Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

This team is going as far as Ethan, Garvin and Dallis can carry them from a scoring standpoint. I thought/hoped that it would be a big four, and while I think Jaylen will have his nights occasionally, he hasn’t shown the consistency I was expecting. Damir’s presence makes the team much better, but an occasional 10 or 12 point night with a few putbacks is his offensive ceiling right now.

The bench is what it is. 10 points combined from those guys will be considered an explosion. Lambert and Sarp have both flashed potential but I can’t understand having them both in the rotation and leaving all the size on the bench. I’m honestly not sure Petteno is any better than KJ in the “big” off the bench role. Either guy in that role is utterly ridiculous.

Then again, Joe might not be done tweaking. We may not have heard the last of KJ and McNamara. I think Waldo is done, though.

It’s a strange year and a strange team.

Agreed. I think once the initial "WTF is this" wore off, it's actually been entertaining (using that word loosely).

They've changed a lot since early November. Clarke is realizing he can be a dynamic scorer. He's about un-guardable driving the hoop. He's scoring or getting fouled. The first several games we didn't see that from him.

You're correct. It's night and day with Brooks in versus Brooks out. Petteno and KJ have absolutely no business playing inside.

Remember he didn't activate Stewart last year until the 10th game. I still think Romero-Sanz may get activated.

If he wants to actually make a push this year, I don't think he has a choice. I think he was buying him another month of practice and development.

[Chuck Norris]

Nice to get a fourth straight win yesterday and get the record up to 5-3. IUP will be favored in both home games next week (Mansfield and Bloomsburg). This team is much better than it was a month ago.

That's the good news.

The not-so-good news:

* As usual, the rotation is shrinking big time. Bench production was non-existent yesterday (3 points)

* As a result, three players played a ton yesterday: Ethan (37 minutes), Dallis and Garvin (38 each). The fourth, Jaylen Stewart, played 32 minutes. Brooks logged 27 minutes.

* Petteno's role keeps decreasing. He played just 16 minutes yesterday. Granted, the match-up yesterday wasn't ideal for him against the size of Point Park (now that's he's a small forward).

* Lambert (9 mins) and Furton (3) minutes ... KJ never got off the bench. Waldo again didn't play.


Moral of the story, I think this will start to be the norm


On the season:

Ethan: 35.6 mpg
Dallis: 36.8 mpg
Garvin: 35.8 mpg

The first few games threw the other averages out of whack (when KJ and Waldo were playing a good bit and Brooks was out). Ethan, at nearly 36 mpg, is alarming given his health history. That's also a ton of wear and tear on Dallis and Garvin. Joe still has the two 'scholarship' players in tracksuits, but there's been no indication that will change. It sure seems we're fast approaching Joe's normal 6.5-man rotation. It's not sustainable. These long gaps between games help, but that only lasts so long. This will be an issue come the grind of January and February. Last year's team (similar rotation) was physically toast by February.

Waldo, my opinion, is the biggest mystery/problem. He was one of Joe's most-hyped recruits in years. He took a redshirt last year to develop further. He was absolutely in the plans for this year (started the first two games) ... and, he's completely vanished. His trip to Joe Island up in Siberia is causing all sorts of rotation/depth problems.

This team is going as far as Ethan, Garvin and Dallis can carry them from a scoring standpoint. I thought/hoped that it would be a big four, and while I think Jaylen will have his nights occasionally, he hasn’t shown the consistency I was expecting. Damir’s presence makes the team much better, but an occasional 10 or 12 point night with a few putbacks is his offensive ceiling right now.

The bench is what it is. 10 points combined from those guys will be considered an explosion. Lambert and Sarp have both flashed potential but I can’t understand having them both in the rotation and leaving all the size on the bench. I’m honestly not sure Petteno is any better than KJ in the “big” off the bench role. Either guy in that role is utterly ridiculous.

Then again, Joe might not be done tweaking. We may not have heard the last of KJ and McNamara. I think Waldo is done, though.

It’s a strange year and a strange team.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Nice to get a fourth straight win yesterday and get the record up to 5-3. IUP will be favored in both home games next week (Mansfield and Bloomsburg). This team is much better than it was a month ago.

That's the good news.

The not-so-good news:

* As usual, the rotation is shrinking big time. Bench production was non-existent yesterday (3 points)

* As a result, three players played a ton yesterday: Ethan (37 minutes), Dallis and Garvin (38 each). The fourth, Jaylen Stewart, played 32 minutes. Brooks logged 27 minutes.

* Petteno's role keeps decreasing. He played just 16 minutes yesterday. Granted, the match-up yesterday wasn't ideal for him against the size of Point Park (now that's he's a small forward).

* Lambert (9 mins) and Furton (3) minutes ... KJ never got off the bench. Waldo again didn't play.


Moral of the story, I think this will start to be the norm


On the season:

Ethan: 35.6 mpg
Dallis: 36.8 mpg
Garvin: 35.8 mpg

The first few games threw the other averages out of whack (when KJ and Waldo were playing a good bit and Brooks was out). Ethan, at nearly 36 mpg, is alarming given his health history. That's also a ton of wear and tear on Dallis and Garvin. Joe still has the two 'scholarship' players in tracksuits, but there's been no indication that will change. It sure seems we're fast approaching Joe's normal 6.5-man rotation. It's not sustainable. These long gaps between games help, but that only lasts so long. This will be an issue come the grind of January and February. Last year's team (similar rotation) was physically toast by February.

Waldo, my opinion, is the biggest mystery/problem. He was one of Joe's most-hyped recruits in years. He took a redshirt last year to develop further. He was absolutely in the plans for this year (started the first two games) ... and, he's completely vanished. His trip to Joe Island up in Siberia is causing all sorts of rotation/depth problems.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It was pretty neat seeing Joe and Reynolds greet before the game. It brought back a lot of memories. Those two had some wars -- full of near brawls, etc.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I got caught up in a few NFL finishes and totally forgot about the first half of this game. Is KR rocking a bit of a hippie look now? He did seem a bit more mellow from what could I tell from the broadcast, though that could’ve had to do with this only being an exhibition game for Point Park.

IUP skipped the first 10 minutes so you didn't miss anything.

KR was calmer but there wasn't the normal crowd there to egg him on (all on break).

[Chuck Norris]

I got caught up in a few NFL finishes and totally forgot about the first half of this game. Is KR rocking a bit of a hippie look now? He did seem a bit more mellow from what could I tell from the broadcast, though that could’ve had to do with this only being an exhibition game for Point Park.

[hawks16]

We are so BACK

[hawks16]

Garvin Clarke the swaggiest guard IUPer since Devante Chance? I like it.

[Cobra Hawks]

Great turnaround in the first half after being 16 down

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The illegal casino posted a line of IUP -3.5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He's a KR product. KR pulls players out of gutters and sewers.

Man, some of his SRU teams. Goodness.

I remember the night they almost came in to the stands at the KCAC (think Pistons and Pacers). Arena security (which is a bunch of 80-year-olds) then had to line the court - not that they'd have done anything had it escalated.

I miss those games. SRU's visit in the KR era was always exciting. He came awfully close to winning here several times. He also got blown out here several times.

I don't know who has the most wins against Lombardi but KR is up there. None in Indiana, of course, but Morrow was a real headache for Joe during that time. I think Joe lost up there 6 times.

It's not easy to get the KCAC wound up. The place would tee off on KR every visit. He was good for business. That was always the marquee Saturday night home game of the year. Not quite the same at 3pm.

[IUPalum]

Point Park's Valrie named NAIA National Player of the Week.

IUP better be ready for this dude. He's a monster (no idea why he's in NAIA).

He's a KR product. KR pulls players out of gutters and sewers.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Point Park's Valrie named NAIA National Player of the Week.

IUP better be ready for this dude. He's a monster (no idea why he's in NAIA).

[Columbuseer]

By "redshirting" you mean "pre-transferring," right? ; )

I kid. Obviously, Ben has a few redshirts at WLU as well. I assume that both Joe & Ben believe a guy has chosen to cast his lot with their programs because he wants to be a part of something bigger in the long term. These are marquee D2 programs.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, kids would much rather play early and often for less-than-marquee programs than stay patient in order to be a part of something bigger. Sad state of affairs.

But not a single person will be the least bit surprised if 6 months from now Romero-Sanz (IUP) or Pankey (WLU) is in the portal. I hope not. I hope those guys knew what they were signing up for when they signed. But a lot can change in 6 months in this climate.

Pankey has the skills to be a great player for wlu. I hope he stays. At wlu, redshirting is not a death sentence. He could contribute today, if it were feasible to run over 2 platoons. There are just not enough minutes to go around to be fair to him. He can spend this year working on his three fg %.

Bolon redshirted after playing in ohio hs all star game -- 2 time AA.
Yoakum redshirted - summer league chicago bulls.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

This Sunday is one of the more intriguing games of the year at IUP. Kevin Reynolds, one of the KCAC's most infamous guests, returns with his 9-0 Point Park team.

Trust me, this is not like a PSU branch ensemble. This roster is full of former D2 players and has a lot of size (bigs are 7'2" and 6'10"). The star, SF Jo Valrie, is a dynamic, 6'5" slasher and shooter who can score from all over -- and would start for any team in the PSAC. They also feature former Quincy guard Jalen Stamps.

Make no mistake, this is a KR built roster -- regardless of what level they call home. They had Robert Morris dead in the water with 2 minutes left but somehow lost the game (in a 'real' game for Bobby Mo).

This is not going to be an easy game for IUP. KR's bunch would be a competitive team in the PSAC West this year.