Iup basketball

[Ship69]

Well, Joe is playing two (true) freshmen. The one he just activated is a preferred walk-on (Jordan Lambert). The other, Sarp Furton, was a very late signee.

However, he's redshirting three others who are all on scholarship. Anthony Watson was the PG for a very strong BCCC team last year. Denzel Kabasele is a junior transfer and was thought by many to be a big, shutdown defender at the guard position. Gabriel Rombero-Sanz is a really big power forward who played a year post-grad. All three were thought to play this year in some capacity.

If you're going to the game Friday, stop down and see Joe. He may put you in the small forward rotation, too. You know the old saying ... if you're playing 6 small forwards that means you don't have one. Or, of course, they are in the tracksuit brigade.

On a serious note, the issue I see is even when he goes with four guards and Ethan, he is still playing the 4 spot as if a forward was on the floor. They are running their normal, slow offense. Most teams that play four guards and one big really stretch things and speed up the tempo (to offset the smaller lineup and take advantage of forcing an opposing big to cover a faster guard). Granted, Ethan isn't geared for a fast-tempo game. So, that could be the issue.

End of the day, if Damir Brooks doesn't emerge as the answer (and Joe quits playing this ridiculus platoon of SFs), this team isn't going anywhere. The issue with Dolan Waldo has become a major problem as he must have been expected to contribute heavy minutes this year (and is now somewhere on the North Pole).

They are playing 5 on 4 every minute KJ is on the floor - and every team they play knows it. It's not a knock on him. He's not a forward. At best he's 6'3". He was recruited as a guard.

LOL. Don't have the height for forward or the speed for guard. Even when I was younger, small and slow didn't cut it for basketball. I actually could shoot well, but you have to be able to get your shot off before that does you much good. Ship's teams from the last 2-3 seasons would have given this year's IUP team a ton of trouble, but the Raiders as presently constituted don't have the height to take advantage of IUP's small lineup, and I think the more extensive game experience of guys such as Porterfield and Dillard will give IUP the edge on Friday.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

LOL. Don't have the height for forward or the speed for guard. Even when I was younger, small and slow didn't cut it for basketball. I actually could shoot well, but you have to be able to get your shot off before that does you much good. Ship's teams from the last 2-3 seasons would have given this year's IUP team a ton of trouble, but the Raiders as presently constituted don't have the height to take advantage of IUP's small lineup, and I think the more extensive game experience of guys such as Porterfield and Dillard will give IUP the edge on Friday.

Porterfield will get his 18-22 points. Dillard will get his 16-18.

It gets dicey after that, which IUP really needs to fix.

Jaylen Stewart should be scoring more. He really gets to the rim well but has struggled finishing. He could be a 15 PPG player this year.

Garvin Clarke is scoring OK but misses so many foul shots. His scoring average should be higher. He's a really dynamic slasher and draws a lot of fouls. He has to cash in at the line. It cost them the Concord game (among other things).

Josh Petteno was brought in to be a sniper but he's really had four bad games and one good one. They really need him to step it up.

[Ship69]

Porterfield will get his 18-22 points. Dillard will get his 16-18.

It gets dicey after that, which IUP really needs to fix.

Jaylen Stewart should be scoring more. He really gets to the rim well but has struggled finishing. He could be a 15 PPG player this year.

Garvin Clarke is scoring OK but misses so many foul shots. His scoring average should be higher. He's a really dynamic slasher and draws a lot of fouls. He has to cash in at the line. It cost them the Concord game (among other things).

Josh Petteno was brought in to be a sniper but he's really had four bad games and one good one. They really need him to step it up.

On the other side of the coin, Ship needs to get more consistent scoring from players not named Ty Crespo and Markus Frank. Three-point shooting and foul shooting have not been where they should be given the makeup of this roster. Kyle Whippen has been a pleasant surprise and a force on the boards the past couple of games.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

On the other side of the coin, Ship needs to get more consistent scoring from players not named Ty Crespo and Markus Frank. Three-point shooting and foul shooting have not been where they should be given the makeup of this roster. Kyle Whippen has been a pleasant surprise and a force on the boards the past couple of games.

I'm sure it will be a close game.

I wouldn't bet on this IUP team even with your money.

They can look real good for 10 minutes and then real bad the next 10 minutes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe has to be looking at a sweep this weekend. They are in a hole. It won't be easy.

Fite scouted IUP in-person last weekend and obviously knows everything Joe does (he was Joe's top assistant for years if anybody didn't know).

IUP has had postseason success at Ship but has struggled there in the regular season at times.

This is also IUP's first time away from home. But, I think that may actually do them well.

Ship's played pretty good since that opening night shell-shock. That was not a good game to schedule with a new team, obviously.

[Ship69]

Joe has to be looking at a sweep this weekend. They are in a hole. It won't be easy.

Fite scouted IUP in-person last weekend and obviously knows everything Joe does (he was Joe's top assistant for years if anybody didn't know).

IUP has had postseason success at Ship but has struggled there in the regular season at times.

This is also IUP's first time away from home. But, I think that may actually do them well.

Ship's played pretty good since that opening night shell-shock. That was not a good game to schedule with a new team, obviously.

Most of the veteran coaches in this league have known what Lombardi does for years. Hasn't stopped him from winning a whole lot of games. Most nights, it basically amounts to who has the best players. The wild card at all levels of college basketball now is whether you run into some team that is hitting 3s out of its mind (or if your team doesn't hit any).

[IUPalum]

Joe has to be looking at a sweep this weekend. They are in a hole. It won't be easy.

Fite scouted IUP in-person last weekend and obviously knows everything Joe does (he was Joe's top assistant for years if anybody didn't know).

IUP has had postseason success at Ship but has struggled there in the regular season at times.

This is also IUP's first time away from home. But, I think that may actually do them well.

Ship's played pretty good since that opening night shell-shock. That was not a good game to schedule with a new team, obviously.

Playing at Ship could help the shooting since Joe practices in a similar setting.

[Chuck Norris]

Brooks replaces Petteno in the starting lineup. IUP off to a 10-0 lead

[Chuck Norris]

I certainly wasn’t expecting a 52 point first half.

9 guys played, KJ was not among them.

[bballfan03]

I certainly wasn’t expecting a 52 point first half.

9 guys played, KJ was not among them.

has IUP played better with the changes? Or is Ship just not as good?

[Chuck Norris]

has IUP played better with the changes? Or is Ship just not as good?

They played very well offensively. Joe turned them loose. Ship is small as Ship69 has pointed out. IUP killed them in the paint and early on the offensive glass, though Ship got the rebounding numbers a little closer as the half went on.

I’m not sure why Brooks hasn’t been the starting 4 all along. Maybe the doghouse rumor was legit.

[Chuck Norris]

Wonder when was the last time 3 guys scored 20 in a game for IUP?

[IUPalum]

Wonder when was the last time 3 guys scored 20 in a game for IUP?

Ethan, Shawndale and Armoni

[IUPalum]

More Damir and no KJ changed the offense a lot. Defense was very lazy tonight.

Did I mention no KJ???

[Ship69]

has IUP played better with the changes? Or is Ship just not as good?

Ship is not as good. Eighty percent of their scoring and rebounding graduated, and they were picked fifth in the Eastern Division for a reason. At this point we just don't have players who can match up physically with guys such as Porterfield and Brooks, who killed us on the boards. And IUP still has more depth at the guard position than Ship does. Crespo, one of Ship's best offensive players, sat much of the game as he couldn't check the bigger IUP guards and they were quick enough to force him into a couple of turnovers. The last play of the first half was typical as someone (I think Stewart) shot right over him. Markus Frank obviously is going to be a legit scorer for us. I wonder if we've ever had a freshman score 40 points at Ship, certainly not in his fifth game. Mike Dunn also had a terrific shooting game to help out, but Ship seems to have established a pattern of getting scoring from a couple of guys without much help from the rest of the team.

The Raiders are supposed to get a big guy transferring after the break who could help, but playing teams with big, physical guys is going to be a problem. They are playing hard while learning a new system, which is about all that can be expected of them at present.