Iup basketball

[Ship69]

Shawndale is confirmed done for the season with a torn ACL.

Sorry the young man had his season end like that. IUP will still be a formidable team, but that is a big loss and probably a blow to your chances of making big noise in the postseason.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Shawndale is confirmed done for the season with a torn ACL.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not real exciting news but IUP did find a willing opponent to make up for Salem's cancellation.

Dec. 31 (afternoon)

Pitt-Greensburg will play at the KCAC.


The only positive is this is at least a 'live game' during what otherwise would have been a long layoff (Dec. 19 thru Jan. 5).


UPG has played (1) D2 game this year and lost at Malone, 101-71.

Oddly, UPG doesn't play many of these games -- odd being they are surrounded by D2 schools (including being about 3 miles from Seton Hill).

I'd say the other positive thing is it will be another game to work things out prior to West play ... assuming they are still having roster issues by then.

[Ship69]

One thing I can promise is without Shawndale they won't be blowing everybody out. That's 25 ppg gone and a likely All American. They've blown 6 teams out. The one game that wasn't a blowout they didn't have David Morris (injured).

This was the fear from Day 1 -- having to elevate somebody from the bench. Now, it's most likely a reality. Even with good news, I'd assume they'd be without Shawndale for at least 3-4 weeks -- and luckily two of those weeks (XMAS and New Year's) have no games.

I'd have to agree with you .... it's a no-brainer to activate Dillard. They need him now. Sure, it would have been great to redshirt him. But, things are different today. He's a scorer and can defend -- so, he can play at both ends. He'll have his 'freshman' moments, but I don't see them having a choice. He has lightning speed, can shoot, get to the rim and has good size.

Here's the thing: Morris has been great this year, but, he's also been prone to being in foul trouble. If he picks up early fouls and has to sit, that leaves you with Armoni, Polce and Bradford at the guard position -- with very little depth behind them.

And, at the very least, you need another guard ready to play in case you lose another one to injury, Covid or whatever. Long way to go. K.J. Rhodes is still in the mix, but we haven't seen a whole lot out of him.

Good news is they've had a week to adjust. Bad news is they have (3) tough games next week (Millersville, Shepherd and Shippensburg).

I'm not ruling out the 'big' lineup, either. Joe has a history of talking about one thing in interviews and then doing the total opposite. Cards close to the vest type of thing.

One other item: Not sure if you've all noticed it or not (since IUP is the only school with no videos), but Joe moved Armoni to the PG this year. Perhaps that changes now, too. It's conceivable to move Radford to the PG and have Morris and Armoni play the 2 & 3.

There's no guarantee we'll have Biss for the IUP game, and if we do have him he'll be playing in his first week of competition in about two years coming off an injury that has likely kept him from extensive practice for a while. Ship will be certainly be an underdog in that game and probably at UPJ as well.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Correct. Won't hear a peep until next week after the game.

They typically know ACL tears pretty quickly. That could be the ray of hope for Shawndale. Or, they likely already know and just keeping it quiet.

[Chuck Norris]

Tony's article in today's Gazette:




Lombardi also said Dallas Dillard, a 6-4 freshman, could play this season rather than redshirt.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

If Jones is out then getting Dillard going is probably the best case. The Polce/Radford flip only helps one side of the ball. If Dillard is legit then run it out and run for the big prize!!!

One thing I can promise is without Shawndale they won't be blowing everybody out. That's 25 ppg gone and a likely All American. They've blown 6 teams out. The one game that wasn't a blowout they didn't have David Morris (injured).

This was the fear from Day 1 -- having to elevate somebody from the bench. Now, it's most likely a reality. Even with good news, I'd assume they'd be without Shawndale for at least 3-4 weeks -- and luckily two of those weeks (XMAS and New Year's) have no games.

I'd have to agree with you .... it's a no-brainer to activate Dillard. They need him now. Sure, it would have been great to redshirt him. But, things are different today. He's a scorer and can defend -- so, he can play at both ends. He'll have his 'freshman' moments, but I don't see them having a choice. He has lightning speed, can shoot, get to the rim and has good size.

Here's the thing: Morris has been great this year, but, he's also been prone to being in foul trouble. If he picks up early fouls and has to sit, that leaves you with Armoni, Polce and Bradford at the guard position -- with very little depth behind them.

And, at the very least, you need another guard ready to play in case you lose another one to injury, Covid or whatever. Long way to go. K.J. Rhodes is still in the mix, but we haven't seen a whole lot out of him.

Good news is they've had a week to adjust. Bad news is they have (3) tough games next week (Millersville, Shepherd and Shippensburg).

I'm not ruling out the 'big' lineup, either. Joe has a history of talking about one thing in interviews and then doing the total opposite. Cards close to the vest type of thing.

One other item: Not sure if you've all noticed it or not (since IUP is the only school with no videos), but Joe moved Armoni to the PG this year. Perhaps that changes now, too. It's conceivable to move Radford to the PG and have Morris and Armoni play the 2 & 3.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Bueckers is out 6-8 weeks. Fractured knee. UCONN announced it today.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Bueckers is out 6-8 weeks. Fractured knee. UCONN announced it today.

[IUPalum]

What we know about Dallis Dillard:

* Considered a big land for IUP
* Decorated scorer coming out the famous St. Raymond in Harlem ... very similar game to Armoni at the same age
* Big, physically strong, fast guard at 6'4" and can play all three guard spots
* Nice shot from outside and very good at getting to the rim
* I'm told he was ready to play this year but they didn't want to burn a year for low minutes
* Strong defender

Obviously, there's going to be a transition here if they do activate him. I doubt he's got much time with the starters in practice.

If Shawndale can come back in a couple weeks, I wouldn't burn the redshirt. Play these next three games and see if you can take 2 of 3. If he is out for the season, burn the redshirt. It's only been 7 games. Work him in slowly and they can have him up to speed by the West opener after Xmas. It's more than a month away.

If Jones is out then getting Dillard going is probably the best case. The Polce/Radford flip only helps one side of the ball. If Dillard is legit then run it out and run for the big prize!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What we know about Dallis Dillard:

* Considered a big land for IUP
* Decorated scorer coming out the famous St. Raymond in Harlem ... very similar game to Armoni at the same age
* Big, physically strong, fast guard at 6'4" and can play all three guard spots
* Nice shot from outside and very good at getting to the rim
* I'm told he was ready to play this year but they didn't want to burn a year for low minutes
* Strong defender

Obviously, there's going to be a transition here if they do activate him. I doubt he's got much time with the starters in practice.

If Shawndale can come back in a couple weeks, I wouldn't burn the redshirt. Play these next three games and see if you can take 2 of 3. If he is out for the season, burn the redshirt. It's only been 7 games. Work him in slowly and they can have him up to speed by the West opener after Xmas. It's more than a month away.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tony's article in today's Gazette:




Lombardi also said Dallas Dillard, a 6-4 freshman, could play this season rather than redshirt.

[IUPNation]

[IUPalum]

[EyeoftheHawk]

From Joe's radio show ... nothing official but he said it could be an ACL tear. The MRI results aren't back yet.

He did say Shawndale is under the limit for a medical redshirt. They've played 25% of schedule. To qualify for the MR you have to be under 30%.

He said Bryce will likely step in to the open spot and that the offense will change (slow down). He said they'll probably go back to a 70-80 ppg team rather than a 95.

So, it doesn't sound good.