Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some interesting items from the recent UPJ visit.

* Joe talked after the game about their schedule being terrible -- too many home games over the breaks, small crowds, odd start times, etc.

Comments:

* Small 'break' crowds are nothing new, but this is an all-time low. Could there be a reason for this that he's not acknowledging?

- I said it over and over again last year ... his lineup decision last season turned off a ton of long-time fans. The proof is in the numbers. IUP home games usually bump from Jan. 20 until the end of the season. Last year was the complete opposite. So many people were disgusted by his decision that they simply quit coming. The attendance numbers tell the story. Damir Brooks' performance this year tells the story.

- His team is 8-8. Casual fans aren't coming. Joe used to always draw 1,200 or so over breaks. Now they are barely getting 400 (10% arena capacity).

- Start times ... valid. Awful. Playing league games at 3 p.m. on a work day is so stupid it's beyond discussion.

- IUP went away from Saturday night games -- instead playing at 3 p.m. While a certain segment of the crowd likes this, most hate it. People aren't taking vacation time to watch a D2 basketball game. Kids are still in school (just getting out). So, no parents. No kids. No extra money buying Joe's $11 popcorn, etc.


A real telling item happened at this weeks' UPJ game.

UPJ has a women's player from nearby Marion Center -- Lydia Miller. She was an extremely decorated high school scorer and led tiny MC to the state final last year. IUP didn't recruit her (at all). That's a different discussion. Anyway, a huge local crowd showed up for the women's game to watch her (she's starting at UPJ as a true freshman).

About 95% of that crowd left after the women's game. The local dance school performed at halftime of Joe's game. All those parents left after halftime.

So, in the second half, you got to see who was actually there to watch Joe's game. It was scary. The place was empty.

Students aren't back yet. I get it. Many fans are bandwagons. But, to have 'maybe' a couple hundred people there to watch IUP play UPJ on a Wednesday night? Good Lord.

All of that said, I do suspect a decent crowd tomorrow for Seton Hill's visit. In particular, it's a really big women's game. Seton Hill has a huge women's following and typically brings a nice crowd. They all leave after the women's game, however.

But, it's a Saturday in January. The weather should be fine. If Joe doesn't draw the locals tomorrow ...

Sad thing is this team is actually -- and in a very odd way -- pretty entertaining to watch. You have to accept this isn't a vintage Lombardi team (not even remotely close). For every good 2 minutes it plays, it plays 2 bad minutes. But, they are getting better (slowly). They also are somehow in almost every game. Even the wins they have a way of making dramatic (or, traumatic).

I have a hunch Joe's going to be back -- and back in a hurry -- next year. But, 'this year' is a big part of 'next year'. It's actually been (mostly) neat to watch these young kids grow. It's also entertaining to watch Joe. He hasn't coached this much in 15 years. He was getting kind of mellow the past few seasons. For better or worse, this team has woke him up.

To put this in comparison, Joe's good teams would beat this team -- right now -- by 35 points.

A couple weeks ago it was probably 45 points.

Baby steps.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

22 points on very efficient shooting for Grove is encouraging. He seems fully broken out of his slump.

His physicality is improving, also.

Long way to go but it is getting better.

They are much more difficult to defend when he's spreading the floor.

[Chuck Norris]

22 points on very efficient shooting for Grove is encouraging. He seems fully broken out of his slump.

[tonyc]

IUP-PItt-Johnstown game story: https://open.substack.com/pub/tonyco...meOnShare=true

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, IUP followed the season formula.

This time, however, the 'good' lasted nearly the whole first half.

The 'bad' showed up in the second half. A dominating 21-point lead dwindled to just 5, but IUP found a way in the final 3 minutes - winning by double digits.

That was Exhibit A of having such a young roster. IUP isn't as good as it played in the first half. UPJ isn't as bad as it played the first 20 minutes.

I think Joe's speed caught them off guard. IUP also hit 7-8 treys in the first half.

As you'd expect, UPJ adjusted very well and nearly came all the way back.

I suspect both will win their home game.

Joe's three freshmen all had (mostly) big nights. Grove went for 20-some and seems to have rediscovered his moxy. Merraro had an incredible game. He's going to be very special.

The bad:

* Way too many lapses in the second half. They went in to cruise control a bit not realizing UPJ can get real hot, real quick.

* (9) TOs in second half ... and I'd say (8) of them were self-inflicted.

* Damir had foul trouble all night. He managed to stick around but he was handcuffed on defense. UPJ knew it and went right after him.

* They (Joe) needs to disguise his calls. UPJ knows all of them. Joe calls something out and they instantly react.


End of the day it was a big win. Joe got some more gray hair but they finished it.

I also thought Triggs played his best game of the season. I've been waiting for him to just play. I think he was hesitant the first half and thinking too much. I would like to see him get more physical and aggressive. He's built like a football player. It's coming with him. They could feed him some more, too. He has a nice shot.

Ian Herring had some lapses but he brings a lot to the table. He's really starting to demand heavy minutes.

Put it to bed. Time to get ready for the zone.

[Ship69]

Well, to this point, Joe's best defense for the deep shot has been simply hoping the other team misses.

If UPJ has one strength, it's they can light it up from downtown.

My guess for tonight is Joe's base defense will get shredded in the first half. UPJ's ball movement, screens, pick-n-rolls, etc., will wreck havoc.

IUP will have a big athletic and speed advantage tonight. UPJ will have a big advantage in a half-court game. Bob and Joe are going to be in a bit of a chess match. HUGE game for both teams.

If there was an actual spread on this one, it would probably be 1.5 points or so -- and, I'm not sure which would be favored.

Even during the stretch of powerful IUP teams, UPJ always knew how to offset the talent gap. Rukavina may know Joe's system better than Joe does. UPJ has very rarely defeated IUP, but its come awfully close many, many times.

UPJ certainly lit it up against Ship — hit almost 50 percent from the three-point line and made 17-of-18 free throws. And it was still only a five-point game. Those free throws were killers. Ship, not a particularly good free-throw shooting team this season, made 15-of-16. It's not often you shoot 93.7 percent from the FT line and actually get outshot by your opponent. Ship has had tendency to lose players in switches this year, resulting in too many open three-point looks. Giving up double-digit numbers of three-pointers is hard to overcome. Shooting 33 percent from three-point range is basically the same as shooting 50 percent inside the line, so it's usually devastating when your opponent gets up to 40 percent from beyond the line. Whether our teams lose or win these days often just comes down to whether the team you're playing is hitting its 3s.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, to this point, Joe's best defense for the deep shot has been simply hoping the other team misses.

If UPJ has one strength, it's they can light it up from downtown.

My guess for tonight is Joe's base defense will get shredded in the first half. UPJ's ball movement, screens, pick-n-rolls, etc., will wreck havoc.

IUP will have a big athletic and speed advantage tonight. UPJ will have a big advantage in a half-court game. Bob and Joe are going to be in a bit of a chess match. HUGE game for both teams.

If there was an actual spread on this one, it would probably be 1.5 points or so -- and, I'm not sure which would be favored.

Even during the stretch of powerful IUP teams, UPJ always knew how to offset the talent gap. Rukavina may know Joe's system better than Joe does. UPJ has very rarely defeated IUP, but its come awfully close many, many times.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

MASSIVE week for Team Joe.

IUP without question must go 2-0. UPJ and Seton Hill both visit the KCAC.

Joe is likely a small home dog in both games. But, his team is capable of winning these two.

IUP is getting in the danger zone of missing the PSAC Tournament -- something simply unimaginable.

A week ago, the team pulled a total no-show at Edinboro -- and got thumped. A couple days later they played probably their best game of the season in a 7-point loss to Gannon. As said early on, this group is going to have good nights and bad nights.

The big questions entering this week:

(1) Will the momentum from their last game carry over? IUP was idle this past Saturday. Joe had extra time to prepare for UPJ's 1950s offense. But, will they defend the pick-n-rolls, picket fences, endless passing, etc.? I 'think' the light bulb went off - finally - in the Gannon loss. We'll see.

(2) Joe lets every team -- by choice or not -- bomb away from the outside. If he does that against this UPJ team, he will get lit up.

(3) Can IUP make a foul shot?

(4) IUP has been a good second half team -- and an awful first half team. Can this group turn the page and stop digging such deep holes?

- Part of this -- without a doubt in my mind -- is Joe coaches the first half of each game as if it's 2019 and he has Armoni, Malik, David, etc. He doesn't. This team can't play that way. By the second half, he's visibly frustrated and let's them press and run. It's no coincidence this team is much, much better after halftime.

(5) The Gannon loss was the first time this season IUP played with a level of confidence, energy and enthusiasm. Hopefully that carries over.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

To anybody actually watching the games, one defensive item is getting beyond exploited by IUP's opponents.

They are having seemingly free reign to launch from deep.

Edinboro hit 13 of 24 treys against IUP. As discussed earlier, probably 18 of those attempts didn't have a defender within arms' reach.

Gannon hit 12 of 23.

Earlier this year USCB hit 14 of 35. Glenville State hit 12 of 30. Lock Haven and Charleston hit (9) each.

There are several flaws to IUP's defense this year, but this is far and away the biggest.

They were amazingly in all of these games (even the Edinboro game when they cut it from 27 to 12). What happened as soon as they cut it to 12 ... they were giving up wide open looks again.

I mentioned they are way out of sorts running Joe's traditional defense. The switching is constantly late. Teams with good ball movement are just picking their (wide open) spots. Every time IUP managed to close in on a shooter they just foul them and give up (3) FTs.

Up next is UPJ. The Mountain Cats have their flaws, too, but shooting outside isn't usually one of them. If IUP doesn't tighten things up and fix this issue ... Rukavina could be making it rain.

Fixing this glitch would go a very long way in picking up some more wins this year.

[Ship69]

IUP Played very well. Free throw really hurt. Couple big swings where they missed free throws, and then Gannon drilled a 3.

Refereeing stunk. Missed a blatant goaltend and called a double foul on a block/charge (WTF?). I don’t know if it’s because they aren’t as good, but the home whistles aren’t happening as much.

The missing pieces are exactly what this team needs. A couple more really good players would make all the difference.

Prosser, Sekasi and Shelton were really, really good. I hope Joe recruited Prosser. He’s an excellent player.

I've waited for a home whistle advantage at Ship for a long time and keep waiting. After seeing our players get hacked repeatedly in the second half Wednesday, I looked up late in the second half and saw we had more fouls tnan Kutztown. That said, Ship pressed them to get back in the game late, and at least 3-4 obvious fouls agains us didn't get called. The officiating hasn't been good, but at least it seems to be equally bad for both teams most games.

[Ship69]

Louie was a freshman in 20-21, and is now a graduate student in his 5th year at Bloom. He came back from the 0-9 Ship game with a 7-11 and 21 points in a win over the Ville. Blooms 3rd win this year and first in the last 10 games against the Ville. Ship ran Bloom out of the gym, Ville ran Ship out of the gym and Bloom beat Ship to your point.

As I said, the PSAC makes no sense this year. UPJ beat us by five points with 50 percent shooting from the three-point line and 94 percent shooting at the FT line. Next game against Millersville, they made fewer than 33 percent of their 3s and missed eight free throws in a loss. Millersville is certainly a hard team to read this year. Bet Stitzel had a fit when they lost to Bloom. Big, physical teams give Ship trouble this year because they have mostly reed-thin players and the bench is starting to get shorter due to injury, which is a problem if they get into a foulfest. Congrats to Bloom on the win, by the way.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Talk to enough people around Indiana and it's a wonder they aren't throwing a parade for almost beating Gannon.

Goodness. Is that how bad things have become inside Joe's program? We celebrate close losses now?

IUP is 24-21 since the start of last season. Toss the D3 wins and Joe is about .500 during this stretch.

The four years prior they went 123-10.

This demise can be traced to several factors. Regardless, it has happened.

We're now celebrating close home losses.

Man, have times changed.

[tonyc]

Gannon-IUP game story: https://open.substack.com/pub/tonyco...meOnShare=true

[IUPHawks24]

Great effort tonight against a very strong team.

IUP Played very well. Free throw really hurt. Couple big swings where they missed free throws, and then Gannon drilled a 3.

Refereeing stunk. Missed a blatant goaltend and called a double foul on a block/charge (WTF?). I don’t know if it’s because they aren’t as good, but the home whistles aren’t happening as much.

The missing pieces are exactly what this team needs. A couple more really good players would make all the difference.

Prosser, Sekasi and Shelton were really, really good. I hope Joe recruited Prosser. He’s an excellent player.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Great effort tonight against a very strong team.