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12/31/2013 - At Iowa Report Card


hhcdave

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OFFENSE: C

 

I should go lower for Nebraska on offense, considering they shot a season low 30% from the field and only reached the pedestrian mark of 57 due to extra possessions at the end.

 

However, I thought Nebraska looked okay offensively, sans about five minutes of this game, and there's no doubt the Huskers left around 12-16 points on the floor by either missing bunnies or getting blocked. Sure, Iowa DEFINITELY gets credit for eight blocked shots and altering many others, but NU still could have gone up stronger or finished better at least a few field goals. That probably gets the Huskers to the line a few more times, too.

 

Still, at the end of the day, Nebraska did a lot of things better on offense, most notably:

 

1. Adding in pump fakes and pivots around the basket (though I do admit I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth on this one, as the above paragraph proves. Still, this was something I harped on last game and NU was much better in its effort in this regard, though not entirely successful).

 

2. Getting Shavon Shields going (at least a little) in the offense, as the Olathe, KS. sophomore looked more like last year when he would take mid-range shots, not just three's or to the rim's (Shields was 4-12 for 10 points).

 

3. The Huskers looked very fluid and like a legitimate Big 10 team on offense for the majority of the first half, and around eight minutes of the second half. They came out strong, confident and prepared to play.

 

Player of the Game was tough in this one, but Petteway had his first career double-double (20 and 12) and thus, earns it.

 

I also strongly considered Walter Pitchford, who had a double-double of his own (13 and 12!!!!), Deverell Biggs (12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) and in the first half, Tai Webster (who was MUCH MUCH MUCH better tonight; 4 assists and 2 turnovers in 31 minutes).

 

I'm okay tonight with the offense, based on the points being left out there, and I love the idea of Biggs, Petteway and Webster all on the floor at the same time - BIG TIME perimeter offense.

 

One other note; Ray Gallegos got ZERO shot attempts (0 points) in 23 minutes. Very weird. I'm sure it's the only time in his career he's played even close to that much without at least attempting a shot. Not sure what to think. 

 

DEFENSE: B+

 

Nebraska held Iowa to a season low 67 points and 46% from the field.

 

HOWEVER, a lot of the lack of points was due to Iowa and NOT Nebraska, meaning NU fouled the Hawkeyes and allowed 39 free throw attempts. Luckily for NU, Iowa missed SEVENTEEN of them (for 56%). If Iowa shoots even 70%, Nebraska gets rolled in this game, allows 80 and we aren't near as happy with our defense.

 

WITH THAT SAID, they didn't make them, and the Huskers deserve some credit in this one for their defensive moxxy. I was most excited about Biggs, who had a couple of key steals down the stretch and just played damn hard. Also, while he didn't have the best night, Walter Pitchford was better, too. After a strong start, Leslee Smith has been a disappointment the last few games.

 

We'll touch on this more later under "Coaching" but Nate Hawkins was God awful tonight on the defensive end. He (and many other teammates) couldn't stop the dribble drive, which is why the Hawkeyes had the aforementioned 39 free throw attempts.

 

REBOUNDING: A+

 

Iowa entered the game leading the Big 10 in rebounding margin. And guess what? Nebraska out rebounded them!!! 44 to 42 was the final tally, but what was even more impressive were the SEVENTEEN offensive boards NU grabbed.

 

The Huskers were paced by the 12 boards out of Petteway and Pitchford. FANTASTIC.

 

I gotta give Walt a TON of credit. I ripped him pretty good last game (as he deserved) for lackluster effort on the defensive end and on the glass. However, he BROUGHT IT tonight. GREAT JOB WALT (if you're reading this). Play with the energy, passion and effort you did tonight, and you will be everything we hoped you would be (and then some) and NU will make some noise this year in moving up out of the basement of the Big 10.

 

BALL HANDLING: B-

 

9 assists, 13 turnovers.

 

Not bad - would like to see a few more assists, but again, NU missed a lot of easy shots AND their offense is, whether good or bad, based on a lot of "one on one" play with guys like Petteway and Biggs.

 

Webster, as I mentioned above, really impressed me tonight. His box wasn't great but if you watch the game and understand basketball, you had to be VERY pleased with him tonight.

 

COACHING: A

 

Coach Miles "mucked" this game up good, forcing 14 turnovers and finding a way to play at Nebraska's pace, especially in the first half.

 

His team was prepared, mentally and physically. The effort was there. Guys were helping each other up and high-fiving after free throws. They played hard to the end. Never stopped competing.

 

These are some 180 characteristics and qualities than what we've seen in some games this year, so the team is obviously responding to its head man. He drew up some nice plays tonight out of "TO's", too, most notably the second half double post over the top lob to Pitchford that resulted in a (of course) block, but was still drawn up beautifully.

 

One other thing; I want to give Miles credit for doing the right thing in building for next year and the year after. It became more abundantly clear tonight more than ever, with Hawkins playing 11 minutes and looking (honestly) pretty miserable. Especially defensively; I think just about EVERY TIME he was isolated on D, he gave up an easy penetration, leading to points and/or a foul. He finished with four fouls and did little well, outside of a couple rebounds.

 

STILL, I've said it before and I'll say it again; Hawkins has BIG TIME potential. I like this kid, a lot. Something about him. Just a hunch. I think he'll be really, really good by the time he's done here.

 

Here's the thing; had Miles gone to David Rivers, who is probably 10% better than Hawkins at this time, maybe even more, he MIGHT have won this game tonight, just because I don't think Rivers gets schooled out on the floor like Hawkins does. That might save NU 6-8 points defensively and could have changed the entire game. Same goes with previous games and some in the future.

 

Still, its clear Miles is living in the future, building a program as he always has, and he's okay with some teaching lessons and sacrificing a bit of today to get to tomorrow faster. That was proven tonight more than ever - as if to say, "okay kid, you're going to go crash and burn now. You're not ready but you're going to play."

 

Now, the other side is, this is very tough on Rivers. I feel bad for the kid. I love him. I think it's clear he is being forced out of the program, along with Serg. I feel bad for Rivers way more than Serg, because David was STARTING GAMES and playing 20+ minutes just a month ago, is an upperclassman and a good kid. He does have some ability as an 8th or 9th man on a decent Big 10 team.

 

But, at the end of the day, the program is above a player and Miles is clearly showing that, from how he's disciplined Biggs to how he's relegated Rivers. That takes focus and grit; Miles isn't afraid to have his brains beat in for awhile to get better faster.

 

OVERALL GRADE: B

 

Nebraska played a GOOD, not great, basketball game tonight. They fouled way too much (is there an echo in here?) and couldn't stop dribble drives. Offensively, they missed way too many easy ones.

 

But on the glass? OUTSTANDING.

 

Effort? OUTSTANDING.

Teamwork? Much better.

 

There was A LOT of good to see tonight. I can deal with losses when they are played correctly, there are good things happening and growth is going on before our eyes. That's what we had tonight.

 

P.S. Is there a goofier looking team in America than Iowa?

 

P.S.S. I don't know why, but Aaron White really seems like a bad person. He just bugs me. Am I the only one?

 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: TERRAN PETTEWAY

 

2013-2014 PLAYER OF THE GAME RESULTS:

 

TERRAN PETTEWAY - 7

 

TAI WEBSTER - 2

 

WALTER PITCHFORD - 2

 

LESLEE SMITH - 1

 

SHAVON SHIELDS - 1



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Thanks or the insight on Rivers and Hawkins, I was questioning why Hawkins plays and Rivers does not.  I guess I can see the logic of it, but I am disappointed Rivers does not play, he is one of those glue/intangible guys that I just like to have on teams. 

There has got to be more to the Rivers thing than meets the eye. 

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Here's the thing; had Miles gone to David Rivers, who is probably 10% better than Hawkins at this time, maybe even more, he MIGHT have won this game tonight, just because I don't think Rivers gets schooled out on the floor like Hawkins does. That might save NU 6-8 points defensively and could have changed the entire game. Same goes with previous games and some in the future.

 

If you feel that Rivers could make the difference in winning this game and others - prior and future - at what cost does this make sense?  Win in Iowa City - Win one or two previous and/or one or two future - that likely spells the difference in post season play or post season position.  Is that really worth "playing Hawkins for the future"?  Is there no other way to help the team and "grow" Hawkins without him playing poorly - to what end?  I think Rivers deserves more - and if your hypothesis is correct - so does the team.  Not sure I follow your logic or see the great merit in this approach.??

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I don't post much but tonight I'm going to give my two cents on the team this year.  I like everyone on this board had expectations of how this team would perform this year.  There was a lot of hype on several players, new and old.  I have to say I was expecting the team to be a little better than we are.  However after decades of disappointments, I'm not totally surprised.  Anyway, here's my take on some of our players.

 

Webster is a huge disappointment.  It's not his fault that he was built up to be this 5 star stud by the media and coaches.  I don't even see a lot of potential that everyone else seems to see.  He's not a good shooter or scores much for the amount of time he's on the floor.  He doesn't finish around the rim.  His ball handling is average at best because he loses the ball quite a bit on his drives to the basket.  His defense isn't the greatest and he fouls quite a bit. Sorry but that's the way I see it.  Hopefully he'll prove me wrong on my analysis of him.  That said,  I'll take Biggs over him any day.

 

Biggs should be starting.  I know he can be a little out of control at times, but by God he gets to the rim, makes quite a few and gets fouled. He can create a shot anytime he wants and you need guys like that (like Petteway)  And his outside shooting is better than Webster.  He plays decent defense. He needs a lot more playing time.

 

Petteway is a huge positive surprise.  I was hoping he would be a good player and he's exceeded my expectations.  Without him our offense is in big trouble.  Early in the season I was thinking maybe he's shooting too much or forcing to many shots but I can now see that we need him to continue to do that.  The kid can kind of do it all.  Glad he's a sophomore.

 

Pitchford has been disappointing for a 6'10" guy.  Not much of an inside game and doesn't play good defense.  Fouls too much and gets outhustled and outmanned down low too much.  Like his 3 point shooting though.  However, without him and his height, were really screwed.  Glad we have him but still expected a little more.

 

Shields drives me a little crazy when the team works the ball around and passes to him and he has a wide open shot and he doesn't take it.  Constantly drives into traffic without a lot of positive results.  He needs to mix it up.  Shoot 50% (including some short midrange shots), Drive 50%.  He is so predictable driving to the hole.  Wish he would finish around the basket better, or at least get fouled more.

 

Smith is a guy I had no idea what he would be like.  He's a real pleasant surprise on how good he is.  I hope he stays healthy or were in big trouble.

 

Ray is Ray.  One night he may get you 10-20 points because he's hot shooting and the next few games he may get you next to nothing.  He can't drive to the basket so it hurts your team.

 

Benny is Benny.  Gives you very little on offense and because he's so short, sometimes can hurt you on defense.

 

Since Hawkins hasn't played a lot, I'm not sure how he's going to turn out.  Tonight he played bad defense.

 

Rivers deserves some floor time.  He must be in Mile's doghouse for some reason we don't know to not get any playing time. 

 

Not sure why he even recruited Vucentic if he almost never gets a second of floor time.

 

So that's my thoughts on most of the players. I know were a young team and will get better.  Hopefully Miles lands a couple of bigs who have some offensive game down low. 

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In a different report card, a coach might get an "F" for failing to appropriately utilize his bench.  Or you could give him an "A" for playing the freshmen for the benefit, not of the current game, but of the future development of that freshman player.

 

I personally believe that how this season winds up will greatly influence our recruiting prospects for an expected large recruiting class next year.  As Coach Miles himself has said, words to the effect of "in order to get commits instead of just visits from these upper tier recruits, we first need to prove we can field a winner."  

 

In that vein, winning now is important.  Perhaps at least as important as developing the young talent by getting them game minutes.  I would certainly hope we have our sites set on higher-level players for 2015 than what Hawkins represents.  

 

So, if Rivers would have given us a better chance to win tonight (especially with the injury to Smith) I would personally find it untenable to give minutes to Hawkins instead when a win against Iowa does more for the future of your recruiting than 11 minutes for Hawkins does for the future development of someone who, if recruiting goes well, will be no more than a bench or role player down the road.

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We played within 10 on the road against a ranked, quality team. Sure, Iowa wasn't all that sharp tonight, and I think they may have fallen asleep a bit after the large lead, but we held our own.

 

Had we shot anything close to our average tonight, we're probably all celebrating in here.

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Dave, I think it's probably kind of a close call between Hawkins and Rivers right now.  I'd say Hawkins as a true freshman beats Rivers as a true freshman, hands down.  But Rivers played something like 30 minutes against Iowa last year in a win.  I'm willing to concede the point that Rivers today is appreciably better than Hawkins today.  And, if that's the case, I think it was a big mistake for Miles to go for future development than to go for the win.  A win at Carver-Hawkeye does more for the long-term benefit of the program than getting Hawkins a few minutes in a game his freshman year.

 

But I'm not being paid 1 1/2 million bucks a year to make those kinds of decisions and I'd defer to the guy who is.

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Not quite sure about the Rivers vs. Hawkins discussion.  They don't play the same position.  Last time I checked.  I don't think their minutes are interchangeable or interrelated (if those are words; the brain cells might regenerate after a few days of abstaining vs. what was involved with the last few....).

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Biggs needs to start. Bring Tai off the bench. Maybe that takes some pressure off of him. Hawkins should not be out there. Can't believe Rivers isn't out there. Lastly, I think Walt is a selfish player. Who tweets their stat line after a loss and says that it doesn't matter unless you get a win? Why post you had 13 & 12? Makes you look like an idiot imo. 

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Biggs needs to start. Bring Tai off the bench. Maybe that takes some pressure off of him. Hawkins should not be out there. Can't believe Rivers isn't out there. Lastly, I think Walt is a selfish player. Who tweets their stat line after a loss and says that it doesn't matter unless you get a win? Why post you had 13 & 12? Makes you look like an idiot imo.

My best guess was someone brought up his stat line and tried to congratulate him a bit to which he replied that... Just my opinion

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Honestly this season is showing me that Miles is still learning big conference basketball.  He doesn't quite know how to manage a Big 10 roster.  This team looks more like what he was doing at Colorado State.  It isn't going to work in the Big 10. 

 

Along the same line...Is anyone else tired of hearing him say we are a big away?  He has a couple on the bench that could at least fill space and provide an inside defensive presence.  At least we wouldn't get picked apart every time Pitchford is on the bench.

 

Also play Rivers!

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I  actually thought that Miles coached a decent game but the fact that our best 3 point shooter did not attempt one 3 is on the coaching staff.  For that fact alone the grade should have been lower than an A.  That was inexcusable for them to never run 1 play for him to get a 3.

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Honestly this season is showing me that Miles is still learning big conference basketball. He doesn't quite know how to manage a Big 10 roster. This team looks more like what he was doing at Colorado State. It isn't going to work in the Big 10.

Along the same line...Is anyone else tired of hearing him say we are a big away? He has a couple on the bench that could at least fill space and provide an inside defensive presence. At least we wouldn't get picked apart every time Pitchford is on the bench.

Also play Rivers!

I do not understand why our interior defense is so bad, but Rivers at 6-7 (?) with long arms and plenty of experience can't see the court, let alone the 7-0 center Miles recruited. Despite his poo-pooing about needing more big men, he has some "relatively" big guys who could contribute down there, but he seems content to want to play small. To play small and win, you need to have a bunch of lights out shooters. We have nothing close to that. I understand there is some give and take with guys and their offensive/defensive abilities. But the frustrating part is Miles seems to favor playing guys who can score but also give up just as many if not more points at the other end. Rivers won't give much on offense, but neither does Benny or Hawkins, and one could argue they hurt us more defensively than Rivers. David averages 1.6 steals per game, best on the team. He's one of our taller players too on a team that needs height.

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HB,

 

I do think Rivers and Hawkins minutes correspond with one another. Miles has said he sees and wants Hawkins to become more of a 3/4 than a 2/3. I would argue Rivers is exactly that - a 3/4. Last night, Hawkins was being schooled by guys slightly bigger off the dribble, over and over. I definitely think David could have at bare minimum held his own out on the floor in those situations or who knows, maybe done better on help side "D".

 

With that said, I'm fine with what Miles did, as I mentioned in my report card. But I definitely feel like the two are taking minutes from each other.

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HB,

I do think Rivers and Hawkins minutes correspond with one another. Miles has said he sees and wants Hawkins to become more of a 3/4 than a 2/3. I would argue Rivers is exactly that - a 3/4. Last night, Hawkins was being schooled by guys slightly bigger off the dribble, over and over. I definitely think David could have at bare minimum held his own out on the floor in those situations or who knows, maybe done better on help side "D".

With that said, I'm fine with what Miles did, as I mentioned in my report card. But I definitely feel like the two are taking minutes from each other.

This is an interesting discussion on the Rivers and Hawkins situation. Can you really say that they are stealing minutes from each other? Rivers went from starting to zero minutes all in the time that Hawkins was out with the stress fracture. For some reason, Rivers is getting zero minutes no matter what. Without looking it up, I believe Rivers started his never getting off the bench assignment 2 or 3 games before Hawkins made his season debut. Hawkins playing doesn't help Rivers' odds of getting minutes but I don't think he's stealing time that Rivers would get. For example, if Hawkins doesn't get in the game at Ohio State, I still think Rivers gets zero minutes. It's certainly an odd situation with David. What's the deal? Does he just not fit the Miles offense? Was Miles just forced to play him last year due to lack of bodies? Is there a chance he is forced out after the year? I mean, he's an able bodied, fairly athletic guy with decent length and a guy that had made tremendous strides since getting here. I just wish we had a real explanation because I don't think we are getting it.

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Could be correct and good point in the Hawkins return coming after Rivers saw his minutes decline.

 

However, with Smith unavailable for large stretches of last night, who else do you have to play the 3/4 with length and athleticism?

 

If Smith is out for OSU and we STILL don't see Rivers, then something really weird is going on.

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Could be correct and good point in the Hawkins return coming after Rivers saw his minutes decline.

However, with Smith unavailable for large stretches of last night, who else do you have to play the 3/4 with length and athleticism?

If Smith is out for OSU and we STILL don't see Rivers, then something really weird is going on.

I agree here. If Smith isn't a full go and you have an able-bodied Rivers still getting the goose egg, then we can start speculating.

Such as:

Undisclosed injury

Already decided he's out, trying to get this year back for him (if that's possible)

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This staff is building a program, not a team.  This was debated a few weeks ago with some disagreement amongst the ranks.  Hawkins is playing because he has earned time and Rivers is apparantly not earning time, nor is Vooch.  For me, the disappointment is not with who is playing, rather, it is with those players who are not working hard enough or smart enough in order to earn time.

 

For those that are disappointed with Tai, are not seeing the same thing I am seeing.  Yes, his shot needs to improve, and yes, he is still tenative at times.  But he plays good defense.  Tell me, how did the Iowa PG's perform last night?  When Biggs and Tai are on the floor at the same time, the defensive pressure and tenacity picks up substantially. 

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Not quite sure about the Rivers vs. Hawkins discussion.  They don't play the same position.  Last time I checked.  I don't think their minutes are interchangeable or interrelated (if those are words; the brain cells might regenerate after a few days of abstaining vs. what was involved with the last few....).

I don't think minutes get allocated strictly based on position.  In other words, you don't necessarily play a 2-guard for only 40 of the available 200 minutes.  If that were the case, then we'd have a post in the game for 40 minutes. 

 

I know there's been similar discussions about other this-vs-that player minutes allocations.  Positions are not necessarily set in stone and players can play multiple positions.  Petteway, it's said, can play any position on the floor, basically.  And, at times this year, probably has.  Plus, a coach can decide to go big or decide to go small. 

 

Any minutes Hawkins gets are minutes not allocated to someone else.  But he's not taking minutes away from Shields.  And he's not taking minutes away from Biggs.  His minutes come at the expense of a guy who might otherwise be playing but who is sitting the bench instead.  When Hawkins is in the game and Rivers not, it means that Miles is sliding a guy like Petteway over into the position Rivers might occupy in order to get Hawkins in the game, where he could slide Petteway into Hawkins' spot in order to play Rivers.

 

Dave made the point that Hawkins hurt us and Rivers might have given us the chance to win.  Not arguing that point, but if it's true, I think we should have played to win rather than played to get Hawkins minutes.  But, again, I'll defer to the guy who gets paid $1.5 million to call those shots.

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