Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Good thoughts.

If you divide up the schedule in sections ... with the first one being completed, it's a great start.

The next 10 games are brutal for IUP (with 6 of them being on the road):

at Kutztown
at Millersville (better than many think)

Shippensburg

at Fairmont State

West Chester

____ XMAS____

Gannon
UPJ

at Mercyhurst
at Slippery Rock
at East Stroudsburg


I'd be pretty ecstatic coming out of this 10-game set at 8-2 ... thrilled at 9-1. There's some real battles ahead in the near future. One nice thing is they get to go to FSU, Rock and ESU while students are gone ... offsets that home court advantage a bit. Playing at SRU over break is a huge advantage. They pack Morrow for IUP when they play during the semester.

[PSACwatcher]

Re: Iup basketball

Last year's team would have been 4-2 right now instead of 6-0.

These (big four) East crossover games and the trip to Fairmont State are going to be highly difficult. Getting Ship, WCU, Kutztown and ESU in the same season is tough. At least two of them are in Indiana.

Let's not get too far ahead. There are some faults showing to this point.

My big concern is this team getting sucked in to a West slop fest. It isn't built to bang.

Last year they were arrogant talkers. This group is confident players. Major difference. Great start. No doubt. But, yes, the roster is just way better. They are deep and will keep getting deeper.

They have 8 players who can all score. The 9th will soon be Danscecs as Joe gets more confidence in him. He's the floor spreader. Great deep shot. Hard group to defend for 40 minutes. They also can crank the D like no Joe team since DeVante's group.

IUP has talent but, more importantly, experienced older guys. That age gap of being 4-5 years older than many of their opponents plus playing together for a few years (Cobo, Lombardi and Wilem) makes a huge difference in college, IMO. From what I have seen in the West so far (not trying to jinx it IUPbigINDIAN), the only teams that could remotely challenge IUP in the West (assuming IUP remains injury free) are SRU and Gannon because both of those teams have the pure athleticism, defensive and rebounding capabilities and depth to challenge IUP "on any given night". IUP beats every other team in the West 10/10 games, but IUP beats SRU and Gannon 8/10. SRU has Till so SRU should be competitive in every game, but SRU's "other" issues may simply be too difficult for SRU to overcome in the long run. Gannon is super young and "PSAC inexperienced" at the guard spots, but Gannon's frosh guards are really athletic and talented. They just need time and Frank Webb. Gannon doesn't have a "go to" guy inside, but Gannon does have 4-5 very strong, athletic Bigs that can at least guard and rebound. Gannon needs "more reps", as they say in football, and will be much better after Webb and Salsamendi return and also when PSAC play heats up in 2019.

In the East, Ship is undersized and, in my opinion, a bit overrated despite really good coaching. Ship has beaten "tomato cans" to this point and I don't think Ship is built for the long haul. The other contenders in the East - E Stroud, W Chester and Kutztown - are all capable but I don't see those teams getting much better over the course of the season.

The PSAC is clearly IUP's to lose.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

There is something really different about how Irish Tom recruits compared to the other IUP WBB coaches when I used to sit in the bleachers and watch their teams play. I probably subscribed to the Jeff Dow recruiting the most with a few of the classes he got such as 2009 and 2011. But they all had their gems.

I guess it's hard to argue with Irish Tom, what's his record----something like 120-34? He has done well.

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Tom keeps finding gems. No doubt. He's done about 90 percent high school classes and the occasional 'right fit' transfer.

The women's game, for a variety of reasons, has a tremendously better player retention rate. He redshirts many of these girls and keeps the depth at a high level. Tom's teams are incredibly fundamentally sound.

Last year was really the first year I started to really enjoy watching the women's game. Joe's team was hard to watch at times last year. LOL.

Jury is still out on this season. The ladies have played a glorified high school schedule to this point. Things get real here in a couple weeks. But, they are deep with upperclassmen and have a loaded freshmen class sitting on the bench. Appleby is a legit first team All-America player.

I really hope they do get at least one test prior to the Cal/Boro games.

[IUP24]

Re: Iup basketball

Tom has two officially signed new recruits for next year's class.

Josie Smith, a 6'1" forward from New Albany High School (New Albany, OH), and Maria Cerro, a 5'6" guard from Bethel Park High School.


The IUP ladies moved up to No. 3 in yesterday's national poll.

New Albany is a super nice area in Columbus. Real ritzy. Outside of the city, so it's a little country, but man.. The houses there are freaking huge. Lot of money in that town. Rivals the Dublin/Muirfield area here. Dublin/Muirfield probably takes the cake for rich people in Columbus. That's where Muirfield Village is located,. Home of the Memorial tournament on the PGA Tour each summer. For the fans out there, everybody's boy Urban lives there lol.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Tom has two officially signed new recruits for next year's class.

Josie Smith, a 6'1" forward from New Albany High School (New Albany, OH), and Maria Cerro, a 5'6" guard from Bethel Park High School.


The IUP ladies moved up to No. 3 in yesterday's national poll.

There is something really different about how Irish Tom recruits compared to the other IUP WBB coaches when I used to sit in the bleachers and watch their teams play. I probably subscribed to the Jeff Dow recruiting the most with a few of the classes he got such as 2009 and 2011. But they all had their gems.

I guess it's hard to argue with Irish Tom, what's his record----something like 120-34? He has done well.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Tom has two officially signed new recruits for next year's class.

Josie Smith, a 6'1" forward from New Albany High School (New Albany, OH), and Maria Cerro, a 5'6" guard from Bethel Park High School.


The IUP ladies moved up to No. 3 in yesterday's national poll.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

[QUOTE I also noticed in the local edition that this is a very senior/upperclassmen laden team. These guys should have some unit cohesion and battle scars together by now. Maybe it does bode well.
-[/QUOTE]



This has been the target year for awhile now. They built up for this season. Cobo and Malik Miller are legitimate stars.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Last year's team would have been 4-2 right now instead of 6-0.

These (big four) East crossover games and the trip to Fairmont State are going to be highly difficult. Getting Ship, WCU, Kutztown and ESU in the same season is tough. At least two of them are in Indiana.

Let's not too far ahead. There are some faults showing to this point.

My big concern is this team getting sucked in to a West slop fest. It isn't built to bang.

Last year they were arrogant talkers. This group is confident players. Major difference. Great start. No doubt. But, yes, the roster is just way better. They are deep and will keep getting deeper.

That is always the really odd thing about PSAC West Hoops and the region. It's two completely different modes of combat. It's pretty tough to be equipped for both of them. What works in one may not work much in the other.

Regarding the talkers-----just take a look at what that idiot Jalen Ramsey did to the Jags. Okay, a talented player----but what good did he do running his mouth and inciting the opposition week after week to want to get the better of him? The game is hard enough without somebody throwing fuel on the fire like that and sparking your opponent.

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[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

This is a team that looks very equipped to be hunted by their opposition all season long.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well-said. That's a good line. It certainly applies as IUP usually gets other teams "A-game" because of their stature.

Always a big difference in the lion hunting you or you hunting the lion!

I also noticed in the local edition that this is a very senior/upperclassmen laden team. These guys should have some unit cohesion and battle scars together by now. Maybe it does bode well.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Last year's team would have been 4-2 right now instead of 6-0.

These (big four) East crossover games and the trip to Fairmont State are going to be highly difficult. Getting Ship, WCU, Kutztown and ESU in the same season is tough. At least two of them are in Indiana.

Let's not get too far ahead. There are some faults showing to this point.

My big concern is this team getting sucked in to a West slop fest. It isn't built to bang.

Last year they were arrogant talkers. This group is confident players. Major difference. Great start. No doubt. But, yes, the roster is just way better. They are deep and will keep getting deeper.

They have 8 players who can all score. The 9th will soon be Danscecs as Joe gets more confidence in him. He's the floor spreader. Great deep shot. Hard group to defend for 40 minutes. They also can crank the D like no Joe team since DeVante's group.

[IUP24]

Okay, I guess I have to admit that I know nothing about the landscape of D-II ball. But by the same token some of those teams Pitt beat already are going to win some games this season as well. They all were not awful teams.

But certainly a plus for IUP to get off to that good start this season. That seemed to play a part in their doom the past few seasons when they took too many early season losses. Or so it would seem.

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[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

No.

Virginia State, Le Moyne and Concord are going to win an awful lot of games this year.

Okay, I guess I have to admit that I know nothing about the landscape of D-II ball. But by the same token some of those teams Pitt beat already are going to win some games this season as well. They all were not awful teams.

But certainly a plus for IUP to get off to that good start this season. That seemed to play a part in their doom the past few seasons when they took too many early season losses. Or so it would seem.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

But haven't they mostly just played a lot of tomato cans, as you may say, thus far? Just sayin'

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No.

Virginia State, Le Moyne and Concord are going to win an awful lot of games this year.

VSU has lost twice -- by 3 points combined. They will win 20 games this year. That was a huge win. Same with Le Moyne (Elite 8 last year).

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Cobo just got his second PSAC West Athlete of the Award for the season. Guy is on fire.

But haven't they mostly just played a lot of tomato cans, as you may say, thus far? Just sayin'

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[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

Cobo just got his second PSAC West Athlete of the Award for the season. Guy is on fire.

He'll be first team all region and will be on the All American team. He's that good, he even looks like he is playing a little more physical this year too.