Team personality

[1hawkeye1]

Who was the last Iowa player who could consistently get his own shot...

Mike Gesell. He couldn't put the ball in the hoop, but he could get to the rim.

 

[Kennyfromminne]

This team rolls over quicker than a 2$ hooker. The man in charge is a raging lunatic, and now his boys defend him on twitter. It really is sad and pathetic.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

That's exactly what I see. When the opponent is on a little run or something is going south that is when the leaders on a team try to get things right if they can. I am not on the floor or bench with them obviously but I don't see much evidence of anybody trying to do that. It seems like the team has been almost completely missing that element for years now. The coaches can only do so much, players need to take the reigns a kot of times. It's their team.

Fran may never admit it, but I think this is a major concern of his. That's not to give him a pass at all. He still has to right his ship and do a better job, both coaching and recruiting. That said, it is his responsibility to foster an environment where that can happen.

Nevertheless, a coach can't force players to become leaders. You have to step back and let the process play out. The problem is, it's not playing out. There just doesn't appear to be anyone on this roster that is comfortable being "the man."

It has been some time since we really had that type of personality. Fran has lauded White's, Jok's and Marble's leadership, but, relative to what? All certainly were better at it than what we have now, but I don't recall any of those players really demonstrating it much on game day, especially Marble. Woodbury was pretty vocal but wasn't really a rallying presence. If I had to pick the best one we've had in some time, I'd go back to Eric May.

 

[HawksMN]

Frans teams have almost always been weak willed and easily overcome. See a trend?

 

[Iahwk06]

They do complain about being fouled and being pushed around. Why can't they be the aggressor, get physical be tough. When anyone comes down the lane foul them hard. Other teams start out physical to see what they can get away with. It's like we have a team of pussies.

 

[Robowe]

They do complain about being fouled and being pushed around. Why can't they be the aggressor, get physical be tough. When anyone comes down the lane foul them hard. Other teams start out physical to see what they can get away with. It's like we have a team of pussies.

I see it a little more about pride, especially on the defensive end. Take it personally when the other team/your guy scores on you. Take pride in the fact that you and your team can stop the other team from scoring at some point.

To me, it looks like when the other team scores, Iowa is only concerned about getting the ball out of the net and back inbounds to try and score. I don't see enough personal accountability on the defensive end during the game or in the post game comments to show that the coaching staff or team cares if the other team scores.

I believe that starts with the coaching staff and their philosophy on defense, especially from the team perspective. The guards don't know how to stop penetration (or just can't) and the bigs don't offer the help to stop the initial drive and the ability to get out on shooters. Michigan made it look so easy to score without setting any screens whatsoever.

Also, it doesn't seem like Fran and his staff has recruited players that care about the defensive end. Baer is the only player I see hustling to get steals/blocks on players he is not even guarding. I wish his hustle would wear off on some of the other players, but it doesn't appear to be.

Finally, it's up to the players to take their conference record personally. Don't wait for the coach to get 2 technical fouls to appear fired up. Start the game with your hair on fire and keep it up. It appears they start the games and stay competitive for 8-10 minutes. Then, slowly but surely, the effort drains, especially on the defensive end. I don't think the large number of players in the rotation helps, but Fran has proven that is what he is going to do no matter what the talent level, so the players had better be ready.