Iup basketball

[IUP24]

We'll never know. Much like Joe did with Carlos Carter (ignore), the women's program hasn't offered any of the local Heritage players in years.

Could it be a situation where Tom previously really liked recruiting the area locally, and the new staff simply doesn't? The late IUP baseball coach Jeff Ditch was the exact same way. His exact quote a top local recruit was, "You're really good, but I just don't recruit local players."

At this level, I generally think coaches believe there could be headaches involved with having a local player on the roster. Parents close by to get in the ear of the coach, player always under pressure to perform because they are local, etc.

Outside of Carlos Carter and Riley Stapleton (who eventually flipped from IUP hoops to JMU football), how many legitimate high end players have come out of the Heritage Conference or Indiana County over the last 8 years that would have legitimately helped IUP compete at the level they are trying to reach? The answer is probably none outside of those two. I recognize that's different on the girls side.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

And another Ethan.....

He's not going to find another Ethan in the portal. Most his size with his skill set are at some level of D1. If Ethan wasn't hurt last year he'd probably be there, too.

I kind of think Joe's going to go with more the small forward approach next year ... perhaps starting two SFs with three guards. You sacrifice a little size but have more speed.

Luckily, all his recruiting focus should be under the basket. He's pretty set at guard. I do think he'll bring in one shooting guard ... a Bryce-type to spread the floor.

They have enough back that he can recover pretty quickly. But, they will need some home runs under the bucket. The SF position - for a wide variety of reasons - just crushed them this year. It was a glaring weakness, which had a huge snowball effect.

[IUP1423]

And another Ethan.....

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Regarding this, my first question as a transfer player considering IUP would be, “If I have an off night or two, can I expect to be benched for the remainder of the season other than a few minutes of garbage time?” I think the way Joe has handled certain situations likely has given him a reputation that’s not going to be looked at favorably by players or parents for that matter. We should recognize that kids like Ethan are few and far between these days in terms of their willingness to stick with a program from start to finish. If the trio of Brooks, Lambert, and Waldo are still here next season I will be shocked. I think it’s more likely that they’re all gone.

If I was recruiting against IUP, I’d ask a kid if he wants to get sucked into the “no fun zone” and possibly be benched for eternity the second he doesn’t play well. Then I’d cite the examples to prove my point.

I'd hire security to follow Garvin around lol. So long as he stays they can build the whole roster for next year around him.

Dallis and Denzel returning from injury will be huge. That said, not all come back the same from the ACL. Cross your fingers.

I'd assume Stewart, Sarp and Romero-Sanz stay.


I'd be shocked if Damir, Waldo or Lambert stay.

He needs Day 1 impact bigs (transfers) to go with what should be a good guard group. Needs a long-range shooter, too.

[EyeoftheHawk]

The bad:

Gannon was built over a summer and has LEAPS AND BOUNDS more depth and talent than IUP.

Joe better wake his a$$ up on the recruiting trail. He's getting smoked.

Regarding this, my first question as a transfer player considering IUP would be, “If I have an off night or two, can I expect to be benched for the remainder of the season other than a few minutes of garbage time?” I think the way Joe has handled certain situations likely has given him a reputation that’s not going to be looked at favorably by players or parents for that matter. We should recognize that kids like Ethan are few and far between these days in terms of their willingness to stick with a program from start to finish. If the trio of Brooks, Lambert, and Waldo are still here next season I will be shocked. I think it’s more likely that they’re all gone.

If I was recruiting against IUP, I’d ask a kid if he wants to get sucked into the “no fun zone” and possibly be benched for eternity the second he doesn’t play well. Then I’d cite the examples to prove my point.

[IUPNation]

So IUP got the split against two ranked LIT AF teams.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Garvin and Ethan played incredible games. They just needed some help. Bryce vanishes against good teams. That's not a knock on him ... the stats are the stats. He lights up the peasants but has done nothing against the elite teams.

This team has many well-known limitations. To even be in that game based on the circumstances was impressive. Consider Joe's good teams would have beat this group by 25+ every day of the week.

They fit the profile of one of those bracket busters in the PSAC Tournament.

Here's the Que the Broken Record: Brooks played 3 (productive) minutes. That's all.

Funny to think when IUP had a shot for the win, Sarp and KJ were on the floor. They were players 9 and 10 in November.


Those are my nice comments.

The bad:

Gannon was built over a summer and has LEAPS AND BOUNDS more depth and talent than IUP.

Joe better wake his a$$ up on the recruiting trail. He's getting smoked.

Stewart ... They need so much more out of him. He's a Junior now. He needs to stop being a role player. Time to put up or shut up. Is he in the plans for next year? I'm not sure.

It's clearly a lost season but they are keeping it entertaining. The win was there today.

[IUPHawks24]

Great effort. No doubt. But, no moral victories. They could have won that game despite being out-manned about 12 to 4

They are getting closer. Nobody is going to want to draw them in Round 2 (if they get to Round 2).

I thought that was a tough call at the end. James created all the contact. Put the referee in a tricky spot for sure, but it wasn't terrible defense.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I thought IUP played about as well as they could really. They are heavily outgunned in that matchup. To claw back into it and make it a game down the stretch was pretty impressive because they could have easily packed it in. Too many giveaways, especially early, cost them. Of course, that’s how Gannon wins and they lead the country in forcing turnovers for a reason. That team has a great shot to win the Region. Despite all of the second guessing we’ll have about who played how much and who took the final shot, that was a hell of an effort today.

Great effort. No doubt. But, no moral victories. They could have won that game despite being out-manned about 12 to 4

They are getting closer. Nobody is going to want to draw them in Round 2 (if they get to Round 2).

[EyeoftheHawk]

As expected, dumpster fire in the KCAC.

Joe's getting humiliated. Again.

I thought IUP played about as well as they could really. They are heavily outgunned in that matchup. To claw back into it and make it a game down the stretch was pretty impressive because they could have easily packed it in. Too many giveaways, especially early, cost them. Of course, that’s how Gannon wins and they lead the country in forcing turnovers for a reason. That team has a great shot to win the Region. Despite all of the second guessing we’ll have about who played how much and who took the final shot, that was a hell of an effort today.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

As expected, dumpster fire in the KCAC.

Joe's getting humiliated. Again.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I always assume it's one of two situations: they either love the idea of being close to home or they want to GTFO there.

We'll never know. Much like Joe did with Carlos Carter (ignore), the women's program hasn't offered any of the local Heritage players in years.

[Fightingscot82]

Oddly IUP has let those girls leave town for years. Many are in the PSAC now at Seton Hill, etc.

No doubt that is the event of the year in town. Packed.

I always assume it's one of two situations: they either love the idea of being close to home or they want to GTFO there.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Oddly IUP has let those girls leave town for years. Many are in the PSAC now at Seton Hill, etc.

No doubt that is the event of the year in town. Packed.

Yeah, I don’t get it. Macie Sardone from Homer Center is a true freshman at Cal despite living 10 minutes from the KCAC. Abby Pynos from River Valley is at Clarion and playing as a true freshman. She had her way against IUP at times in the recent meeting. Those are two recent examples. The only freshman on IUP’s entire roster is Elena Bonito. Let that sink in a minute. I’ve only seen one incoming freshman signed for next year from Pine Richland and there’s a transfer from Millersville. There are 3-4 girls in Indiana County high schools right now that would be a good fit in Indiana. The last I remember there being a local contingent was the 14’-15’ team that had Mathe and Stapleton from Indiana and Amy Fairman from Marion Center.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Fun night at the KCAC last nigh. If you want to truly see the place packed go to the Heritage Conference championship games. I’ve been to all of them since they started the Road to the KCAC thing and it’s an amazing atmosphere. I don’t know what attendance was but there weren’t many empty seats. A kid from River Valley hit a buzzer beater to win it over Conemaugh Township and it was as loud as I’ve ever heard the place. Conemaugh Township beat them by 27 in the regular season. Figure that one out!

Penns Manor knocked off River Valley in the girls game and held D1 recruit Ava Perschetti to 13 points. Before you say local girls basketball isn’t good, consider that the two teams from last year’s championship game (River Valley and Homer Center) both played in the state championship game in 3A and 2A respectively. District 6 hoops on the girls side, and particularly the Heritage Conference, is outstanding. If our man Craig Carey was paying attention, he should have taken notice of Penns Manor’s junior guard Alyssa Altemus. She was step for step with Perschetti and is tough as nails. She will be a solid D2 player and would bring some local interest.

Oddly IUP has let those girls leave town for years. Many are in the PSAC now at Seton Hill, etc.

No doubt that is the event of the year in town. Packed.