I completely agree with you, it is frustrating, however this team has alot of youth and has a bright future. Many teams that have those types of loses are usually have a ton of upper classmen getting a ton of minutes so the future for them isn't so bright unless they are bringing in a solid recruiting class every year and the players come in ready and play at the highest level with little to no drop off in play.
Temper your Disappointment
- Thread starter storminspank
- Start date
I completely agree with you, it is frustrating, however this team has alot of youth and has a bright future. Many teams that have those types of loses are usually have a ton of upper classmen getting a ton of minutes so the future for them isn't so bright unless they are bringing in a solid recruiting class every year and the players come in ready and play at the highest level with little to no drop off in play.
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
Exactly! As was pointed out after the Minnesota loss, it's not the losses themselves but HOW they are losing. Iowa is blowing game after game after game, and should be more like 16-7 or 17-6 and playing for NCAA Tournament seed at this point. And with the upcoming schedule being much easier, they *SHOULD* be in position to win 22-23 games at minimum.
Those pre-season expectations were all made before any of us had even seen this team play, and amounts to little more than an educated guess, but now we're being held to that? It's as if those expectations are carved in stone and can't change throughout the season, according to some of you. As if pre-season expectations are really ever spot-on anyway..
If Iowa were just plain being beaten in these types of games, that would be one thing. But Iowa is proving it's better than that by continually being in position to win these games - except they don't.
Seth53
Well-Known Member
Hmmmm....
So, because a team is meeting a pre-season, on-paper expectation, it's OK we're underachieving to the tune of four blown games?
Sorry, not buying it.
Where we should be, in Fran's 3rd year, is #4 - #5 in league play with a 5-8 NCAA bid.
To "accept" anything less is simply not palitible.
So, because a team is meeting a pre-season, on-paper expectation, it's OK we're underachieving to the tune of four blown games?
Sorry, not buying it.
Where we should be, in Fran's 3rd year, is #4 - #5 in league play with a 5-8 NCAA bid.
To "accept" anything less is simply not palitible.
Jon you say that but then you also say things like this:
BUT, I can't think of many areas where Iowa has been consistently better than what I had hoped...they are about what I thought they'd be; a team that would flirt with an NCAA bid this year and be back in the NIT.
If you really thought Iowa would defend and rebound like they have this season, then I don't understand how you reached your prediction. This team's defense and rebounding have improved so much from last season that if we were even an average B10 shooting team we would have at least 6 conference wins. And despite the losses this is what has me most excited for the future. It's not reasonable to expect to win games by having one player get hot and outscoring teams, it is reasonable to expect quality defense and rebounding to keep you in every game you play.
The quote you posts of Jon's says "I can't think of many areas where Iowa has been consistently better than what I had hoped"
If Jon found areas that were "consistently better" than he hoped for, then the team would be BETTER than he expected.
Seth53
Well-Known Member
And to illustrate how silly the "it's OK we're only 3-8 because it was my pre-season, on-paper projection, etc etc"....I defy anyone with a press pass to have gone into the Iowa locker room last night and, with a straight face, told that to the team or FM.
Didn't think so.
Didn't think so.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
It applies to life. We see it in every relationship we have.
clicheusername3
Banned
And of course it should be everyone's goal in life to merely MEET expectations, but not exceed them. If you are exceeding your goals YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
Our defense has been consistenetly better than anyone could have expected after last season.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Wow. The program was at an all time bottom, it's the best the Big Ten has been in at least two decades if not longer, and there is no excuse in your mind for not being 4th or 5th in the league (when the 4th best team is ranked top 15)
And people have problems with my rationale? Lol
I agree Jon, completely agree. People need to learn how to separate their own expectations from reality. Or in layman's terms "stop being a homer".
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
They are inconsistent. Which is what I expected out of such a young team
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Hey it's not like I haven't been irritated by these missed opportunities. It's just that the next day I remind myself what I expected and what this team is.
Before I get into this, I agree defense is way better than expected. The way I look at though, is that the poor shooting and inability to create their own shots kind of even out in my opinion. I EXPECTED shooting to be better, but in my opinion it is horrible. I EXPECTED defense to be worse, but in my opinion it is better.
Seth53
Well-Known Member
My point is we should have at least split the four blown games....win the gimmees at the end of the season and yes, finish exactly where I stated.
Past seasons' performance is like sunk costs in business. Means zero in present day analysis. Zero. Sorry...you can't keep looking to the past in order to rationalize the present.
LOL ok Jon
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
Agreed 100%. Ok, so maybe Iowa doesn't win ALL the close games, but a split is a reasonable expectation IMO (and I don't care what was predicted before the season started), young team or not. Even split those games, and this season is looking totally different. I wouldn't expect to lose them ALL, either.
Not sure that 9-9 with virtually no quality wins, and a soft non-conference schedule gets us into the tournament. Iowa has missed several golden opportunities.
LG210
Well-Known Member
They are better than I expected. I had them 10-3 non-con and 7-11 B1G (with them starting 0-7).
I didn't expect them to compete with the top of the league, either, and they have, with the exception of Michigan.
Do I wish they were winning the close games? Yep, I'm a fan, so those losses stink. But the program, as a whole, is farther along than I thought it would be at this point and getting better, so I try to take the close losses in stride.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Really? So all holes are equally challenging to climb out of for all programs since every state produces the same number of equally talented kids and gets the same distribution of those kids and so on and so on. This ain't a vacuum Seth.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
I agree...which is why I felt this team was more NIT likely than NCAA likely this year. Next year is a different story.
