Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Teams in the MEC have been doing that to WLU for years now. To the point where it doesn't bother WLU.

In fact, WLU has started to "punch back" on that gamesmanship by often standing over or near the ball that's rolling around under the hoop; therefore, in the opponent's attempt to slow walk to the ball they have to nudge their way past a WLU player to get it. It's almost like WLU's way of showing that the slow walk isn't bothering them and to try to bother the opponent right back. Just meeting gamesmanship with gamesmanship.

Interesting that ESU is still bothered by that. Perhaps not enough PSAC teams have tried the slow-walk approach on them yet.

Now, I will say: in the Wheeling game, something that did seem to bother the Toppers in their efforts to play fast was that the dang nets kept getting pinned up causing the refs to have to whistle, stop play, and recruit a player to jump up and free the net. Happened about 6 times in that game (and I haven't seen it happen in any other game yet this year).

If buying and installing extra long nets that are prone to getting pinned (or perhaps putting stick-um on the underside of the rims) was part of Wheeling's gamesmanship maneuvering, then hats off to them for finding a new way to frustrate the Toppers. (Kinda like the Rock clock issues that IUPbig has mentioned always seem to happen when IUP visits Morrow).

Well, the biggest thing was IUP's defense really shut ESU down. They were averaging in the low 90s or high 80s and IUP held them to barely breaking 50 points. IUP's defense is very suffocating.

But, based on the frustration, I don't think they see the 'stall' tactic very often in the PSAC. They may going forward.

I guess it's up to interpretation if it's even a 'stall' ... it's legal and the pressing team is just trying to get you sped up. You just simply aren't buying what they are selling. I suppose it depends which side of it you are on. The 'stall' eliminates much of the chaos the pressing team hopes to create. For instance, Slippery Rock fell in to the chaos hook, line and sinker against ESU, where as IUP controlled the pace of that game for probably 39 of the 40 minutes.

[Scrub]

I thought the genius thing Joe did yesterday was stall every inbound pass after an ESU score. That visibly irritated the Warriors. Did you notice how slow Shawndale was to get the ball every time? That wasn't a coincidence.

Teams in the MEC have been doing that to WLU for years now. To the point where it doesn't bother WLU.

In fact, WLU has started to "punch back" on that gamesmanship by often standing over or near the ball that's rolling around under the hoop; therefore, in the opponent's attempt to slow walk to the ball they have to nudge their way past a WLU player to get it. It's almost like WLU's way of showing that the slow walk isn't bothering them and to try to bother the opponent right back. Just meeting gamesmanship with gamesmanship.

Interesting that ESU is still bothered by that. Perhaps not enough PSAC teams have tried the slow-walk approach on them yet.

Now, I will say: in the Wheeling game, something that did seem to bother the Toppers in their efforts to play fast was that the dang nets kept getting pinned up causing the refs to have to whistle, stop play, and recruit a player to jump up and free the net. Happened about 6 times in that game (and I haven't seen it happen in any other game yet this year).

If buying and installing extra long nets that are prone to getting pinned (or perhaps putting stick-um on the underside of the rims) was part of Wheeling's gamesmanship maneuvering, then hats off to them for finding a new way to frustrate the Toppers. (Kinda like the Rock clock issues that IUPbig has mentioned always seem to happen when IUP visits Morrow).

[EyeoftheHawk]

Wednesday night is not going to be an easy trip. The Seton Hill campus will be juiced up for this one. That's a tough building when it's packed ... and, it will be packed. Remember their PG didn't play in the first game. He's good.

That said, unlike some past IUP teams, I think this one actually enjoys playing in hostile road environments. Tomiwa and Shawndale seem to embrace it.

Seton Hill is 8-2 at home, but they’ve dropped two of their last three. I like IUP by double digits in this one. The only concern is whether or not IUP is looking ahead to next Monday’s showdown at Mercyhurst. Having Seton Hill and Gannon sandwiched between ESU and Mercyhurst will present a motivational challenge and it’s probably better that they’re going to Greensburg. I expect a relatively uninspired IUP team at home next Saturday when they host Gannon.

Realistically, IUP’s most likely games to get a blemish on the perfect record is up at Hurst or down at Cal in the finale. I don’t expect UPJ to be as tough of a game as it was in their building.

[IUPalum]

I thought the genius thing Joe did yesterday was stall every inbound pass after an ESU score. That visibly irritated the Warriors. Did you notice how slow Shawndale was to get the ball every time? That wasn't a coincidence.

They handled the press pretty well for the most part. It was a non factor for long stretches.

If they do play again the next meeting would be in their building or a neutral court. The East hosts the conference Final Four this year.

Wednesday night is not going to be an easy trip. The Seton Hill campus will be juiced up for this one. That's a tough building when it's packed ... and, it will be packed. Remember their PG didn't play in the first game. He's good.

That said, unlike some past IUP teams, I think this one actually enjoys playing in hostile road environments. Tomiwa and Shawndale seem to embrace it.

Ok, so the stall tactic was part of the plan. I won't disagree with that. The stall was to keep ESU out of rhythm. I'm not so certain that ESU's was not effective with the press. The press can't be effective if you can't get in it. ESU didn't score a lot so without scoring you can't get into the press. IUP did struggle at times with the press and I blame Shawndale for that. Numerous times he could've run the baseline to inbound the ball and he didn't. That created easier attack angles for ESU and also not getting the ball to the receiver as fast.

IUP will see the full court press again at some point. I don't mind the stall tactic but by god you have to run the baseline to create easier passes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I thought the genius thing Joe did yesterday was stall every inbound pass after an ESU score. That visibly irritated the Warriors. Did you notice how slow Shawndale was to get the ball every time? That wasn't a coincidence.

They handled the press pretty well for the most part. It was a non factor for long stretches.

If they do play again the next meeting would be in their building or a neutral court. The East hosts the conference Final Four this year.

Wednesday night is not going to be an easy trip. The Seton Hill campus will be juiced up for this one. That's a tough building when it's packed ... and, it will be packed. Remember their PG didn't play in the first game. He's good.

That said, unlike some past IUP teams, I think this one actually enjoys playing in hostile road environments. Tomiwa and Shawndale seem to embrace it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Good points from someone who’s seen more of ESU. I actually don’t think they’re terribly well coached in terms of being able to play multiple styles and beating teams with similar talent. As you mentioned, they rely on cheap buckets and wide open looks generated by pressure. When that’s not happening, and it doesn’t against the likes of IUP or other more balanced teams, you see the result. Their lowest point total before yesterday was 73. Well, IUP held them to 20 less than that! ESU missed some easy ones yesterday but so did IUP. ESU shot 41% and IUP shot 44% so neither team shot it terribly well. In addition to just being a better team, IUP also out-coached ESU as I imagine Lock Haven did the other night.

After the first 5-6 minutes I gave up trying to figure out who was in the game for them. You can definitely see how they'd just tire out teams with a short bench (like when they rocked UPJ).

[IUPalum]

He made some catches yesterday that made Tort salivate.

I think Tort would die to have Brooks and Tomiwa on the football team.

A lot of truth to that. Brooks has a lot of talent but yes, he needs to get stronger and also develop a shot. Right now he’s no threat offensively other than dunks and lay ups!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Seeing Brooks in person is different than on the broadcast. I think he’s listed at 6’6”. He plays bigger than that. I think there’s opportunities for him to get stronger and add some muscle to his frame as well.

He made some catches yesterday that made Tort salivate.

I think Tort would die to have Brooks and Tomiwa on the football team.

[IUP24]

Polce also played well yesterday in a smaller role.

It became apparent this week Damir Brooks has emerged. He's becoming a force on both ends. We forget he's just a freshman.

Seeing Brooks in person is different than on the broadcast. I think he’s listed at 6’6”. He plays bigger than that. I think there’s opportunities for him to get stronger and add some muscle to his frame as well.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I can’t add a lot to what’s already been said except to give Dallis Dillard another shout out for being an unsung hero yet again. Six points, seven rebounds, six assists and his usual relentless defense. He went among the trees to get some key offensive boards.

Polce also played well yesterday in a smaller role.

It became apparent this week Damir Brooks has emerged. He's becoming a force on both ends. We forget he's just a freshman.

[Chuck Norris]

I can’t add a lot to what’s already been said except to give Dallis Dillard another shout out for being an unsung hero yet again. Six points, seven rebounds, six assists and his usual relentless defense. He went among the trees to get some key offensive boards.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Tomiwa is something special. I never saw Darryl Webb play, but I feel as though Tomiwa could be compared to him. For his size at 6’6”, the combination of strength and athleticism he displays is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen on the court at the D2 level. We’ve been blessed with some tremendous players at IUP. I think he may be the most talented I’ve seen simply based on raw athleticism. And I know, that’s a bold statement. He doesn’t have the outside or finesse game that a Cobo Diaz showed, but the athleticism he can play with makes him such a difficult guy to play against.

Tomiwa is a great player, but he’s not Darryl Webb as I’m sure the others here who watched both would agree. That said, if he stays here for two more years and continues to develop he could be on that trajectory. He does bring a different level of enthusiasm than Webb did. Webb just beat the hell out of guys like it was his job and didn’t say much. I never saw a guy control rebounds like Webb either. If it was anywhere near him he was getting it. He had unreal hands around the basket and had an ability to take over a game. There’s a reason his jersey his hanging in the KCAC.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I'm not sure I would want them in a 1st round game in a Regional. A couple of those bunnies fall and that’s a different game. There were about 3 separate times that it felt like the game was over, and ESU spurted to get to within like 6 points. Credit IUP for reacting, ending those, and throwing a bigger counter punch when they responded, but that’s still a dangerous team.

There’s a sizable gap between IUP and ESU and playing them again wouldn’t worry me in the least. IUP missed a bunch of easy ones too and only shot 44% to ESU’s 41%. While ESU has tons of talent and looks the part, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they lose early in the PSAC tournament and don’t even end up in the regional. They’ve now lost four of their last five and teams have figured out how to beat them.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I've watched Wilson's ESU teams for several years now, and I have a lot of respect for the record he's put up. He stays with his system, recruits to it, and generally has success. But his insistence on going all-out and playing 9-10 guys can be a double-edged sword. I've seen some games where ESU goes on a nice run, then inserts 3-4 new guys, and the momentum disappears. They feed off turnovers and three-point shots, and it can get ugly for them when that doesn't happen. When you stop them from scoring, as IUP did today, you also have the added benefit of preventing them from setting up the pressure they. They also can get careless in half-court defense — Lock Haven carved them up pretty well on Thursday.

Good points from someone who’s seen more of ESU. I actually don’t think they’re terribly well coached in terms of being able to play multiple styles and beating teams with similar talent. As you mentioned, they rely on cheap buckets and wide open looks generated by pressure. When that’s not happening, and it doesn’t against the likes of IUP or other more balanced teams, you see the result. Their lowest point total before yesterday was 73. Well, IUP held them to 20 less than that! ESU missed some easy ones yesterday but so did IUP. ESU shot 41% and IUP shot 44% so neither team shot it terribly well. In addition to just being a better team, IUP also out-coached ESU as I imagine Lock Haven did the other night.

[Ship69]

ESU may be the most athletic team IUP has seen, but they really struggle with half court offense. Obviously IUP gets some credit for that being one of the best defensive teams in the country, but ESU had no continuity. Other than the few threes they hit, they didn’t do much when they had to create. I also think IUP was in their head a bit and it caused them to rush unnecessarily. That led to missing a bunch of bunnies, especially in the first half.

As for IUP, they’re going to be damned hard to beat, period. When ESU had their little run to cut the lead to six, IUP basically said no more of that and the next time I looked at the scoreboard they were back up by 13. I thought IUP had too many turnovers but when the dust settled ESU had two more, which is unusual for them. I told my wife that to have any chance at all ESU had to score 60. I looked at the clock at about the 8:30 mark and they had 42. The next time I looked at it at around 4:30, they still had 42. Pretty good day at the office when you hold a team that scores routinely in the 80s to 53.

All in all IUP took care of business and there was never a time when I thought ESU was playing on the same level. They might run 10-12 guys at you but three guys were pretty much their entire offense. IUP played three less players and still had more guys crack the score sheet. Quality over quantity. Yes, they should have made more threes but I do think Ethan’s stress fracture is part of that equation.

As a side note, I think if I’m playing IUP the last thing I want to do is get Tomiwa fired up. For whatever reason, Pepin decided it would be a good idea to mess with him and once the big boy got the motor running he was dominant. The two also exchanged words after the game. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure the last guy I’d want to get in the ring with would be Tomiwa. He’s a bad, bad man.

I've watched Wilson's ESU teams for several years now, and I have a lot of respect for the record he's put up. He stays with his system, recruits to it, and generally has success. But his insistence on going all-out and playing 9-10 guys can be a double-edged sword. I've seen some games where ESU goes on a nice run, then inserts 3-4 new guys, and the momentum disappears. They feed off turnovers and three-point shots, and it can get ugly for them when that doesn't happen. When you stop them from scoring, as IUP did today, you also have the added benefit of preventing them from setting up the pressure they like to run. They also can get careless in half-court defense — Lock Haven carved them up pretty well on Thursday.