Iup basketball

[EyeoftheHawk]

The shooting percentage against Seton Hill wasn’t going to stay at the 70%+ it was for a bit, but the falloff shouldn’t have been so dramatic. That one possession they got seven straight opportunities and missed them all. A middle school team would have hit one of those. It was quite odd to observe.

I think most of the possibilities have been covered. The lack of a true inside threat hurts them in this case too because typically when your outside shots aren’t falling and you’re in a scoring drought, you dump it into your big and let him go to work. IUP doesn’t have anything to resemble that. The second half collapses are likely a combination of two things, lack of focus and lack of adjustments. It’s hard to turn the intensity back up after halftime, but IUP seems to be turning it off completely. There are ways to improve that, but maybe it’s not seen as a priority. They might watch the women’s team for some pointers in that area. There’s also been some undisciplined play and maybe even a bit of selfishness by some. The extra pass isn’t being made often and instead we’re seeing low percentage shots being thrown up when ill-advised drives are shut down.

Finally, and this might be the most difficult one to accept, IUP collectively just isn’t as good as some of these teams. The teams that have beaten them are just better. It’s not all bad. They’re 14-4 and significantly better than they were last year. They’re also pretty young still so there’s room for growth. They have a pretty good nucleus so if they could find a quality big and keep the other guys around, this team might look more like IUP teams of the past in 2026-27.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

For better or worse, IUP hosts Penn State Du Bois tonight.

These two teams played last season. It was surprisingly a feisty, competitive game. IUP ended up winning, 88-70, but there was more to the story. Two PSU-D starters were lost early in the game, which obviously really shook things up on their side.

Their coach last year was a former IUP assistant, and had them well-prepared. IUP was largely a core of true freshmen last season, and seemed caught off guard by the intensity the visitors brought. PSU-D had several players last year who could have easily played in the PSAC.

The trouble in that league, however, is the better your team is ... the less of them you'll have the following season.

These games have had a common theme under Joe: Start slow and sloppy (while looking disinterested). He freaks out. IUP hammers them in the second half. Pray nobody gets hurt.

The only other D3 game that was remotely memorable was back in 2018. A very engaged Westminster came to the KCAC and the typical script evolved. Funny thing was with a minute to go in the first half IUP was only up by a couple points, and Westminster was making it rain from beyond the arc. The Titans hit 7-8 treys on IUP in the first half. Joe called a timeout shortly before the half and freaked out.

Westminster had two players that night who easily would have started for most PSAC teams. Eventually, though, their lack of a supporting cast was too much to overcome. IUP ended up winning, 106-77.

Those are the only two D3 games I remotely remember much about. They are usually a try-not-to-fall-asleep snooze fest.

But, this is like playing in Madison Square Garden for these teams. Every once in a while one comes in and puts up a fight.

I don't think we'll see much of a fight tonight, however.

[IUPalum]

Either you're a killer or you aren't! It's that simple. You can't coach that. This team doesn't have a killer. They are very offensively talented but no killer instincts when the going gets tough. They also have very small attention spans. Get up big and they turn the switch off.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The shooting percentage against Seton Hill wasn’t going to stay at the 70%+ it was for a bit, but the falloff shouldn’t have been so dramatic. That one possession they got seven straight opportunities and missed them all. A middle school team would have hit one of those. It was quite odd to observe.

I think most of the possibilities have been covered. The lack of a true inside threat hurts them in this case too because typically when your outside shots aren’t falling and you’re in a scoring drought, you dump it into your big and let him go to work. IUP doesn’t have anything to resemble that. The second half collapses are likely a combination of two things, lack of focus and lack of adjustments. It’s hard to turn the intensity back up after halftime, but IUP seems to be turning it off completely. There are ways to improve that, but maybe it’s not seen as a priority. They might watch the women’s team for some pointers in that area. There’s also been some undisciplined play and maybe even a bit of selfishness by some. The extra pass isn’t being made often and instead we’re seeing low percentage shots being thrown up when ill-advised drives are shut down.

Finally, and this might be the most difficult one to accept, IUP collectively just isn’t as good as some of these teams. The teams that have beaten them are just better. It’s not all bad. They’re 14-4 and significantly better than they were last year. They’re also pretty young still so there’s room for growth. They have a pretty good nucleus so if they could find a quality big and keep the other guys around, this team might look more like IUP teams of the past in 2026-27.

I unfortunately think there are just some problems you can't fix until the off-season.

I do think the way to counter-balance the weakness underneath is to change the combinations. I just don't get Damir and Bautista playing together. Add to it, this isn't a good defensive team. So, I say pretty much punt defense. Drop the hammer on offense. That means Grove and Triggs see drastically more court time.

But, I'll still give this team a chance against any team in the Region in a half-court game. They may not win, but they'll be in it.

The doomsday scenario is they draw an up-tempo team in Round 1. The way Joe coaches those games they have no chance. He walks right into the trap (literally). IF IUP does get in, it will likely be as a 7 or 8 seed. And, we know what that means.

To avoid that, they need to win out (aside from the next inevitable Gannon debacle). It's possible but the West is a grind. To be honest, I'm not sure IUP is more than a couple point favorite at Edinboro this Saturday. The Scots are playing well and should have some confidence.

If you plan to watch online, just get ready for the Lord of Red Bull to be screaming for 2 hours.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The most important thing that came out of that 'game' tonight was Ian Herring looking like Ian Herring again.

I get the opponent and don't care. He needed to see that ball go in the basket and have a big night.

IUP is a different animal with him engaged and doing what he does best. Hopefully this is the spark he's needed.

[IUPalum]

The most important thing that came out of that 'game' tonight was Ian Herring looking like Ian Herring again.

I get the opponent and don't care. He needed to see that ball go in the basket and have a big night.

IUP is a different animal with him engaged and doing what he does best. Hopefully this is the spark he's needed.

That kid lacks all the fundamentals that a college player should have. The bright side of that is that playing against him is tough because you don't always know what the heck he is going to do. The bad side is he will take bad fouls. Either way, they need him out there for depth off the bench.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That kid lacks all the fundamentals that a college player should have. The bright side of that is that playing against him is tough because you don't always know what the heck he is going to do. The bad side is he will take bad fouls. Either way, they need him out there for depth off the bench.

Herring has his faults. For instance, I question his engagement at times.

However, this team is dying for Ian Herring to play up to his potential.

Without question, he's a polarizing player. When he's focused and zoned in, IUP is a tremendously better team.

He just brings things to the floor Sarp cannot - he's a legit 6'5", he can be a pest / shutdown defender, he can drive the basket and shoot outside. He's a good rebounder. He's fast/quick. Opponents have to respect him and cover him.

He also, however, can vanish. He is frequently out of position (and routinely hears about it from Joe). Part of that, my opinion, he's not a good 'minute here and minute there' player. He thrives in longer stretches. It's almost like he needs time to get the engine going.

Herring is just a true sophomore, but that excuse only goes so far.

He was in the dog house against Cal and barely played (and they really could have used him against their bigger guards). One can argue his missed dunk really shifted the momentum. Following that, he was given the 'day off' at Seton Hill. Last night Joe only dressed (8) players so he had to play heavy minutes -- dog house or not. He performed well and looked like he was having fun (for the first time in a long time).

I'm cheering for him. They need him. It's a whole new ballgame with an engaged Herring as the 6th man. He's WAY too talented to be the unengaged 9th man.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Indiana High School junior Aaron Webb saved perhaps his biggest game for the biggest stage -- pouring in 35 points in a road upset at Shaler.

Webb did this in front of a packed house of high Major coaches/scouts. Per reports, LSU, Florida State, Marquette and Florida were in attendance. He currently has offers from Penn State and Virginia Tech. His stock is exploding.

He's 6'8" (and growing) and is essentially playing all 5 positions (with a very strong outside shot).

Webb is putting up these stats while routinely being double (and sometimes triple) teamed all season.

He's going to be a wealthy young man here very soon. When the big boys of the P4 are in town ... the big coin is going to follow.


It's an interesting night of high school basketball in town tonight.

Indiana hosts Plum in pretty much a must-win for IHS.

Across town, the Heritage Conference Championships (boys/girls) will be played inside the KCAC.

If you've never attended this event, well, it's about as crazy an atmosphere as you can get in high school basketball in Western Pa. It's far and away the largest crowd to watch a game in there all year (any level). The Heritage is largely comprised of all the smaller schools surrounding Indiana / Indiana County.

This event is hyped all year as "The Road to the KCAC" and fans from all the schools show up (not just of those playing).


I wish the regular building tenants would market events the same way. IUP attendance is in the tank.

[Chuck Norris]

Indiana High School junior Aaron Webb saved perhaps his biggest game for the biggest stage -- pouring in 35 points in a road upset at Shaler.

Webb did this in front of a packed house of high Major coaches/scouts. Per reports, LSU, Florida State, Marquette and Florida were in attendance. He currently has offers from Penn State and Virginia Tech. His stock is exploding.

He's 6'8" (and growing) and is essentially playing all 5 positions (with a very strong outside shot).

Webb is putting up these stats while routinely being double (and sometimes triple) teamed all season.

He's going to be a wealthy young man here very soon. When the big boys of the P4 are in town ... the big coin is going to follow.


It's an interesting night of high school basketball in town tonight.

Indiana hosts Plum in pretty much a must-win for IHS.

Across town, the Heritage Conference Championships (boys/girls) will be played inside the KCAC.

If you've never attended this event, well, it's about as crazy an atmosphere as you can get in high school basketball in Western Pa. It's far and away the largest crowd to watch a game in there all year (any level). The Heritage is largely comprised of all the smaller schools surrounding Indiana / Indiana County.

This event is hyped all year as "The Road to the KCAC" and fans from all the schools show up (not just of those playing).


I wish the regular building tenants would market events the same way. IUP attendance is in the tank.

I was surprised to see them only sitting at 12-7 with a player of that caliber. I suppose that’s life in the WPIAL for a school like Indiana, the competition is pretty stiff every night. Do they have any good players besides Webb? I haven’t seen an IHS game in person since the Riley Stapleton team that won the WPIAL.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was surprised to see them only sitting at 12-7 with a player of that caliber. I suppose that’s life in the WPIAL for a school like Indiana, the competition is pretty stiff every night. Do they have any good players besides Webb? I haven’t seen an IHS game in person since the Riley Stapleton team that won the WPIAL.

IHS is a scrappy team -- obviously built largely around Webb.

His brother (also a junior) is 6'4" and about 230 lbs. He's likely a D1 DL prospect in football. He's a handful in high school basketball (you aren't moving him). His basketball game has improved a lot this season.

But, they aren't very deep. Their PG was lost for the season. The section is pretty tough and they played a big non-conference schedule this year.

When Aaron is on, they can stay in any game. But, teams obviously know he's a star -- and try anything and everything to slow him down.

If you like dunks ... Webb throws down like serious dunks. The types you don't see in high school.

I'd love to see a dunk contest between him and IUP's Damir Brooks.

I've watched both IHS/Shaler games. Shaler has a guard that I sure hope Joe is chasing.

All in all, they've had a good season. They have a huge following. They'd be scary to meet in a one-and-done playoff game.

Next year, I think the buzz will be WPIAL title.

[Fightingscot82]

I thought about attending tomorrow's game at Edinboro but I don't want to say something critical of IUP and have a certain administrator call me to cuss me out.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I thought about attending tomorrow's game at Edinboro but I don't want to say something critical of IUP and have a certain administrator call me to cuss me out.

I'm curious if they'll play. Isn't the Boro area supposed to get bombed with snow this weekend?

[Fightingscot82]

I'm curious if they'll play. Isn't the Boro area supposed to get bombed with snow this weekend?

They might be coming up early tomorrow instead of tonight. 79 was closed in both directions today for a massive pileup near 422.

[Ship69]

Indiana High School junior Aaron Webb saved perhaps his biggest game for the biggest stage -- pouring in 35 points in a road upset at Shaler.

Webb did this in front of a packed house of high Major coaches/scouts. Per reports, LSU, Florida State, Marquette and Florida were in attendance. He currently has offers from Penn State and Virginia Tech. His stock is exploding.

He's 6'8" (and growing) and is essentially playing all 5 positions (with a very strong outside shot).

Webb is putting up these stats while routinely being double (and sometimes triple) teamed all season.

He's going to be a wealthy young man here very soon. When the big boys of the P4 are in town ... the big coin is going to follow.


It's an interesting night of high school basketball in town tonight.

Indiana hosts Plum in pretty much a must-win for IHS.

Across town, the Heritage Conference Championships (boys/girls) will be played inside the KCAC.

If you've never attended this event, well, it's about as crazy an atmosphere as you can get in high school basketball in Western Pa. It's far and away the largest crowd to watch a game in there all year (any level). The Heritage is largely comprised of all the smaller schools surrounding Indiana / Indiana County.

This event is hyped all year as "The Road to the KCAC" and fans from all the schools show up (not just of those playing).


I wish the regular building tenants would market events the same way. IUP attendance is in the tank.

Yeah, the trend in P4 college ball is swinging toward height these days as big players are increasingly becoming more versatile. A kid that size in high school should get a lot of looks. Michigan and Illinois have huge lineups this year, as is Duke, and they've been dominant in their leagues.

[IUPalum]

I'm curious if they'll play. Isn't the Boro area supposed to get bombed with snow this weekend?

Just a dusting of snow but temps below 0.