Toughness

I actually felt very positive after the Purdue loss, despite being down so many points near the end of the game, they didn't just give up and hang their heads low. They kept trying to improve their defense and looks on offensive and actually looked pretty good the last 5 min. I think last year they would have not cared and just start throwing up bad shots. Actually the only game they collapsed to that level this year was against Michigan St.
 
deanvogs said:
So I was wondering last night what is the biggest difference this year vs the previous two years. While the defense is better, I just don't think we are winning on better defense alone. I think we are winning because of the toughness of the team. It seemed to me the previous couple years Iowa wasn't mentally or physically tough out there.

Physically you can see that they are all stronger. Cook is obviously a beast, but Cook and Kriener play tough down low. While only a freshman Weiskamp is just so tough already, he rebounds well and is just a physical player. Connor really adds a physical element to our PG play. Jordan just isn't going to be that guy, he isn't big enough, but Connor is and uses his body very well to both drive and protect the ball.

I think mentally we are tougher as well. I think this starts at the top with Fran. I have never like his sideline demure in the past. Things don't go Iowa's way and he loses his freaking mind in the past, blows up, has a fit and his players lose their composure as well. Fran seems much more calm on the sideline. Sure he gets on refs, and yells some, but he hasn't lost his shit yet like he usually does. I think this spills over to the players. Like last night, Penn St. make that run late and I thought, he we go, Iowa's gonna lose their shit and piss this game down their leg. Yet they kept their cool and hit two HUGE shots. That Garza shot through 3 people was crazy and then Jordan with the dagger with 14 seconds on the shot clock and like 30 seconds left was the ultimate in confident shots.

Keep it up Hawks, love the new toughness on the court!
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Now their confidence is up too. They know they can fight through what are tough close games. The intangibles of having more toughness and confidence for this group is clearly showing. Now if we could just keep our bigs healthy...
 
Some random thoughts after reading this thread...all IMO.

I think singling out individuals is a disservice to the rest of team. This team is working as a unit on both ends of the floor. And they are trying to feed the hot hand...different guy from game to game. That's unselfish basketball...and smart basketball. I think every guy in the rotation is contributing to the wins.

We lost at MSU...certainly not a shock and expected. In our other 3 road games we have been down a starter...Garza, Cook and Cook. And they are our 2 leading scorers. Yet we are 2-1 in those games. In this year's Big 10 winning on the road down a starter (and top scorer) is a huge win.

PCHawk has said countless times over the years that many of our losses are simply bad luck. Some random guy goes off. Or a team collectively gets hot from 3. I feel like we are finally seeing some of the bad luck be offset by good luck...off scoring nights by key players, missed open 3s, etc.

Everyone should just enjoy each win. Enjoy it and quit worrying about what will happen in the next game or during this stretch or that stretch. Just enjoy being 4-3 and all alone at 5th in the standings.
 
We have been winning with one of our top 2 scorers hurt or limited for several games. I don't understand why so many think we are automatically going to lose certain games. Let's play them and see what happens. And there's no reason to go off the rails when they do lose a game, or 2 or 3.

I wasn't shocked we started 0-3. I thought we would beat Wisconsin but wasn't shocked when we didn't. And I won't be shocked if we return the favor at their place...not going to be disappointed if we don't.

When we started 0-3 I looked at every game on the schedule. And based on how I think we are and each of our individual opponents are I thought we would finish 12-8 in the conference. The fact that we have done so well without a key player in multiple games has me thinking 13-7 is possible...but sticking with 12-8.

I think I have a legit shot at that beer SSK. IF we get to 6-3 I will really start to think about it!
 
WindsorHawk said:
We have been winning with one of our top 2 scorers hurt or limited for several games. I don't understand why so many think we are automatically going to lose certain games. Let's play them and see what happens. And there's no reason to go off the rails when they do lose a game, or 2 or 3.

I wasn't shocked we started 0-3. I thought we would beat Wisconsin but wasn't shocked when we didn't. And I won't be shocked if we return the favor at their place...not going to be disappointed if we don't.

When we started 0-3 I looked at every game on the schedule. And based on how I think we are and each of our individual opponents are I thought we would finish 12-8 in the conference. The fact that we have done so well without a key player in multiple games has me thinking 13-7 is possible...but sticking with 12-8.

I think I have a legit shot at that beer SSK. IF we get to 6-3 I will really start to think about it!
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And I’ll be giddy sending it to you. That’s a 23-8 regular season, SIGN ME UP FOR THAT!
 
WindsorHawk said:
Some random thoughts after reading this thread...all IMO.

I think singling out individuals is a disservice to the rest of team. This team is working as a unit on both ends of the floor. And they are trying to feed the hot hand...different guy from game to game. That's unselfish basketball...and smart basketball. I think every guy in the rotation is contributing to the wins.

We lost at MSU...certainly not a shock and expected. In our other 3 road games we have been down a starter...Garza, Cook and Cook. And they are our 2 leading scorers. Yet we are 2-1 in those games. In this year's Big 10 winning on the road down a starter (and top scorer) is a huge win.

PCHawk has said countless times over the years that many of our losses are simply bad luck. Some random guy goes off. Or a team collectively gets hot from 3. I feel like we are finally seeing some of the bad luck be offset by good luck...off scoring nights by key players, missed open 3s, etc.

Everyone should just enjoy each win. Enjoy it and quit worrying about what will happen in the next game or during this stretch or that stretch. Just enjoy being 4-3 and all alone at 5th in the standings.
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We "should" not single out individual players.

We "should" enjoy each win.

OK mommy, thanks :)
 
InGoodCo said:
Now that we got all this good feelers out of the way, I am ready for IL on Sunday. My biggest question at this point is where are TK and Lightning1 today? Do they take some decompression time away from the board much like a lot of posters do right after an Iowa loss? I am just curious as to how that works? I miss them both .... hard.
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I think lightning is taking a leave of absence after he got into it with Rob, it's so much more cheerful around here and less arrogant now!
 
InGoodCo said:
It's almost like last season, Iowa was really young and right before the year, a 3 year guard transferred out and his back up plan, Connor got hurt and sick. Leaving Iowa inept in the back court. I'm not saying Iowa would have been a tournament team last season, but they certainly were handcuffed in that situation. They were horrible, but in hoops, it only takes a couple of players to look different, to be the line between decent and horrible. I think if Williams stayed, if Connor was healthy, things may have looked different in the W/L column. I put that ALL on Fran. He couldn't figure out how to fix it in season. That's tough, he constructed the roster tho, that's on him.

The off season, Fran pushed a couple of guys on, took the team back to basics on D and they appear to have worked as hard as we heard. I also put that all on Fran, if Fran takes all the heat (he can't coach D, he wants to play his kids more than he wants to win, refuses to get a transfer, can't recruit) when Iowa loses, he should get a bulk of the credit when they are winning. He's probably mid-season COY in the B1G.

For me, that's satisfying. It really is. To come on here and to converse with you guys (my fellow Hawk fans) that turned on him and the team at the first sight of trouble. Let's face it, a lot of posters on here were flat out wrong about a lot of the players and more so, about Fran. Many people saw last season for what it was (like I described in my first paragraph... young team, injury and attrition at a key spot- all Fran's fault). Some poster here tried to make people who saw it as that out as "stupid" or "homers".... inferior to their great basketball expertise. I'm not looking for a fight or an apology - just acknowledgement about how wrong they were. This board was an echo chamber this off season - say something positive about the team and you were dumb. I let a lot of them influence my views as well. Dick move guys! ;)
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I am one that definitely was down on this team after Purdue, I am still skeptical about out guard play, but yeah, I've seen some improvement. Like the previous poster pointed out, this is the cottoncandy portion of our schedule. I'm being optimistic that we go 1 over .500 the rest of the way and we make the dance. I said after the Northwestern win ( which was huge), we had a chance to win 4 strait. Sorry if last season's debacle still freezes me up and makes me pessimistic. Two of the big boys are coming to Iowa City soon, win one of those and I'm singing this team's praises.
Wisecamp was basically coming to Iowa regardless of the coach, he and Garza are the foundation of this team. My biggest problem right now with this team is watching them go for long stretches without kicking the ball into Garza. He should touch the ball on 90% of all Iowa processions. Right now Cook sees the ball way too much. His turnovers lead to points almost every time. (17 points a game but giving up 17 points on turnovers is simple a wash). Cook plays way too loose with the ball. Garza moves the ball around or almost always makes a quality post move. I'm starting to see Kreiner and Garza develop a relationship on the court that Cook still hasn't made. If Cook would trust Garza to feed him the ball and not try to force the action those two would complement each other as one of the best inside tandems in the nation. Garza's three point shooting will make Cook unstoppable inside. I'm just waiting for Garza or Kreiner to fake shot from 3 and loop it to Cook or Wisecamp. This team is mentally stronger than last year, Fran is calmer, injuries and necessity have forced a shorter line up. I believe the extended minutes have really helped players find their game. I know the difference between getting shot out of the gym, and losing because of poor play, I hope this team has turned the corner on the mental aspect of the game.
 
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