The Breakdown: Hawkeyes’ Comeback Falls Short at Minnesota

[ssckelley]

Cook certainly does some things well and is strong and athletic. But I've had conversations with people saying we could be better next year without Baer and Cook while adding 3 redshirts and 2 freshmen.

I definitely think we are better this year with Cook 2018-19. But yesterday I saw Cook 2017-18. That version hurts us IMO. I think we pull out an improbable win if Cook is on the bench the last 4 minutes of the game.

I'm going to miss Baer, he's not great at any one thing but does a lot of little things well. A perfect guy coming off the bench.

But it's been a hit and miss with Cook, I could tell early on he was going to struggle against that Minnesota front line and he kept forcing it anyway. But when he's on he can carry a team and has. I just think the team will be better overall without him, like I said it feels like they are obligated to feed Cook so he can get his points. When he's not in the game other players step up like Garza and Wieskamp. Yesterday Cook killed the momentum Iowa had down the stretch by trying to go coast to coast after Iowa had cut the lead down to 4.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I'm going to miss Baer, he's not great at any one thing but does a lot of little things well. A perfect guy coming off the bench.

But it's been a hit and miss with Cook, I could tell early on he was going to struggle against that Minnesota front line and he kept forcing it anyway. But when he's on he can carry a team and has. I just think the team will be better overall without him, like I said it feels like they are obligated to feed Cook so he can get his points. When he's not in the game other players step up like Garza and Wieskamp. Yesterday Cook killed the momentum Iowa had down the stretch by trying to go coast to coast after Iowa had cut the lead down to 4.

I'm sure there will be times I miss them both. I was going crazy when MSU started their run in the 2nd half. I think 8 straight points and 11 out of 13 or 11 out of 14 were due to Baer not hustling, defending, etc. My wife thinks I get a little carried away during the games. But she said after the 4th one that I was right...he was killing us.

I guess that just goes to show that even the highest energy guys can have an off night, fall asleep, whatever...

 

[Ree4]

Our D was bad for sure and offense good enough to win.

When I look at the box score, we got out scored by 10 at the free throw line.

Yeah would have been nice if Minnesota would have been called for grabbing and holding when they defended screens. They used to do this shit to Jok all the time and it would never get called. Does Iowa need to start doing this? I'm guessing we'd get called for it. Seriously go back and watch the way screens (on and off ball) were defended by both teams. Minnesota was holding, Iowa was not. We just give them a clean screen and bring another defender - the way screens are supposed to be played. If these fouls are not called, Iowa needs to start doing it. The Big 10 is a physical conference - meaning the refs allow grabbing, holding and bumping - even when there's new rules put in place that emphasize this types of fouls.

 

[Ree4]

I'm going to miss Baer, he's not great at any one thing but does a lot of little things well. A perfect guy coming off the bench.

But it's been a hit and miss with Cook, I could tell early on he was going to struggle against that Minnesota front line and he kept forcing it anyway. But when he's on he can carry a team and has. I just think the team will be better overall without him, like I said it feels like they are obligated to feed Cook so he can get his points. When he's not in the game other players step up like Garza and Wieskamp. Yesterday Cook killed the momentum Iowa had down the stretch by trying to go coast to coast after Iowa had cut the lead down to 4.

I love Baer too, his energy, IQ and ability to see where the ball is going to be before it gets there. The only knock I have is that he doubles too early on D sometimes and leaves his man open - causing Iowa to chase the open shooter.

 

[IowaTeddy]

I think Iowa would be better off without Cook. When he was hurt other guys stepped up but when he's in there it's as if they are obligated to keep feeding Cook the ball so he can get his points.

Certainly an interesting conversation starter. But this is so dumb and absolutely false. Iowa needs (better) athletes and it shows in every loss. It's not about flashy dunks or speed on fast breaks, it's about defense. We need bigger, stronger, quicker, more athletic guys to defend against other big time athletes (see losses to teams like MSU, Minnesota, Purdue). Cook is our best athlete and best player. Without him, this roster would look depressingly under-talented.

I'm not sure if it's schematic or if the players aren't executing on Defense. That analysis deserves to be done by a better basketball technician than myself. But with the exception of Kreiner, Cook, McCaffrey - we don't have the intensity/athleticism/physicality to defend. And I'll throw Baer in there because he's a MAX effort guy. All of the other guys can and will easily get beaten off the dribble or with movement. JBo, Moss, Weiskamp (who will get so much better with time) - cannot hold it down defensively against high quality opponents.

I was at the game yesterday and snuck a corner seat with a great view of Minnesota's offense in the 2nd half. They were able to penetrate at will against Man or Zone, often as the shot clock was running down. They drew a lot of fouls, created many high % shots in the paint, and kicked out to wide-open corner 3pt shooters at will.

 

[ibahawkeye]

Yeah would have been nice if Minnesota would have been called for grabbing and holding when they defended screens. They used to do this shit to Jok all the time and it would never get called. Does Iowa need to start doing this? I'm guessing we'd get called for it. Seriously go back and watch the way screens (on and off ball) were defended by both teams. Minnesota was holding, Iowa was not. We just give them a clean screen and bring another defender - the way screens are supposed to be played. If these fouls are not called, Iowa needs to start doing it. The Big 10 is a physical conference - meaning the refs allow grabbing, holding and bumping - even when there's new rules put in place that emphasize this types of fouls.

Well maybe we should do some more grabbing and holding. Hard to blame the refs when we can’t stop anybody.

 

[ssckelley]

Certainly an interesting conversation starter. But this is so dumb and absolutely false. Iowa needs (better) athletes and it shows in every loss. It's not about flashy dunks or speed on fast breaks, it's about defense. We need bigger, stronger, quicker, more athletic guys to defend against other big time athletes (see losses to teams like MSU, Minnesota, Purdue). Cook is our best athlete and best player. Without him, this roster would look depressingly under-talented.

I'm not sure if it's schematic or if the players aren't executing on Defense. That analysis deserves to be done by a better basketball technician than myself. But with the exception of Kreiner, Cook, McCaffrey - we don't have the intensity/athleticism/physicality to defend. And I'll throw Baer in there because he's a MAX effort guy. All of the other guys can and will easily get beaten off the dribble or with movement. JBo, Moss, Weiskamp (who will get so much better with time) - cannot hold it down defensively against high quality opponents.

I was at the game yesterday and snuck a corner seat with a great view of Minnesota's offense in the 2nd half. They were able to penetrate at will against Man or Zone, often as the shot clock was running down. They drew a lot of fouls, created many high % shots in the paint, and kicked out to wide-open corner 3pt shooters at will.

If you get a chance watch the broadcast of the game and just watch Cook. He was forcing it when he should have passed the ball and on defense he was constantly out of position. When he got the ball in the open court he had to take it coast to coast. Heck he airballed a free throw!

He's got a ton of talent, the problem is he tries to do too much with it. I don't expect a huge drop off next year if he decides to pursue a professional career.

 

[SidFarkas]

If you get a chance watch the broadcast of the game and just watch Cook. He was forcing it when he should have passed the ball and on defense he was constantly out of position. When he got the ball in the open court he had to take it coast to coast. Heck he airballed a free throw!

He's got a ton of talent, the problem is he tries to do too much with it. I don't expect a huge drop off next year if he decides to pursue a professional career.

Jordan Murphy ate Cooks lunch and dinner with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Half of those boards being offensive which gave MN 2nd chance points.

I posted in game thread that Murphy’s game is what Cook should be. TC with NO offensive boards last night.

With Tyler’s very limited shooting, very limited handles and catching, should be a 4ft in, glass eater, Put back only guy. That’s what his skill level and body type dictates.

 

[Ree4]

Well maybe we should do some more grabbing and holding. Hard to blame the refs when we can’t stop anybody.

I'm not blaming them, more so blaming us for not taking advantage of what they aren't calling

 

[Fryowa]

But I've had conversations with people saying we could be better next year without Baer and Cook while adding 3 redshirts and 2 freshmen.

Lol. Cook's not leaving.

Where would he go? There are only 60 spots in the draft and 8-10 of those are always taken up by Europeans. Aaron White and RDM barely squeaked in and they were definitely better players than Cook, and White never even got a sniff in the NBA. People underestimate how mind-blowingly hard it is to get drafted in basketball. It's not the NFL or MLB where hundreds of people get scooped up. After the Euros are accounted for you have to be one of the top 50 players in the entire country and he ain't it. After next year? Who knows...But it's not now.

You guys thinking TC's outta here got your Mitch King glasses on.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Certainly an interesting conversation starter. But this is so dumb and absolutely false. Iowa needs (better) athletes and it shows in every loss. It's not about flashy dunks or speed on fast breaks, it's about defense. We need bigger, stronger, quicker, more athletic guys to defend against other big time athletes (see losses to teams like MSU, Minnesota, Purdue). Cook is our best athlete and best player. Without him, this roster would look depressingly under-talented.

I'm not sure if it's schematic or if the players aren't executing on Defense. That analysis deserves to be done by a better basketball technician than myself. But with the exception of Kreiner, Cook, McCaffrey - we don't have the intensity/athleticism/physicality to defend. And I'll throw Baer in there because he's a MAX effort guy. All of the other guys can and will easily get beaten off the dribble or with movement. JBo, Moss, Weiskamp (who will get so much better with time) - cannot hold it down defensively against high quality opponents.

I was at the game yesterday and snuck a corner seat with a great view of Minnesota's offense in the 2nd half. They were able to penetrate at will against Man or Zone, often as the shot clock was running down. They drew a lot of fouls, created many high % shots in the paint, and kicked out to wide-open corner 3pt shooters at will.

Two of our 5 conference wins came on the road without Cook. We are definitely better when Cook plays within himself and the team concept. But in games like yesterday I suspect he was a net loss. Does anyone know if we were plus or minus (applying some of the available analytical tools) with Tyler on the court?

 

[RobHowe]

Iowa is a better team with Cook as long as it's playing defense, him included. Play defense like it did in the second half against Michigan State and last night for 35 minutes at Minnesota, and wins will be tough to come by.

We talked about it all offseason. Iowa can score. It has to defend.

Last night looked like last year, giving up layups and wide open threes, lacking help, not pressuring the ball and allowing easy post entry. Man was bad. Zone was bad. Just a complete breakdown.

Iowa shot 54.2 percent from the floor, including 10 of 18 on threes on the road and lost.

Free throw shooting was poor but so was Minnesota's.

 

[RobHowe]

 

[Fryowa]

Iowa is a better team with Cook as long as it's playing defense, him included. Play defense like it did in the second half against Michigan State and last night for 35 minutes at Minnesota, and wins will be tough to come by.

We talked about it all offseason. Iowa can score. It has to defend.

Last night looked like last year, giving up layups and wide open threes, lacking help, not pressuring the ball and allowing easy post entry. Man was bad. Zone was bad. Just a complete breakdown.

Iowa shot 54.2 percent from the floor, including 10 of 18 on threes on the road and lost.

Free throw shooting was poor but so was Minnesota's.

What are your thoughts on McCaffery starting at PG? There’s the argument about his shooting vs. Bohannon’s, but it’s hard to refute that he plays better defense and creates scoring with his assists. To me it looks like Connor forces defenses to back up to some degree because he’ll drive to a jumper and he’s quicker to make his own shot.

 

[GVGiant44]

Cook needs to realize that while he can go coast-to-coast and finish against the non-con directional teams, more often than not when he tries to do that in the BTen it's a turnover. He's much better this year about not being a bull in a china shop and not creating offensive fouls when he's working down low with the ball, but now because he had some success driving the length of the court in the 'pre-season' he thinks he can do it all the time. It's really quite simple: don't. Unfortunately, his poor FT shooting affected this game negatively early, middle and late.

EXACTLY. I mean, what was he going to do had he not have turned the ball over? Bowl over someone and pick up an offensive foul? Get fouled and, because it was a key situation late in a game on the road, air-ball another free throw? He had two guards trailing on wings waiting to shoot three-balls. REALLY poor time to be doing his Zach McCabe late-game imitation.

 

[revkev73]

I'm sure there will be times I miss them both. I was going crazy when MSU started their run in the 2nd half. I think 8 straight points and 11 out of 13 or 11 out of 14 were due to Baer not hustling, defending, etc. My wife thinks I get a little carried away during the games. But she said after the 4th one that I was right...he was killing us.

I guess that just goes to show that even the highest energy guys can have an off night, fall asleep, whatever...

I don't ever recall Baer not hustling.

 

[revkev73]

Lol. Cook's not leaving.

Where would he go? There are only 60 spots in the draft and 8-10 of those are always taken up by Europeans. Aaron White and RDM barely squeaked in and they were definitely better players than Cook, and White never even got a sniff in the NBA. People underestimate how mind-blowingly hard it is to get drafted in basketball. It's not the NFL or MLB where hundreds of people get scooped up. After the Euros are accounted for you have to be one of the top 50 players in the entire country and he ain't it. After next year? Who knows...But it's not now.

You guys thinking TC's outta here got your Mitch King glasses on.

Cook is has twice the athletic ability, or more, than any of these you mention. He has many weaknesses and can't shoot a lick but an elite athlete he is, NBA type athlete. Problem is, guys his size that do well in the NBA can shoot, well.

 

[Fryowa]

Cook is has twice the athletic ability, or more, than any of these you mention. He has many weaknesses and can't shoot a lick but an elite athlete he is, NBA type athlete. Problem is, guys his size that do well in the NBA can shoot, well.

He’s not a stretch 4, and no way in hell is he big enough to be a 5 in the NBA.

Measureables or not, Tyler Cook is not an NBA caliber basketball player, and definitely not draft pick material. There’s no one thing about his game that sets him apart from anybody else, he can’t shoot, coughs up the ball at a torrid pace, doesn’t stand out defensively. Jordan Murphy ate his ass for lunch yesterday and NBA forwards would do the same. He may be the most athletic guy on this basketball team, but look at the rest of them...

What I don’t understand is why people try to paint this picture that isn’t there? Is it bias because he’s a Hawkeye and people want to be able to say we have an elite player or something? I honestly don’t understand it. Yeah, he’s good. But to get to the next level you have to stand out from the crowd somehow.

 

[RobHowe]

What are your thoughts on McCaffery starting at PG? There’s the argument about his shooting vs. Bohannon’s, but it’s hard to refute that he plays better defense and creates scoring with his assists. To me it looks like Connor forces defenses to back up to some degree because he’ll drive to a jumper and he’s quicker to make his own shot.

They play a decent amount of time together already. JB averages about 10 more minutes a game. I could see evening that out a bit more and giving Moss more minutes.

CM is better defender. He is 1-12 from three and teams really just slough off on him and let him shoot. JB opens up the the floor offensively.

Maybe it depends on the opponent.

 

[revkev73]

He’s not a stretch 4, and no way in hell is he big enough to be a 5 in the NBA.

Measureables or not, Tyler Cook is not an NBA caliber basketball player, and definitely not draft pick material. There’s no one thing about his game that sets him apart from anybody else, he can’t shoot, coughs up the ball at a torrid pace, doesn’t stand out defensively. Jordan Murphy ate his ass for lunch yesterday and NBA forwards would do the same. He may be the most athletic guy on this basketball team, but look at the rest of them...

What I don’t understand is why people try to paint this picture that isn’t there? Is it bias because he’s a Hawkeye and people want to be able to say we have an elite player or something? I honestly don’t understand it. Yeah, he’s good. But to get to the next level you have to stand out from the crowd somehow.

I think he is a long shot, but I don't like limiting growth and success. He needs a lot of work to stand out and do well in the NBA. He needs to move on from Iowa, get some top shelf coaching, dedicate himself to improving his areas of weakness. Learn to be adept off the dribble and under control. Shoot every day until exhausted. Learn to play smart. I hope he exceeds everyone's expectations.