Iowa- Just another day at the office for Badgers

[LeftyLarry]

Dekker with a thunderous two hand dunk off a drive and a good all around first half, Nigel Hayes with a monster rebound dunk, and great play in the second half, Kaminsky scoring all over and controlling the defensive board, Gasser usual great floor game, Koening, solid game but a little disappointed Badgers looked a little sluggish, a little leg heavy even after a nice long rest.
Like to see Duje Dukan find his comfort level on offense, his shooting will be needed tourney time.
Lot's of sharing and EVERYONE involved in the offense with Koening running the show.
Iowa team didn't really believe it could win in the second half and never mounted a challenge, Badgers were just too good and they knew it.
This post was edited on 2/1 7:14 AM by LeftyLarry

 

[Hans81]

A question on who graduates/leaves the badgers hoops team next year? Kaminski must be a senior by now, but who else is leaving. I gotta think losing Kaminsky will be a big loss for wisky.

 

[LeftyLarry]

We're hoping to keep both Nigel Hayes who is a soph and Sam Dekker a Jr for next season but who knows.
As far as big men go, we're finalists for Diamond Stone who is an automatic difference maker in the middle.
Dujue Dukan is a senior but Ethan Happ who is red shirting is supposedly a big time player who routinely beats up our front court guys every day in practice.
Josh Gasser graduates and is a huge loss, his overall floor game is one of the best in the country and he defends against anybody tough.
Jordan Hill, a 6'3 point guard is rs'ing and Bronson Koenig returns for his jr season along with Zach Showalter.
Alex Illikainen a 6'8 225 lb power forward will be a true Frosh as will Brevin Pritzel , a 6''3 shooting guard with pretty good hops also.
If Diamond Stone decides to play at home, we'll be a final four threat again next season, had Ellenson chosen UW instead of Marquette we'd have been a powerhouse.
Even if Stone goes Conn, we should be VERY good next year with Koenig at PG, Dekker and Nigel Hayes back and Happ finally debuting as a Rs Frosh with a lot of experience, Happ is a big time player.

Some people expect bigger things out of 6'8 Vitto Brown next season but I'm not a big believer.
This post was edited on 1/31 3:33 PM by LeftyLarry

 

[Hans81]

So with Kaminski and Gasser leaving, Wisky will not be as good next year - even you can't disagree with that. I have heard that Ethan Happ is quite thin, so would apparently limit his ability to bang in B10. You had better hope that Dekker decides to stay one more year. Hawks have a very athletic bunch coming in next year, but wish they would have redshirted Olesani to provide more depth down low next year with White graduating.

 

[BeeArrBadge]

Happ will be plenty big to play and start next year. He has been getting rave reviews this year, and the only reason he is redshirting this year is the fact that the Badgers have so much depth at his position.

Koenig will be one of the top PG's in the league next year (heck, the only PG's better than him this year are probably Russell, Ferrell, and Trimble), and Hayes will be a first-team all league type of player next year.

One big wildcard is Diamond Stone from the Milwaukee area, who is a top 10 national high school senior this year and McDonald's All-American. It looks like it's down to UW and UConn for him. He would step in and take Kaminsky's spot from day 1. He is potentially a one and done type player. Not a 3 point threat like Kaminsky, but a true center who commands the ball down in the paint.

Dekker could come back for his senior year, but the jury is still out on that.

Really, the only big question mark for the Badgers next year is SG. There are 2 guys on the team this year who could step up next year, but the jury is out on those guys. We also have a top 60 national recruit coming in at SG who could start right away, if he can handle the defensive side of things.

Overall, I expect the Badgers to be a top 25 team again next year, especially if Stone decides to stay home.

And we still have Bo at the helm, who will demand excellence from his players, teach them to value possessions, make the extra pass to set up the best possible shot, etc. Unless Iowa makes a decent jump next year, it will probably be another sweep for the Badgers.

 

[LeftyLarry]

I'm very high on both Illikainen and Charlie Thomas, both are 6'8 , Iilkainen maybe 6'9 and one will play next year if Diamond Stone doesn't sign on.

I'm also pretty sure both Dekker and Hayes return and along with Happ, we should have plenty of size and athleticism up front.If Dekker works on his jumper and becomes a more consistent threat, look out, he does everything else.

 

[Hans81]

Larry, not sure about your "glowing" reviews of every badger player (current or prospective). However, one thing you said is correct - Bo is a big advantage, in that, he has the refs in his back pocket. So many ticky tack fouls called on Hawks today, while Wisky didn't get called for similar instances. Even the announcers mentioned it several times.

 

[LeftyLarry]

I think where you guys go wrong is that Badgers don't reach in to steal the ball, don't leave their feet , don't try to block every shot and keep their bodies in front of the guy with the ball.
Therefore we don't foul, don't get called for what the refs have shown they will call fouls for. additionally, you will rarely see a badger player driving out of control for an easy and obvious offensive foul call for the refs.
Badgers give up easy baskets rather than foul and you JEALOUS fans from other programs who don't understand the game accuse the refs of being overly supportive of the Badgers when we often feel it's exactly the opposite.
Then the national media types , who were always down on Wisconsin hoops because it was slow and often played beneath the rim jumped on and of course anyway, it's not P.C. for a bunch of mostly white basketball players to be kicking everybodies ass anyway, so they must be cheating.
I complain about Bo Ryan plenty but nobody can complain that his team reaches in, makes stupid over the top fouls , wild offensive charges and nobody switches better, fights through picks like Badger players do so as not to end up in poor position and fouling.
It's a bunch of jealous horse manure, we just try not to foul because that's how Bo teaches it
I often rewatch games and when opposing fans say things were obvious fouls, they often are not but if you say it to each other over and over, it becomes real, believe me it isn't, we often think the reffing is one sided against us, however when you're winning almost every game of course you gain a little respect.





This post was edited on 2/1 11:31 AM by LeftyLarry

 

[LeftyLarry]

You didn't see GLOWINg reviews of Trae Jackson or Vitto Brown, did you?

 

[Hans81]

Well Larry, I too re-watched the game and I'm still quite mystified about several of the "fouls" called on Iowa. For instance, the "and one" apparently against Peter Jok on Gasser's layup in first half - where was the contact? Refs anticipated contact that didn't occur. Far too many refs anticipate when a foul should occur rather than watching entire action. Also, Wisconsin big men are sneaky good on inside action of putting their hands on opposing players lower backs and "nudging" them off balance during rebounds (but hey they get away with it so more power to them). The entire Wisconsin team does a good job of reacting with heads snapping back, etc. on any little contact (not to the point of blatant flopping) to draw attention to even minor contact (again, if you can get away with it, I guess go for it). My problem with refs, not only in this game but college basketball in general, is that they go in with a pre-conceived notion that certain teams don't foul as much or are intimidated by certain coaches (Izzo and Ryan come to mind) so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy when lack of fouls are called. OK, my rant is over & time to move onto next game.

 

[LeftyLarry]

Sounds like you support an underachieving team and are looking for some reason they don't win enough.

Shall I tell you about all the times I thought Badgers were fouled and it wasn't called?

Listen, your team had no heart and gave up early, couldn't hit open shots and with a weeks rest ,played with little energy.

You tried trapping us the entire first half and it yielded ZERO turnovers due to our superb passing, was that the refs fault too?
This post was edited on 2/1 11:32 AM by LeftyLarry

 

[Hans81]

Hey, I can accept that Wisconsin was the better team yesterday. I was actually fairly happy with how the banged up Hawks responded. However, in essentially a 6 to 8 point game, a few calls here and there are often the difference between winning and losing.

Yep, I'm an Iowa fan whether they are winning or losing, certainly not bandwagon fan. That makes the good times all the more sweeter! Hopefully, yesterday's loss won't be a huge impediment for Hawks getting into the tourney, as their schedule now becomes more manageable. Just need to start by winning the next game on road at Michigan and then protect home court. Big 10 tourney should be interesting with such parity in the conference.

Don't know if you are a women's B10 basketball fan or not? The lady Hawks have been fun to watch this year, with the nation's leading 3 point shooter. Should be a good game today with Maryland as they and Iowa are #1 an #2 in the conference.

 

[LeftyLarry]

I admire and enjoy Iowa sports which is why I think it's beneath Iowa fans to point at referees when you don't box out, hit open shots and are ineffective with your traps all game.

Think UW players wouldn't have played harder if they had too? BO coached to win and the game was really never in doubt.
The score was closer than the game, Iowa could NEVER mount a challenge and the refs played ZERO role.

Good luck with your ladies, we'll check them out.

 

[Hans81]

So, you're saying Wisky players didn't play their hardest yesterday? Ridiculous. Hopefully, Hawks get another shot at the badgers in B10 tourney.

 

[LeftyLarry]

I'm saying BAdgers have a style of getting a small lead and then playing to protect it.

Long possessions on both sides.

 

[Hans81]

OK, that makes more sense than your prior post. However, I think in the Big Dance when Wisconsin goes up against the "big boys" of college basketball, that type of strategy will come back to bite the badgers.

 

[LeftyLarry]

I agree and it's why I'm out here talking to you boys inside they don't like my hoops opinions.

Too much on point.


This post was edited on 2/11 10:39 AM by LeftyLarry

 

[jwardelt]

that strategy really hurt us last year in the tourney.

 

[LeftyLarry]

What about the 10 tourneys before that one?