Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm higher on Brooks than some. I think he's in line for a big step this year. Obviously the foul concerns are real, but if he cleans up that part of his game some, I think he could give solid minutes and be a contributor. I'd also like to see Joe cut Waldo loose and let him just play his game, which he's not necessarily known for doing with young players. He's going to need to put weight on, but given his build and the type of game he plays, he could grow into the role that Marcel had when he was in the program. I think they had those same expectations with Jeffers and Danielak, but they were slightly different players and I don't think Danielak was as talented or lived up to that expectation.

Brooks has a lot of upside. We have to remember he was just a redshirt freshman last year (and played a very limited role). Joe said recently that he has improved a lot this off-season.

Reality is (this year) when he's on the floor he'll be the 5th scoring option -- I project he'll play Joe's famous 'garbage man' role this year. Bad name but a very important job. He can be an elite rebounder. He's big and fast -- and hard to move. They'll toss him the occasional alley-oops. There's enough film of him putting guys on posters last year that teams have to account for him.

His biggest weakness last year, aside from the fouling, was mishandling so many no-look passes that should have resulted in easy lay-ups/dunks. Hopefully that was just a freshman thing.

Joe's already said him and Waldo are going to tag-team the position Tomiwa left behind. I've seen Waldo play a good bit. He's listed as a SF but he really plays more like a 6'7" SG. They can really play different styles depending which is in the game.

The lights get bright in two days. I suspect Friday will be a big crowd. It's the first Opening Night in a very long time that I don't think anybody knows what to expect.

[IUP24]

I'm higher on Brooks than some. I think he's in line for a big step this year. Obviously the foul concerns are real, but if he cleans up that part of his game some, I think he could give solid minutes and be a contributor. I'd also like to see Joe cut Waldo loose and let him just play his game, which he's not necessarily known for doing with young players. He's going to need to put weight on, but given his build and the type of game he plays, he could grow into the role that Marcel had when he was in the program. I think they had those same expectations with Jeffers and Danielak, but they were slightly different players and I don't think Danielak was as talented or lived up to that expectation.

[IUPalum]

It’s hard to say what to expect on Friday, let alone for the entire season. I have a feeling though that it’s not going to be a great year. There are just so many changes and as good as IUP was last year, the margin between winning and losing was still razor thin at times. Keep in mind IUP plays in one of, if not the best, regions in the country. On top of that, the PSAC is right up there with the best conferences and it seems deep this year.

If I’m playing IUP, my game plan is to take Porterfield away and make everyone else beat you. I’m not sold on Brooks as a starter logging a bunch of minutes. It will be interesting to see what Waldo brings to the table. He might be the wild card in this discussion. If he’s proven to be able to survive physically and also be a bit of a sharpshooter, that changes things because IUP has two really good guards in Stewart and Dillard and an elite forward in Porterfield. Apparently Clarke is a true point guard, which will help. We also haven’t talked at all about MacNamara. I know he’s looked pretty sloppy and even a bit lost at times when he’s gotten in, but he is a physical presence and could play 7-8 meaningful minutes per game. If he’s improved, maybe they could even get 10 minutes out of him, but that may be a stretch.

For IUP to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year, Stewart and Dillard will have to prove they can score at the rate needed to support Porterfield. Brooks has to improve significantly on both ends of the floor, Waldo is going to have to bring a new element to the offense that causes defenses problems, and someone is going to have to be a surprise and bring some intangibles to the table that we haven’t talked much about. That’s a long checklist and it might all be doable, but as has been mentioned a ton, there are a lot of unknowns.

Saturday might be the most interesting game IUP has played in the last 10 years.

If Joe never gave Diop a shot then there is no way an uncoordinated MacNamara gets in for meaningful minutes.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Interesting in that there are a lot of new faces that will be expected to fill key roles, and on top of that, we aren’t certain how Dillard, Stewart, and Brooks will grow into their roles of needing to lead the team. Looking back at Joe’s tenure, this is a significant rebuild. Even he won’t know how these guys will respond in key moments in games.

Probably not a coincidence this is the first year in forever they didn't play any exhibition games. Word on the street is -- at times -- they looked very good in their scrimmages.

Personally, I'm not concerned with the guards. That's a good group. Big and fast. They have a natural PG who is strong on both ends (he's not a big scorer but a great creator). Dillard, Stewart and Petteno are all strong shooters. Dillard can also be an elite defender and he's a great rebounder.

My concern is almost exclusively under the basket.

Porterfield is as close to 'healthy' as he's probably been in two years. Obviously he will be the star and an All-America candidate. I get real nervous after him, however.

I do expect a big leap for Damir this year. He was just a redshirt freshman a year ago. My fear is can he play 20+ mpg without fouling out? If he's cleaned that part of his game up, he should have a pretty good year. They don't need him to score much. He needs to rebound and defend. He'll get the occasional alley-oop and some put-backs.

Waldo is going to flip with Damir. They are extremely different players. Damir is more the muscle, high-flying PF type. Waldo is going to be launching treys, etc. He's 6'7" but extremely thin and may struggle banging with the big boys in the West. As he redshirted a year ago, Friday night will be his first collegiate game. He can handle the ball like a guard and is a strong shooter, so he's eventually going to cause some match-up problems.

The fourth post player is obviously the big question. Is Joe going to go with the raw but massive Romero-Sanz, or will KJ again be forced to play in the low post? My hunch is Joe will go with KJ as Ethan's backup (with the theory EP will play 32-34 mpg). Where that obviously becomes a big issue is if Ethan gets in foul trouble or gets banged up. KJ can handle small spurts but he's just not going to be productive playing heavy minutes against drastically bigger players. I think it's a no-brainer to not redshirt Romero-Sanz and to just break him in slowly. But, they call him Redshirt Joe for a reason.

Like I said the other day, I think Concord has either 9 or 10 new players. Both teams may actually wear name tags lol.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Interesting in that there are a lot of new faces that will be expected to fill key roles, and on top of that, we aren’t certain how Dillard, Stewart, and Brooks will grow into their roles of needing to lead the team. Looking back at Joe’s tenure, this is a significant rebuild. Even he won’t know how these guys will respond in key moments in games.

Agreed. You said Saturday and not Friday (Concord) so I thought you were implying there was something special about ND.

[EyeoftheHawk]

What is interesting about Saturday? I'm assuming the likely 6 on 6 matchup?

Interesting in that there are a lot of new faces that will be expected to fill key roles, and on top of that, we aren’t certain how Dillard, Stewart, and Brooks will grow into their roles of needing to lead the team. Looking back at Joe’s tenure, this is a significant rebuild. Even he won’t know how these guys will respond in key moments in games.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tomiwa had 6 points and 4 rebounds (20 minutes) in his Towson debut in a loss at Colorado.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s hard to say what to expect on Friday, let alone for the entire season. I have a feeling though that it’s not going to be a great year. There are just so many changes and as good as IUP was last year, the margin between winning and losing was still razor thin at times. Keep in mind IUP plays in one of, if not the best, regions in the country. On top of that, the PSAC is right up there with the best conferences and it seems deep this year.

If I’m playing IUP, my game plan is to take Porterfield away and make everyone else beat you. I’m not sold on Brooks as a starter logging a bunch of minutes. It will be interesting to see what Waldo brings to the table. He might be the wild card in this discussion. If he’s proven to be able to survive physically and also be a bit of a sharpshooter, that changes things because IUP has two really good guards in Stewart and Dillard and an elite forward in Porterfield. Apparently Clarke is a true point guard, which will help. We also haven’t talked at all about MacNamara. I know he’s looked pretty sloppy and even a bit lost at times when he’s gotten in, but he is a physical presence and could play 7-8 meaningful minutes per game. If he’s improved, maybe they could even get 10 minutes out of him, but that may be a stretch.

For IUP to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year, Stewart and Dillard will have to prove they can score at the rate needed to support Porterfield. Brooks has to improve significantly on both ends of the floor, Waldo is going to have to bring a new element to the offense that causes defenses problems, and someone is going to have to be a surprise and bring some intangibles to the table that we haven’t talked much about. That’s a long checklist and it might all be doable, but as has been mentioned a ton, there are a lot of unknowns.

Saturday might be the most interesting game IUP has played in the last 10 years.

Petteno is that guy. Proven D2 player and a legit sharpshooter. Clarke will be a big player at this level.

Just hope Romero-Sanz is dressed.

What is interesting about Saturday? I'm assuming the likely 6 on 6 matchup?

[EyeoftheHawk]

It’s hard to say what to expect on Friday, let alone for the entire season. I have a feeling though that it’s not going to be a great year. There are just so many changes and as good as IUP was last year, the margin between winning and losing was still razor thin at times. Keep in mind IUP plays in one of, if not the best, regions in the country. On top of that, the PSAC is right up there with the best conferences and it seems deep this year.

If I’m playing IUP, my game plan is to take Porterfield away and make everyone else beat you. I’m not sold on Brooks as a starter logging a bunch of minutes. It will be interesting to see what Waldo brings to the table. He might be the wild card in this discussion. If he’s proven to be able to survive physically and also be a bit of a sharpshooter, that changes things because IUP has two really good guards in Stewart and Dillard and an elite forward in Porterfield. Apparently Clarke is a true point guard, which will help. We also haven’t talked at all about MacNamara. I know he’s looked pretty sloppy and even a bit lost at times when he’s gotten in, but he is a physical presence and could play 7-8 meaningful minutes per game. If he’s improved, maybe they could even get 10 minutes out of him, but that may be a stretch.

For IUP to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year, Stewart and Dillard will have to prove they can score at the rate needed to support Porterfield. Brooks has to improve significantly on both ends of the floor, Waldo is going to have to bring a new element to the offense that causes defenses problems, and someone is going to have to be a surprise and bring some intangibles to the table that we haven’t talked much about. That’s a long checklist and it might all be doable, but as has been mentioned a ton, there are a lot of unknowns.

Saturday might be the most interesting game IUP has played in the last 10 years.

[IUPalum]

God I'd love to make the trip like I have the past 6-7 years but it just isn't feasible this year. I'll still be watching.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There's a rare triple-header at the KCAC on Friday (for any of you extreme diehards).

12 p.m. IUP women host PSU-New Kensington in what will be your typical 110-28 game.

5 p.m. Notre Dame (OH) vs UPJ

7:30 p.m. Concord at IUP



Pitt-Johnstown is playing (5) regular season games at Joe's House this year. Two this weekend, two at Thanksgiving and the regular season game against IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Anyone go to the open day? Any revelations?

Todd May is on the clock. That's the story.

[Cobra Hawks]

Anyone go to the open day? Any revelations?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Sounds like a great time. Guaranteed he won't show his hand.

Perhaps he'll unveil which 8 players will redshirt this year.

[IUPalum]

Joe is hosting a 'meet the team' open practice tomorrow at the Field House (11 a.m.). It is open to the public.

It's actually a good concept this year being 7 of the 14 haven't played a game here (8 if you count Waldo).

Sounds like a great time. Guaranteed he won't show his hand.