Iup basketball

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Justin Weldon in the low post ... defensive substitution. That would be interesting.

Tort may not let any current players join the team but the 20 who just left ... I have no doubt there's some basketball players there. They have a solid six players. Most of us think they have seven. Joe doesn't seem to agree on Vaughns right now. Maybe Tort could put the big WR, JoJo Gause, on loan.


What's the harm in adding some depth. Allen Wright could be Brandon Spain 2.0

Talking out loud, of course, but it couldn't hurt.

I'm not sure if there is really a precedent for IUP football players playing on the hoops team to be honest. I'm having a hard time really thinking of any. We know that hoops G Eddie Peterson joined the IUP football team one season. I think years ago (late 1960s-early 1970s) the WR Dave Smith played both. He would later play for the Steelers.

Yeah, Allen Wright would be one of the top names for me. Mongoose quick. But it is tough to make that transition at this level I would imagine. I once had a friend who could masterfully play a dozen or so musical instruments. I asked him one time why he never sang. He started to sing and Goodness he was a horrible singer. Just because you can do one thing well doesn't mean you can do the other stuff. Talent at this level is pretty rarefied air to breathe.

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

That's usually grades. Injuries keep you on the roster.

Same thing happened with Seton Hill's best player last year.

[Bart]

Re: Iup basketball

That is an odd one. That guy can play.

Usually if they are injured they at least stay on the roster. He just vanished. He has two years left ... wherever he is.

Verbal commits has him listed as an Expected Red Shirt for the current season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

That is an odd one. That guy can play.

Usually if they are injured they at least stay on the roster. He just vanished. He has two years left ... wherever he is.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Justin Weldon in the low post ... defensive substitution. That would be interesting.

Tort may not let any current players join the team but the 20 who just left ... I have no doubt there's some basketball players there. They have a solid six players. Most of us think they have seven. Joe doesn't seem to agree on Vaughns right now. Maybe Tort could put the big WR, JoJo Gause, on loan.


What's the harm in adding some depth. Allen Wright could be Brandon Spain 2.0

Talking out loud, of course, but it couldn't hurt.

[IUPalum]

Re: Iup basketball

IUPbigIndians, I like your thinking of bringing in a transfer player after friday. I'm looking at the football roster and there are quite a few athletes that played basketball also in High School. I'd like to think that Joe has a plan and now that football is over, that he can go full throttle with the plan.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

How about Justin Weldon as the big linemen. I guarantee that nobody this side of the Incredible Hulk would move him out of the paint. LOL.

Dante needs to shut it down. As you say the PG position has to be able to flat out move and cut on a dime.

Have you seen the IUP gals play at all? I hear they are very good. I wonder how far they can get?

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Not sure on the general admission tickets. If you buy them at the door I think it's $8 plus the whatever fee so it comes out to about $11 or so. Attendance tanked for the first five home dates ... averaged about (an announced) 750 per game (down about 40 percent from the first five games last season).

They were mostly all exciting games. The Virginia State loss came down to the wire. Bloomsburg (OT) and Lock Haven were won at the wire. Urbana and The Sciences were blowout wins.


Two of the best home games of the whole year are over break -- and on a Monday and Tuesday night.

I agree with you on Dante. I admire the courage and effort but that's just the one position you can't play at 60 percent health -- and it surely didn't help matters. I'd like to see him officially shut down and not risk the medical red-shirt. That way he gets two more healthy years in the program and can grab a year of grad school while he's at it. A knee injury isn't going to heal mid-season for a point guard ... far too much stress, cuts, etc.


The West is better this year (it couldn't have got worse than last year). It's still nothing special, however. Joe won't go undefeated again in the West with just 6 guys but he could still win it. They need a little help on the bench. The semester officially ends Friday so I believe they could make any roster addition(s) as early as Monday. I wouldn't be opposed to even doing what Edinboro did last year and adding a big, athletic lineman ... just somebody to spell some players, take/give some fouls and grab a few boards.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Thanks a bunch. I appreciate that.

My only time in the KCAC this fall has been The Beach Boys concert in November. Fantastic!

I can't really say that I have followed or even read up too much on the IUP hoops teams to be honest. I guess everybody was tuned into the football team's nice run.

Interesting about Dante's knee injury. I thought it was sheer madness to have him play so quickly after the initial surgery. I hurt my knee rather badly in March and gave it a month and a half to heal before getting back to doing any hiking. Well, mid-April came and I took a four or five mile hike. Didn't feel too bad....until the next day. Down for another month and a half. It takes time for those things to heal. But I guess Bravado Joe wanted to see what he had on it before he needed to make a decision on shutting him down for the redshirt. My best advice would be just to stay off of it and get the redshirt year. It could take several months to heal properly, more if you don't treat it properly.

BTW---How much are GA tickets into the KCAC this year for the cheap seats? I'd be afraid to even inquire.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Yeah ...

It's not been an easy year inside the KCAC.

I think I consumed too much of the preseason kool-aid and read too many glowing predictions.

If it could have went wrong so far ... it has.

Big injuries, an odd redshirt, killer schedule, AWOL defense (at times), turnover city (at times), blown out twice, 6-man rotations, ... we've seen it all so far in 11 games.

It's oddly been kind of exciting in a strange way. There may even be a new player (or two) soon.


Regardless ... glad to hear you're doing better. I was a little worried when you vanished. Now that you're back I'll post some more on the ladies. That's a real special team. Tom's bench would start at most schools. Joe could start traveling to road games in a mini-van soon. No need for the big charter.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Welcome back. Where the heck have you been?

Took ill in early October and was down for a time. But no worries, back and as mean an SOB as ever!

Hey, I thought you retired from IUP basketball after the one IUP meltdown. LOL. Just frustration I suppose. We've all been there before.

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Welcome back. Where the heck have you been?

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Re: Iup basketball

Let's not forget what Irish Tom and his IUP lasses have accomplished thus far. What did I hear they are, something like 9-0 and top five in the national polls? It would be cool if they could keep up the pace and host the conference and regional tourneys. But a long ways to go before you can even think about that. But it would be exciting for the community come March.

-

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Iup basketball

Football ending means the spotlight -- for better or worse -- turns back to Bravado Joe.

At 7-4, this upcoming stretch is going to tell the tale of this season. The next 8 games:

Fairmont State
** break **
@ Gannon
@ UPJ
Mercyhurst
Slippery Rock (Monday night over break ... brilliant scheduling by the PSAC office)
East Stroudsburg
@ Edinboro
@ California

There's not an easy one in there.

IUP has 18 regular season games left. If they go 14-4 that gets them to 21-8 entering the conference tournament. I don't know that they can go 14-4 to finish the season but they may have to if they want to go dancing.

This is when you can't help but question playing Findlay, Ferris State, Virginia State and Fairmont State in the same non-conference schedule. That's three of your losses already ... and most assume the fourth is coming next Tuesday night.

Forget the date on the calendar. This Fairmont game is one of the bigger at the KCAC in a long, long time. If they win and are at 8-4 entering West play ... I like their chances. No more 'close losses' ... that's been the theme for the past several years now in big games. How do you beat Fairmont State with 6 players? Great question. That's why Joe makes the big bucks. But, as I said earlier, if they play Fairmont's style with 6 guys ... it will be a massacre.