Where has this Team been all year?

deanvogs said:
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...rly-offense-moss-rewards-coachs-fa/312294002/

Great article by Mark Emmert, and sums up much of what I was thinking as well. This is the team I fully expected to watch this year. A team that had some limitation, but also had a lot it could do as well. Maybe I was too optimistic on this team, but I still feel there was no reason why this team shouldn't be in the NCAA tournament conversation (much like at the end of last year).

I really think that Fran's limitations as a coach is hold this team back this year. His insistence in playing Ellingson, Kriener, Uhl, and Wagner in the 1st half of every game is mind boggling. They simply aren't B1G caliber players. Like clockwork we scrape back tie up MSU in the 1st half, only to have Fran put in those guys who them immediately fall 7-10 points behind. Then we get the top 8 players get back in and erase that deficit and then take a 4-8 point lead late in the 1st and beginning of the 2nd half.
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One thing I think that is being missed here, is that we still gave up 96 points to Michigan State who averages 72 in conference. 96 points is the most points Michigan State has scored against any team in conference and our defense allowed that to happen as it does almost every other team we play. Great, we had a good offensive night and shot 56%. That doesn't happen on most nights and can't count on that type shooting on a regular basis.

The other thing to note is that this was an obvious trap game for MSU and you can bet we didn't get their best shot as they probably all had their minds on an easy win and more focused on their next game vs Purdue...Hell, I would be too. The fact is they played badly for us to even be in the game and leading and we had them beat for playing that way, but pissed it down our leg due to coaching and horrible situational basketball. We had them dead to rights and coughed it up.

The fact we have 8 players at the same position and have to play ALL of them but don't have a point guard is maddening. The defensive is awful at every position and help D is no better. Don't let this game, let you think the Hawkeyes are about to turn a corner because shots were falling on a given night at a very high rate. The defensive and line changes still killed us.


deanvogs said:
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...rly-offense-moss-rewards-coachs-fa/312294002/

Great article by Mark Emmert, and sums up much of what I was thinking as well. This is the team I fully expected to watch this year. A team that had some limitation, but also had a lot it could do as well. Maybe I was too optimistic on this team, but I still feel there was no reason why this team shouldn't be in the NCAA tournament conversation (much like at the end of last year).

I really think that Fran's limitations as a coach is hold this team back this year. His insistence in playing Ellingson, Kriener, Uhl, and Wagner in the 1st half of every game is mind boggling. They simply aren't B1G caliber players. Like clockwork we scrape back tie up MSU in the 1st half, only to have Fran put in those guys who them immediately fall 7-10 points behind. Then we get the top 8 players get back in and erase that deficit and then take a 4-8 point lead late in the 1st and beginning of the 2nd half.
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Knight78 said:
I don't think the "5th game in 12 days" argument holds water. Iowa (and most teams in the NCAA) has played 5 games in 13 days multiple times. Does the extra day of rest mean so much to a bunch of kids under 22? At 22 I (and many of us on HN) could play basketball for hours every day.
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For basketball, yes. Playing is one thing. Playing to win is another. All this is moot over the next 5 games and Iowa will have a number of times to prove they are improving.

Giving up 96 points to a team that hasn't score like that on the road is bit suspect.

Scoring 93 might actually mean something should Iowa win a couple of the remaining 5. I'd even take one of them being MN at MN regardless of how bad they've been.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
Iowa has plenty of offensive talent, however that doesn’t mean they have defensive talent. Our top 3 players (Cook, Bo, Garza) are all bad defensive players right now. Garza and Bo both have serious limitations on that end of the floor. Cook is between the ears.

I also see another huge issue. Cook, Garza, and Pemsl are our three top Bigs. Defensively they are all best suited to guard opponent 5 men (and even below average at that). The problem being that they are taking the majority of the minutes at the 4 spot where they don’t really stand a chance. Then you got Nunge, playing out of position at the 3.

Some of these defensive struggles are undoubtedly coaching, but some can also be contributed to not having talented defensive players. The lack of foot-speed has been noted several times and is glaring.
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Not being smart. What have you seen to indicate that Garza and Pem can really guard? We've given up 90s and an 80 recently.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
You realize guys need rest from time-to-time, don't you? I don't recall seeing Ellingson too much at all. Kriener or Uhl at all. Wagner in for a bit and I think did a decent job spelling another player.

Is Kriener even active anymore. Did they make him inactive maybe for transfer reasons?
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Kreiner played against Michigan st . Very briefly but he was out there
 
I have always believed the "Sophomore Slump" is a thing. I am hoping the fact that most of the top talent on this team are sophomores is contributing to our woes...not going into all of the specifics. I have never heard the term "Junior Slump." So I believe this team will be much better next year in many ways just from being a year older and more experienced. It should be pretty obvious that they can't win in this league by simply outscoring everyone.
 
WindsorHawk said:
I have always believed the "Sophomore Slump" is a thing. I am hoping the fact that most of the top talent on this team are sophomores is contributing to our woes...not going into all of the specifics. I have never heard the term "Junior Slump." So I believe this team will be much better next year in many ways just from being a year older and more experienced. It should be pretty obvious that they can't win in this league by simply outscoring everyone.
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You see a lot where guys are pretty good as freshmen, then suck as sophomores, then are better as juniors as they were as freshmen. It's very possible we see a big jump in the games of a few juniors next year. Nunge probably won't slump because he hasn't really established much yet. So as long as Garza doesn't fall back, we could be much better with the same roster next year.
 
Uhl, Wagner, Baer and Ellingson have all regressed. Their stats per 40 minutes are all down from last season. It's not just a sophomore thing with this team/coach.
 
lightning1 said:
Uhl, Wagner, Baer and Ellingson have all regressed. Their stats per 40 minutes are all down from last season. It's not just a sophomore thing with this team/coach.
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Their roles have changed because they have been recruited over.
 
When underclassmen take PT away from upperclassmen, it's typically because the younger players give you a better chance to win. At least that's how I always understood it.
 
lightning1 said:
For worse Win/loss results. That's not exactly how it's supposed to work.
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Ha no it's not. But that's how it worked this time. Young guys who are better than the older guys who were role players for better guys who aren't here anymore.
 
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