Under Armour Balls

HuckFinn said:
Anyone who makes the argument that a different brand of ball cannot make a difference has never played the game or shot with different brands of basketballs. Just sayin' I think the Iowa players were very classy in making no excuses. Typical Mike and Mike crap twisting what was actually said. Media needs a new gene pool.
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Seems to be a common theme for anyone connected with ESPN. They stopped doing actual reporting around 1993.
 
I think Layman's length & D was more of a cause than the ball. Uthoff was leaving his shots short & wonder if Layman's size guarding him caused that. Yea, I don't think anybody is really blaming the ball. This to me just opened a nice conversation about the difference in balls, size, feel, texture, hardness vs softness, etc.. :eek:;)
 
HuckFinn said:
Anyone who makes the argument that a different brand of ball cannot make a difference has never played the game or shot with different brands of basketballs. Just sayin' I think the Iowa players were very classy in making no excuses. Typical Mike and Mike crap twisting what was actually said. Media needs a new gene pool.
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Ha, reminds me of our men's pick up games...we'd argue for 15 min about what ball we were going to use because everyone is different and everyone has a different preference.
 
HuckFinn said:
Anyone who makes the argument that a different brand of ball cannot make a difference has never played the game or shot with different brands of basketballs. Just sayin' I think the Iowa players were very classy in making no excuses. Typical Mike and Mike crap twisting what was actually said. Media needs a new gene pool.
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They weren't the only ones twisting words. This UM beat writer did the same...

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/...s-about-feel-marylands-basketballs-after-loss
 
AdamHawk said:
They weren't the only ones twisting words. This UM beat writer did the same...

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/...s-about-feel-marylands-basketballs-after-loss
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And that's how Mike and Mike operate. They tend to piggy back off of others lazy reporting instead of having any direct reporting done themselves. You think they played any of the quotes of the kids or Fran? Nope just took twisted words of other reporters that saw the opportunity to make up a story...

My suggestion to the coaching staff would be to also have all the different balls the other schools play with and periodically practice with them all. And especially leading up to the road games in which we play them.... That way the players don't just fall into a groove with just one type. I know that's very easy to do.... But if in deed it is a factor even a little one then why not?
 
I don't know about this. I could see a sudden switch maybe throwing you off a bit, with a different feel, maybe affecting your release.. But if the team practiced with UA balls this week, then I'd be inclined to think it wasn't really much of a factor in the game. MD's 1st half defense on Uthoff, I'll wager, was a bigger factor, then I felt he just started to press too much later on. Just an educated guess, but that was the impression I got from my spot on the living room couch.

Jok was starting to light it up in the 2nd half when he got a couple open looks, but then again, he did have that air ball (way short) which was really atypical of him. So I don't know.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
I don't know about this. I could see a sudden switch maybe throwing you off a bit, with a different feel, maybe affecting your release.. But if the team practiced with UA balls this week, then I'd be inclined to think it wasn't really much of a factor in the game. MD's 1st half defense on Uthoff, I'll wager, was a bigger factor, then I felt he just started to press too much later on. Just an educated guess, but that was the impression I got from my spot on the living room couch.

Jok was starting to light it up in the 2nd half when he got a couple open looks, but then again, he did have that air ball (way short) which was really atypical of him. So I don't know.
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Teams will use whatever is legal to get an advantage over another team. The NCAA should be responsible for trying to make the games fair, but I'm sure $$$ has something to do with it.
 
Kennyfromminne said:
Why is this even being discussed. Some people come up excuses for everything. Maybe we just got beat?
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I don't think anybody's making excuses. Everyone has acknowledged that nothing illegal has been done. Teams have a right to use whatever ball they wish as long as it meets certain standards. People are merely pointing out that there is a difference between basketballs, just as there are footballs, etc.. Iowa knew this and prepared by practicing with them. Just as the L media always does, they take statements and report out of context to create news for their agenda and needs.
 
All this talk of balls got me thinking of this classic.

[video=youtube;gJ3tqIukBKg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3tqIukBKg[/video]
 
JonDMiller said:
I wouldn't blame the balls. The players didn't. Sometimes, you have off nights. It's just been a long time since Iowa has...and that has everyone thinking something else had to be at play ;)
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Maryland being pretty good helped with that. The way some of the open shots were gripped was kind of odd.
 
I hope it was the balls... as long as they don't use that ball in the NCAA tournament. The fact that the players said it wasn't a factor doesn't mean anything tho because of course they're going to say that.
 
I 100% agree this has a BIG impact. Heck, I think you can even take two of the same balls in different condition/stages of ware and I can feel a difference in the shot off the hand.

So I do think this may be a bigger challenge than some realize.

With that said, it doesn't excuse the bad shot selection. When your talking a tight game, every possession matters. Jok had back to back terrible shot selections in the first half. Ellingson heaved a 3. In the 2nd half Uhl struggled and Jok had a bad step back air ball shot early in the shot clock.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I just think it's bizarre, that the NCAA with all its rules and regulations...doesn't have a standard ball.
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It's capitalism at its best. It's the American way. The NCAA probably has a wink and a nod agreement with the big sports equipment corporations to go ahead and make deals with various universities to make bank. Heck, maybe it's more than an wink and a nod agreement and the NCAAs is getting some kind of kick-back.
 
SteveGarvey said:
It's capitalism at its best. It's the American way. The NCAA probably has a wink and a nod agreement with the big sports equipment corporations to go ahead and make deals with various universities to make bank. Heck, maybe it's more than an wink and a nod agreement and the NCAAs is getting some kind of kick-back.
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Ahhh, of course. How could I miss it? Capitalism is to blame.
 
You can't say "I'm not making excuses but..." and then mention the difference between the ball that was used compared to what you're accustomed to. That's an excuse and caveats don't change that. Fact is the Terps were the better team that night and that's that.
 
hawkeyescott said:
Each team uses their own football's for games so no need for the NCAA to come up with a standard football.
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There is a HUGE difference in basketball and football so that is a moot point. In basketball, both teams obviously have to use it and shooting is a pretty important part of the game. Both teams have the ball pretty equally throughout. In football, only the offense uses the ball they provide unless there is an interception, obviously so there is no trying to get used to a different brand of ball.
 
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