gold57 - I agree with you 99% of the time, but it's getting really hard to sense that Iowa fans are actually starving for success....although the bar is currently so low, maybe success with most fans has become is a 9th seed in the Final 65 and a sucky bowl bid. It really blows my mind just how accepting Iowa fans are of all this BS. Very sad that 99% think they have no say in the matter, and then turn around and buy more Hawk gear for Uncle Jim's birthday followed by a visit to Jonestown to watch Ball St. dominate for 55 minutes.
Woodbury + Olaseni =
- Thread starter hawkeye4life68
- Start date
RealistaHawk
Well-Known Member
THIS is what I don't get about woodbury. He is never going to get faster. He's never going to gain anymore vertical leaping ability. For Petes sake! Put him on a big time weight program and bulk him up by 25 to 35 pounds. Just make him a big A ed space eater. Maybe the strength gains will help him finish a little more too. Honestly we really have not had a consistent rim finisher or game winning gamer type for some time.
Seth53
Well-Known Member
Good post...seriously.
Will he get noticeably faster next year? No
Will he jump noticeably higher next year? No
Will he get to the true-basketball-playing realm of Kaminsky or Zeller? No
Is he going to average 20/10 as is in league play? No
Is he going to ave 30+ minutes with no stud backup to bail him out? No
Is he truly going to develop much more than where he is now? No
Those experiments are painfully over. Put 40+ pounds on him. Create a space eater. Create a strong inside presence. Create something other than an inside liability.
What's it going to hurt?
You don't think the opposing coaches have him figured out and how to neutralize him? It's painfully obviously they do.
teachercoach
Well-Known Member
What Woody needed more than anything was a redshirt year. If he was a RS soph right now, he'd be on pace to be a solid 5th year who will some day make $$ in this game. Reminder - Lohaus and Jepsen could barely run down the floor for 3 years, Acie was a tad klutzy for his first couple... Woody will make $$ in this game - we just won't see him reach his peak until he is 24/25.... Lot's of 7 footers go this route.
Thawki
Well-Known Member
could not agree more. In the "olden days", he would have been redshirted and he might have had 2 productive seasons. Now, we are hoping for 1. I don't consider this year incredibly productive.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
Gabe was a beast on the Defensive end but remember that 2 or 3 game stretch in the middle of the year when we fed him in the post and he just took games over.
He doesn't seem to be the same player on offense now.
Woody... he just is what he is and I'll leave it at that.
He doesn't seem to be the same player on offense now.
Woody... he just is what he is and I'll leave it at that.
Gabe had a terrible game for him. For some reason he couldn't even catch the darn ball. It was out of character for him to play as poorly as he did. He seemed to be rushed and I saw someone describe it as he panicked and he kinda did a couple times. Maybe he was feeling pressure I dunno. But that wasn't normal for him at all. He played well at the D end unlike others....
Woody nothings changed. He'll have the occasional 12 pt 8 rb game based on matchup and if he stays out of foul trouble. But he'll more often then not throw up a dud like that. He had like 3 bunnies at the rim he couldn't make. And he's been like that most of his career. Jim Jackson got into him a little bit. You could tell he was choosing his words carefully on the play Woody was fouled from behind but he had no reason to miss that shot. No reason at all. He goes up like a 12 year old girl first of all. No explosion or effort at all. Just tries to flip it up there. I don't know if it's his instinct or if he's a lazy player. But it's unexceptable for him or any big guy to play that way.... Does Woody have some good things about his game? Sure some but no matter what you can't have a center who can't make shots within 3 feet of the rim consistently play a lot.
Woody nothings changed. He'll have the occasional 12 pt 8 rb game based on matchup and if he stays out of foul trouble. But he'll more often then not throw up a dud like that. He had like 3 bunnies at the rim he couldn't make. And he's been like that most of his career. Jim Jackson got into him a little bit. You could tell he was choosing his words carefully on the play Woody was fouled from behind but he had no reason to miss that shot. No reason at all. He goes up like a 12 year old girl first of all. No explosion or effort at all. Just tries to flip it up there. I don't know if it's his instinct or if he's a lazy player. But it's unexceptable for him or any big guy to play that way.... Does Woody have some good things about his game? Sure some but no matter what you can't have a center who can't make shots within 3 feet of the rim consistently play a lot.
HawkeyeMike23
Banned
That's not unusual, Gabe has terrible hands and also doesn't finish that well around the hoop.
1977Hawkeye
Well-Known Member
That's how I see it. Gabe's best skills IMO are as a defender (shot blocking) and rebounding, and the guy can at least finish/dunk with authority on offensive rebounds, etc. He struggles to catch tough passes in traffic though, and isn't overly skilled with his post moves (when he's being guarded). He does have a knack for getting to the FT line, where he makes a good %.
Woody - he may have more "polish" on his game than Gabe but he's just so slow and weak around the rim, that it hardly seems to matter a lot of the time.
In the end, I'll take Gabe and his athleticism, if I had to choose between the two players.
ColumbusHawk
Well-Known Member
Every time I see Woodbury play I think of Kevin Kunnert. Kevin was just awful in high school. He couldn't walk & chew gum at the same time. At 6'11", Kevin couldn't even start for his Dubuque Wahlert high school team. But for some reason Ralph offered him a scholarship.
When Kevin got on campus, he worked his butt off, lifting weights, doing drills, etc. He did about everything to improve his strength & agility. Kunnert led the Big Ten in field goal shooting & rebounding his jr. & sr. years. He was the fifth pick in the NBA draft.
I have seen very little improvement, if any, in Woodbury. The lack of improvement in physical strength just drives me nuts. Getting stronger is nothing more than hard work & desire!
Robowe
Well-Known Member
Kunnert was the 12th pick of the 1973 draft. Interesting NBA historical tie in to the 5th pick of that year - Kermit Washington.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1973.html
STILLBUSTER
Well-Known Member
Guys, he has demonstrated he actually is an average jumper. Although he's clumsy and awkward, he's certainly strong enough for D-1 and, eventually, professional bball. Although he tends to over-favor his left, and is a bit mechanical / deliberate, he actually has some very decent block moves that can create space for decent, unobstructed shots.
For these reasons, I really don't think a red-shirt would have helped Woody that much because he did / does have skills and physical readiness to play. Believe it or not, he is a legit 4* (maybe 3-1/2) regarding skills, athleticism and all-around game.
His problem is he's <1* on the 5-position IQ and mental approach to the game. He simply fails to understand that a post needs to be the most physical, mentally intimidating player on the floor. He doesn't "own" the lane, let alone, send that message to the opponent. He doesn't attack the basket with the intent to rip down the rim. He doesn't create contact with the intent to go through the defender to the basket. Sure, he lowers his shoulder to try to go around (usually into) a defender but that's where his focus is -- the defender -- rather than on the basket with the intent to score.
I'm not sure if it's confidence or a weak mental approach to the game or he's too laid back to muster up the intensity and aggressiveness that a 5 needs to have. I do know the result is that he is simply soft -- a classic "marshmallow". Unfortunately, no red-shirt, no coaching, really no external influence is going to change that. It's too bad for the Hawks and, for him, personally / professionally, because he it limits what are actually capable skills and athleticism that could contribute to W's and make him a lot of $$.
trj
Well-Known Member
Can his frame actually put on that type of weight? I am thinking of guys like Greg Ostertag and Big country Reeves who weren't super athletic, but had bulk to them. I do not think attempting to put weight on Woody solves anything. As someone else pointed out you are hoping that you can eventually get someone like Erik Hansen.
trj
Well-Known Member
This isn't the 80's where there is some token 7'0 white dude at the end of the bench. The days of the guys like Chuck Nevitt are gone. Woody's best bet to make the league would be to become the best he could be defensively. Where he can come in late into periods/halves to use up those 6 fouls protecting starters.
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
OP is a troll. Anyone that doesn't think so go look at posting history. It's nothing but tearing down players and taking jabs at other posters. I can understand frustration over yesterday's loss from Iowa fans but I suggest ignoring the troll.
talkinhawks
Well-Known Member
I agree with most of your post but he is not an average leaper even for his size. To be 7' and not be able to just go straight up under the hoop and dunk it is not average. You see plenty of high school kids 4-5 inches smaller that can go up off two feet and dunk.
WindsorHawk
Well-Known Member
Woodbury had a bad game yesterday...didn't seem interested at any point. What is interesting is that so many posters are suggesting he can't play, brings nothing to the team, etc. If this is the case then it's strange to me that we won 6 in a row when he was engaged and the team looked horrible the day he was disinterested.
And don't bother posting a bunch of stats from recent games. He's been playing well within the framework of the 9 man rotation which had been playing well as a whole.
And don't bother posting a bunch of stats from recent games. He's been playing well within the framework of the 9 man rotation which had been playing well as a whole.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
I stopped reading right after your first sentence.
