We're going to be good next year

[BryceC]

Here I think are some notes on Iowa which I think are both positives and detriments to them being good enough to make the NCAA’s next year:

1. The offense right now is so good I don’t think it can get much better. That is a really good thing, but I think we’re at the realistic ceiling for efficiency there. Right now Iowa is at 249th in the country in defensive efficiency per KenPom. That’s the worst in P5. Again for reference, ISU’s defense sucked and it was 150th. I think we should all be a little surprised if the lineup isn’t JBo/Moss/Weiskamp/Cook/Garza next year. That’s not going to be a great defensive unit. The guys coming off the bench likely won’t make it a ton better.
2. I think the Big 10 is better next year. This is good and bad. It will help Iowa’s schedule, but it will also hurt because some teams like Wisconsin (who I think will be a lot better), Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, Nebraska, etc. will all be improving as well. Iowa needs to improve faster or better than some of these teams.
3. It’s been said ad nauseum but Iowa has trailed by 18 points in every Big 10 road game. The best win for Iowa all season is Colorado, who is going to be lucky to make the NIT. Iowa needs to improve a lot to start consistently beating good teams to build a tourney resume. I think it’s tough to go from really bad to good without changing over the roster significantly.

And before anybody says anything, yes I’m pretty concerned about ISU being good enough to make it back to the tourney next year for a lot of the same reasons.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

The keys for Iowa to be in the Big Dance next year:

Cook returns and is more devoted to fundamentals.

JW is on the freshmen first team for the B1G which indicates the impact we think he'll have.

We halve our place in the standings as far as defensive efficiency from about 250th to 125th. That's not too much to ask.

Most of the other guys make at least marginal improvement.

 

[hawkeyemark]

This is like the stupidest take ever. People were saying we'd be better without Jok because he played such mediocre defense and we had 90% of our offensive production coming back. Obviously we weren't better. This "take away the best player and we'll be better" take is dumb.

Well, he won't be playing there next year regardless.

I still just don't get the Cook thing unless he's miserable. Like HATES the team or coaches. If he goes to Missouri he loses a year which hurts his pro potential. He's not going straight to the NBA, don't make me laugh. If he goes to Europe either his family is full of shit about how hard it is not seeing him play or it goes back to then he HATES Iowa. There's kind of no answer here that doesn't make the program look worse.

Very hard to read the mind of a young athlete like him. I know sitting out a year hurts his pro prospects but I've never seen Cook as an NBA prospect to begin with. Maybe he feels like he needs to work on his game and the year off could help him focus on school work if he really wants to get a degree from somewhere.

Any way you slice it I agree the program will take a major hit perception wise coming off such a bad season. You add this on top of the Barnstormers thing which puts Iowa uncomfortably close to with our close relationship to that program. Fran has the nice fat contract while sitting in a very bad spot. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.

 

[PCHawk]

This is like the stupidest take ever. People were saying we'd be better without Jok because he played such mediocre defense and we had 90% of our offensive production coming back. Obviously we weren't better. This "take away the best player and we'll be better" take is dumb.

Well, he won't be playing there next year regardless.

I still just don't get the Cook thing unless he's miserable. Like HATES the team or coaches. If he goes to Missouri he loses a year which hurts his pro potential. He's not going straight to the NBA, don't make me laugh. If he goes to Europe either his family is full of shit about how hard it is not seeing him play or it goes back to then he HATES Iowa. There's kind of no answer here that doesn't make the program look worse.

There may have been one or two people that thought we would be better without Jok, but the general consensus was that we would be better the next year, in spite of Jok being gone, not better because he was gone.

 

[koralakers]

Agreed we will be better, for certain. Pemsl needs to put his weight back on. He was immovable in the lane as a fresh. Made him a great rebounder. This year, that part of his game was gone.

 

[SomersHawk]

Agreed we will be better, for certain. Pemsl needs to put his weight back on. He was immovable in the lane as a fresh. Made him a great rebounder. This year, that part of his game was gone.

Both he and TC kind of lost their badass tough guy attitudes they had as freshmen. Didn't see any stare downs by either that I recall. Kreiner was only one trying to put anyone on their ass. Maybe send em all to seal training camp this summer along with putting Pensl back on full feed.

All in all though I think they all learned a lesson this year and will approach next season with a different attitude. They and us fans had them looking really good on paper and they assumed it was going to be easy apparently. There is plenty of talent, just need to use the embarrassment of this season as motivation to do one more lift, one more sprint, one more...

 

[N8theGr8]

Agreed we will be better, for certain. Pemsl needs to put his weight back on. He was immovable in the lane as a fresh. Made him a great rebounder. This year, that part of his game was gone.

I think Pemsl has been working on it. He's will come back next year as a solid chunk of muscle though instead of the freshman baby fat. I'm hoping that all of our guys are lifting high reps and heavy like the footballers do. Doylizing these guys and working defense would could transform this team. But after watching the last few games of this season, I'm convinced that Kriener needs to be getting 15+ minutes a game as Garza's primary backup at center. He's a hard nosed defensive leader who can score anywhere inside the arc. That would mean 25 minutes for Garza, 25 minutes for Cook, 15 minutes for Kriener, and 15 minutes for Pemsl and Nunge to split exclusively at the 4. Ideally Nunge develops and can play as a huge disrupter/height mismatch at the 3 leaving Pemsl in his natural position at the 4.

The guard position is a huge question mark still. It will depend just how talented and ready Wieskamp, Connor, and CJ are. There are minutes to be had at the 1, 2, and 3. Every guard played too many minutes this year. I think Baer will move toward playing exclusively in the 3 spot and see his minutes dwindle unless he gets his shot back. Wieskamp will take those minutes and some at the 2. I don't think anyone knows how the minutes will play out between Bohannon, Connor, Moss, and Dailey. These rotations have the potential get even more out of hand. Good luck to Coach McCaffery, he'll be earning your keep this year.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

 

[dahlhawk]

Yes they do. It happens all the time. If: They don't like the coach, don't think the team can win, want to be closer to home, don't like their teammates, don't like the college community, etc, etc.

I totally disagree with this one, players that transfer are unhappy with playing time or get in trouble, neither is an issue with Tyler. Very few players who are starters want to sit out a year unless they are moving up to a program that is considered a much better school or competition. Can't say that applies to Missouri. Now does he want to play close to home, maybe, but he still sits out a year and Tyler's never had to do that before. I also don't think he can be on scholarship right away. That means paying out of pocket I think, didn't Utoff have to do that? I'm not certain about that.

 

[lightning1]

I totally disagree with this one, players that transfer are unhappy with playing time or get in trouble, neither is an issue with Tyler. Very few players who are starters want to sit out a year unless they are moving up to a program that is considered a much better school or competition. Can't say that applies to Missouri. Now does he want to play close to home, maybe, but he still sits out a year and Tyler's never had to do that before. I also don't think he can be on scholarship right away. That means paying out of pocket I think, didn't Utoff have to do that? I'm not certain about that.

Jeff Peterson was the starting PG for Todd Lickliter. He transferred. Started 25 games and avg 33 mins per game when he left. Almost every P5 program is better than Iowa, with Gutless Gary at the helm. Sure, there might be a handful of P5 programs that are just as poorly run as we are. With a shittier home crowd, with a shittier seating plan. I'm not sure which ones they are, exactly but I'm sure they exist.

 

[Tierney]

I really hope Cook stays. If he leaves and it's to go anywhere other than Europe I will be really disappointed in him. Transferring to Missouri at this point would be nonsensical.

I've enjoyed watching Tyler Cook play. I hope whatever he decides it will be what is best for him. Of course, I think another year at Iowa will be best for him. I think Fran got tired of seeing his team being pushed around by about every other team. They will be a bigger and stronger team next year which should make it a lot easier for Cook especially with another year of maturity. Pemsl will probably put back on the pounds he lost from last year, the two six eleven freshmen will be a thicker and stronger. Hopefully, they will be the ones doing the pushing.