Iup basketball

[IUPHawks24]

Being that Joe and Gary are pretty close, I was fully expecting to see IUP play Mercyhurst.

Rumor is IUP offered a home and home and Mercyhurst turned it down. That's a shame. They easily could have kept the series going - even with Mercyhurst in (pretend) D1.

Based on the Lakers' initial football schedule, it's no surprise. I do suspect we'll see their upcoming basketball schedule with several D2 and D3 cupcakes on it.

No chance they play any D2's. If they beat any D2's, they're supposed to. If they lose, it looks bad. Same reason why Robert Morris and St Francis would never play IUP. Mercyhurst will probably play some low level D3's to balance out however many guarantee games they have to play.

I'll be curious what their team looks like. They've lost way too many players to the portal the last couple of years. Surprised they let Triggs walk, thought he could've been an all conference guy for them in the PSAC next year.

Any reports from the summer? Is the team on campus?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

They finally schedule some road games in Ohio and I am unable to go that weekend!

It's a good non-conference schedule. You figure the two D3's were late replacements for Mercyhurst.

Glenville State is an odd program. They are good one night and bad the next. They typically have a new roster yearly so getting them early is helpful. Joe's teams historically look lost on opening night for the first 30 minutes so who knows. These two haven't played in about 10 years.

Charleston played in the Regional Final last year but now has a new coach and several of its stars graduated or transferred. We'll see. Their new HC played for Huggins at WVU so we could see a similar style.

Tiffin on a neutral court (in an empty gym) ... pretty decent program. They had a good team last year but lost a lot of grad students and seniors.

Ashland is coming off a strong season and returns a lot. Tough game.

Lincoln beat Cal two years ago and nearly beat Gannon last year. This isn't an easy one. They play physical and are very big and athletic. Lincoln is the reigning CIAA champion.

South Carolina Beaufort ... obviously a lot of plot twists -- Kyle Polce and Ron Fudala return, etc. They started fast last year but faded. I suspect they will be much better in Year 2.

Thiel will have some decent players but not nearly enough. Recall several years ago Westminster came to the KCAC and went toe-to-toe with IUP in the first half before Joe blew a gasket at halftime. IUP then hammered them in the second half. I could see a similar story here.

PSU-Dubois ... they better start pumping free tickets now.

[IUP24]

Men's non-conference schedule:


Glenville State (at Charleston)

at Charleston

Tiffin (at Ashland)

at Ashland

Lincoln

South Carolina Beaufort

Thiel

Penn State Dubois



Pretty good slate until the last two games. Two in one season? WTF? I don't think Joe's ever played (4) away/neutral games in one season in the non-conf.

They finally schedule some road games in Ohio and I am unable to go that weekend!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Being that Joe and Gary are pretty close, I was fully expecting to see IUP play Mercyhurst.

Rumor is IUP offered a home and home and Mercyhurst turned it down. That's a shame. They easily could have kept the series going - even with Mercyhurst in (pretend) D1.

Based on the Lakers' initial football schedule, it's no surprise. I do suspect we'll see their upcoming basketball schedule with several D2 and D3 cupcakes on it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Men's non-conference schedule:


Glenville State (at Charleston)

at Charleston

Tiffin (at Ashland)

at Ashland

Lincoln

South Carolina Beaufort

Thiel

Penn State Dubois



Pretty good slate until the last two games. Two in one season? WTF? I don't think Joe's ever played (4) away/neutral games in one season in the non-conf.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP (men's) is opening the season against Glenville State (at Charleston) on Friday, Nov. 8.

IUP will play host Charleston the following day.

California is also attending.

[EyeoftheHawk]

There is an exhibition game scheduled for this Sunday in the Memorial Field House (not the KCAC).

Dante Lombardi is coaching a D2 team in The Tournament. He has Cobo Diaz and Ethan Porterfield, as well as Carlos Carter (formerly of Shippensburg) among others on his team.

They will scrimmage a team of IUP alumni (coached by Joe). This team will feature Armoni Foster, Shawndale Jones, etc.

It should be a pretty competitive game. Admission is $10. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

Chucky is lacing them up for this too. Should be a fun game to watch and nice to see some former stars returning. I’m out of town all weekend but hope to be back in time for this. What a collection of players!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There is an exhibition game scheduled for this Sunday in the Memorial Field House (not the KCAC).

Dante Lombardi is coaching a D2 team in The Tournament. He has Cobo Diaz and Ethan Porterfield, as well as Carlos Carter (formerly of Shippensburg) among others on his team.

They will scrimmage a team of IUP alumni (coached by Joe). This team will feature Armoni Foster, Shawndale Jones, etc.

It should be a pretty competitive game. Admission is $10. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

(unofficial) Roster update:



Guard

Garvin Clarke (6'1")
Dallis Dillard (6'4")
Denzel Kabasele (6'4")
Christian Moore (6'3")
Sarp Furtun (6'3")
Anthony Watson (6'2")
Kymani Merraro (5'9")
Alfonso Pickens (6'2")


G/F

Bautista Rodriguez (6'7")
Ian Herring (6'6")
Tyler Grove (6'6")



Forward

Damir Brooks (6'7")
Luke Triggs (6'7")
Callum MacNamara (6'7")

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The 'official' recruiting class:



Luke Triggs (PF / Mercyhurst / 6'7")

Tyler Grove (G/F / true freshman / 6'6")

Ian Herring (G / Quaker Valley and Kiski Prep / post-grad / 6'6")

Bautista Rodriguez (G/F / Argentina / 6'7" / not a freshman ... 20 years old but not sure class rank)

Kymani Merraro (PG / C.O.D.E. Academy / Canada / 5'9")

Christian Moore (G / New Hampshire / 6'2")


-------

Alfonso Pickens 'was' committed but was not listed by WCCS. Perhaps they missed him ... or, he's gone (can't tell from Twitter)

[EyeoftheHawk]

The Romero-Sanz departure took yet another strange twist in the Twitter world.

He praised IUP for his time here and for giving him his start - and the community.

He also left on deadline day which this now (to me) confirms it wasn't his choice.

It will be funny if he puts up 15 and 10 on Joe in the KCAC in December.

Hopefully we have some more 6'2" shooting guards we can convert to forwards.

I know the roster isn't completed yet but this seems like another mess upcoming.

Tons of guards and - at best - a very questionable post.

Saw that too. That was a head scratcher, which pretty much follows the script of the entire Romero-Sanz mystery.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The Romero-Sanz departure took yet another strange twist in the Twitter world.

He praised IUP for his time here and for giving him his start - and the community.

He also left on deadline day which this now (to me) confirms it wasn't his choice.

It will be funny if he puts up 15 and 10 on Joe in the KCAC in December.

Hopefully we have some more 6'2" shooting guards we can convert to forwards.

I know the roster isn't completed yet but this seems like another mess upcoming.

Tons of guards and - at best - a very questionable post.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Can't disagree with you. They also didn't seem to be as lockdown on defense last season as usual.

Not even close. Dallis Dillard is one of the top defenders in the Region and he was out. Denzel was brought in as a shutdown defender and he was out. Garvin played at a high level defensively but that was it among the guards.

Perfect Storm

[Ship69]

No doubt, but as this is the IUP thread, my post was specifically geared toward Joe's team.

Joe had a lot of legitimate excuses to finish 17-12 last year (a whopping five season-ending injuries). He also had some not so legitimate excuses (the year-long train wreck at the 4 position).

It was also IUP's first non-20 win season in at least 14 years. It was due. Hopefully it was a fluke.

That said, I witnessed the season first-hand. Even with all the injuries they should have been better. His lineup management was -- at best -- highly questionable. I don't need to name names at this point.

Down the stretch they nearly beat Cal twice and probably should have (or, certainly could have) beat Gannon twice -- while also somehow losing at home to Clarion and Seton Hill.

Personally, I think they'll be pretty strong this year. Now, if they want to be NCAA strong, they need another post player. And, again, that is in process. Whom it will be will tell the tale -- along with a couple recovering knees. Garvin Clarke is coming off a very strong year (with not much help at the guard spots). He should flourish this year and be one of the best PGs in the country. He was getting extreme heat last year as teams knew IUP was pretty much a two-man show.

Can't disagree with you. They also didn't seem to be as lockdown on defense last season as usual.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I get it, but what is considered a bad year under Lombardi is probably a typical or even better-than-average year at most PASSHE schools. We've been in the top tier at Ship the past few years, but the outlier season last year will require a substantial reboot. Chris Fite is doing his best to start anew. They have a couple of talented kids coming in this year and were about a just-missed recruit or two from instant competitiveness. As it is, they should be improved, but you're likely not contending with eight new players and no seniors. IUP has its issues this season, but so does almost everyone else. Very few of the teams are the same from year to year these days.

No doubt, but as this is the IUP thread, my post was specifically geared toward Joe's team.

Joe had a lot of legitimate excuses to finish 17-12 last year (a whopping five season-ending injuries). He also had some not so legitimate excuses (the year-long train wreck at the 4 position).

It was also IUP's first non-20 win season in at least 14 years. It was due. Hopefully it was a fluke.

That said, I witnessed the season first-hand. Even with all the injuries they should have been better. His lineup management was -- at best -- highly questionable. I don't need to name names at this point.

Down the stretch they nearly beat Cal twice and probably should have (or, certainly could have) beat Gannon twice -- while also somehow losing at home to Clarion and Seton Hill.

Personally, I think they'll be pretty strong this year. Now, if they want to be NCAA strong, they need another post player. And, again, that is in process. Whom it will be will tell the tale -- along with a couple recovering knees. Garvin Clarke is coming off a very strong year (with not much help at the guard spots). He should flourish this year and be one of the best PGs in the country. He was getting extreme heat last year as teams knew IUP was pretty much a two-man show.