Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Interesting Polce starting over Dillard. Didn't see that coming. But, Dillard will thrive in that 6th man spot. I assume their minutes will be equal.

Tough weekend.. I think today will be more challenging than many think.

[hawks16]

From Tony C.'s preview story:

There’s no hiding the horizontal scar on Ethan Porterfield’s neck. It’s fresh, smack-dab in the middle, a couple inches long, the result of a surgical procedure performed only two weeks ago to remove a tumor on a parathyroid gland that is believed to be non-cancerous.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

From Tony C.'s preview story:

Ethan is a warrior. Best wishes toward him. He played most of last year ill and lost 30+ pounds over the course of the season ... and still made the Region team and got Regional MVP. Amazing.

His three game-clincher in the regional final was the biggest moment ever inside the KCAC.

He's playing today. No surprise. I assume his endurance will take some time to fully return.

[IUPalum]

Interesting Polce starting over Dillard. Didn't see that coming. But, Dillard will thrive in that 6th man spot. I assume their minutes will be equal.

Tough weekend.. I think today will be more challenging than many think.

I actually think Polce will start most of the year just to have the scoring weapon guard coming off the bench. Bethea won't score much away from the rim. His jumper needs work.

[IUPalum]

Covid crowd

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Turned it off. They look awful. Off to football game.

WTF is joe doing with these lineups? My God.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I've never seen an IUP team under Joe look so lost and helpless on defense. Goodness. Hopefully he lights some fires at halftime.

[IUPalum]

To only be down 5 with how lost they looked on D and how sloppy on offense is a feat in itself. Joe better clean it up at half.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

To only be down 5 with how lost they looked on D and how sloppy on offense is a feat in itself. Joe better clean it up at half.

Looked like an intramural team.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Looks like the guy woke them up

[IUPalum]

Looks like the guy woke them up

He was also smart and sat Ethan once they got up.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Ethan is a warrior. Best wishes toward him. He played most of last year ill and lost 30+ pounds over the course of the season ... and still made the Region team and got Regional MVP. Amazing.

His three game-clincher in the regional final was the biggest moment ever inside the KCAC.

He's playing today. No surprise. I assume his endurance will take some time to fully return.

I can’t wait to see the fully healthy version of Ethan play. Unreal what it turns out he was dealing with last winter. That IUP team was more beat up that most people realize. Here’s to better health in 2022-23.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Looks like the guy woke them up

We saw quite a bit of this from IUP last year. They’d look disinterested in the first half and then come out blazing in the second. I don’t know if that speaks to Joe’s halftime adjustments or just kids not tipping off fully ready to play. I also seem to recall Joe doing a fair amount of experimenting in the pre-conference part of the schedule. It was maddening at times because I thought a few teams got too close for comfort, but it’s pretty hard to question the results.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP 67
Winston-Salem State 50

Final

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Overall I'd say it was a good opening weekend -- aside from the first 20 minutes yesterday.

Holding Winston-Salem to just 50 points was quite impressive.

The negative so far (and in the preseason) has been Tomiwa can't stay on the floor. He's got some form of Daddy Ugbede foul disease going on.

With no Ousmane for another 6 games, IUP gets real small real fast with Tomiwa sitting. K.J. battles but you can't expect a 6'4" converted guard to bang the glass for extended periods. He was tangling with two 6'10" guys today. Tomiwa brings so much on both ends ... killer when he's sitting.

Diop will be a huge addition upon his return -- even in likely limited minutes.

Brooks and Bethea had their moments today -- good and bad. They will both keep improving with each game.

Shawndale went for 21 yesterday and 20 today. I wouldn't say he's completely back to form yet but he's getting there.

David and Ethan had solid games. Dillard played strong defensively all weekend. Polce was a little quiet.

Today was a likely a big SOS win. WSSU is going to win a lot of games. Lot of potential there.

The annual war with Bowie State is up next.