Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Oh boy. I may have to amend my thoughts from yesterday. I think there are going to be a whole lot of first to 50 wins games in our future. I hope I’m wrong, but where are the points coming from outside the top 3 returnees? Clarke didn’t score at all at Akron, the drop to a lower level might bump him up some but that just doesn’t seem to be the strength of his game. If Joe wouldn’t run any offense through Tomiwa he certainly isn’t going to run any through Brooks. Petteno can score at this level but will he play enough? Waldo I’m sure will be brought along slowly. KJ is KJ.

I’m really surprised if it does turn out the rotation is already this set. If ever there was a year to play a bunch of guys early and whittle the rotation down after the holidays, it would seem like this is it.

Agreed. However, Joe's teams don't usually have much pressure in November. If he wants to make the dance, he MUST have a good first month. I think if they take two losses in the first five games, they could be in trouble. They are going to lose games in the West this year. They also have a road game at East Stroudsburg in crossover. Normal year 8 losses or less should get you to the NCAAs. I still think they'll be right on that bubble.


That said, Anthony Watson (sophomore PG from BCCC) is not going to redshirt, nor is freshman guard Sarp Furton (post grad player from DME Academy).


As for scoring, I think you'll be surprised by Dillard and Stewart. The diapers are off now and they'll actually be allowed to shoot. The entire offense won't revolve around Shawndale this year (whether that was the plan or not). Petteno can be an elite floor-spreader and will draw a lot of attention.



Clarke is a pure PG and a great defender. I'd peg him for 5-8 ppg but will make all the others much better. I keep hearing the comparisons that's he's a bigger Fred Mulbah (who also wasn't an elaborate scorer but made UPJ a very dangerous team).

All speculation, of course. The lights get bright in 14 days.

[Chuck Norris]

Starting lineup:

PG - Garvin Clarke
G - Jaylen Stewart
G - Dallas Dillard
F - Ethan Porterfield
F - Damir Brooks

Rotation:

G - Josh Petteno
F - Dolan Waldo

Utility - KJ



Others will dress. Some will look good in tracksuits. But, that will be your team this year.

Knowing how Joe plays his rotation, I'd clearly expect Clarke, Dillard and Stewart to play 30+ mpg. Same with Ethan. Petteno will spell both Dallas and Stewart.

I'd be curious to see Joe play some four-guard lineups with Ethan.

Oh boy. I may have to amend my thoughts from yesterday. I think there are going to be a whole lot of first to 50 wins games in our future. I hope I’m wrong, but where are the points coming from outside the top 3 returnees? Clarke didn’t score at all at Akron, the drop to a lower level might bump him up some but that just doesn’t seem to be the strength of his game. If Joe wouldn’t run any offense through Tomiwa he certainly isn’t going to run any through Brooks. Petteno can score at this level but will he play enough? Waldo I’m sure will be brought along slowly. KJ is KJ.

I’m really surprised if it does turn out the rotation is already this set. If ever there was a year to play a bunch of guys early and whittle the rotation down after the holidays, it would seem like this is it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Starting lineup:

PG - Garvin Clarke
G - Jaylen Stewart
G - Dallas Dillard
F - Ethan Porterfield
F - Damir Brooks

Rotation:

G - Josh Petteno
F - Dolan Waldo

Utility - KJ



Others will dress. Some will look good in tracksuits. But, that will be your team this year.

Knowing how Joe plays his rotation, I'd clearly expect Clarke, Dillard and Stewart to play 30+ mpg. Same with Ethan. Petteno will spell both Dallas and Stewart.

I'd be curious to see Joe play some four-guard lineups with Ethan.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

From Joe's comments, it sounds like Romero-Sans and Denzel will both redshirt. That's shocking. They were the only two not mentioned, which generally means they aren't playing this year.

I guess I understand Denzel because he'd be the 5th guard, and, well, Joe's 5th guard doesn't play.

Romero-Sanz is 6'8" and jacked up physically. But, apparently Brooks will start alongside Ethan and KJ and Waldo will be the backups.

Brooks is a great athlete but has been extremely prone to foul trouble. Waldo will be his backup, and, while not starting, will probably play more minutes than Brooks. KJ (at a listed 6'4" will spell Ethan). Figure Ethan to play 34 mpg.

[Chuck Norris]

So we’re just about two weeks away and I’m very excited to see what’s new but I share the tempered expectations that everyone else seems to have. If I had to guess what sort of team this is going to be, I’d call it a faster and more athletic version of the 2013 team led by Scooter Renkin that had Josh Weigand in the post. Unless one of the new faces is a revelation on the offensive end, I don’t think this team is going to score a lot. They’ll play a slower tempo, defend hard and probably score in the 60s, or less, more often than not.

If Ethan is truly healthy and remains so, I expect a big year, probably 15 or 16 ppg. Dallis and Jaylen should take another step and see more of a green light, but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect them to go from what their roles were last year to being big time scorers. I expect 10-12 ppg from each. So if those 3 hit the upper end of my projection that’s 40 ppg. Given how they should be able to defend, another 20-25 points should put them in position to win much of the time. I don’t expect an aesthetically pleasing season, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be successful. If they don’t fall in too big a hole while they’re figuring it out early, they could be dangerous come March.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Redshirt Joe's first interview of the season will air on Saturday (WCCS).

They played some snippets of it today. He's pretty much confirming this is a work in progress, as expected, and there will be growing pains.

So, let's take a glance at the 'growing pains' part of the schedule (November):

Concord - Joe's 4-0 career vs Todd May. Recall a year ago IUP was lit up in the first half (game played at Clarion) before pulling away in the final 20 minutes (winning by 17). Like IUP, Concord also has a lot of new faces. Ethan Heller and Lual Daniel Rahama are gone. May is a good leader and does a very good job down there in a very remote place to be a coach. Concord plays more of a PSAC style than MEC but can turn it up in stretches. The Mountain Lions are known for a couple big upsets a year but also some odd losses. May has one of the more memorable technical fouls in the KCAC in a long time. He's a hot head and the Friday night KCAC crowd can get to him pretty easily. Preseason No. 6 (of 11) in MEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Notre Dame - The Falcons were 17-13 a year ago. Hard to grasp at this point as they only have (9) players listed on their roster. So, there could be some surprises. Notre Dame is somewhat infamous for pulling some major upsets in the MEC, and isn't too far removed from playing in the NCAAs. Preseason No. 7 (of 11) in MEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Walsh - IUP lit up Walsh a year ago but it certainly had an asterisk as two of their best players didn't play. This is traditionally a very strong program. Most of last years team is back. They get after it for 40 minutes and play well on both ends.

St. Thomas Aquinas - East Region champions a year ago while finishing 26-5. This is a very big and athletic team full of upperclassmen. Major test.

Frostburg State - The went 8-20 a year ago but now have a new coach and many, many new faces (heavy portal team). Hard to say at this point what they'll have.



Big picture, I think it's real important they get out of November at 4-1. They are going to lose more games this year than the faithful is used to seeing as there are numerous capable teams in the West. They must take advantage of this all-home November schedule.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Any word on if IUP is playing D1 schools this preseason?

Nothing announced yet. Given the date, probably not. I'd assume a couple joint practices with different teams.

Joe has an element of surprise this year for the first time in forever. Seems he doesn't want to show his hand until opening weekend.

[hawks16]

Any word on if IUP is playing D1 schools this preseason?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Coming it at #4 in a Preseason Top 25 Poll released today- posted on the team's Twitter account.

I wouldn't run to the sports book and make any bets.

[IUPHawks24]

Coming it at #4 in a Preseason Top 25 Poll released today- posted on the team's Twitter account.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Been quiet here. Giving this a plug.

This has been the most quiet preseason for IUP in at least 15 years. Nobody is talking much about this team -- on here or in town. Perhaps that's a good thing.

The consensus seems to be this will be a "we'll see" kind of season.

Joe has a slew of solid guards. Logic would say the 5 guards in the rotation will be:

Jaylen Stewart - He should be much more effective this year moving back to his natural SG position (played a lot of PG out of necessity a year ago).

Garvin Clarke - Day 1 starting PG - and will be the first true PG at IUP in years. Dynamic on both ends.

Dallis Dillard - Held back a year ago in my opinion. He should emerge as a go-to scorer this year. Very strong defender.

Josh Petteno - The big SG Joe desperately needed ... shot nearly 40% from deep in D2 last year. Scored 26 against Chowan.

Denzel Kabasele - Figures to be Joe's big, physical defender at the guard position. Strong, athletic guard. Not likely to score much this year but rather take on Joe's famous 'garbage man' role.


Under the basket, things get a little more questionable.

Ethan Porterfield (6'8", 230 lbs) - He's healthy and ready to roll per reports. No questions here.

Damir Brooks (6'6", 220 lbs) - Played about 10 mpg a year ago. Certainly a spark-plug player. Very raw as a freshman. Projects to be a bigger, more physical Tevin Hanner.

Dolan Waldo (6'7", 190 lbs) - Joe's prized SF recruit of a year ago ... likely in starting lineup on opening night. Projects as a 'five tool' player but needed to bulk up some.

Gabriel Romero-Sanz (6'8, 220 lbs) - Listed as a freshman but is older ... played post-grad. He's having a good camp. Very athletic for his size and can handle the ball.


Rounding out the roster:

K.J. Rhodes - Assume he will fill the utility role again this year.

Jordan Lambert - High school PG recruit ... assuming redshirt season.

Anthony Watson - Teammate of Waldo's at Bethel Park. Played last year on a loaded BCCC team. Not sure what to expect here. Could redshirt due to lack of available minutes.

Sarp Fulton - From Turkey ... played last year at DME Academy in FL. Big guard at 6'4". Late addition.

Callum MacNamara - Entered portal after last season but stuck around. Well-liked on team and gives Joe a big body in an emergency (think Shawn Ulrich).

[IUP24]

Been quiet here. Giving this a plug.

[IUP24]

Mathis scored the layup with I think 3 seconds left. That game was a war. IUP won, 66-64. I don't think there was ever more than 4 points separation.

Too to bottom, that was one of my favorite games ever in the KCAC. Regular season-wise, I think it was the best atmosphere in building history.

You're right. It was Mathis. I completely forgot that he was on that team. That was one of those "near miss" type teams. 3OT loss to WL in which they blew the lead down the stretch (before Marcel hit that miraculous corner three).

I think that team was actually better than the team the next year that went to the championship game. The dynamic that was added in 2015 was Shawn Dyer shooting from deep, but I felt like there was more balance and depth in 2015. Marcel caused such a matchup problem for many teams. He was a thick 6'7" or 6'8" and caused a problem inside for many teams. But he could also stretch the floor and shoot the lights out when he had to. We talk a lot about some of the best teams of the Joe-era. Marcel seems to always get left off. I think he is one of my favorite players I've seen at IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Was this the game that Devante Chance hit a layup in the waning seconds of a tie game? May have been like 2-3 seconds left. SRU threw up a heave at the buzzer that was off the mark. I remember that one. That was a fun game with a great crowd.

Mathis scored the layup with I think 3 seconds left. That game was a war. IUP won, 66-64. I don't think there was ever more than 4 points separation.

Too to bottom, that was one of my favorite games ever in the KCAC. Regular season-wise, I think it was the best atmosphere in building history.

[IUP24]

LOL

I'd have to look it up but I'd guess without question.

His most famous technical cost them their shot to finally win in Indiana back in '13-'14. That night was the toughest I've ever heard an IUP crowd go after a coach. It started in warm-ups. He finally just lost it with about 90 seconds to play.

He did an incredible job at Point Park last year. It won't be long until he's back in the West.

As for this upcoming game, his team won't be a pushover. They are dramatically better than the PSU-Altoona types. I suspect they will stay within 20 or so. They played Walsh tough last year for about 30 minutes or so.

I do find it somewhat odd Joe took the game. Him and KR weren't exactly close friends. Time heals, I suppose.

Was this the game that Devante Chance hit a layup in the waning seconds of a tie game? May have been like 2-3 seconds left. SRU threw up a heave at the buzzer that was off the mark. I remember that one. That was a fun game with a great crowd.