Big Ten Basketball

[hawkeyecub]

badgercub I'm not talking about what he says about life in Iowa City. This is obviously third-hand info but I'm very good friends with someone who is very good friends with Tanya Alford. Her and the kids love their life in Iowa City. She loves their "dream home", the schools and the lifestyle. That's only one part of the equation though.

Secondly, when did I ever say he "felt the love"? Did you read my post? I said that I could definitely understand if he wanted to get out at this opportunity after taking so much criticism (some of it unwarranted) during his time here. He hasn't been treated all that well and has had some ridiculous stuff made up about him. Some of that treatment he brought on himself, but we've already talked about that.

 

TripJ the cupboard is not nearly as bare as you make it seem. Our backcourt will be very good next year. We all know what Haluska can do and I expect that Henderson and especially Freeman will only improve. The problem is depth in the backcourt at this point. Not many people have seen Justin Johnson but the buzz seems pretty good. If we land Tyler Smith (which would only happen if Alford stays) we'll have a very good backcourt.

We have some depth in the frontcourt, we just might not have any studs.

Tate has a very good shot at being a JC All-American and should give us a solid post presence inside.

Hopefully Alex Thompson can blossom into the player many of us think he can be. I've heard nothing but positives on Looby thus far. He's actually grown 2 inches since coming on campus and he's super athletic for a 6'11 man. He's still a little raw but the coaches love what he's shown them. He almost seems to be a hybrid between Thomas and Hansen earlier on. Gorney gives us another 7 footer who can hopefully give us some boards and defense and we'll see what Vanderbeken has. He's 6'10 but supposedly pretty skilled and likes to play on the perimeter.

 

Like bmk said we won't challenge for the title, but we could definitely be a tournament team. Landing Tyler Smith would be big.

[badgercub]

badgercub I'm not talking about what he says about life in Iowa City. This is obviously third-hand info but I'm very good friends with someone who is very good friends with Tanya Alford. Her and the kids love their life in Iowa City. She loves their "dream home", the schools and the lifestyle. That's only one part of the equation though.

Secondly, when did I ever say he "felt the love"? Did you read my post? I said that I could definitely understand if he wanted to get out at this opportunity after taking so much criticism (some of it unwarranted) during his time here. He hasn't been treated all that well and has had some ridiculous stuff made up about him. Some of that treatment he brought on himself, but we've already talked about that.

 

No need to take offense, like I said, I was just playing Devil's Advocate. I am sure the schools and everything are fine in Iowa City, my point is that they are probably good in Bloomington too, as they usually are in most college towns. I was making a general statement as to reasons he could leave, I don't think I attributed the quote of "feeling the love" directly to you I just meant it in that Alford has not always been a fan favorite.

[hawkeyecub]

I know it and like I said that's only part of the equation. If he has always really coveted that Indiana job, he'll take it and nothing like that will stand in his way. But there are some things that could sway him if he's on the fence.

We're getting a new practice facility and Carver is going to be getting some renovations next year. Neal has opened new doors in recruiting and they're very excited about this recruiting class. He has the fan base back in his corner much more now also.

 

I also would really like to see Neal getting a shot at the head job of Alford left. Although it hasn't always been reflected on the scoreboard this year, he's made some big improvements on our offense, plus there are the positives in recruiting. The lack of head coaching experience is a concern, but he has quite a bit of experience as a scout and assistant in the NBA.

 

I guess I'm back and forth on McDermott. He's a great fit at UNI, but I don't know how he would fare at Iowa where he would have to take his recruiting up a notch. I'm not a big fan of Dana Altman either. He's another guy that I think is a great fit in the MVC, but maybe not the Big Ten.

[hawkeyecub]

Player of the Year is really up in the air this year. I guess Brunner has a shot, being the only guy in the league averaging a double-double, but he is 15th in scoring at 14.2. I just hope he makes first-team all Big Ten.

 

Paul Davis is averaging 18 and 9.4, but with some of MSU's struggles I don't think he has the buzz.

Killer plays poor defense and has the selfish rap around the Big Ten. Plus his team is in the midst of a nosedive.

Dials is behind Brunner in scoring and getting almost 3 fewer boards a game.

If Wisconsin finishes strong I think Tucker has a pretty good shot at it with his scoring, but he's only getting 6 boards.

Horton has had a solid year, but again I don't think he has the buzz, especially if they finish in the middle of the pack.

Foster has been extremely efficient, but he's only scoring 14 points and not doing anything else particularly well.

 

Looking at it, I guess Bru does have a shot and he's getting a lot of pub this year. If Iowa wins it outright, he should be a serious contender. He's also the third leading rebounder in major conference college basketball.

 

Iowa has the leading rebounder, assist man and shot blocker but it's very possible that none will make first-team Big Ten.

[bmkhawk]

Foster leads the big ten in steals, IIRC.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Foster leads the big ten in steals, IIRC.

 

Tied with Grier for the lead at 2.5 per game.

[hawkeyecub]

Good call, I missed that. I guess I was just looking at his rebound and assist numbers. Still I don't think he's a very serious contender. Dials is probably in line to get more votes than Foster.

[Sweep The Leg Johnny]

Given that there is no one player running away for POY, I think a lot of it depends on who wins the Big Ten. There are a lot of viable candidates: Brunner, Tucker, Dials, P. Davis, D.Brown. These next 4-5 games for these teams will determine that award.

[Jon]

Talk about a slow start by Ohio State. It took them over 8 minutes to hit a FG and I believe they're 0-7 from beyond the arc.

[Jon]

A horrible first half of shooting by Northwestern (especially layups), but Ohio State wasn't much better. Down 21-20 at halftime.

[Jon]

31-9 run now, I believe. Just a poor performance.

[Jon]

Surprisingly, they get within two late but shut it down in the final two minutes as Ohio State finishes on a 9-2 run. 61-52 the final.

 

Ohio State's 30 FTAs to Northwestern's 3 certainly didn't help. It seemed like Ohio State was in the bonus most of the game.

[fibro]

Coming into this year Alford was 38 and 55 in the Big Ten. He has a good year but his overall work has been disapointing. I hope IU stays away besides his bad record he has supported players like Pierre Pierce. He preachs he is a christian and he is just a hypocrite.

[hawkeyecub]

Coming into this year Alford was 38 and 55 in the Big Ten. He has a good year but his overall work has been disapointing. I hope IU stays away besides his bad record he has supported players like Pierre Pierce. He preachs he is a christian and he is just a hypocrite.

 

Yep, that's exactly it.

 

I'm guessing you have very little idea as to what actually happened and Steve's role in the entire situation.

[illiniguy]

Coming into this year Alford was 38 and 55 in the Big Ten. He has a good year but his overall work has been disapointing. I hope IU stays away besides his bad record he has supported players like Pierre Pierce. He preachs he is a christian and he is just a hypocrite.

 

Yep, that's exactly it.

 

I'm guessing you have very little idea as to what actually happened and Steve's role in the entire situation.

Well reguardless of what really happened, that is what people outside of Iowa think of him.

[Brewhaha]

I think I speak for everyone when I say Here we go Minnesota, here we go.

[bmkhawk]

Everyone?

[Brewhaha]

Boo, why does everyone copy WI with the Jump Around now?

[Brewhaha]

Everyone?

You don't count.

[Derwood]

PSU made another important step towards an NIT bid. If they finish with 6 or 7 wins in the conference, that would be huge for a team that is graduating just one player this year (Parker).

[fibro]

Coming into this year Alford was 38 and 55 in the Big Ten. He has a good year but his overall work has been disapointing. I hope IU stays away besides his bad record he has supported players like Pierre Pierce. He preachs he is a christian and he is just a hypocrite.

 

Yep, that's exactly it.

 

I'm guessing you have very little idea as to what actually happened and Steve's role in the entire situation.

Well reguardless of what really happened, that is what people outside of Iowa think of him.

Well I don't know all the details with the Pierce stiuation. But many people around Hawkeye basketball don't think much of Alford it seems. But I do know he had somthing to do with 38 and 55 Big Ten record coming into this year.

[WindyCity]

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/oly_full.56839247jd001_indiana_hoosi.jpg

 

Brian Randle is a beast. :shock: :D

[SouthSideRyan]

I love Randle. Alot. I was impressed with U of I today considering that Brown and McBride were pretty much non-factors on offense and the game was still never really in doubt. Especially playing against a big man like Killingsworth.

 

I think Minnesota has a better chance of making the tourney than Indiana now, but then again I've been on their bandwagon for awhile.

 

EDIT: Upon looking at their records, I guess I'm really not going out on a limb here am I.

Edited February 20, 2006 by SouthSideRyan

[Flames24Rulz]

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/oly_full.56839247jd001_indiana_hoosi.jpg

 

Brian Randle is a beast. :shock: :D

 

background.

[Magnetic Curses]

that dunk made me want to slap my mama.