cancer survivor and as fans we all went through that with Coach and his family.

Connor took more hits because early on he was asked to do more than he was capable of. He is just not a good shooter/scorer, but every other aspect of his game he is a plus guy. IMHO, Conner is the best post feeder I have ever seen. If Connor was not at Iowa, Garza does not win the Wooden. Garza would have been great regardless, but Connor role there cannot be underestimated.

In the end, most rationale Iowa fans are and should be grateful Coach kept his boys in the fold. I sure hope we get to see one more come through. Jack could be the best of the three.
 
ssckelley said:
The difference is he now cannot be left wide open at the 3. Last season his shooting was so bad that the offense was running 4 against 5 when he was on the court and that took away his passing ability. His defender would always cheat inside leaving him wide open because they knew he wouldn't shoot it and if he did he wouldn't make it. This year you can tell he's worked really hard on his shot so the defense now has to come out and guard him. This is making a HUGE difference.
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Great point and observation. If I remember correctly, Connor started to hit 3's a bit more consistently later in the season, correct? This helped a ton for the reasons you mention above.
 
HuckFinn said:
Despite his shooting last year, he still added significant value. It did not negatively impact his passing. Check out his assist to turnover record last season. We had plenty of points, tops in the BT, I think. I am glad he worked to improve his shooting, for sure.
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He's a really good ALL AROUND basketball player. Maybe not absolutely dominate at one thing like shooting but just a good player. That sometimes gets overlooked with some players. There is something to be said for a guy to come in and manage a team well and effect the game but not stick out.

As mentioned above, I think he could make a great coach someday. I could see him going down that road.
 
thedukeofearl said:
Partick has been criticized since high school when he had a 4-Star top 70 ranking on Rivels

He excelled in AAU play but was criticized again and again because he shot his three too low

n.rivals.com

Patrick Mc Caffery 2019 Power Forward Iowa

Patrick McCaffery - 4 Star Power forward for Iowa on Go Iowa Awesome
n.rivals.com n.rivals.com

:cool:
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Where I think he could improve is cutting down on off balance shots while moving in the lane from eight to twelve feet out. He misses a lot of those.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
He's a really good ALL AROUND basketball player. Maybe not absolutely dominate at one thing like shooting but just a good player. That sometimes gets overlooked with some players. There is something to be said for a guy to come in and manage a team well and effect the game but not stick out.

As mentioned above, I think he could make a great coach someday. I could see him going down that road.
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20+ years from now, when the Murrays each have twins, he may be the coach who inherits a double double legacy
 
BigD said:
Where I think he could improve is cutting down on off balance shots while moving in the lane from eight to twelve feet out. He misses a lot of those.
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He had a bad habit in high school of shooting too many off balance floaters and he still reverts occasionally. Of course he could get away with it more in high school
 
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