Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s exciting to tip off a new season. Will we still feel excitement in about 10 hours?

How about NOTHING in the Indiana Gazette? No preview or anything?

I haven't seen the paper edition yet but nothing online.

I know Tony is gone now but holy smokes.

[Chuck Norris]

It’s exciting to tip off a new season. Will we still feel excitement in about 10 hours?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Taking a look at:


Game 1

Glenville State (at Charleston)


All-Time Series (dating back to 1987):

IUP leads, 4-1. The last meeting was during the '14-'15 NCAA Tournament (played at WL). IUP won, 73-53.


Last year:

GSU was 14-16, 8-12 MEC

- Lots of new faces so you can't take too much out of last season
- Picked 6th in MEC preseason poll


Key players back:

Devin Collins (F) / 13.6 PPG & 5.5 RPG

Dominiq Penn (G) / 12.3 PPG


Key new additions:

(6) transfers
- Guards Samier Kinsler (WV State) and Ziri Blackwood (Charleston)
- Center and Forward / Lucas Ribeiro (Lindsey Wilson) and Paul Gakmar (New Hampshire)


What stands out about GSU:

* Lots and lots of size.
- Collins (6'8") is a very dynamic forward
- Gakmar (6'8") played in 31 games at New Hampshire (D1) last year
- Ribeiro is a real big center at 7'0" and 250 lbs.
- Several other big forwards off the bench


My take:

Joe's post is going to get tested immediately. Glenville was a pretty sporadic team last year. The Pioneers have a reputation in the MEC as a team you don't want to catch on the wrong night. They had some real good stretches but also some real shaky stretches. This version is a very athletic team with big bodies galore. They have some returning guards and some D2-experienced imports. It's going to be a tough one (as will most this year). The question tonight is can Joe's cast of freshmen handle the bright lights? IUP will obviously be without Dallis Dillard and Alphonso Pickens. Some perceived 'depth' guards are going to have to step into much larger roles immediately. Per reports, IUP went 1-1-1 in scrimmages.


Vegas:

GSU -7.5

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Wow. Forget Joe and IUP. I can’t imagine three true freshman starters happens anywhere in D2 very often. As much as I love this level of basketball, we’re not exactly recruiting NBA one and dones.

The worst part is we can’t even rely on the idea that at least we’ll get to watch these guys grow together over a number of years, since we have no idea who’s going to stay regardless of whether they play a lot or not.

Long year indeed.

I will say this is a good freshmen foursome. The scary one, to me, is the PG. That's just a real tough position to play as a true freshman. Not to mention, the old HC doesn't exactly have the patience to deal with a young PG playing 32 mpg. He's very talented but has some AAU tendencies he has to shake. It will be a process -- great moments and, well, freshman moments.


Bautista and Herring are a year removed from their graduating class so they are a little older than typical true freshmen.

Grove is now up to 6'8" (he was 6'6" in high school). He does not look like a freshman (he's pretty jacked, physically). I know Joe thinks he has star power. Had he been 6'8" last year, IUP wouldn't have got him.

[Chuck Norris]

It's going to be a long year. Just know that going in and it will be easier.

Joe's going to allegedly start three true freshmen tomorrow night. I don't think that has ever happened in his tenure. It certainly never happened in the Gary Edwards renegade era.

Dallis Dillard is said to be about 2 weeks away from starting to practice. So, that probably puts him at least a month out from playing. They haven't said what specifically happened to Alphonso Pickens other than he suffered a leg injury and is 'likely' done for the season.

So, that's two starting guards gone before the opening tip.

Starting lineup:

Kymani Merraro (PG) - True freshman
Ian Herring (G) - True Freshman
Christian Moore (G)
Luke Triggs (F)
Tyler Grove (F) - True Freshman

Obviously, the theme is not one of them has ever played a game at IUP.


Damir Brooks will co-man the 5 spot with Triggs. Both tend to get foul happy so hopefully the combination of them splitting the position will suffice.

The fourth true freshman, Bautista Rodriguez, will co-man the SF position.

I suspect Sarp will be the first guard off the bench. Denzel Kabasele, like Dallis, is also coming back from ACL surgery. No word if he's ready yet.

I have them at 6-6 at Christmas.

Wow. Forget Joe and IUP. I can’t imagine three true freshman starters happens anywhere in D2 very often. As much as I love this level of basketball, we’re not exactly recruiting NBA one and dones.

The worst part is we can’t even rely on the idea that at least we’ll get to watch these guys grow together over a number of years, since we have no idea who’s going to stay regardless of whether they play a lot or not.

Long year indeed.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

These are not the things I want to see to start off this otherwise mundane and uneventful day.

It's going to be a long year. Just know that going in and it will be easier.

Joe's going to allegedly start three true freshmen tomorrow night. I don't think that has ever happened in his tenure. It certainly never happened in the Gary Edwards renegade era.

Dallis Dillard is said to be about 2 weeks away from starting to practice. So, that probably puts him at least a month out from playing. They haven't said what specifically happened to Alphonso Pickens other than he suffered a leg injury and is 'likely' done for the season.

So, that's two starting guards gone before the opening tip.

Starting lineup:

Kymani Merraro (PG) - True freshman
Ian Herring (G) - True Freshman
Christian Moore (G)
Luke Triggs (F)
Tyler Grove (F) - True Freshman

Obviously, the theme is not one of them has ever played a game at IUP.


Damir Brooks will co-man the 5 spot with Triggs. Both tend to get foul happy so hopefully the combination of them splitting the position will suffice.

The fourth true freshman, Bautista Rodriguez, will co-man the SF position.

I suspect Sarp will be the first guard off the bench. Denzel Kabasele, like Dallis, is also coming back from ACL surgery. No word if he's ready yet.

I have them at 6-6 at Christmas.

[Chuck Norris]

I had Joe at 15-13 before all this bad news leaked.

They may be lucky to win 15 now. Two key starters gone before the first tip. Yikes.


Sounds like Dallis may be game ready by mid-Dec.

These are not the things I want to see to start off this otherwise mundane and uneventful day.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I had Joe at 15-13 before all this bad news leaked.

They may be lucky to win 15 now. Two key starters gone before the first tip. Yikes.


Sounds like Dallis may be game ready by mid-Dec.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Alphonso Pickens may be out for the year. Leg injury.

The true freshman from Canada will now start at PG.

Major, major loss.



Not looking good.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Dallis is still out. Joe said he may return to action in a couple weeks.

[Ship69]

Did you go. Any news from Ship?

They look like they will be improved this year, but they'll still have some work to do on interior defense and rebounding. York College, whom they scrimmaged, is D3 but had a couple of pretty good veteran players — a senior forward who was D3 all-region last season, and a pair of guards who were excellent shooters. They came out and must have hit 90 percent for the first 10 minutes, raining 3s in from everywhere. Ship got behind by about 15 and it was like WTH. But then things reverted to normal and the half ended with the score about even. Ship played with the lineup a little more the second half and won that rather easily. Markus Frank, last year's East Rookie of the Year, looks ready to pick up where he left off. Michael Dickson, the transfer guard from Mansfield, looks to be a good pickup. He's quick, plays decent defense, and can score. Looks as if he'll be the starting point guard. Juniors Timmy Connor and Trey Martin both shot well from outside. I think Martin hit about 5-for-5 from outside the line. He came out of HS with a rep as a deadly shooter, but seemed to have an off year last season. It will be a big deal if he gets his shooting eye back. Junior Donovan Hill played a lot at forward. He is athletic, but on the thin side, which sometimes hurts him on the boards. Gabe Romero-Sanz, the transfer from IUP, got some minutes and looks as if he'll have value in the rotation. He holds his ground defensively and moves well. Of the younger Ship players, I think you'll be hearing about freshman Jaydon Smith from Carlisle sooner rather than later. He was able to get in for several scores against a pretty tight, physical York defense, and he is quick enough to play good defense. After the regular scrimmage was held, they had an additional 10-minute scrimmage for the underclassmen, and Smith looked like a man among boys in that one. When Frank and Smith were on the floor at the same time, Ship looked a lot more dangerous. David Dorsey from Frederick, Md., has potential for Ship, but he is very thin, and I think it might take him longer to adjust to the increased physicality of PSAC play than Smith.

It'll be a work in progress for coach Fite, and I doubt we'll be a contender this year, but with a young squad I think the potential is there to build something.

[Cobra Hawks]

Ship has a similar scrimmage scheduled against York College on Sunday.

Did you go. Any news from Ship?

[Cobra Hawks]

Joe is hosting an intra-squad scrimmage this Saturday morning.

It's 'kind of' open to spectators (students, boosters and season ticket holders).

Anyone go to this?

[boatcapt]

He'd bench the whole roster by the first media timeout.

That might be. Give the false impression that he is platooning his "top 10" ala WLU!

If I were a betting man, I might make a hedge bet that he plays his top 10 for the first few games but after the third game he is back to playing his top seven with the starting five playing 3/4 of the minutes

[Fightingscot82]

He'd bench the whole roster by the first media timeout.

Those who aren't already redshirted lol