We are who we thought we are.

[Seth53]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

 

[Seth53]

They did to us what we did to North Carolina. We were hot as hell and made them pay. Same with the Gonads against us.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

I don't remember where I read it....but I thought I read former players saying that Fran rarely practices defense in practice....or does not spend a lot of time with it.

I think it goes back to coaching. Someone put together a good run down in the Gonzaga game on twitter of how many times our players would be guarding the ball with 2 of our defenders leaving someone wide-open time and time again. How we covered ball screens was criminal.

 

[Seth53]

Rarely?

I don't remember where I read it....but I thought I read former players saying that Fran really practices defense in practice....or does not spend a lot of time with it.

I think it goes back to coaching. Someone put together a good run down in the Gonzaga game on twitter of how many times our players would be guarding the ball with 2 of our defenders leaving someone wide-open time and time again. How we covered ball screens was criminal.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

Basically #3

Some elite teams probably have more athleticism than the Hawks

However, we are correcting that situation with this year's incoming class

Ulis, Perkins and the Twins have the athleticism and Attitude

The starters have the ability to play solid D with positioning and proper coaching
We certainly could use the half-court trap much more. It might have helped against the Zags

PMac and Keegan Murray have used it effectively this season using their length and intensity

And JOE T on D

 

[TJHawkeye]

Isn't Suggs a freshman too? He seemed pretty settled in.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

Excellent question. I’d say #3 and#1 in that order.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Isn't Suggs a freshman too? He seemed pretty settled in.

Personally I expect a player good enough to start for any team in the country as a true freshman...in 2 sports...to be ready.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

I’ll go with 2, the fact we don’t make it a priority in practice and a little bit because of our offensive philosophy.

 

[WindsorHawk]

I think Lick focused a lot more on defense. I’ll take Fran’s approach over Lick’s 100 out of 100 times.

I do think we’ll be a top 50 defense the next 3 years. I’m not saying elite...just top 50. I like the freshmen (includes Patrick) and Toussaint. I also think CJ will continue to work on his all around game...including defense.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Not going to lie...I'm going to be really fucking annoyed if they have one those off shooting nights against Northwestern

We had one last year at Nebraska and it would have cost us about two NCAA seeds had there been a tournament.

 

[Northside Hawk]

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.

Quick scoring possessions on both sides lead to more opportunities.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I’ll go with 2, the fact we don’t make it a priority in practice and a little bit because of our offensive philosophy.

You look at a team like Texas Tech. They have pit bulls all over the floor. They contest everything inside. They pressure the ball, get hands in passing lanes, get physical, rotate and help.

You can tell they work on it every day in practice. You have to want to play defense. You have to work on it in practice every day.

 

[WindsorHawk]

You look at a team like Texas Tech. They have pit bulls all over the floor. They contest everything inside. They pressure the ball, get hands in passing lanes, get physical, rotate and help.

You can tell they work on it every day in practice. You have to want to play defense. You have to work on it in practice every day.

And they really struggle to score...57 and 53 in their losses.

 

[oregonhawkeye]

Defense starts at the top. If Bohannon is on the opposing PG we're behind as soon as the ball crosses half court.
JBo is actually a good zone/team D defender. It's just a shame to put him 1:1 on their best guy. Why do that? There are so many options with this team.

 

[Northside Hawk]

And they really struggle to score...57 and 53 in their losses.

And Chris Beard already has an Elite Eight and a national runner up on his resume.

 

[PCHawk]

If this team worked more on defense, they would also regress at offense and probably be pretty much the same level they are now.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Honest question:

Do we suck at D because:

#1--lack of effort
#2--lack of athleticism
#3--defensive schemes by coaching staff puts us out of position or puts us in poor matchups?


Combo of above?

I think it's more 2 then anything. A little bit of 1. I don't think it's the schemes so much. I mean man to man is what it is. Then it's just communication amongst the players how to play off screens. I think the lack of effort may come from guys wanting to save energy for the other end of the floor. Garza is just limited and JBo is who he is so there's 2 subpar defenders outta 5 and that's noticeable.

 

[WindsorHawk]

And Chris Beard already has an Elite Eight and a national runner up on his resume.

And he’s an elite coach IMO. For every Beard there are countless Licks IMO.

 

[IowaTeddy]

Fair play to anyone and everyone who finds the silver lining in this loss to Gonzaga. We showed that we can score at a high level against a good defense... even with mediocre efficiency and shooting %. It's very impressive.

But that's completely beside the point. This team doesn't defend well. And defense doesn't seem like a priority for the players nor coaches. We're not athletic enough to confidently play man-man. And our "zone" D allowed layups all game. I can't find any statistics on "points in the paint" but I know that Gonzaga had open layups all game long. The scary part about this is that any good team *should* lead with Defense. Team defense is so effort-driven in basketball... so it's frustrating that it seems like such an afterthought for this team.