Tough day for EIU hoops hopes

Evaluating Iowa, as if I was an Iowa fan:

1) They need more Bowen and Freeman. Freeman is gonna be a player (for some school)
2) Play more Zone I have no clue what their defensive strategy or principles are when playing man to man.
3) Where the heck is Perkins? This guy should be their leader.
 
That's because they were.

Let's face it, Tre & Big Rob are not on anyone's draft boards. But my lord, they were men playing middle schoolers.

Krikke is the kind of guy that dominates for UNI, he has some offensive skills. But he doesn't have the speed or size to be more than a role player at the P6 level. I am not really even sure who else plays the post for them based on last night. Freeman?
Krikke was a really nice player at Valpo because he can step away from the bucket and hit shots and you don't have the same kind of size in The Valley that you do in the P6 so the guys he was guarding couldn't really bully him the way P6 bigs can. He's a great offensive fit for Iowa but he isn't going to be able to guard a soul in league play.
 
Evaluating Iowa, as if I was an Iowa fan:

1) They need more Bowen and Freeman. Freeman is gonna be a player (for some school)
2) Play more Zone I have no clue what their defensive strategy or principles are when playing man to man.
3) Where the heck is Perkins? This guy should be their leader.
I agree with all 3 and I'd add a 4th. Need to slow tempo. This team isn't good enough to be playing up tempo. We need to limit possessions of both teams when we're playing teams better than us like last 2 games
 
That's because they were.

Let's face it, Tre & Big Rob are not on anyone's draft boards. But my lord, they were men playing middle schoolers.

Krikke is the kind of guy that dominates for UNI, he has some offensive skills. But he doesn't have the speed or size to be more than a role player at the P6 level. I am not really even sure who else plays the post for them based on last night. Freeman?
Freeman looks like he's going to be a player for them, but big guys are almost useless if you don't have guards that can get the ball to them in good spots.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: GTO
I was wondering that myself. Gonna have to go back and watch, but I'm guessing our guards made his life a living hell last night.
Yeah, Lipsey and Gilbert were both fast enough to keep in front of him, and strong enough to stay there. They also had effective help on screens. Perkins is not the type of guy that is just going to dribble past good defenders, so that really limited his impact on the game.
 
Clones looked good last night and Iowa was simply overmatched. Athletic defensive minded team have always given Fran fits and it will be even worse this year with how soft Iowa is.
 
The big 12 will help our resume. I think you might be right. Sometimes you can look at a team and see the talent and the team is just not playing together yet. I didn't see that with Iowa. I saw very little talent. A lot of decent roll players. Guys you normally bring in to give your starters a rest.
I think Freeman will be a solid player. You could build a team around him. I think he might be a very good defensive player but we'll never find out playing for Fran.
 
He typically is a starter but I guess Fran thought starting a slow Pg in his first start at Hilton was the adjustment we needed. Now that he has conceded the starting line-up needs shake up I hope we can see one that patrick slides to the bench for Freeman
Hadn't watched Iowa before this game. This might be Fran's softest team and that is saying something.

The box score only lists 4 guards: Bowen, Perkins, Dix and Harding. 2 of those guys are okay, and 2 are unplayable at this level (at least now, maybe Dix gets there in a few years?).

Then you got 3 small forwards who can shoot and hustle, but not really defend or handle the ball very well, in the Sandforts and Patty Melt.

And 2 undersized posts. One young and raw, one skilled but undersized and slow.

So that's not enough ball-handling to deal with guard heavy teams, and nothing inside to defend against bigger teams. Just not gonna beat anyone who is even average, unless they totally light it up from 3.

Luckily they get PSU, Michigan, Maryland and Minny twice, plus Nebs and Rutgers both at home. They should win 8 of those, add a couple mild upsets at home (e.g. Wisky, Ill, OSU)... 10-10. Good lord.
 
I can't imagine the state of Iowa basketball right now if

1. They wouldn't have gotten Garza to go to psycho mode off-season and become the player he did and staying the extra year, along with getting the Murray twins, who were not really recruited by many, to turn out as high-level players. Fran seems to just fall into that and still hasn't been to the sweet 16 and will probably become the highest winning coach in Iowa history.

2. if Catlin Clark wasn't there to give them a warm fuzzy feeling.
I know what you mean but there is not one thing warm or fuzzy about CC.
 
Evaluating Iowa, as if I was an Iowa fan:

1) They need more Bowen and Freeman. Freeman is gonna be a player (for some school)
2) Play more Zone I have no clue what their defensive strategy or principles are when playing man to man.
3) Where the heck is Perkins? This guy should be their leader.
You answered your own question on 3.

I sense a complete entitlement attitude on their team. Along the same lines as the famous 'I am tired of losing to teams we are better than take'

They think they have arrived because they put in their team, their are the historic hoks and they deserve things

Perkins plays like he arrived this year as the leader, not like he has to deliver and show he is the leader.

As much as I can't stand Sandfort the elder - no good reason other than he is the prototypical hok, he was the only on their team that showed any leadership last night. There was one stretch he was ripping into Freeman a good one. At least he has a pulse.
 

Help Support Us

Become a patron