When Will Uthoff Make His First Start?

When will Uthoff make his first start?

  • Before the ISU game

    Votes: 9 22.0%

  • Before conference play starts

    Votes: 12 29.3%

  • Sometime during conference play

    Votes: 19 46.3%

  • Post-season play

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • Total voters
    41
Sapp, marble,utoff, weezy, gabe . Best defense players on court and sapp and marble can penetrate and dish to white & gabe . This is my favorite by a wide margin
 
I kind of like uthoff coming off the bench to give the 2nd unit a go to guy scoring threat.

If you move Mel there you have Clemmons, jok, Mel McCabe and gabe. Jok may be the only scorer of the 5 and he's not ready to be leaned on in that way when we make the jump in competition level.

I understand we don't do a 5 in 5 out type of substitution but these 2nd guys play a lot of minutes and uthoff can be the scorer when marble or white go to the bench for a breather.
 
Hawkstrat said:
If you held a gun to my head, I'd say Marble is Iowa's best player, followed by White, then Uhtoff, mostly because the first two guys have done it against better competition. I think those three are Iowa's best player.

I also think it's a good thing to have firepower off the bench. He will get his minutes, even if he isn't announced at the beginning of the game.
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As of right now I would say the same thing. We could very well be wrong tho.
 
sportstalent said:
The lineup I liked best was: Gesell, Marble, Uthoff, White, Woodbury

Real intelligent group that moved the ball well.
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Great starting lineup, with Basabe the 6th man and plenty of other capable men on the bench. And a possibility of 4 returning starters next year? Awesome.
 
ibahawkeye said:
I kind of like uthoff coming off the bench to give the 2nd unit a go to guy scoring threat.

If you move Mel there you have Clemmons, jok, Mel McCabe and gabe. Jok may be the only scorer of the 5 and he's not ready to be leaned on in that way when we make the jump in competition level.

I understand we don't do a 5 in 5 out type of substitution but these 2nd guys play a lot of minutes and uthoff can be the scorer when marble or white go to the bench for a breather.
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Honestly, I think the more Clemmons/Jok play together they are going to give people fits throughout the season. Mel can score against a lot of second unit players, if he doesn't at least he can come in and play with high energy and play defense. This goes hand in hand with what Olaseni can do as well, can that unit be really good defensively and opportunistic offensively, I think so.
 
sportstalent said:
Honestly, I think the more Clemmons/Jok play together they are going to give people fits throughout the season. Mel can score against a lot of second unit players, if he doesn't at least he can come in and play with high energy and play defense. This goes hand in hand with what Olaseni can do as well, can that unit be really good defensively and opportunistic offensively, I think so.
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yeah, i really, really like what that second unit can do. and they can help keep the tempo up when the starters sit.
 
MeatMan said:
yeah, i really, really like what that second unit can do. and they can help keep the tempo up when the starters sit.
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That is a really good second unit for like what you mentioned. The uptempo can remain in place and I really think they could be a group that could hang on to a lead or extend it, but also cut into a deficit as well. This is not the same Iowa team we have been used to seeing.

When it comes down to it, there is not a lot that separates the starters from the reserves at this point when you look at the two deeps. What I mean is there is not the significant drop off from starter to back up as we had grown accustomed to seeing in the past. I do think the starters will be clear cut shortly, basically when Uthoff gets into the starting lineup.

People have wanted Iowa to get more athletic, well, I think Uthoff is that missing guy, that 3rd legit scorer, but I believe he can do more with the ball than any other Iowa player right now. People are going to disagree with me and say it is Marble, but I don't think the athletic guys that are the same size as Uthoff will give him the problems like guys of similar size/athleticism give Marble. Time will tell and if I am wrong, so be it.
 
His scoring is going to be essential off the bench with the 2nd stringers, he is the number one scoring option off the bench and makes the rest of the bench that much better. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be a starter but our talent off the bench is going to be the difference in why we win or lose this season. We pulled away from Penn the other night because of our depth of talent on the bench not because of the starters. Fran did an excellent job of playing the groups to optimize this.
 
sportstalent said:
That is a really good second unit for like what you mentioned. The uptempo can remain in place and I really think they could be a group that could hang on to a lead or extend it, but also cut into a deficit as well. This is not the same Iowa team we have been used to seeing.

When it comes down to it, there is not a lot that separates the starters from the reserves at this point when you look at the two deeps. What I mean is there is not the significant drop off from starter to back up as we had grown accustomed to seeing in the past. I do think the starters will be clear cut shortly, basically when Uthoff gets into the starting lineup.

People have wanted Iowa to get more athletic, well, I think Uthoff is that missing guy, that 3rd legit scorer, but I believe he can do more with the ball than any other Iowa player right now. People are going to disagree with me and say it is Marble, but I don't think the athletic guys that are the same size as Uthoff will give him the problems like guys of similar size/athleticism give Marble. Time will tell and if I am wrong, so be it.
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i think Uthoff is a better overall shooter than Marble already. if he can consistently create his own shot, then he might just become our go-to guy in the clutch, considering his great FT shooting and mismatch opportunities as well.
 
MeatMan said:
i think Uthoff is a better overall shooter than Marble already. if he can consistently create his own shot, then he might just become our go-to guy in the clutch, considering his great FT shooting and mismatch opportunities as well.
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Yes he is, the numbers don't lie and actually, I didn't realize Marble was shooting so poorly, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
 
sportstalent said:
Yes he is, the numbers don't lie and actually, I didn't realize Marble was shooting so poorly, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
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he's really streaky as a shooter. some great nights, but a lot of 4-13 nights as well. gets to the line a lot though, which keeps the points up. his shooting will keep him from getting drafted.
 
sportstalent said:
I still struggle with folks that think Olaseni should start over Woodbury, I seriously do not get it.
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i would have agreed with your assessment until I watched a re-run of the second half of the Penn game. Penn's center was continually out positioning Woody under their offensive basket. I know that their guy appeared to be much bigger but that also meant that Woody should have been more mobile and quicker. Yet he was out of position many times which allowed easy baskets for the Penn center. So when Olaseni came in I particularly paid close attention to this match up. The defense against the Penn center was significantly improved as Olaseni kept between the basket and the Penn center and did a great job of muscling the Penn center out away from the basket.

If you have the game recorded go back and pay close attention to this matchup in the paint. Again, I felt the same way that you did until reviewing the second half. Now I will be fair and say that this is just one half of one game that was a lopsided win, and we will have to see what transpires in upcoming games. I was not very impressed with the general play of the second half over all with the exception of the effort put out by Uthoff, Olaseni, and Jok. Not just scoring but overall effort. When Uthoff came in it helped get some of the focus back on the court.
 
Uthoff is clearly one of the best players on this years team and could / should start based on talent alone.

With that said, why mess with what works?

Some have pondered that Basabe is better coming off the bench....who's to say that Uthoff isn't better coming off the bench too? Basabe is a Sr and is playing some solid ball.

Some have said to move White to the 4....we've seen that and that isn't exactly pretty. White and Uthoff are perfect at the 3 spot.

The first game Uthoff starts this year will be IF White is injured or we go on a 3+ game losing streak. I hope neither happen.
 
MeatMan said:
i think White just plays better at the 4 and is more consistent there. Uthoff is a nightmare for opposing teams. Gesell just has to be smart and not turn the ball over and that group could get it done.
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Sidebar:What is White? Is he a 3? With that lack of outside shooting and dribbling? Is he a 4? With that lack of inside game? Where is White a 3 1/2?

Also think Jok is going to slide right into the starting role as a 2 after Marble's eligibility is up.

I know there has to be a loyalty to players that helped bring Iowa's BB program out of the ashes, but, maybe, it's time to take the next step.
 
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I wouldnt start Uthoff just yet but I woud give all of Gabes minutes to him, woody, and basabe.

Basabe and woody look good together and then Uthoff is nice at the 6th man blending in that second group. Starting is an honor and those that start right now have earned it. Uthoff is the 2nd best player on the team but Fran owes the guys in the starting lineup and Uthoff will have his time. Next year it will be the Uthoff show. It is now but just at the end of the game.
 
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