It was a rainy afternoon on saturday when the Hawkeyes hosted the Ball State Cardinals. Iowa got off to a slow start which was kind of expected after last week on the opening drive we had two drops that Stanzi put right on the money. The defense dominated long enough for the offense to get going in the first half we finally got some points when Adam Robinson took it in for a TD. The key player in this game on offense for me was Keenan Davis it seemed like he really got the team fired up he had three catches on the Hawkeyes second Touchdown drive including the Touchdown catch to put us up 14 to 0. It seemed like this drive really got us fired up. The offense got off to a slow start but really turned it on in the second quarter Ricky Stanzi was great in the first half. Offensively Ricky Stanzi if he gets time to throw the ball he will make plays he is one of the best quarterbacks in the big ten. Our wide receiver core is very good so if our offensive line can give him time they will get open and make plays. The only thing our offense did was they dropped a few passes, fumbled the snap and had a lot of holding penaties which was dissapointing. Stanzi was 19 of 25 for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns in this rain that was very impressive it didn't seem to effect him at all.
Our running backs all looked good Adam Robinson may not be the fastes guy in the world but he stays low to the ground, is very patient and runs through a lot of arm tackles. He had a great game against Ball State and played a lot better this week then vs Arizona. The offensive line rally did a nice job opening holes for Robinson and he did a nice job finding the holes and making big plays. Robinson is a good running back who can also be used in the passing game we haven't used him that much in the passing game yet but as we saw vs Ball State he can be very effective when he gets the ball in space. Can Robinson take the majority of the carries without some help in the big ten I don't but I was very imprssed with the way that Rodgers and Coker ran the football both are nice change of pace to Robinson because they love to look for contact a lot like Shonn Greene. The offensive line did a great job of just tiring out the Ball State defense and once they did they dominated the line of scrimmage. Robinson can handle a big load at running back but I still think we will need either Rodgers or Coker to step up and be that change of pace back.The offense put up 560 yards of total offense
My impression of the back up running backs and which one will eventually take the change of pace spot, at the game to me it really looked like Coker was a monster who was big and strong and very hard to tackle. It was very nice to see Rodgers and Coker get in the game and get some experience in case we need them. Brad Rodgers really showed some nice explosiveness for being such a big guy he really hit the holes hard and showed how quick he could get down the field. Rodgers really showed some nice vision with his cutbacks on the stretch play plus I love how he finished runs putting his head down. Coker has some real power he may run a littl bit straight up but they will get that taken care of and he will run more low to the ground and when he does he will be very hard to tackle at 6 ft 230 pounds this guy will break a lot of tackles.Coker slos caught a pass out of the backfield and really looked like the full package. I think we will be just fine at the running back position both of these guys can play and should be able to help us as we get deeper into the big ten season.
Defensively they played great I though our corners played very well in this game and completely shut down the Ball State offense. I don't think there is a defensive line in the country that has five players as good as Iowa does. Mike Daniels is just starting to come on and with him rotating in keeping bodies fresh this defensive line is downright scary.When Clayborne is being double teamed that leaves plenty of opportunities for Daniels, Ballard, and Klug to make big plays for the defense. When you look at our linebackers they have been all over the field and that continued today with Tarpinian being in on a lot of tackles. Our secondary was very good on Saturday not making any mistake and Micah Hyde pulling down an interception was good to see he really looked like he was starting to get it playing on instincts instead of trying not to make a mistake. If Hyde can continue to develope into a great corner that will only make this defense better as we saw on Saturday when they want to they can totally shut a team down only giving up 112 total yards and becoming the overall number 1 defense in the nation.
Special teams was a lot better this week our coverage was better but on punts I would like to see our gunners be able to find the football better when they are trying to down a punt. Our kicking game we have a lot of questions like who is the kicker on this team yesterday Meyer kicked he missed his first attempt but made his second so he went 1 for 2 in kicks and made all of his extra points. Our special teams looked a lot better this week including Colin Sandeman having a couple of nice returns and he even looked like he could take one to the house in the future. There are still questions about special teams but it seems the coaches have began to put more freshman on that kickoff coverage to see if they can spark the coverage.
Next week we play Penn State I have not been impressed with the Nittany Lions they have really struggled to get the run game going untill yesterday when they finally ran the ball well vs Temple. They have a True Freshman QB in Rob Boldin who is very capable of making plays but also I think our defense will be able to force him into a couple of turnovers. They haven't played well this year and this is a game we should win as long as we don't make mistakes. Overall this was a good win and one we needed to see some of the younger players on this team we stayed healthy for the game next week and got a blowout 45 to 0 win. I like how we bounced back following a tough loss in the desert.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tough Loss vs Arizona
Having some time to think over the game this was really a frustrating loss we had a legitimate chance to win this game in the 4th quarter. The start of this game could not have been worse a blocked punt then a pick 6 that should of been caught by McNutt that play hurt really bad then the offense comes right down and scores to cut the lead to 14 to 7. Terrible Kickoff Coverage got us again giving up that return was just another big swing in momentum to Arizona when we were starting to gain that momentum. We missed a couple of deep balls in the 1st half that could of been big plays Stanzi overthrew DJK and McNutt both of those plays could of been touchdowns. I personally would of liked to see us test their linebackers in the middle with our tightends but we tried to throw a lot of deep balls almost to many in my opinion. Defensively the team played pretty well except for a couple of deep balls they really didn't play in the 1st half that much that is what was so frustrating about this game because their offense didn't do anything we set them up on almost all of their drives.
In the second half our defense did exactly what they had to do made big stop after big stop to get us back in the game I truly belive this is one of the best defenses in the nation. Broderick Binns pick 6 was awesome that was a huge play for us tying the game should of given us the lead goes to show how good Binns is to be able to read a pass and pick then get 6. This team battled back to get in the game when a lot of teams would of folded the tent and got blown out down 27 to 7. I thought our offense played good in the passing game but the offensive line was not good and Adam Robinson did not run the ball hard at all last night he looked very tentive when he hit the hole. As bad as we played in this game we had a chance to win the game late in the 4th quarter and we didn't come up with the big stop we need. Our corners got beat deep on that play in the last drive it hurt because that swung moment back their way.
Special Teams was awful this is why we lost the game they were terrible missed PAT, Blocked punt and a kickoff return for a touchdown. This is the reason we lost this game plus that McNutt Pick 6 was pathetic that ball hit him right in the hands and just our luck it happened to fall right into the hands of the Arizona Corner who took it for 6. We were going to score on that drive at least a field goal if not a touchdown our offense moved up and down the field on Arizona we just made some critical mistakes. To me the play calling could of been better all WE HAD TO DO WAS RUN 1 SCREEN just 1 it might of been a touchdown as aggressive as they were blitzing a screen and Arizona was screwed. I was surprised that Stanzi froze up in the clutch he could of got rid of the ball on 2nd and 3 but he took a terrible sack. Well we lost we had a chance to win but made to many mistakes and couldn't make the big plays on that last drive but I still like this offense a lot they showed last night they can beat people passing we just missed on some big plays that should of been a Td for DJK I think he may be the best reciever in the BIG Ten he always plays well we have to keep getting him the ball a lot.
Overall it was a tough loss but one we can learn a lot from without all of our mistakes I think we would of won this game there is not a team in the country that will put up a lot of the points on this defense without getting help from us. They had one long scoring drive that they capped off with a touchdown to me the defense gave up 13 real points that last TD drive was basically it if not for the kickoff return, punt block and pick 6 we win this game by a good margin instead those things did happen and it cost us the game.
Now we play ball State we can't have a hangover we need to come out and send a message that team will be a contender in the big ten and I still think we can win the Big ten Title our offensive line will get better as we go along they did not have a good week this week giving up 6 sacks. This season isn't lost from one game we can still win the big ten Championship this loss hurt our aspirations to win a National Championship but we are now 2 and 1 play Ball State get back on track next week then get ready for Penn State. Also hopefully Jewel Hampton is okay or we will probably get to see a Freshman get his redshirt pulled if its anything serious. Jewel was the only back that looked okay last night if he would of got more carries I think he could of put up a lot of yards but we got down so much we had to pass a lot. I hope he doesn't have any serious injury again that would really hurt the team. Overall it was a tough loss late into the night but we won't throw in the towel this team will be back they are too good to not win a lot of games I still think this is a BIG ten championship team.
In the second half our defense did exactly what they had to do made big stop after big stop to get us back in the game I truly belive this is one of the best defenses in the nation. Broderick Binns pick 6 was awesome that was a huge play for us tying the game should of given us the lead goes to show how good Binns is to be able to read a pass and pick then get 6. This team battled back to get in the game when a lot of teams would of folded the tent and got blown out down 27 to 7. I thought our offense played good in the passing game but the offensive line was not good and Adam Robinson did not run the ball hard at all last night he looked very tentive when he hit the hole. As bad as we played in this game we had a chance to win the game late in the 4th quarter and we didn't come up with the big stop we need. Our corners got beat deep on that play in the last drive it hurt because that swung moment back their way.
Special Teams was awful this is why we lost the game they were terrible missed PAT, Blocked punt and a kickoff return for a touchdown. This is the reason we lost this game plus that McNutt Pick 6 was pathetic that ball hit him right in the hands and just our luck it happened to fall right into the hands of the Arizona Corner who took it for 6. We were going to score on that drive at least a field goal if not a touchdown our offense moved up and down the field on Arizona we just made some critical mistakes. To me the play calling could of been better all WE HAD TO DO WAS RUN 1 SCREEN just 1 it might of been a touchdown as aggressive as they were blitzing a screen and Arizona was screwed. I was surprised that Stanzi froze up in the clutch he could of got rid of the ball on 2nd and 3 but he took a terrible sack. Well we lost we had a chance to win but made to many mistakes and couldn't make the big plays on that last drive but I still like this offense a lot they showed last night they can beat people passing we just missed on some big plays that should of been a Td for DJK I think he may be the best reciever in the BIG Ten he always plays well we have to keep getting him the ball a lot.
Overall it was a tough loss but one we can learn a lot from without all of our mistakes I think we would of won this game there is not a team in the country that will put up a lot of the points on this defense without getting help from us. They had one long scoring drive that they capped off with a touchdown to me the defense gave up 13 real points that last TD drive was basically it if not for the kickoff return, punt block and pick 6 we win this game by a good margin instead those things did happen and it cost us the game.
Now we play ball State we can't have a hangover we need to come out and send a message that team will be a contender in the big ten and I still think we can win the Big ten Title our offensive line will get better as we go along they did not have a good week this week giving up 6 sacks. This season isn't lost from one game we can still win the big ten Championship this loss hurt our aspirations to win a National Championship but we are now 2 and 1 play Ball State get back on track next week then get ready for Penn State. Also hopefully Jewel Hampton is okay or we will probably get to see a Freshman get his redshirt pulled if its anything serious. Jewel was the only back that looked okay last night if he would of got more carries I think he could of put up a lot of yards but we got down so much we had to pass a lot. I hope he doesn't have any serious injury again that would really hurt the team. Overall it was a tough loss late into the night but we won't throw in the towel this team will be back they are too good to not win a lot of games I still think this is a BIG ten championship team.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Game Saturday vs Iowa State
What a performance the Hawkeyes put on Saturday against there in state Rival Iowa State. The offensive line was outstanding on Saturday with the Hawkeyes racking up over 275 yards on the ground. Adam Robinson ran the ball very hard breaking a lot of tackles and Jewel Hampton had some good runs too. Ricky Stanzi was almost perfect with his passes. He hit McNutt on the big crossing pattern, hit DJK on that same rout plus hit Reisner going the other way on a similar play. He stood very tall in the pocket and picked apart Iowa State's defense All day. The offense was as good as they could be except they couldn't score after the INT by Prater but other then that there isn't much you can complain about.
On the defensive side of the ball they were all over the Cyclones in the first half. The defensive line was pressuring Arnaud all day and hurried his throws as well as sacked him a couple of times. The linebackers and secondary didn't allow anything with the return of Jeff Tarpanian and Sean Prater the Hawkeye defense was outstanding. Tarp had 11 tackles in three quarters and he was just all over the field making plays. Tyler Nielson picked off Arnaud with a stretching interception in the Red zone he also made some pretty big hits on the Cyclone recievers. Sean Prater returned with an interception and also deflected some deep passes away from the Iowa State Recievers. The Defensivel line was outstanding in stopping the run and defelecting quick passes away. When the defense plays like this there are not many offenses that can score against this unit.
The only bad I saw in this game was Punt and Kickoff Coverage. The coverage was not good most of the day allowing two big kick returns that gave the Cyclones good field position. Also punt coverage gave up some quality yards and Donahue although he had some good punts couldn't get his punts downed inside the 10 yard line. Overall Special teams was the only problem I saw in the game on saturday other then that the Hawkeyes couldn't of played better dominating the Cyclones.
When the Hawkeyes play like they played on Saturday they can compete with any team in America they ran the ball, and passed the ball outstanding. Now our next test is at Arizona a matchup between ranked teams this is a time for the Hawkeyes to make a statement to the national media that we are for real. This is a chance to go on the road and play a quality team in Arizona who will run a lot of things similar to what Iowa State ran last week. This could be the game that puts the Hawkeyes on the National radar because they are still a little under the radar which I have no problem with but a win in a tough place like Arizona would make a giant statement especially if it is a dominating win.
On the defensive side of the ball they were all over the Cyclones in the first half. The defensive line was pressuring Arnaud all day and hurried his throws as well as sacked him a couple of times. The linebackers and secondary didn't allow anything with the return of Jeff Tarpanian and Sean Prater the Hawkeye defense was outstanding. Tarp had 11 tackles in three quarters and he was just all over the field making plays. Tyler Nielson picked off Arnaud with a stretching interception in the Red zone he also made some pretty big hits on the Cyclone recievers. Sean Prater returned with an interception and also deflected some deep passes away from the Iowa State Recievers. The Defensivel line was outstanding in stopping the run and defelecting quick passes away. When the defense plays like this there are not many offenses that can score against this unit.
The only bad I saw in this game was Punt and Kickoff Coverage. The coverage was not good most of the day allowing two big kick returns that gave the Cyclones good field position. Also punt coverage gave up some quality yards and Donahue although he had some good punts couldn't get his punts downed inside the 10 yard line. Overall Special teams was the only problem I saw in the game on saturday other then that the Hawkeyes couldn't of played better dominating the Cyclones.
When the Hawkeyes play like they played on Saturday they can compete with any team in America they ran the ball, and passed the ball outstanding. Now our next test is at Arizona a matchup between ranked teams this is a time for the Hawkeyes to make a statement to the national media that we are for real. This is a chance to go on the road and play a quality team in Arizona who will run a lot of things similar to what Iowa State ran last week. This could be the game that puts the Hawkeyes on the National radar because they are still a little under the radar which I have no problem with but a win in a tough place like Arizona would make a giant statement especially if it is a dominating win.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
First game of the year Vs Eastern Illinois
A pretty solid start to the 2010 season for the Iowa Hawkeys as they pounded Eastern Illinois 37 to 7 for their opening day win. Adam Robinson looked great for the Hawks and the offensive line opened up some lanes for him to run through. Ricky Stanzi looked very sharp except for a couple of passes that he overthrew but I saw him more conservative with his passes where in the past he might force one down the field but yesterday he took what the defense gave him throwing to Robinson and his tightends. The wide recieving core didn't get to much action yesterday but Sandeman and McNutt had some catches for the Hawks. Really if you think about it Iowa was 2 fumbles away from taking a 52 to 7 lead so I wouldn't get to caught up in the score. I think with Hampton coming back next week we will have a big time one two punch in the backfield with Robinson's power and Jewel Hamptons Speed. I like both of these backs a lot and expect big things from both this season.
Defensively
I liked what I saw today they made a lot of tackles in space and really held Eastern Illinois down. About 38 of their rushing yards came on the fake punt besides that play we completely shut them down on the ground. Pass defense overall was pretty good Greg Castillo impressed me with his break on the ball and physical play at corner, right when the ball was caught he tackled him that can be the difference between a first down and a punt. The defensive line overall didn't get too much pressure on the Quarterback but Eastern Illinois was trying to get the ball out of their QB's hands very quickly. I think with Binns coming back next week we will see a lot more passes knocked down by our D lineman and some more pressure but the chance for Daniel and Daniels to see some time only improves our depth. The linebackers played very well overall with two new linebackers making their first start in Nielson and Davis they both did a good job in pass coverage and made tackles in space which you have to do vs a spread offense team. I think this was a good test for what we will see in the next 2 weeks in Iowa State and Arizona.
Overall it was a very good game for the Hawkeyes who got the job done winning 37 to 7 and now play Iowa State next Saturday in an afternoon rivalry game. The offense looked very sharp except for the two fumbles,we can take care of those fumbles. The defense looked very good except for a couple of times Hyde got caught looking in the backfield but with Prater coming back next week hopefully, we get a boost in the secondary and Hyde will only get better as the season goes on and not look in the backfield like that again. Special teams was excellent yesterday blocking a punt, Mossbrucker made all of his extra points which is always good to see and then it was really nice to see our kicker putting it into the endzone on kickoffs so they couldn't get good field position. Overally it was good win for the hawks but their are a few things they can improve on this week to get ready for Iowa State.
Defensively
I liked what I saw today they made a lot of tackles in space and really held Eastern Illinois down. About 38 of their rushing yards came on the fake punt besides that play we completely shut them down on the ground. Pass defense overall was pretty good Greg Castillo impressed me with his break on the ball and physical play at corner, right when the ball was caught he tackled him that can be the difference between a first down and a punt. The defensive line overall didn't get too much pressure on the Quarterback but Eastern Illinois was trying to get the ball out of their QB's hands very quickly. I think with Binns coming back next week we will see a lot more passes knocked down by our D lineman and some more pressure but the chance for Daniel and Daniels to see some time only improves our depth. The linebackers played very well overall with two new linebackers making their first start in Nielson and Davis they both did a good job in pass coverage and made tackles in space which you have to do vs a spread offense team. I think this was a good test for what we will see in the next 2 weeks in Iowa State and Arizona.
Overall it was a very good game for the Hawkeyes who got the job done winning 37 to 7 and now play Iowa State next Saturday in an afternoon rivalry game. The offense looked very sharp except for the two fumbles,we can take care of those fumbles. The defense looked very good except for a couple of times Hyde got caught looking in the backfield but with Prater coming back next week hopefully, we get a boost in the secondary and Hyde will only get better as the season goes on and not look in the backfield like that again. Special teams was excellent yesterday blocking a punt, Mossbrucker made all of his extra points which is always good to see and then it was really nice to see our kicker putting it into the endzone on kickoffs so they couldn't get good field position. Overally it was good win for the hawks but their are a few things they can improve on this week to get ready for Iowa State.
Friday, March 12, 2010
My thoughts on the Lickliter Situation
Wow what an interesting 24 hours I woke up yesterday morning didn't really think any of it then I got on Hawkeye report and next thing I know people with close sources are saying Lickliter is out. Now I personally was stunned by this I figured with the 4 recruits coming in he would at least get another year but its looking more likely that is not going to happen. So what happened in these meetings with Barta and what players were part of these meetings that may have said they would transfer if Lick was brought back. The thing that really makes me think is if this wasn't true Gary Barta would have said this wasn't true he hasn't said a thing in defense of Lick except for a statement that told us nothing. I think we all have to resign to the fact that on Tuesday Todd Lickliter will be fired as the head Basketball coach at Iowa.
So now where does this leave the basketball program the last two hires we have had gone to the mid major ranks to get a coach and so far both didn't work out. I don't think to many people are going to want to come to Iowa there are a number of options out there and obviously you call the big guys Bruce Pearl and Kevin Stallings but I just don't see them wanting to move down. To me an interesting guy could be Steve Forbes he has great ties to Iowa and is a great recruiter, he is an assistant coach for Bruce Pearl. We could also possibly go with a more experienced guy like Billy Gillesspie who has turned 2 basketball programs around but off the court has his issues, another guy that will probably be fired in the next couple of days is Ernie Kent at Oregon he has always got a lot of players out of the state of Illinois and has a pretty good track record.
For Iowa to be competitive we need to be able to recruit Chicago we aren't that far from there and should be able to get more players here. I guess it will be an interesting few weeks I think Lickliter is out of a job this is the only thing I am about 90 percent sure of if Barta comes out and says he's keeping him I would be stunned. The next thing we will have to figure out is who is going to be our coach and if that coach can get the recruits to stay, and the players on our team to stay this is just a big mess right now I don't know what direction this program should go but it should be interesting to watch. There is a real possibility that if Lickliter is fired players are going to leave but there is also a possibility if he stays that players might leave to. Basically right now we need to just wait and see what happens.
So now where does this leave the basketball program the last two hires we have had gone to the mid major ranks to get a coach and so far both didn't work out. I don't think to many people are going to want to come to Iowa there are a number of options out there and obviously you call the big guys Bruce Pearl and Kevin Stallings but I just don't see them wanting to move down. To me an interesting guy could be Steve Forbes he has great ties to Iowa and is a great recruiter, he is an assistant coach for Bruce Pearl. We could also possibly go with a more experienced guy like Billy Gillesspie who has turned 2 basketball programs around but off the court has his issues, another guy that will probably be fired in the next couple of days is Ernie Kent at Oregon he has always got a lot of players out of the state of Illinois and has a pretty good track record.
For Iowa to be competitive we need to be able to recruit Chicago we aren't that far from there and should be able to get more players here. I guess it will be an interesting few weeks I think Lickliter is out of a job this is the only thing I am about 90 percent sure of if Barta comes out and says he's keeping him I would be stunned. The next thing we will have to figure out is who is going to be our coach and if that coach can get the recruits to stay, and the players on our team to stay this is just a big mess right now I don't know what direction this program should go but it should be interesting to watch. There is a real possibility that if Lickliter is fired players are going to leave but there is also a possibility if he stays that players might leave to. Basically right now we need to just wait and see what happens.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Iowa basketball
I know everyone is frustrated right now and the losses continue to pile up but one thing is true that this team is competing hard most nights. I see improvement their defense has gotten a lot better then it was at the beginning of the year. This will be a tough year but listening to Lickliter the guy really does care and I know that people don't like John Lickliter getting minutes but Payne has to get some rest the thing that totally hurt this team was when Tucker got in trouble again I think he would be able to provide a spark for us not saying he should come back now because that is the coaches decision.
Watching this game vs Illinois man was it a frustrating game we had a chance to win the game but just couldn't get enough plays to win the games. If Payne gets that steal instead of Illinois getting Griffey an open shot it could of been a 1 point game if he did get this what if Cully's layup fell in we would of been down by 1 point and had a chance. I like Payne yes he makes mistakes but this kid is tough as nails take last night for an example he airballs 2 long three pointers then hits probably the biggest shot in the game to pull us with in 5 he also had a nice drive to the basket to score and get fouled even though he missed the free throw. The possesion with 55 seconds he made a great drive he just needed to finish the shot and it didn't fall in. Gatens has expanded his game in my opinion even though he tends to take some bad shots I have seen him looking inside more to Cole and Fuller. Of course he can shoot the three ball but its his passing that I have seen really improve.
I like the team we have and yes everybody hates losing and wants to blame it on Lickliter to have him fired but I truly believe this team is getting better besides the Michigan game where they didn't have the effort this team has fought hard vs every team they have played. Ohio State is a game we could of won but we let slip away part of that to me was fatigue, bad luck with a 3 going in and out and the other part was Evan Turner and David Lighty took over the game. Then tonight down by 3 we have a chance to tie the game who are we going to go to we don't have a guy that we can go to Payne is great at getting in the paint and he will finish at the rim better as he matures but what this team is missing is the guy that we know is going to get the ball who take a guy off the dribble and pull up exactly what Jake Kelly used to be able to do.
I'm hoping that Devin Marble can be this guy the coaches from what I have heard think he can play in the same role as Jake Kelly did when he was here where we have that big point guard or wing player that can make a play for himself. The recruiting class we have coming in is a good class that will give this team a full lineup.
I saw Larson play on the internet and he looks like a strong back to the basket player that can also hit the outside shot.
Brust has showed a lot of athletic ability in the clips I've seen here is one vs Lenzelle Smith an Ohio State Recruit Check it out. Ben Brust Brust is number 1
Marble is the athlete of the group a little bit of a late bloomer but he is starting to come on strong in his senior year. Devin Marble Highlights Marble is number 30
McCabe from what I have heard he will be the point forward a very good passer and a good shooter that can get to the basket.
The point is help is on the way and Yes it sucks to lose but this team has not given up so the FANS SHOULDN'T BE GIVINING UP ON THE TEAM.
Watching this game vs Illinois man was it a frustrating game we had a chance to win the game but just couldn't get enough plays to win the games. If Payne gets that steal instead of Illinois getting Griffey an open shot it could of been a 1 point game if he did get this what if Cully's layup fell in we would of been down by 1 point and had a chance. I like Payne yes he makes mistakes but this kid is tough as nails take last night for an example he airballs 2 long three pointers then hits probably the biggest shot in the game to pull us with in 5 he also had a nice drive to the basket to score and get fouled even though he missed the free throw. The possesion with 55 seconds he made a great drive he just needed to finish the shot and it didn't fall in. Gatens has expanded his game in my opinion even though he tends to take some bad shots I have seen him looking inside more to Cole and Fuller. Of course he can shoot the three ball but its his passing that I have seen really improve.
I like the team we have and yes everybody hates losing and wants to blame it on Lickliter to have him fired but I truly believe this team is getting better besides the Michigan game where they didn't have the effort this team has fought hard vs every team they have played. Ohio State is a game we could of won but we let slip away part of that to me was fatigue, bad luck with a 3 going in and out and the other part was Evan Turner and David Lighty took over the game. Then tonight down by 3 we have a chance to tie the game who are we going to go to we don't have a guy that we can go to Payne is great at getting in the paint and he will finish at the rim better as he matures but what this team is missing is the guy that we know is going to get the ball who take a guy off the dribble and pull up exactly what Jake Kelly used to be able to do.
I'm hoping that Devin Marble can be this guy the coaches from what I have heard think he can play in the same role as Jake Kelly did when he was here where we have that big point guard or wing player that can make a play for himself. The recruiting class we have coming in is a good class that will give this team a full lineup.
I saw Larson play on the internet and he looks like a strong back to the basket player that can also hit the outside shot.
Brust has showed a lot of athletic ability in the clips I've seen here is one vs Lenzelle Smith an Ohio State Recruit Check it out. Ben Brust Brust is number 1
Marble is the athlete of the group a little bit of a late bloomer but he is starting to come on strong in his senior year. Devin Marble Highlights Marble is number 30
McCabe from what I have heard he will be the point forward a very good passer and a good shooter that can get to the basket.
The point is help is on the way and Yes it sucks to lose but this team has not given up so the FANS SHOULDN'T BE GIVINING UP ON THE TEAM.
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