Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Soft is Cobo and Willem! I've heard it from PSAC players that played against them.

Cobo isn't a 'U.S.A.' style power forward. He won't have to play that role this year. His skill set isn't to be banging with Micah Till. I put that on the big guy for not having a legit bruiser down low. That will be fixed this season and Cobo can play more his style (finesse) and further away from the basket. No offense to Blake but I don't think teams feared him too much and as a result they could hammer on Cobo. When he's out of the game they'll have Chuckie Humphries and Keyes enter which is a substantial upgrade over the past two years.

Personally, I think Willem is going to explode this year. I watched every game last year. The last 7-8 games Willem was a different player. Not sure where he was the first 20-some games. Not sure if Joe just cut him loose or he just came out of his shell ... something changed. Once he started playing with a little mean streak he was a monster down the stretch. Remember, despite his size, that was his first year EVER playing hybrid center. I really believe he can be dominant this season.

Remember they are adding a 5-tool, 6'9" beast to start along side them in Krivacevic. Most other teams can't handle three legit, athletic bigs on the floor at the same time -- especially when they can all shoot deep and are ultra-athletic.

[Chuck Norris]

Re: Iup basketball

I certainly don't mean anything personal here against anyone. But there is a growing school of thought amongst IUP supporters that the IUP MBB team has dropped off quite noticeably since Bravado has installed his son into the lineup. Look at the stats that you have documented here. It all started when Dante got to campus and entered the starting lineup. If the coach wasn't insisting on playing his son then it is very likely that he would have a much better player in this spot such as a Devante Chance, a Ashton Smith, or a Kevin Stewart, et. al.

Those are the types of guys who get you to the Elite Eight and national title games. Not your undersized son. Okay, he's alright----but hardly in the class of some of the past backcourt players that Bravado has brought on board.

The best thing that can happen for IUP MBB at this time is for the son to graduate and have that spot opened up to a player that can really deliver the goods like some of the past greats.

What has IUP done the past three years with all of this going on? Pretty much a lot of nothing!

Again, I apologize. Nothing at all personal towards anyone.

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Despite the bulked up roster, I still have some concerns with this season.

This current run in discussion (past 3 years), the team has went 71-20, won three West titles, 0 PSAC Titles, made just one tournament and has one NCAA win.

If you're in to records ... sure, not bad. However, with the funding and support the program has, things aren't as bright when you dig a little deeper. Within that 71-20 record, pull the record against Regional-quality teams.

Were all three teams good enough to make 3 tournaments? Yes. That means nothing, however. It means problems exist.

* Norfleet and Daddy's senior year, the collapse up at SRU and follow it up with the debacle in Greensburg. They win a PSAC game and then lose on a Hail Mary at WCU.

* Two years ago, they go 28-4 but go 0-3 (at home) against Ship (twice) and Fairmont State. Two of those losses came in OT. Nonetheless. They hammer Kutztown in Round 1 of the NCAAs but then get blasted by Fairmont State. Granted, FSU was fantastic that year and lost in the National Title game.

* This past season they start by getting blown out by Findlay, but follow it up by losing in the final 20 seconds to eventual National Champion Ferris State. Things got fixed and then all the craziness happened -- from kitchen fires to Seton Hill (again), etc. Recall despite winning the trip to Greensburg cost them the Anthony Glover suspension and Dante broke his wrist. The phantom Glover call -- mind you from 45' away ... I'll always believe, was some jabroni ref sticking one back at Joe. Regardless, another year watching the tournament on TV. Virginia Union got hot and Gannon, despite more losses and less quality wins, got the nod.


Despite talent everywhere this year, I truly think this team is going as far as Dante can take them. The PG is the absolute most important position on the floor. That in itself leads to some concerns. Can he stay healthy for a full season? Or, even most of it? Can Joe not run him in to the ground with too many minutes? Can we see him shake the desire to try and play like Stephon Marbury? He's been physically battered the past two years -- knees, wrists, elbows, etc. He's taken a lot of lumps on here and in the stands.

That said, he's not a freshman anymore. Not a sophomore. Not a junior. If he can put it all together this year, it can be a real special year. I also think Joe's put too much of a load on his rotation the past three years. There's been no depth and the little depth that has existed has always had issues -- injuries, etc. One big advantage Dante has this year is he's never had this much talent around him. He just needs to feed the ball and (most importantly) stay in control. Let his playmakers do their thing and hit some treys when the opportunities arise. Get Armoni Foster at least 15 minutes a game at PG and you'll see a much better Dante.

He's not DeVante Chance. Few have been in the history of the program. He also doesn't need to be Chance this year. He just needs to have HIS best season at IUP. This is the team they've been waiting for ... but they can't do it without him having a very solid year.

[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

Soft is Cobo and Willem! I've heard it from PSAC players that played against them.

[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

I certainly don't mean anything personal here against anyone. But there is a growing school of thought amongst IUP supporters that the IUP MBB team has dropped off quite noticeably since Bravado has installed his son into the lineup. Look at the stats that you have documented here. It all started when Dante got to campus and entered the starting lineup. If the coach wasn't insisting on playing his son then it is very likely that he would have a much better player in this spot such as a Devante Chance, a Ashton Smith, or a Kevin Stewart, et. al.

Those are the types of guys who get you to the Elite Eight and national title games. Not your undersized son. Okay, he's alright----but hardly in the class of some of the past backcourt players that Bravado has brought on board.

The best thing that can happen for IUP MBB at this time is for the son to graduate and have that spot opened up to a player that can really deliver the goods like some of the past greats.

What has IUP done the past three years with all of this going on? Pretty much a lot of nothing!

Again, I apologize. Nothing at all personal towards anyone.

-

You say it's Dante but I think Cobo is the reason. He's the softest 6'9" player I've ever seen. Maybe it's a combination of the two since they came here together. I'd like to think it's not his son because if you remember, Joe's other son never even sniffed the court when he was here.

[IUP24]

They ran their press the last two years with Cobo at the top. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player, but Tevin Hanner was the perfect player to play at the top of a press. My favorite Tevin Hanner memory was a game where he got a tooth knocked out, brought it over to the bench, then kept playing.

I think while we're (...me) talking about pressing, what's been wrong with the IUP defense as a whole the last couple seasons? It seemed as though teams were scoring at will against IUP, which was uncommon. But the stats don't necessarily show that because, on average, IUP was right there near the top of the PSAC in team points per game against. I went back and looked at IUP's ppg against the last six seasons (and included the league leader for context) and there's definitely been an uptick in teams scoring against the Crimson Hawks. Is the big jump in points per game allowed from 2014-15 to 2015-16 because of the defensive leadership of someone like Devante Chance, or because that's about when everyone started watching Golden State and realizing space-and-pace is a great way to play basketball? I covered the team in 2013-14 for The Penn and I do remember at one point IUP was No. 1 in the nation in 3-point percentage against.

2017-18: IUP (27-3), 70.3 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 65.5
2016-17: IUP (28-4), 68.2 ppg
- League leader: Slippery Rock, 65.0
2015-16: IUP (21-8), 69.8 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 60.3
2014-15: IUP (31-7), 62.7 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 56.6
2013-14: IUP (24-5), 60.3 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 60.3
2012-13: IUP (26-6), 60.4 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 58.2

Can we credit the IUP defense getting 1.6 points per game better on defense in 2016-17 from the year prior to Devon Cottrell playing the full (and finally his last) season?

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

They ran their press the last two years with Cobo at the top. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player, but Tevin Hanner was the perfect player to play at the top of a press. My favorite Tevin Hanner memory was a game where he got a tooth knocked out, brought it over to the bench, then kept playing.

I think while we're (...me) talking about pressing, what's been wrong with the IUP defense as a whole the last couple seasons? It seemed as though teams were scoring at will against IUP, which was uncommon. But the stats don't necessarily show that because, on average, IUP was right there near the top of the PSAC in team points per game against. I went back and looked at IUP's ppg against the last six seasons (and included the league leader for context) and there's definitely been an uptick in teams scoring against the Crimson Hawks. Is the big jump in points per game allowed from 2014-15 to 2015-16 because of the defensive leadership of someone like Devante Chance, or because that's about when everyone started watching Golden State and realizing space-and-pace is a great way to play basketball? I covered the team in 2013-14 for The Penn and I do remember at one point IUP was No. 1 in the nation in 3-point percentage against.

2017-18: IUP (27-3), 70.3 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 65.5
2016-17: IUP (28-4), 68.2 ppg
- League leader: Slippery Rock, 65.0
2015-16: IUP (21-8), 69.8 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 60.3
2014-15: IUP (31-7), 62.7 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 56.6
2013-14: IUP (24-5), 60.3 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 60.3
2012-13: IUP (26-6), 60.4 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 58.2

Can we credit the IUP defense getting 1.6 points per game better on defense in 2016-17 from the year prior to Devon Cottrell playing the full (and finally his last) season?

I certainly don't mean anything personal here against anyone. But there is a growing school of thought amongst IUP supporters that the IUP MBB team has dropped off quite noticeably since Bravado has installed his son into the lineup. Look at the stats that you have documented here. It all started when Dante got to campus and entered the starting lineup. If the coach wasn't insisting on playing his son then it is very likely that he would have a much better player in this spot such as a Devante Chance, a Ashton Smith, or a Kevin Stewart, et. al.

Those are the types of guys who get you to the Elite Eight and national title games. Not your undersized son. Okay, he's alright----but hardly in the class of some of the past backcourt players that Bravado has brought on board.

The best thing that can happen for IUP MBB at this time is for the son to graduate and have that spot opened up to a player that can really deliver the goods like some of the past greats.

What has IUP done the past three years with all of this going on? Pretty much a lot of nothing!

Again, I apologize. Nothing at all personal towards anyone.

-

[hawks16]

Re: Iup basketball

It's actually a 1-2-2 press full court press. They've never been long enough to run a 1-3-1 press, maybe this year. We'll see but I'm not sure if that is in Joe's arsenal.

They ran their press the last two years with Cobo at the top. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player, but Tevin Hanner was the perfect player to play at the top of a press. My favorite Tevin Hanner memory was a game where he got a tooth knocked out, brought it over to the bench, then kept playing.

I think while we're (...me) talking about pressing, what's been wrong with the IUP defense as a whole the last couple seasons? It seemed as though teams were scoring at will against IUP, which was uncommon. But the stats don't necessarily show that because, on average, IUP was right there near the top of the PSAC in team points per game against. I went back and looked at IUP's ppg against the last six seasons (and included the league leader for context) and there's definitely been an uptick in teams scoring against the Crimson Hawks. Is the big jump in points per game allowed from 2014-15 to 2015-16 because of the defensive leadership of someone like Devante Chance, or because that's about when everyone started watching Golden State and realizing space-and-pace is a great way to play basketball? I covered the team in 2013-14 for The Penn and I do remember at one point IUP was No. 1 in the nation in 3-point percentage against.

2017-18: IUP (27-3), 70.3 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 65.5
2016-17: IUP (28-4), 68.2 ppg
- League leader: Slippery Rock, 65.0
2015-16: IUP (21-8), 69.8 ppg
- League leader: Mercyhurst, 60.3
2014-15: IUP (31-7), 62.7 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 56.6
2013-14: IUP (24-5), 60.3 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 60.3
2012-13: IUP (26-6), 60.4 ppg
- League leader: Gannon, 58.2

Can we credit the IUP defense getting 1.6 points per game better on defense in 2016-17 from the year prior to Devon Cottrell playing the full (and finally his last) season?

[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

What press did they run in 2015 with Tevin Hanner at the top?

It's actually a 1-2-2 press full court press. They've never been long enough to run a 1-3-1 press, maybe this year. We'll see but I'm not sure if that is in Joe's arsenal.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

All about the point man in the 1-3-1 press. Hanner was superb. At 6'5" he could jump out of the building and was lightning quick.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Who uses a 1-3-1 press??? That bench will have plenty of scoring. Morrow averaged almost 13 points a game for Eckerd last year which was a sweet 16 team. Armoni was a better scorer than Malik is HS which tells me he'll produce too. I think they'll be fine!

Certainly the IUP gals used it to often-devastating effect back in 2008-09 under Jeff Dow. They had the All-American Z Tracey sitting up at the top of it. It was savage. But you need a tall and supremely gifted athlete who can move to make it all go. It can be deadly when incorporated with all the proper ingredients.

I always liked those invented on the fly it seemed junk defenses that Gary Edwards came up with. They always seemed to work.

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[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

What press did they run in 2015 with Tevin Hanner at the top?

That was the last good press they ran !

[hawks16]

Re: Iup basketball

Who uses a 1-3-1 press??? That bench will have plenty of scoring. Morrow averaged almost 13 points a game for Eckerd last year which was a sweet 16 team. Armoni was a better scorer than Malik is HS which tells me he'll produce too. I think they'll be fine!

What press did they run in 2015 with Tevin Hanner at the top?

[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

I'd be shocked if Dancsecs plays. He's a freshman and that is a perfect opportunity to redshirt with 4 other guards. Armoni and Malik can play some point. Ulrich redshirting is perfect!

[Chuck Norris]

Re: Iup basketball

Other school of thought is Joe's had horrifically bad depth issues the last three years. Perhaps he saw time for change.

I still think he saw this particular season as the big shot to go deep.