When Did It All Go Wrong?

I think NickM has it right but if Fran is going to insist on going with 10 players I think we are better off with the hockey style subs that we had earlier in the year versus random configurations.

When Clemons stopped getting minutes and basabe went out we started playing combinations we hadn't seen all year. The result break after bream down defensive assignments; **** poor spacing in half court; looking over their shoulder.

Consistent rotations lead to chemistry, defensive communications and morale as you know what to expect.

I'm inclined to go with this theory.
 
when the Indiana game got cancelled... not even sure why but that was the exact time.

Before we were not finishing some games but we had enough to beat the teams we should.

After the Indiana game.. suddenly we couldn't beat anyone.
 
I think NickM has it right but if Fran is going to insist on going with 10 players I think we are better off with the hockey style subs that we had earlier in the year versus random configurations.

When Clemons stopped getting minutes and basabe went out we started playing combinations we hadn't seen all year. The result break after bream down defensive assignments; **** poor spacing in half court; looking over their shoulder.

Consistent rotations lead to chemistry, defensive communications and morale as you know what to expect.


If he insists on the hockey substitutions he should at least wait more than 4 minutes to bring in the subs.
 
You want Jok playing instead of White ??

I'm willing to give it a shot. I still want White to get minutes but I want him to play with Olaseni who has can extend the floor and create more spacing than When both Woody and White are in the lineup together and limited outside games.
 
way to much emphasis on subs... who exactly is worth subbing in at the moment?

It's like subbing in one scared no confidence guy for another.
 
I think something happened during that long stretch of downtime in February. They were riding high after beating Michigan by 18 points, then had a week off and beat Penn St by 12. Then they went to Bloomington and the game got cancelled. That was the beginning of the end for the Hawks. They played the Badgers that weekend and it was the second game they played in 14 days. Something obviously happened during that long 14 day layoff, but what it is I have no idea. Chemistry issues? Did Fran start changing some things? Did the team get cocky? Overworked in practice? Fatigued?

No idea what happened, but seems pretty likely that something happened during that period.

I agree about the Bloomington thing. I know this sounds goofy, but at the time, the beam falling from the ceiling just seemed like the sort of thing that could throw a wrench or a rose into a season that was on the brink of going UP or going DOWN. Don't know why, but it changed things. Who knows, those things might have shown up later, anyway. Only Hitchcock knows. Or Rod Serling.
 
when the Indiana game got cancelled... not even sure why but that was the exact time.

Before we were not finishing some games but we had enough to beat the teams we should.

After the Indiana game.. suddenly we couldn't beat anyone.

So this adds difficulty to the schedule. An add'l road trip, along with going to MSP, MICH, to IND, add flight delays, getting in late, and still having to get up and do your job is harder than most can imagine, so, yes, I agree with the Disassembly Hall factor.
 
When Fran punished the entire team for Zach's actions. Keep in mind this current roster has basically been the same and together for 2 straight years too. Beginning last year during preseason, through regular season, NIT, then Europe trip, preseason, regular season, and now their postseason. Roster never really changed either with only May's departure and Jok's addition.
 
Watching what Hoiberg has done at Iowa State makes me think Iowa should've hired BJ Armstrong. Maybe next time.

I really have to disagree with comments like this. First it is not an apples to apples comparison. The schools are members of different leagues who have many differences. The in-state schools themselves have distinct differences on what will be supported and tolerated.

As an example the Big 12 is a very good conference full of athletes but in basketball there is only a single blue blood in Kansas. There is a greater chance of upward mobility for members like ISU. Contrast that to the B1G who has at least 3-4 traditional powers in MSU, OSU and Wisconsin. Then toss in Indiana and Michigan recently. The B1G has strong fan bases in the majority of schools creating hostile environments unlike so many of the half full arenas of the Big 12. Then toss in the mandate for academics and research within the B1G. The big 12 is simply an athletic conference and nothing else. They have no greater purpose. Pretty soon you realize the challenges the B1G has and then what Iowa faces within this.

Fred has done a super job but the comparisons are silly.
 
ISU got damn lucky with Fred. If that thing would have went south from the get go, ISU was in deep weeds. Lucky bastantes.
 
When that dope basketball analyst from ESPN said Iowa, with its depth, would be a final 4 team.

Unrealistic goals for the media, for the coach, for the players, for the fans, and for the president... I remember Obama saying he really wanted to get away from presidential meetings so he could watch the MSU @ Iowa game.
 
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I think we could see Olaseni and Woody on the floor togather some next year if we don't get Atwood. I still think White could be a really good 4 if givin the chance and if someone gives him the ball
I'm willing to give it a shot. I still want White to get minutes but I want him to play with Olaseni who has can extend the floor and create more spacing than When both Woody and White are in the lineup together and limited outside games.
 
When that dope basketball analyst from ESPN said Iowa, with its depth, would be a final 4 team.

Unrealistic goals for the media, for the coach, for the players, for the fans, and for the president... I remember Obama saying he really wanted to get away from presidential meetings so he could watch the MSU @ Iowa game.

I promise I'm not stalking you Homer, but I think you're right. We, including the players, seemed to completely bought the hype and lost some edge/fire.
 
I promise I'm not stalking you Homer, but I think you're right. We, including the players, seemed to completely bought the hype and lost some edge/fire.

I'm going to disagree.

At one time IOWA was a top 5 KenPom team, a top 10 Massey Composite, and Teamrankings gave them a 20% chance of FF and 6% chance of winning. The empirical data clearly shows Iowa as a dominant team, right up until Mels illness, that is when the empirical numbers all fell off the table.
They were a FF contender, no question. Talking heads like that guy and Jay Bilas said as much in his game at Iowa.
So, what has happened? Mel got sick resulting in rotations changes w guys like Mccabre, Oglesby, Jok getting more minutes, Disassembly hall resulted in additional draining road trips, Frans boys illness, poor fundamentals on defense, and sime teams just flat out shooting the lights out, all resulting in Fran changing to 'Down sized' player packages.

This ain't the same team that was playing well earlier Mel with 9 mins? White 28 mins at 2 FGA? Gesell and marble assists/FGA ratio falling. 28/4. Starting playing the eFG% guys more, get them more shots, rebound to start break, get more transition baskets, get back to the FT line, no more 27 3pt FGA games.....
 
Maybe Fran should man up and tell the team that he is going back to giving Mel his minutes, and Jarrod his like in the out of conference and that Josh, Zach, Gabe and Woody's are all going to be dependent on who is hot when they get their chance. When these guys play with great energy and are hot, the rest of the team feeds off of it. Especially Josh and Gabe.

I do think that Clemmons deserves a few minutes in each half to give Mike a rest, that way Dev can stay at the 2 and continue to run off of screens and such. Now is time for Fran to put up or shut up and he needs his team to know their roles going forward.
 
Lot of excellent posts here. I think the unrealistic expectations from the media before the season started, then saying that we were a possible final four team put a lot of extra pressure on the team and Fran.....

The substitution patterns worked at first but became a problem later, as many have said on a given night the chemistry might not be working if a player or two is off. Sometimes we have a team playing with only one scorer and the lack of movement on offense makes it very easy for the opponent to play D. Uthoff and Basabe, when he wasn't ill, should have been getting much more playing time. Our defense is much better inside with Mel, and he can score around the basket. Aaron should not be standing around the three point line most of the time either.....

The D has collapsed. Sometimes it seems nonexistent. Our press on occasion works, but not like it should. Our intensity has dropped considerably.....

There does seem to be a bit of dissension on the team and some of the players on the bench appear to be agitated. Also the players are afraid of turning the ball over and being yanked off the floor, creating a more mechanical style of play rather than natural. When you are mainly concerned about making a mistake and perhaps not playing the rest of the game, that creates problems.....

I can't imagine the team not being excited about playing in the Tournament, solving their problems along the way. The Tournament is the main objective for every team when the season starts. If we can play loose and together, we can do well in the tournament. It depends on whether or not we solve our problems.....

Someone mentioned a disturbing event during the NW game when Devyn was deliberately swiped in the eye and then slammed at the basket. He was down, and no one helped him up. I didn't notice that, but that is not the way we have played under Fran. I don't remember any Iowa team not being concerned about their teammates.....

One thing about the Wisconsin game at Carver, we lost the game in the last minute after Josh put us ahead by one. On D our center rushed out to the free throw line leaving Lewinsky between him and the basket, open for a pass and easy basket. Then we turned the ball over, had to foul, behind by three, and it shouldn't have come down to a last second three to tie the game. We gave it away. There is no guarantee that anyone would have made the shot. I think that game really damaged our confidence and will to win to a degree.....

I believe we will be ready to play and not embarrass ourselves in the Big Dance.....

:rolleyes:
 
I'm leaning less on chemistry problems, and more on mechanical problems like pick and roll defense, not rotating on d (remember when Crawford drove hard to basket and made desperation pass to wide open guy standing by himself who nails 3 at shot clock, as Oglesby sagged to baseline and was standing right behind white who had the reverse layup defended, then could only watch as his man hits wide open 3, horrible rotation and recovery by lazy/tired/mentally weak Oglesby)

Mechanical defenseive lapses (can be fixed) player packages can be fixed. But the question is WILL Fran make those adjustments, or will he die on in 11 man rotation fixation?
 

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