We are who we thought we are.

H

Hawkfnntn

Well-Known Member
At least to me. Gonzaga is the head of the class I'll start there. I wouldn't be surprised if they run the table if they stay healthy. Granted not likely but damn they are good. Suggs can get better as scary as that may seem. So lets not hang our heads for losing to that team by 11. They are legit.

Back to us. We suck defensively. No newsflash with that. Our recipe for winning games against bad teams and especially the good ones is to outscore them. That's it. We have to put up 95 plus pts. We have to play fast and efficiently. We have to shoot well. We can't miss double digit FTs. We can't turn it over a bunch. (especially live ball ones that turns into a bucket the other way) Play to our strengths. I got frustrated when guys started forcing 3s with Garza not getting touches multiple possessions in a row. He need to feed that beast to extremes that normally isn't done.

It'd be easy to pick on JBo and I don't want to pile on but.... He probably should be playing less mins. IDC if he starts ceremonially or whatever but if he's not hitting shots he can't be turning it over like he was. Defensively we know he stinks that is what it is new hips aren't fixing that. If JT could shoot even just a little bit better it'd be an easier decision to make. It's getting tougher to keep him on the bench he needs more mins.

All this negativity has me trying to splash cold water on my face. We still have a great team. We still put up 88 pts while playing noticeably subpar. The season is still young. This is a great wakeup call for us and I think the BIG is going to have their hands full with us. I just hope we play to our strength and embrace that. Run up the score and make other teams have to do what they may not be capable of. That's what makes us tough to beat. If we lose games 105 to 100 then so be it we deserve to. But I don't think we'll lose too many of em.
 
If someone could have showed me our 3 point percentage and their 3 point percentage before the game, I would have assumed we lost by 25. If we play that exact game every time for the next 20 games, how many times do we lose I wonder? Maybe 7? Playing like that every game won't be good enough to win the conference, but clearly we aren't going to. We just gotta hope we mostly play bad on the right nights against the right teams and get away with it.
 
Look. Iowa had an off shooting night, like horribly off and still scored 88 on the # team in the nation and lost by 11. They also had a brutal foul shooting night. If I were opposing coaches or teams looking forward to playing Iowa, I'd be a bit nervous.

I'm not surprised the outcome went the way it did. It was Iowa's first road game and the Pentagon with how small it is is quite a different shooting atmosphere than Carver. The depth perception can really mess with ya.
 
I think Fran should have used Keegan Murrays athleticism a little more in that game. He could have brought some more rebounding and a little more athletic on defense. I think Patricks getting the nod over Keegan sometimes.

I think Keegan can give the team a little boost in energy when they are in a bit of a slump.
 
PCHawk said:
If someone could have showed me our 3 point percentage and their 3 point percentage before the game, I would have assumed we lost by 25. If we play that exact game every time for the next 20 games, how many times do we lose I wonder? Maybe 7? Playing like that every game won't be good enough to win the conference, but clearly we aren't going to. We just gotta hope we mostly play bad on the right nights against the right teams and get away with it.
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Yup I agree. No doubt. We aren't going to shoot that poorly from both the FT line and 3 pt line too often. I mean I literally yelled at the TV for Nunge and JBo to stop shooting. I can't hardly stand seeing us go 3 possessions in a row without Garza getting a touch.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Yup I agree. No doubt. We aren't going to shoot that poorly from both the FT line and 3 pt line too often. I mean I literally yelled at the TV for Nunge and JBo to stop shooting. I can't hardly stand seeing us go 3 possessions in a row without Garza getting a touch.
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I think they could gone to him a bit more this game. This because the outside shooting was so atrocious. Maybe he could have gotten a couple in foul trouble a little earlier.
 
There was a time early in the game that I didn't think Iowa was going to get to 80 pts. There are some games that Iowa puts up the quietest 90 pts. At the end you look back thinking where did all the points come from.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I think Fran should have used Keegan Murrays athleticism a little more in that game. He could have brought some more rebounding and a little more athletic on defense. I think Patricks getting the nod over Keegan sometimes.

I think Keegan can give the team a little boost in energy when they are in a bit of a slump.
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Yeah neither Murray or PM looked like they were ready for that stage yet. But they both needed to get their feet wet. Better they look like that now then in March.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I think they could gone to him a bit more this game. This because the outside shooting was so atrocious. Maybe he could have gotten a couple in foul trouble a little earlier.
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Yeah and when I ask for touches for Garza I don't mean shots necessarily. Just him getting the ball be it on the wing or the block forces the D to do something they don't want to. I kinda wish we'd get Garza the ball at the elbows more often. Getting other teams in foul trouble is a huge thing and yeah that what if coulda made a difference too.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Yup I agree. No doubt. We aren't going to shoot that poorly from both the FT line and 3 pt line too often. I mean I literally yelled at the TV for Nunge and JBo to stop shooting. I can't hardly stand seeing us go 3 possessions in a row without Garza getting a touch.
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Agree. Not shooting well will happen. I would slow it down, work shot clock, and get Garza touches. Make the Defense defend for extended periods. Not sure Fran knows anything but run and gun
 
Iceman said:
Agree. Not shooting well will happen. I would slow it down, work shot clock, and get Garza touches. Make the Defense defend for extended periods. Not sure Fran knows anything but run and gun
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Granted some of the shots were good looks that Nunge and JBo took. But not all. It's the shot selection too that matters. We aren't the greatest at offensive rebounding. To the point where we need to be just chucking it up there to be fast and hopefully getting a put back.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Granted some of the shots were good looks that Nunge and JBo took. But not all. It's the shot selection too that matters. We aren't the greatest at offensive rebounding. To the point where we need to be just chucking it up there to be fast and hopefully getting a put back.
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Yeah... sometimes Fran gets too rigid with his style and who's playing. Meaning, sometimes you have to look at who's doing what and run with it. JBO was off, so JT should be in more... some nights it'll be the polar opposite. Just have to recognize it and adjust on the fly.
 
Just remember who is coaching this team and what that track record is. I think Iowa has enough pieces this year in conference...but they are still going to have to earn it.
 
Husky28 said:
Yeah... sometimes Fran gets too rigid with his style and who's playing. Meaning, sometimes you have to look at who's doing what and run with it. JBO was off, so JT should be in more... some nights it'll be the polar opposite. Just have to recognize it and adjust on the fly.
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Yup. That pounding your head against the wall can hurt. Can't be afraid to have a quick hook. Which is funny because in regards to fouls he does have a quick hook. 2 fouls in the first half and you sit the rest of it. But if a player is struggling with his shot/selection/overall play he tends to let them play through it more if they are a vet. There's a fine line there somewhere but you can dig a hole you can't get out of if you don't
 
I don't think the missed free throws or the horrendous shooting necessarily cost us the game. What I think cost us the game was the 13-0 run they went on in the first half. We may not shoot that poorly very often, but this team has had issues with going through stretches in which they aren't hitting their shots. When that happens we have got to start making stops at the defensive end and really looking for better shots.

They were what, 7 of 10 from 3pt. range in the first half? They beat us the way we beat other teams, not necessarily because of horrendous shooting, but because we gave up the big run early on and found ourselves in a big hole.
 
Toussaint, Patrick, Murray, CJ and Nunge should all be better in March. This is the 1st or 2nd season of playing collegiate games for 5 of the 9 in our rotation. We’re already a Top 10 team. Think how good we can be with even marginal improvement from half the rotation. Wieskamp, Garza and Connor played pretty well IMO.

Edit - Top 10 not 19...
 
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