Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP returns to the court tomorrow. Pitt-Greensburg visits the KCAC in a very rare New Year's Eve affair. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. There doesn't appear to be a video feed.

UPG agreed to the game on late notice after IUP had a schedule vacancy due to Salem aborting the Thanksgiving Weekend game. They had no luck finding a D2 opponent as by now most have a max (28 game) schedule.

IUP has been hyping this game up like Duke is coming to town. Free tickets were issued to all students/employees of Indiana School District as well as students/employees of IUP. There's also a local connection. Former Indiana High star Tommy Arbuckle plays for the Bobcats. His Dad, Mark Arbuckle (of Mark Arbuckle Nissan) is big financial supporter of IUP Basketball.

While it's not an appealing game, it did get the team back to campus earlier than usual. With the current mess in the new rotation ... that's a good thing.

I suspect it will be the typical D3 game. Pitt-Greensburg will come out in Super Bowl mode. IUP will look disinterested. Joe will blow a gasket at halftime. IUP will win by 40 or so. Side note: If Joe is up by 45 in the second half and Armoni Foster is still in the game ... I'm turning in my fan card. Unfortunately, I only say that half jokingly.

UPG typically does play up once or twice a year, but, oddly, rarely against PSAC teams. The Bobcats lost to Malone earlier this year, 101-71. It's strange they don't have a yearly game with Seton Hill. The schools are about 2-3 miles apart. UPG does have an assortment of big guards, but they have very little size on the roster. In fact, their guards and forwards are about the same size.

IUP enters the game at 9-1, but this 'new' team is 2-1. Scoring, post-Shawndale, has been decimated. IUP scored 95 points per game in its first 7 outings -- and just 65 per game since.

It was a tough three-game stretch to get acclimated. Millersville and Shepherd are both tough teams. IUP won both by what turned out to be large margins, but both games were close with 6-7 minutes to play. Shippensburg then beat them both mentally and physically.

A brutal start to the new year awaits. IUP will play 6 games in 12 days starting with a Jan. 5 trip to California. After that, Slippery Rock and Gannon visit the KCAC and a trip to Mercyhurst is mixed in.

The biggest questions entering West play:

* What is the best option, rotation-wise?
- Should Joe consider putting his five best on the floor -- moving Tommy Demogerontas to guard and promoting Tomiwa Sulaiman in to the starting lineup? This would give IUP a physically-imposing lineup, but would also leave the bench very thin.

* Who will emerge from the SRP (Shawndale Replacement Project)?
- Kyle Polce got the first crack but learned a very valuable lesson against Shippensburg: you can't help the team by sitting on the bench with 4 fouls in 5 minutes of court action.
- Dallis Dillard shows the most promise on both ends, but he's played (3) college games -- and is learning a new position. He should continue to acclimate with each game.
- K.J. Rhodes played his first meaningful minutes of the year against Shippensburg. He's a big guard at 6'4" and a pretty good defender. We haven't seen much on offense.
- Bryce Radford seems to be a whole different discussion. Joe's been extremely hesitant to play him against teams with strong guard play. His defensive struggles are well known by now. The fact he got just 5 minutes against Shippensburg -- with Polce in major foul trouble -- may have been a telling sign.

* Where is Ousmane Diop? He produces every time he's on the court (which, is fairly rare). Even if he's getting spot minutes, he needs to play more. He's a tremendous athlete at 6'10". He's quick. He can rebound. He can run. He blocks shots. If anything, he can give the other guys a quick breather and probably draw some fouls. Yet, he's playing under 9 mpg.

* Ethan Porterfield has emerged as just a stat machine -- points, blocks, rebounds, assists.

* David Morris is at 10.1 ppg. His role is now much larger. They will need him up around 14-15 ppg.

Winning the West will be a big task this year. IUP is no longer the favorite. There's going to be some losses along the way. If one of the SRP guys can elevate, IUP could win the West. If not, ... it's not likely.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Shawndale has completed his surgery. He will take a medical redshirt and return next year. I wish him well during his recovery.

[IUPalum]

It's apparent when a team has good guards that Radford is going to play only 3-8 mpg. Proof is in the stats by now. He only got 5 mins yesterday with Polce basically unavailable. That said it all.

Joe's gotta a big mess to deal with right now with this third guard. Armoni will get doubled the rest of the year unless one of the SRP guys can step up.

I think it's Polce until Dillard gets more ready. At that point, Dillard starts. Polce and Sulaiman play the Sixth Man role.

He's obviously not going to play Diop, either, so go with a 7-man rotation as long as possible. Radford and KJ will be in reserve along with Diop.

I wouldn't have hesitated to play Demo at the three yesterday. Not ideal but those combinations yesterday didn't work. If they are going to be forced to play slower why not try a big lineup.

Demo moving out to guard, btw, may not be far off (from what I'm hearing).

They've gone from 95 ppg (7 games with Shawndale) down to 66 ppg (3 games without).

Maybe they should have explored a mid-year transfer. Thankfully they have two weeks to keep trying to figure it out ... just not sure the answer is there.

It's obvious they aren't going to be near the same team. But, they have to find the best combination of 7 guys to make it work.

Heck, Gary Edward's won a Regional with 6 guys so anything can happen ... but they need more time to figure out who is going to play. Yesterday that guard spot was a disaster.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's apparent when a team has good guards that Radford is going to play only 3-8 mpg. Proof is in the stats by now. He only got 5 mins yesterday with Polce basically unavailable. That said it all.

Joe's gotta a big mess to deal with right now with this third guard. Armoni will get doubled the rest of the year unless one of the SRP guys can step up.

I think it's Polce until Dillard gets more ready. At that point, Dillard starts. Polce and Sulaiman play the Sixth Man role.

He's obviously not going to play Diop, either, so go with a 7-man rotation as long as possible. Radford and KJ will be in reserve along with Diop.

I wouldn't have hesitated to play Demo at the three yesterday. Not ideal but those combinations yesterday didn't work. If they are going to be forced to play slower why not try a big lineup.

Demo moving out to guard, btw, may not be far off (from what I'm hearing).

They've gone from 95 ppg (7 games with Shawndale) down to 66 ppg (3 games without).

Maybe they should have explored a mid-year transfer. Thankfully they have two weeks to keep trying to figure it out ... just not sure the answer is there.

It's obvious they aren't going to be near the same team. But, they have to find the best combination of 7 guys to make it work.

Heck, Gary Edward's won a Regional with 6 guys so anything can happen ... but they need more time to figure out who is going to play. Yesterday that guard spot was a disaster.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Some good quotes from both sides in the Indiana Gazette today.

[Ship69]

You got that right. Verticality and body control.

Certainly true, but for now I'm happy just to have him on the BB team. Carter and Johnson can both rebound like guys 2-3" taller due to their jumping ability. I'll be interested is seeing what happens in the Jan. 2 game with Virginia State as they were about the only team that's really beat us by much on the boards so far.

[jrshooter]

* You can't tell me Ship or IUP wouldn't die to have Carlos Carter playing WR on their football teams.

You got that right. Verticality and body control.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some good quotes from both sides in the Indiana Gazette today.

[Ship69]

My thoughts -- Monday Morning QB edition:


* Something many may not have seen as clearly on the video compared to in person, ... I thought Shippensburg played with way more intensity and emotion. They wanted that game yesterday and took it. While the score remained close most of the day, Shippensburg played much, much better. To its credit, IUP got it to within 4 points late, but just couldn't score the ball. They were getting some timely stops and turnovers, but the shots wouldn't fall. Shippensburg played a strong defensive game, but IUP was getting the shots it wanted (for the most part).

* The SRP (Shawndale Replacement Project) had a dreadful afternoon.
- Polce was in foul trouble during the ladies' game and logged just 10 minutes
- Dillard missed three wide-open treys at key times
- KJ Rhodes played more minutes yesterday than he did in the first 9 games combined
- Bryce Radford logged a whopping 5 unproductive minutes
- All told, the SRP scored 7 points on 3 of 9 shooting.

* Armoni had a rough day. He was due. They also had a plan to smother him. And, if he doesn't have help, that's going to happen.

* Ethan had a strong day with 19 and 12 but he hit just 7 of 17 from the floor. He had several around the basket miss that he almost never misses. David Morris played well. I also thought Sulaiman had a pretty gritty day.

* That was by far Demo's worst game at IUP. He was just out of it. They can't win -- especially now -- with his stat line yesterday (6 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 TOs)

* Huge part of the game: Four different times IUP got a turnover, ... they gave it right back on 3/4-court terrible passes. Demo made three of them. Those were complete momentum killers each time. IUP then got another turnover out of the press, and again immediately handed it right back with an errant pass. Five self-inflicted TOs in a tight game will get you a loss most days.

* I'd have considered going with the big lineup immediately after Polce was in (quick) foul trouble. Move Demo out to the 3 guard and play Ethan and Sulaiman underneath. It just felt like they were playing 4 on 5 for long stretches yesterday -- and Ship knew it.

* IUP had some major defensive lapses yesterday. No idea how they kept letting the deadliest sharp-shooter in the league (Biss) get so many clean looks. He hit a couple treys with nobody within 7' of him.

* IUP couldn't buy a trey ... 6 for 26 including a dreadful 2-17 in the second half. IUP also lost the glass, 36-33.

* That was a rough week. Taking 2 of 3 while breaking in a new rotation was a success. IUP also got some help from ESU yesterday with the Warriors knocking off Mercyhurst.

* If Ship stays healthy, I'd probably feel comfortable calling them the favorite. Having seen most of the top East teams, they are pretty superior now that Biss is back.

* Porterfield vs Nedrow was fun to watch. They go at each other pretty hard.

* You can't tell me Ship or IUP wouldn't die to have Carlos Carter playing WR on their football teams.

* On to the Salem replacement game (Pitt-Greensburg), and then the crazy West season starts.

Good analysis. I should point out that Sleva played fewer than two minutes of the first half as he picked up two very quick fouls. He's probably been Ship's most consistent rebounder so far this season. His absence prior to Biss's return likely would have lost the game for Ship.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

My thoughts -- Monday Morning QB edition:


* Something many may not have seen as clearly on the video compared to in person, ... I thought Shippensburg played with way more intensity and emotion. They wanted that game yesterday and took it. While the score remained close most of the day, Shippensburg played much, much better. To its credit, IUP got it to within 4 points late, but just couldn't score the ball. They were getting some timely stops and turnovers, but the shots wouldn't fall. Shippensburg played a strong defensive game, but IUP was getting the shots it wanted (for the most part).

* The SRP (Shawndale Replacement Project) had a dreadful afternoon.
- Polce was in foul trouble during the ladies' game and logged just 10 minutes
- Dillard missed three wide-open treys at key times
- KJ Rhodes played more minutes yesterday than he did in the first 9 games combined
- Bryce Radford logged a whopping 5 unproductive minutes
- All told, the SRP scored 7 points on 3 of 9 shooting.

* Armoni had a rough day. He was due. They also had a plan to smother him. And, if he doesn't have help, that's going to happen.

* Ethan had a strong day with 19 and 12 but he hit just 7 of 17 from the floor. He had several around the basket miss that he almost never misses. David Morris played well. I also thought Sulaiman had a pretty gritty day.

* That was by far Demo's worst game at IUP. He was just out of it. They can't win -- especially now -- with his stat line yesterday (6 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 TOs)

* Huge part of the game: Four different times IUP got a turnover, ... they gave it right back on 3/4-court terrible passes. Demo made three of them. Those were complete momentum killers each time. IUP then got another turnover out of the press, and again immediately handed it right back with an errant pass. Five self-inflicted TOs in a tight game will get you a loss most days.

* I'd have considered going with the big lineup immediately after Polce was in (quick) foul trouble. Move Demo out to the 3 guard and play Ethan and Sulaiman underneath. It just felt like they were playing 4 on 5 for long stretches yesterday -- and Ship knew it.

* IUP had some major defensive lapses yesterday. No idea how they kept letting the deadliest sharp-shooter in the league (Biss) get so many clean looks. He hit a couple treys with nobody within 7' of him.

* IUP couldn't buy a trey ... 6 for 26 including a dreadful 2-17 in the second half. IUP also lost the glass, 36-33.

* That was a rough week. Taking 2 of 3 while breaking in a new rotation was a success. IUP also got some help from ESU yesterday with the Warriors knocking off Mercyhurst.

* If Ship stays healthy, I'd probably feel comfortable calling them the favorite. Having seen most of the top East teams, they are pretty superior now that Biss is back.

* Porterfield vs Nedrow was fun to watch. They go at each other pretty hard.

* You can't tell me Ship or IUP wouldn't die to have Carlos Carter playing WR on their football teams.

* On to the Salem replacement game (Pitt-Greensburg), and then the crazy West season starts.

[Ship69]

As someone who's been watching basketball for quite a while, I have mixed feelings about the three-point shot, but you're not going to win in the modern game without making a few of them. Biss returning not only adds a very solid three-point option for Ship, but the other players eeem to have loosened up as well because they know Biss can pick them up. If Sleva, Carter, Johnson, and even Nedrow on occasion can join the three-point parade, Ship is hard to beat. Freshman Michael Dunn has the potential to develop into another option. Ship wasn't hitting the threes earlier and it showed in the losses to Mercyhurst and Cal. The Raiders had three three-pointers in each of those losses. This weekend it was 13 threes against UPJ and 12 against IUP. You're not going to beat teams such as the Hurst and IUP that play exceptional inside defense unless you can knock down a few long ones.

As you say, there are a lot of quality teams this year and very few really poor ones. Have an off shooting night and just about any squad in the league can beat you.

[EyeoftheHawk]

[Ship69]

Yeah, Foster had an off night. I remember him killing us in the past. IUP has great talent and I think they'll adjust to playing without Jones. They still play nice interior defense. You can't lose a player as good as him without it having a big effect, and it has brought IUP somewhat back to the pack. The Mercyhurst-IUP games should be fun this season.

[IUPalum]

[Ship69]

I will say, there are very few people on Earth who I'd trust with an open three more than I trust Jake Biss. The one he nailed with three minutes left was an absolute dagger.

He's one of those guys who can make a difference. Without him, I think Ship had a good team that probably would have won more than half its games. With him, they become a contender for the East Division. It enables the Raiders to bring Johnson off the bench as a great sixth man and takes pressure off all the other players.