Tucker caught drunk again

[DonnyDonovan]

I see improvement. With home games remaining against IU and Michigan, and road games against Northwestern and a reeling Minnesota team, 5-6 conference wins is not unlikely. Now, is that great? No. Not at all. But, considering many were predicting 1-17 or 2-16, it's something.

If Iowa has no more defections of consequence (read: anyone but Brommer), and with the incoming talent, I could see a team that could finish .500 in league play in 2011 and compete for a top-4 finish in the league and a decent NCAA seed in 2012.

Next year is going to be extremely important and go a long way towards answering whether Lickliter is the answer.

I also agree that Iowa is not necessarily locked into a "system" that emphasizes slowing things down above all else. They'll run when they have the numbers. They'll shoot early in the shot clock if the shot is there. It's all about getting good shots, and they're doing a better job of it lately.

[HeneryHawk]

Tell me "when they run when they have the numbers", they pull it out nearly every time, passing up easy baskets(and for a team that struggles to score, to pass up easy ones is crazy).

They have improved, but does it translate to top four in two years? How do you figure that? The talent on hand at present doesnt warrant that. The need for a true PG(at least to back up Payne) and a true post is dire. Perhaps Brust can spell at PG, and more importantly, can create his own shots and for others, hopefully Marble offers an athlete that is also a major need for this team. Given the incoming talent in the rest of the BigTen, the athleticism is a major need to be addressed, and is needed to win beyond a mediocre level. ***I think Brommer can develop into a solid post, but he needs playing time and work on his hands....big guys develop slower, he well could pay off in a year or two....more likely, if rumours play out, he will transfer and that could be the godsend that they need to get an another athlete, hopefully a post to go with the PG***

This team needs to drive the ball in, work inside out, not the outside (maybe) in approach. Attacking the hole wins, and with the limited athleticism, this team too often fails to penetrate and go deep WAY WAY too often. Brust and Marble may help this greatly, plus, again, a top flight PG could do wonders. In fact, this little stretch could get a PGs attention, at least.

BTW, I knew Tucker was gone Thursday night.
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St Louis Cardinals 2011 AND 2006 World Series Champions

[T-Rex]

This is so weird - usually it's Henery with the amazing tolerance and patience for coaches. It's bizarro-hawkeyes.org.

[DonnyDonovan]

I was thinking the same thing Rex.

And I think in 2011-2012, a starting lineup of Payne (with 2 more years in the system), May (same), Gatens (same), Fuller (same) and Larson (Iowa's best incoming recruit), could easily finish top-4 in the league. That team will have great depth too with a second string of Brust, a possible JC point guard with Tucker's schollie, Marble, McCabe, Cougill and Brommer/Archie, all in their second or third years. If one of these guys cracks my starting lineup it means they're even better than the player they are replacing.

All of this of course assumes no more defections of note. Any of these guys transfer, and all bets are off.

This thing is going to turn around, and it's going to turn around starting next season. I truly believe that.

[HeneryHawk]

I thought that it was turning around after beating NW?
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St Louis Cardinals 2011 AND 2006 World Series Champions

[DonnyDonovan]

I mean in terms of W-L record and vying for post-season.

Yesterday was awful, but, it was against a top-10 team, on the road, playing their best basketball of the season. Iowa isn't in Purdue's class right now. I do wish it hadn't been quite so one-sided in the first half though, but, big-picture, still not time to give up or lose patience.

[HeneryHawk]

That was beyond awful, it was abyssmal. They couldnt handle, pass, penetrate or shoot, much less rebound and defend. The lack of pressure on D by IOWA, the lack of O spacing, a focus of going to the hole (instead of passing/weaving around the perimeter hoping to find a 3, and thus are easy to defend when they NEVER go to the hole) and attacking, having no positioning for rebounds(especially on O, as the bigs are out being screens, not posting up and forcing the D to defend them), the slow foot work and out of position on D,.....it was beyong sick to see.

This program has gone backwards under Lickliter, to historically low levels, so where does confidence in his ability to turn this around come? Where some nice recruits have come in, many have left. The next class appears quite solid, maybe even a gamebreaker is in there, but will he let them play? As Kenyon Murray has recently been quoted saying, IOWA doesnt play a style that draws the best to come to IOWA, so how does IOWA become a real player for titles without top talent? How do they improve when the coach doesnt let them play(that IS the reason Kelly left, and Peterson, and Palmer, and Freeman, and so on)? You go out and get talented players, you let them utilize their talent, the athletic ability, you put them in a position to win. Now, it cold be said that sith less talent, he enforces this system to hide weaknesses(I dont buy that altogether, as they dont vary approach at all, they so rarely try to attack the hole, go for fast breaks, secondary breaks, or vary the D, add some occasional pressure. The lack of varying what they do makes them easy to prepare for and to D), so with more talent will we see he losen the reins, allow them to attack, fast break(watch any film on Brust and Marble, and they LOVE to attack!), and perhaps pressure and push out the other team? Or, is it enough to gain ground in the BigTen, as the rest of the BigTen is adding talent at a high level throughout.

Nebraska tried this with Lickliter's mentor, Barry Collier, and it was a collosal failure, is this version two?
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Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain

St Louis Cardinals 2011 AND 2006 World Series Champions