BrewHawk
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Was wondering if someone might sponsor this post in a new thread if they deem it worthy since I don't have the post count to do so. Thanks.
Hey there guys, have been lurking a bit and have come to the conclusion that both teams are in pretty much the same boat and nobody really knows what to expect at this point. Maybe I can clear things up a bit for what to expect from the Hawks on Wednesday. To a point, we've been two different teams, so it's kinda hard to make any sort of predictions for what will happen. I'm going to try to give both sides of what we've seen this year from the team.
First the players (there's a lot of them).
Starters...
1. Devyn Marble, senior SG/PG: The team's best player. A versatile guard who can hit the three, slash to the hoop and hit the pull-up, mid-range jumper as well as a pretty nice fade-away. Spells Gesell at the point and is very capable there as a passer/creator as well. Not a lock down defender, but is long enough and quick enough to be adequate. Gets more than his share of steals. Only had one game where he didn't get double figures, so has been very consistent as well. Will need to play well for Iowa to have a shot.
2. Aaron White, junior SF/PF: Long and lanky and loves to get out on the break in transition. Is a bit lost on offense in the half court game unless he can get post position where he's great at drawing fouls with very good footwork. Can hit the three occasionally, but only when he catches and shoots in rhythm. Not a great defender. Has really struggled the last several games which is a big part of the reason we've slid. He's my barometer for our game Wed. If he's getting his, the Hawks will be just fine. If he plays the way he has lately, Iowa's in a heap of trouble.
3. Mike Gesell, sophmore PG/SG: My second barometer for this game. Was 0-10 in our loss to NW in the Big Ten Tourney. Typically quite consistent and a decent outside shooter if open. Good off the dribble drive going to the tin. Very good A/TO ratio. Solid defender who works hard and moves his feet well. He needs to take half the shots and pass twice as much as he did in his last game.
4. Adam Woodbury, sophmore C: A work in progress. The lefty plays hard and probably gives the most hustle of anyone on the team. Still not strong enough, but has improved in this area. Little to no vertical. Good footwork in the post with a variety of moves to go to over both shoulders. Decent jumper out to 15 feet and has good vision/passing ability. Plays solid position defense and does a good job of hedging on screens and recovering.
5. Melsahn Basabe, senior PF: Garbage man who works hard and can also step out and hit the 15 footer consistently. Not quite big enough and not quite strong enough, but quick off his feet and has long arms. Not the best hands and will turn the ball over more than he should. Good weak-side shot blocker.
Subs...
1. Gabe Olaseni, junior C/PF: List him first off the bench because he's my favorite player and because if Woody happens to get in foul trouble, he'll be in pretty quickly. Has only played organized hoops for 6-7 years, but has loads of talent. The fastest player on the team at 6'10" and is also the most improved. Still a bit raw, but is a tenacious rebounder, very good shot blocker and has an offensive game that is developing, albeit a bit slower than Woodbury. Will be one of our better players next year if he improves again as much as he has from last year.
2. Jarrod Uthoff, sophmore SF: Skinny 6'9" dude with very good handles and a nice jumper out beyond the arc. Way too skinny and not nearly strong enough to do much in the post. Pretty athletic, but is a long strider with not much short area quickness. Had one of his best games of the year last week vs. NW. Was very aggressive on offense.
3. Josh Oglesby, junior SG: Very good outside shooter who has struggled as of late. Not very good at creating his own shot, but will run off screens a lot to get open looks. A pretty good position defender, but limited athletically, so can be had off the dribble by quicker guards.
4. Zach McCabe, senior PF/SF: The guy drives me nuts. Complains about every legitimate foul called against him. Jacks up threes almost whenever he's open and really just has had a negative attitude in general. On the plus side, he is a pretty decent shooter and plays with a football mentality, bringing some much needed physical toughness to a team that really needs more of it. Will get in foul trouble. Will be surprised when a block/charge call goes against him after he was either to slow to get position or leans to draw contact.
5. Peter Jok, freshman SG/SF: A very promising player who was one of the nation's top recruits until he blew a knee as a sophmore in HS. Very good outside shooter, good ball handler and passer. Defense is a work in progress and probably prevents him from getting more PT. Has seen the court a lot more our last few games. Still missing the explosiveness he had prior to the injury, but has a very mature game offensively for a freshman.
6. Anthony Clemmons, sophmore PG: Has seen his minutes greatly decrease as the season has worn on due to not taking care of the ball. Probably our best on the ball defender. Decent shooter, but hasn't taken many. Not sure how much he will play unless Gesell gets in foul trouble.
Iowa will try to go up-tempo when the situation presents itself. They do this off makes, misses and turnovers from varying degrees of a full court press. The half court offense is pretty much a motion based scheme with a lot of drive and kick and some pick and roll. Marble ends up with a lot of late clock shots due to being the one guy who can consistently get a shot off when needed. He hasn't exactly been nails in this role, but is the only guy we've got for this. He's much better when things happen for him in the normal flow of the offense.
On defense, you'll see all sorts of approaches with some of it designed to confuse the offense. Toward the end of the Big Ten season, nobody was confused. Earlier in the year our defense was actually very well thought of, which is why we ascended to a #10 ranking.
We do run a lot of out of bounds plays designed to score off the inbounds pass. Look to see more of this now that we'll have an opponent who might not know us as well.
The key to the game for me will be how it is called. Iowa does not do well against physical defenses, but if the refs are calling contact, will win the game at the FT line as they have been able to make more than the opponents have attempted. The secondary key for me will be on the glass as both teams put an emphasis on rebounding, with both being big up front.
I have no idea how things will play out. If the team from earlier in the season can show up, I really like the Hawks chances, even with the Vols best effort. Iowa was thought of as a possible final four team about halfway through the conference slate, then the wheels came off and here we sit at an 11 seed. You guys are on the upswing and prior to this matchup being announced I had you pegged as one of the teams I would be moving along in my bracket as a strong dark-horse. Now I'm conflicted. I just don't know if Iowa can right the ship at this point as things have really gone south, especially on defense.
I see Iowa playing a lot of zone. Good luck hitting the three. Most teams have done well in this capacity lately which is why we've dropped 6 of 7. Only problem with zone D is that it's hard to matchup for blockouts, which leaves your very good offensive rebounding team a clear path to the basket. I think we'll get our points, I just don't know if we'll be able to limit you guys enough to have more in the end.
Good luck and may the best team win and then go kick the crap outta Duke.
Hey there guys, have been lurking a bit and have come to the conclusion that both teams are in pretty much the same boat and nobody really knows what to expect at this point. Maybe I can clear things up a bit for what to expect from the Hawks on Wednesday. To a point, we've been two different teams, so it's kinda hard to make any sort of predictions for what will happen. I'm going to try to give both sides of what we've seen this year from the team.
First the players (there's a lot of them).
Starters...
1. Devyn Marble, senior SG/PG: The team's best player. A versatile guard who can hit the three, slash to the hoop and hit the pull-up, mid-range jumper as well as a pretty nice fade-away. Spells Gesell at the point and is very capable there as a passer/creator as well. Not a lock down defender, but is long enough and quick enough to be adequate. Gets more than his share of steals. Only had one game where he didn't get double figures, so has been very consistent as well. Will need to play well for Iowa to have a shot.
2. Aaron White, junior SF/PF: Long and lanky and loves to get out on the break in transition. Is a bit lost on offense in the half court game unless he can get post position where he's great at drawing fouls with very good footwork. Can hit the three occasionally, but only when he catches and shoots in rhythm. Not a great defender. Has really struggled the last several games which is a big part of the reason we've slid. He's my barometer for our game Wed. If he's getting his, the Hawks will be just fine. If he plays the way he has lately, Iowa's in a heap of trouble.
3. Mike Gesell, sophmore PG/SG: My second barometer for this game. Was 0-10 in our loss to NW in the Big Ten Tourney. Typically quite consistent and a decent outside shooter if open. Good off the dribble drive going to the tin. Very good A/TO ratio. Solid defender who works hard and moves his feet well. He needs to take half the shots and pass twice as much as he did in his last game.
4. Adam Woodbury, sophmore C: A work in progress. The lefty plays hard and probably gives the most hustle of anyone on the team. Still not strong enough, but has improved in this area. Little to no vertical. Good footwork in the post with a variety of moves to go to over both shoulders. Decent jumper out to 15 feet and has good vision/passing ability. Plays solid position defense and does a good job of hedging on screens and recovering.
5. Melsahn Basabe, senior PF: Garbage man who works hard and can also step out and hit the 15 footer consistently. Not quite big enough and not quite strong enough, but quick off his feet and has long arms. Not the best hands and will turn the ball over more than he should. Good weak-side shot blocker.
Subs...
1. Gabe Olaseni, junior C/PF: List him first off the bench because he's my favorite player and because if Woody happens to get in foul trouble, he'll be in pretty quickly. Has only played organized hoops for 6-7 years, but has loads of talent. The fastest player on the team at 6'10" and is also the most improved. Still a bit raw, but is a tenacious rebounder, very good shot blocker and has an offensive game that is developing, albeit a bit slower than Woodbury. Will be one of our better players next year if he improves again as much as he has from last year.
2. Jarrod Uthoff, sophmore SF: Skinny 6'9" dude with very good handles and a nice jumper out beyond the arc. Way too skinny and not nearly strong enough to do much in the post. Pretty athletic, but is a long strider with not much short area quickness. Had one of his best games of the year last week vs. NW. Was very aggressive on offense.
3. Josh Oglesby, junior SG: Very good outside shooter who has struggled as of late. Not very good at creating his own shot, but will run off screens a lot to get open looks. A pretty good position defender, but limited athletically, so can be had off the dribble by quicker guards.
4. Zach McCabe, senior PF/SF: The guy drives me nuts. Complains about every legitimate foul called against him. Jacks up threes almost whenever he's open and really just has had a negative attitude in general. On the plus side, he is a pretty decent shooter and plays with a football mentality, bringing some much needed physical toughness to a team that really needs more of it. Will get in foul trouble. Will be surprised when a block/charge call goes against him after he was either to slow to get position or leans to draw contact.
5. Peter Jok, freshman SG/SF: A very promising player who was one of the nation's top recruits until he blew a knee as a sophmore in HS. Very good outside shooter, good ball handler and passer. Defense is a work in progress and probably prevents him from getting more PT. Has seen the court a lot more our last few games. Still missing the explosiveness he had prior to the injury, but has a very mature game offensively for a freshman.
6. Anthony Clemmons, sophmore PG: Has seen his minutes greatly decrease as the season has worn on due to not taking care of the ball. Probably our best on the ball defender. Decent shooter, but hasn't taken many. Not sure how much he will play unless Gesell gets in foul trouble.
Iowa will try to go up-tempo when the situation presents itself. They do this off makes, misses and turnovers from varying degrees of a full court press. The half court offense is pretty much a motion based scheme with a lot of drive and kick and some pick and roll. Marble ends up with a lot of late clock shots due to being the one guy who can consistently get a shot off when needed. He hasn't exactly been nails in this role, but is the only guy we've got for this. He's much better when things happen for him in the normal flow of the offense.
On defense, you'll see all sorts of approaches with some of it designed to confuse the offense. Toward the end of the Big Ten season, nobody was confused. Earlier in the year our defense was actually very well thought of, which is why we ascended to a #10 ranking.
We do run a lot of out of bounds plays designed to score off the inbounds pass. Look to see more of this now that we'll have an opponent who might not know us as well.
The key to the game for me will be how it is called. Iowa does not do well against physical defenses, but if the refs are calling contact, will win the game at the FT line as they have been able to make more than the opponents have attempted. The secondary key for me will be on the glass as both teams put an emphasis on rebounding, with both being big up front.
I have no idea how things will play out. If the team from earlier in the season can show up, I really like the Hawks chances, even with the Vols best effort. Iowa was thought of as a possible final four team about halfway through the conference slate, then the wheels came off and here we sit at an 11 seed. You guys are on the upswing and prior to this matchup being announced I had you pegged as one of the teams I would be moving along in my bracket as a strong dark-horse. Now I'm conflicted. I just don't know if Iowa can right the ship at this point as things have really gone south, especially on defense.
I see Iowa playing a lot of zone. Good luck hitting the three. Most teams have done well in this capacity lately which is why we've dropped 6 of 7. Only problem with zone D is that it's hard to matchup for blockouts, which leaves your very good offensive rebounding team a clear path to the basket. I think we'll get our points, I just don't know if we'll be able to limit you guys enough to have more in the end.
Good luck and may the best team win and then go kick the crap outta Duke.
