HawkLax6
11-30-2008, 11:51 PM
Good times in Vegas even though I was only there for 30 hours, I am broke and I am on about 3 hours of sleep.
As for the game, what a finish, it was a good one. Here are some random thoughts on the game/team:
- The refs were HORRIBLE. And they were bad in both directions. I was missing Ed Hightower by halftime.
- Kansas State is a badly coached team. On paper, they should have beat us, but they make a lot of stupid mistakes. A lot of great defense for 25 seconds followed by a stupid foul. They didn't press until 8 minutes left in the second half, even though it was obvious from this game and the West Virginia game that Iowa can not handle pressure well.
- Anthony Tucker had an off night shooting, but he is going to be a good one. He plays a lot tougher/smarter than your average freshman. He also rebounded pretty well for a guard.
- Gatens also was off for most of the night, but he also got into some foul trouble which didn't help.
- I am going to feel bad about Cyrus Tate and especially Aaron Fuller this year. They work their butts off on defense, but they are defending guys who are much taller and bigger than them. Fuller was guarding a 6'10" guy for a lot the game.
- Luckily for Iowa, K-State's big men were not very good. Their skill sets were lacking. If they were all 5 inches shorter, I don't know if they would be on a good Division I team.
- Both Davis and Bawinkel were more than serviceable. I was expecting a lot worse from Bawinkel, but he hit some nice shots and wasn't that big of a liability on defense.
- Anyone seen Jarryd Cole?
- Jake Kelly had two huge defensive stops at the end of the game. He also took control of the game when they were picking up man-to-man full court.
- Peterson has his Tony Freeman-moments by dribbling the crap out of the ball and can be erratic at times when pressured, but he did a nice job of driving and dishing back out. Plus, he hit a lot of big free-throws down the stretch.
- Play of the night (aside from Tate's game-winner): Brommer got the ball in the low post and moved/drove into the lane. Then out of nowhere, he just has this huge burst, takes two steps and almost two-handed dunks on two K-State guys before he got fouled. Legend and I looked at each other like "did that just happen?". Did not see that coming at all. He could also be a decent one in a couple years once he gets some more experience.
- They had a youth game going on at halftime....oh wait....nevermind.....it was just John Lickliter warming up.
Overall, I was pleased with the game. They were a tad bit better than I expected. They will have their rough times underneath or when the outside shot is not falling, but they played hard. They are organized. They have good ball movement, always making the extra pass.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812622_5564.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812624_6025.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812626_6484.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812627_9819.jpg
As for the game, what a finish, it was a good one. Here are some random thoughts on the game/team:
- The refs were HORRIBLE. And they were bad in both directions. I was missing Ed Hightower by halftime.
- Kansas State is a badly coached team. On paper, they should have beat us, but they make a lot of stupid mistakes. A lot of great defense for 25 seconds followed by a stupid foul. They didn't press until 8 minutes left in the second half, even though it was obvious from this game and the West Virginia game that Iowa can not handle pressure well.
- Anthony Tucker had an off night shooting, but he is going to be a good one. He plays a lot tougher/smarter than your average freshman. He also rebounded pretty well for a guard.
- Gatens also was off for most of the night, but he also got into some foul trouble which didn't help.
- I am going to feel bad about Cyrus Tate and especially Aaron Fuller this year. They work their butts off on defense, but they are defending guys who are much taller and bigger than them. Fuller was guarding a 6'10" guy for a lot the game.
- Luckily for Iowa, K-State's big men were not very good. Their skill sets were lacking. If they were all 5 inches shorter, I don't know if they would be on a good Division I team.
- Both Davis and Bawinkel were more than serviceable. I was expecting a lot worse from Bawinkel, but he hit some nice shots and wasn't that big of a liability on defense.
- Anyone seen Jarryd Cole?
- Jake Kelly had two huge defensive stops at the end of the game. He also took control of the game when they were picking up man-to-man full court.
- Peterson has his Tony Freeman-moments by dribbling the crap out of the ball and can be erratic at times when pressured, but he did a nice job of driving and dishing back out. Plus, he hit a lot of big free-throws down the stretch.
- Play of the night (aside from Tate's game-winner): Brommer got the ball in the low post and moved/drove into the lane. Then out of nowhere, he just has this huge burst, takes two steps and almost two-handed dunks on two K-State guys before he got fouled. Legend and I looked at each other like "did that just happen?". Did not see that coming at all. He could also be a decent one in a couple years once he gets some more experience.
- They had a youth game going on at halftime....oh wait....nevermind.....it was just John Lickliter warming up.
Overall, I was pleased with the game. They were a tad bit better than I expected. They will have their rough times underneath or when the outside shot is not falling, but they played hard. They are organized. They have good ball movement, always making the extra pass.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812622_5564.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812624_6025.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812626_6484.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v442/24/74/14801751/n14801751_40812627_9819.jpg