Iup basketball

[IUPNation]

He's either bouncing back big time next year ... or he's in the Bobby Bowden / Joe Paterno phase of staying too long.

Every coach has a shelf life. I don't think he's expired just yet.

Nick Saban knew when to bounce out knowing his unfair advantage he had for years was going away. Hopefully Joeball has a rally….

[hawks16]

It sounds like Coach doesn’t know how to
operate in the Portal World.

It's not even the portal, per se. Joe's teams used to be built on a couple guys who were high school recruits and played right away (Cobo, Porterfield, Dante), redshirt freshmen (Armoni, Scooter Renkin) and transfers with multiple years of eligibility. I think the biggest change is the last one -- the D1 transfers who drop down for more playing time AND didn't have to sit out because of transfer rules. The Mathis Keita and Jeremy Jeffers of the world aren't coming to D2 anymore. They're staying for NIL or transferring up because they don't have to lose a year. Joe's forte isn't one-and-done guys. Is Shawn Dyer the only impact one-and-done guy Joe has had? (Also, his old way of recruiting/waiting for D1 transfers means you don't have to hit the road to find high schoolers, which is why the handful of Indiana County guys end up starring elsewhere.)

I say this all as someone who made time every year to get back to Indiana and catch a game (and Subs n Suds pizza) but had absolutely zero interest this year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It sounds like Coach doesn’t know how to
operate in the Portal World.

He's either bouncing back big time next year ... or he's in the Bobby Bowden / Joe Paterno phase of staying too long.

Every coach has a shelf life. I don't think he's expired just yet.

[IUPNation]

It sounds like Coach doesn’t know how to
operate in the Portal World.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Joe's press break is awful.

He lacked the horses this year but his big teams stunk at it too.

He drops too many back and then stalls the inbound ... exactly what the system team wants.

Is it Joe’s system or is it more personnel? IUP used to handle pressing teams pretty well not all that long ago, but the personnel was much different too. Then there’s the intelligence factor. To consistently break the press you have to have athleticism, intelligence, and experience doesn’t hurt. IUP was a little short on those ingredients it appeared.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Excellent post! I am not sure that I agree that the "System" should require pressing (with or without trapping) for the entire game and maybe it is just a youthful mistake.We shall see!! However, I was surprised at how unprepared IUP seemed to be to handle the press; first pass inbound and caught in corner trap with no outlet.........this happened too many times. Maybe it was just a matchup issue, I don't know.

Joe's press break is awful.

He lacked the horses this year but his big teams stunk at it too.

He drops too many back and then stalls the inbound ... exactly what the system team wants.

[gman16506]

I could probably do that by the end of the weekend, LOL. It’s just not going to be in the right places.

I’d be happy to have less interesting off seasons and more interesting seasons that continue will into March. Maybe next year. I did find some of Joe’s quotes about Gannon pressing late with the big lead and keeping their starters in. They weren’t happy, but I’m not one to get into the “running up the score” debate at this level. I will say that’s not something Joe did to teams when they easily could have over the years so maybe that’s part of it. Bazolli is a first year head coach and a young one that hasn’t won anything yet so maybe he thought he had something to prove against a coach who has the resume Joe does. We’ll check back in with him after a few seasons and see what his larger body of work looks like.

Excellent post! I am not sure that I agree that the "System" should require pressing (with or without trapping) for the entire game and maybe it is just a youthful mistake.We shall see!! However, I was surprised at how unprepared IUP seemed to be to handle the press; first pass inbound and caught in corner trap with no outlet.........this happened too many times. Maybe it was just a matchup issue, I don't know.

[EyeoftheHawk]

We have to remember 3 of these guys were true freshmen. Herring and Grove need to put on 10 lbs each.

I could probably do that by the end of the weekend, LOL. It’s just not going to be in the right places.

I’d be happy to have less interesting off seasons and more interesting seasons that continue will into March. Maybe next year. I did find some of Joe’s quotes about Gannon pressing late with the big lead and keeping their starters in. They weren’t happy, but I’m not one to get into the “running up the score” debate at this level. I will say that’s not something Joe did to teams when they easily could have over the years so maybe that’s part of it. Bazolli is a first year head coach and a young one that hasn’t won anything yet so maybe he thought he had something to prove against a coach who has the resume Joe does. We’ll check back in with him after a few seasons and see what his larger body of work looks like.

[bballfan03]

That's funny. You could count on your right hand how many classes he went to at Syracuse in his semester and a half.

I remember that draft ... there was actually some debate between taking him or LeBron.

Right? I never got the hype of him even in college. Syracuse had a good team.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Never forget Carmelo Anthony like 20 some years ago... "I don't know why yall chanting one more year... I thought college was a 4 year thing." Next year NBA lol (even though everyone knew it)

That's funny. You could count on your right hand how many classes he went to at Syracuse in his semester and a half.

I remember that draft ... there was actually some debate between taking him or LeBron.

[bballfan03]

That's fine. And I know what they said. But nothing surprises me anymore regarding what a bunch of 18-23 year olds decide to do when they are playing college athletics. If we are taking them at their word that they are going to be back, that's real risky business to just assume that given the nature of college athletics today. But anyone is free to have a differing perspective on the matter.

I hope they Dallis comes back and I hope he dominates. I hope Bautista plays and is as electric of a player as we have been told he is. I just won't count on either variable until I see them in uniform to open up next season.

Never forget Carmelo Anthony like 20 some years ago... "I don't know why yall chanting one more year... I thought college was a 4 year thing." Next year NBA lol (even though everyone knew it)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Do you think that as long as Sarp is on the roster though he’s going to get similar minutes? I’m curious to see how that plays out.

I think we all hope the key cogs stay, and that Dillard and Bautista contribute at high levels. If that happens, IUP is immediately better and even more so if they can bring in another piece or two. As IUP24 pointed out though, it’s hard to bank on any of that. It would be nice to have a relatively boring off season around here, that’s for sure.

As for last night…that was pretty ugly. They looked like a team that just hit the wall in the second half.

Sarp won't have many minutes.

Merraro, Moore and Dallis will never come out. Herring has to play some, too. Joe will run those starting guards 32-36 mpg each.

Sarp will be a good bench guy. But, his starting days are over. I don't know if Pickens will stay. He's going to want more minutes and they just won't be there.

I know he's going to add a shooting guard out of the Portal.

Underneath he'll have Bautista and Grove start, with Damir off the bench. I think Triggs will stay. He's well-liked in the locker room and he'll be a solid guy off the bench. That gives him (4) bigs plus another one that is coming. More on that later.

As you said ... we'll see. But, it is my strong opinion no key players are leaving.

We have to remember 3 of these guys were true freshmen. Herring and Grove need to put on 10 lbs each.

Having both post players being able to shoot plus Dallis will really elevate the offense. They were simply too easy to defend this year. Bautista is also a very physical, hot head. They lacked that intensity guy this year.

I'm confident next year will be a good year. I think getting humiliated last night will turn out to be a good thing.

The beauty of rock bottom ... only one way to go.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Dallis is the most loyal player in the program. There's less than 0% chance he's leaving. It's not even worth talking about.

Dallis also has two years' eligibility left. Not many people know that little tidbit. They finally got him a medical redshirt approved for last year and this year was his normal redshirt.

He doesn't have to be a superstar. But, what he brings compared to Sarp .... again, not even worth talking about.

Do you think that as long as Sarp is on the roster though he’s going to get similar minutes? I’m curious to see how that plays out.

I think we all hope the key cogs stay, and that Dillard and Bautista contribute at high levels. If that happens, IUP is immediately better and even more so if they can bring in another piece or two. As IUP24 pointed out though, it’s hard to bank on any of that. It would be nice to have a relatively boring off season around here, that’s for sure.

As for last night…that was pretty ugly. They looked like a team that just hit the wall in the second half.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah, what you just said makes zero sense when both Dallis and Bautista have been interviewed a handful of times and said they are going to be at IUP. Also, Joe has said numerous times that Dallis has been practicing and dominates the team at practice. Bautista will play but the mystery is, will he be as good as they say? That we'll have to wait and see.

We DON'T want everyone back. Joe has some house cleaning to do. Hopefully he has the set of balls to do it instead of praying to God and hoping some of these guys play better.

We already know Callum and Denzel are gone. That's two spots to beef up the roster. I think a couple other need to go also. I won't mention names yet!

Dallis is the most loyal player in the program. There's less than 0% chance he's leaving. It's not even worth talking about.

Dallis also has two years' eligibility left. Not many people know that little tidbit. They finally got him a medical redshirt approved for last year and this year was his normal redshirt.

He doesn't have to be a superstar. But, what he brings compared to Sarp .... again, not even worth talking about.

[Chuck Norris]

It was almost a mirror image of the second game against Gannon. Joe's team was toast 5 minutes in to the second half. Fatigue leads to horrendous play.

As for your last comment, we don't want 'everybody' to stick around. He needs to do a little housecleaning to free up some money they could better spend.

The best news this morning is the next game IUP plays it will have Dallis and Bautista.

You can't win a gun fight with a couple knives. That's what he tried to do in Erie last night.

I don't think he'll retire. He knows they can bounce back real quick next year. But, something he's doing needs to change. That was humiliating last night. He can't figure anything out to deal with that pressure. Their inbounding plays are terrible. They are too slow. He doesn't bring enough help up. It's just a total freaking mess.

I knew they'd lose last night, but I was expecting Gannon to win by 12-15. Eating a 30 Burger wasn't on the menu.

Yeah, everybody was the wrong word to use. I meant the freshmen and handful of other key guys.

I hope they bounce back next year. The new world of college athletics will always give me pause though. Guys can wake up one morning in a certain mood and be gone. But I’m hopeful. IUP not being good has really killed my interest in D2 basketball as a whole, not to mention having to pay to watch the regional but that’s a whole other discussion lol. I want to get back into it next year.