Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

With Waldo, there’s a lot we don’t see that may have come into play. Maybe he didn’t put in the effort to gain size and strength last off season and it led to him not being competitive in the rough style of the PSAC. Or, maybe he tried and couldn’t and on top of that lost his shooting touch and a lot of confidence. It may just be he’s a D3 player and that’s the right place for him. The list of dominant high school players that didn’t make it at the next level is long because it’s such a different game with wide variations in competition.

Romero-Sanz may go down as one of the most talked about IUP players that never actually put on a uniform.

I’m pretty surprised to hear that Stewart hasn’t signed yet. He was inconsistent here, but overall a very good player in my opinion that could handle the ball well and was a streaky shooter.

In terms of overall signings for IUP, this won’t be a popular opinion but if the group that’s here now ends up being THE group, 2024-25 may look a lot like 2023-24. It’s great to have a stable full of good guards but you can’t win without good forwards and you certainly can’t make a playoff run without at least one dominant one. Add to that the loss of Ethan and everything he brought to the table and the IUP faithful should be a little bit nervous right now. Realistically, what impact forward is IUP going to sign at this point? I know there’s still time but…

Romero-Sanz didn't wait until Deadline Day to enter the Portal on his own accord. That's my guess, anyway. Something is brewing and Joe needed money and roster space.


I have a lot of sympathy for Romero-Sanz. He without question should have not only played last year but played a decent amount. What Joe did at the SF position was inexcusable and ruined their whole season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with all of that. But it gets back to my original thought/comment on Harris and the roster. You finished your post by saying "this next big to sign best be a dawg." Does Harris 'have that dawg in him' as they like to say? The injuries set off a chain reaction. I get that. I think with those guys, but also with an extremely weak front court, they are still at best a 20-21 win team next year. That's just my opinion, and I'll be happy to be wrong this time next year.

Would Harris be transformative enough of a signing to entirely change the conversation going into next year? That's the answer I'm asking for.

You have to remember how many close games IUP lost last year even with no Dillard and Kasabele -- and, playing 5 on 4

[IUP24]

You have to remember also this isn't 6 years ago. Transformative bigs ... all leave to play small D1.

Perhaps my wording was too hyperbolic in nature. But I think you get what I'm saying and where I'm coming from. My concern is the collection of characters they have will just not give them enough production in the front court. Perhaps Joe isn't expecting to get production - at all - from a scoring standpoint with the front court.

Again, I get that Ethan is not a one for one replacement. They just need something resembling somebody who can score in the front court in my opinion.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Is our guy graduating? Lol

Biggest secret in town.

Perhaps there is a reason Romero-Sanz left on the day the portal closed.

[IUP24]

You have to remember also this isn't 6 years ago. Transformative bigs ... all leave to play small D1.

Is our guy graduating? Lol

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with all of that. But it gets back to my original thought/comment on Harris and the roster. You finished your post by saying "this next big to sign best be a dawg." Does Harris 'have that dawg in him' as they like to say? The injuries set off a chain reaction. I get that. I think with those guys, but also with an extremely weak front court, they are still at best a 20-21 win team next year. That's just my opinion, and I'll be happy to be wrong this time next year.

Would Harris be transformative enough of a signing to entirely change the conversation going into next year? That's the answer I'm asking for.

You have to remember also this isn't 6 years ago. Transformative bigs ... all leave to play small D1.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with all of that. But it gets back to my original thought/comment on Harris and the roster. You finished your post by saying "this next big to sign best be a dawg." Does Harris 'have that dawg in him' as they like to say? The injuries set off a chain reaction. I get that. I think with those guys, but also with an extremely weak front court, they are still at best a 20-21 win team next year. That's just my opinion, and I'll be happy to be wrong this time next year.

Would Harris be transformative enough of a signing to entirely change the conversation going into next year? That's the answer I'm asking for.

Tell Joe to sign him and find out.

I like him.

My opinion also doesn't mean a thing.

[IUP24]

I don't look at just the record last year. Even with the mess at SF that team would have been tremendously better with Denzel Kasabele and Dallis Dillard. Dillard missed the final 22 games (ACL) and Kasabele missed the entire season (ACL in camp). Dillard is a star and Kasabele was going to play heavy minutes. When you think of the cause and effect those injuries caused ... Goodness. With those two Sarp never plays. Lambert never plays. KJ plays way, way less.

You can't replace that regardless of how many retired players you sign in December or any other coach speak bull crap.

They had a disaster at SF and knew it before the season. That's on Joe.

Jayson Harris, for example, is a totally different player than Ethan. He's much faster. Ethan's main (only) limitation was they had to play pretty slow with him. He also wasn't a great defender. Harris is a more traditional power forward (who smoked IUP several times). He can shoot a little from outside but can be a terror inside. He did tend to vanish at times. Joe is a much better coach than he had in Clarion and I think that would really elevate his game.

Triggs isn't anything like EP as a player. He's more old school small forward (not a 'stretch four'). He won't be popping many treys. But, he's a major improvement over last year.

I like Brooks but only as a spark off the bench. He's not a starter. I agree the incoming freshman big won't play next year.

So, I think it's abundantly clear he'll be signing another post player.

The million dollar question will be how Kasabele and Dillard look come October. Kasabele will be a year removed from injury. Dillard will be 10 months. If they come back full force, IUP can certainly be a tournament team. We'll see. Everybody comes back a little different from those ACL surgeries.

Joe had his disaster year. It was due. I think they bounce back quickly.

But, this next big to sign best be a dawg.

I agree with all of that. But it gets back to my original thought/comment on Harris and the roster. You finished your post by saying "this next big to sign best be a dawg." Does Harris 'have that dawg in him' as they like to say? The injuries set off a chain reaction. I get that. I think with those guys, but also with an extremely weak front court, they are still at best a 20-21 win team next year. That's just my opinion, and I'll be happy to be wrong this time next year.

Would Harris be transformative enough of a signing to entirely change the conversation going into next year? That's the answer I'm asking for.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think Harris was a good player (to be clear, I haven't looked up his PPG or other stats to do a deep dive) and played well against IUP and in other games I watched. We're talking about him bringing in another ready to play post player. If they send the car up to Clarion, how dynamic is he in the sense that he would be a transformative player to aid IUP in swinging their record from 17-13 to 24-6?

I'm coming from the sense that this is what their post looks like behind the faces on the roster:
1) Triggs is probably not going to provide them much in the way of scoring.
2) Brooks is extremely raw and athletic. But Joe has clear trust issues there and he isn't a great shooter.
3) Joe won't play a true freshman. If he does, he won't have a real tangible role. I will believe it only when I see it.

It's impossible to just replace Ethan body for body. You can't do that. But even with Harris, are you even coming close to replacing his minutes, scoring, production, etc., in a "by committee" approach?

I think the conversation needs to start entertaining discussions on the realistic expectations category for next year. A swing of 7 games, like I suggested, is sizeable. Going 21-9 and being a bubble team for the Tournament may be realistic. I am intrigued in hearing thoughts on that.

With this group right now, what are everybody's thoughts heading into next year regarding your own personal expectations - I recognize that's going to be different for all of us. Is simply making the tournament a success? Do they need to be win the PSAC West again? Do they need to contend for the Region? This is probably the most unique offseason in terms of this type of chatter that we've had in years. I personally don't think it's fair to put the expectation on being a legitimate Regional contender following the year they just had. I think they have the chance to be better, but by how much?

I don't look at just the record last year. Even with the mess at SF that team would have been tremendously better with Denzel Kasabele and Dallis Dillard. Dillard missed the final 22 games (ACL) and Kasabele missed the entire season (ACL in camp). Dillard is a star and Kasabele was going to play heavy minutes. When you think of the cause and effect those injuries caused ... Goodness. With those two Sarp never plays. Lambert never plays. KJ plays way, way less.

You can't replace that regardless of how many retired players you sign in December or any other coach speak bull crap.

They had a disaster at SF and knew it before the season. That's on Joe.

Jayson Harris, for example, is a totally different player than Ethan. He's much faster. Ethan's main (only) limitation was they had to play pretty slow with him. He also wasn't a great defender. Harris is a more traditional power forward (who smoked IUP several times). He can shoot a little from outside but can be a terror inside. He did tend to vanish at times. Joe is a much better coach than he had in Clarion and I think that would really elevate his game.

Triggs isn't anything like EP as a player. He's more old school small forward (not a 'stretch four'). He won't be popping many treys. But, he's a major improvement over last year.

I like Brooks but only as a spark off the bench. He's not a starter. I agree the incoming freshman big won't play next year.

So, I think it's abundantly clear he'll be signing another post player.

The million dollar question will be how Kasabele and Dillard look come October. Kasabele will be a year removed from injury. Dillard will be 10 months. If they come back full force, IUP can certainly be a tournament team. We'll see. Everybody comes back a little different from those ACL surgeries.

Joe had his disaster year. It was due. I think they bounce back quickly.

But, this next big to sign best be a dawg.

[Ship69]

I think Harris was a good player (to be clear, I haven't looked up his PPG or other stats to do a deep dive) and played well against IUP and in other games I watched. We're talking about him bringing in another ready to play post player. If they send the car up to Clarion, how dynamic is he in the sense that he would be a transformative player to aid IUP in swinging their record from 17-13 to 24-6?

I'm coming from the sense that this is what their post looks like behind the faces on the roster:
1) Triggs is probably not going to provide them much in the way of scoring.
2) Brooks is extremely raw and athletic. But Joe has clear trust issues there and he isn't a great shooter.
3) Joe won't play a true freshman. If he does, he won't have a real tangible role. I will believe it only when I see it.

It's impossible to just replace Ethan body for body. You can't do that. But even with Harris, are you even coming close to replacing his minutes, scoring, production, etc., in a "by committee" approach?

I think the conversation needs to start entertaining discussions on the realistic expectations category for next year. A swing of 7 games, like I suggested, is sizeable. Going 21-9 and being a bubble team for the Tournament may be realistic. I am intrigued in hearing thoughts on that.

With this group right now, what are everybody's thoughts heading into next year regarding your own personal expectations - I recognize that's going to be different for all of us. Is simply making the tournament a success? Do they need to be win the PSAC West again? Do they need to contend for the Region? This is probably the most unique offseason in terms of this type of chatter that we've had in years. I personally don't think it's fair to put the expectation on being a legitimate Regional contender following the year they just had. I think they have the chance to be better, but by how much?

I think all our schools will be facing "unique" offseasons in the future. Basketball is in a way more volatile than football because the addition of a single player or two can be the difference between great success and mediocrity. In women's basketball this past year, Shippensburg losing just two key players to graduation in effect resulted in a drop from an NCAA tourney team to a record well under .500. IUP didn't have one of their best seasons last year, but imagine how much worse it would have been if Porterfield had left or suffered a serious injury. The top players will always be coveted, and there are really more opportunities to move around in basketball than football. Coaches will still have to hit the high school ranks while paying attention to the portal, then worry about whether you're simply training your young guys so they can be better when they jump to another school. As a fan, it's gotten harder to enjoy the success of a freshman or sophomore at your school fully because you start worrying about whether he'll be around next year. It's a different world these days.

[IUP24]

Three post players on the roster as of today ... Triggs, Brooks and the true freshman.

Believe it or not it's still somewhat early in the transfer signing process. Many of Joe's impact transfers over the years have signed in May and June.

He can fix it real fast. Send the car up to Clarion.

I think Harris was a good player (to be clear, I haven't looked up his PPG or other stats to do a deep dive) and played well against IUP and in other games I watched. We're talking about him bringing in another ready to play post player. If they send the car up to Clarion, how dynamic is he in the sense that he would be a transformative player to aid IUP in swinging their record from 17-13 to 24-6?

I'm coming from the sense that this is what their post looks like behind the faces on the roster:
1) Triggs is probably not going to provide them much in the way of scoring.
2) Brooks is extremely raw and athletic. But Joe has clear trust issues there and he isn't a great shooter.
3) Joe won't play a true freshman. If he does, he won't have a real tangible role. I will believe it only when I see it.

It's impossible to just replace Ethan body for body. You can't do that. But even with Harris, are you even coming close to replacing his minutes, scoring, production, etc., in a "by committee" approach?

I think the conversation needs to start entertaining discussions on the realistic expectations category for next year. A swing of 7 games, like I suggested, is sizeable. Going 21-9 and being a bubble team for the Tournament may be realistic. I am intrigued in hearing thoughts on that.

With this group right now, what are everybody's thoughts heading into next year regarding your own personal expectations - I recognize that's going to be different for all of us. Is simply making the tournament a success? Do they need to be win the PSAC West again? Do they need to contend for the Region? This is probably the most unique offseason in terms of this type of chatter that we've had in years. I personally don't think it's fair to put the expectation on being a legitimate Regional contender following the year they just had. I think they have the chance to be better, but by how much?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

With Waldo, there’s a lot we don’t see that may have come into play. Maybe he didn’t put in the effort to gain size and strength last off season and it led to him not being competitive in the rough style of the PSAC. Or, maybe he tried and couldn’t and on top of that lost his shooting touch and a lot of confidence. It may just be he’s a D3 player and that’s the right place for him. The list of dominant high school players that didn’t make it at the next level is long because it’s such a different game with wide variations in competition.

Romero-Sanz may go down as one of the most talked about IUP players that never actually put on a uniform.

I’m pretty surprised to hear that Stewart hasn’t signed yet. He was inconsistent here, but overall a very good player in my opinion that could handle the ball well and was a streaky shooter.

In terms of overall signings for IUP, this won’t be a popular opinion but if the group that’s here now ends up being THE group, 2024-25 may look a lot like 2023-24. It’s great to have a stable full of good guards but you can’t win without good forwards and you certainly can’t make a playoff run without at least one dominant one. Add to that the loss of Ethan and everything he brought to the table and the IUP faithful should be a little bit nervous right now. Realistically, what impact forward is IUP going to sign at this point? I know there’s still time but…

Three post players on the roster as of today ... Triggs, Brooks and the true freshman.

Believe it or not it's still somewhat early in the transfer signing process. Many of Joe's impact transfers over the years have signed in May and June.

He can fix it real fast. Send the car up to Clarion.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I don't think anybody had Waldo to a PSU branch on the bingo card.

I think he'll become one of the great mysteries of the Lombardi era. Recall he was a (VERY rare) early signee. As we know, Joe almost never signs high school players in the Fall window.

Waldo started the first two games of the season at SF. He was given the game-winning shot opportunity on opening night. By Game 3 he was exiled to Joe Island -- essentially never seen again. Was the play actually called for him against Concord? Recall he jacked up that trey with 12 seconds to go. Did that lead to the exile?


Now, would he have started those two first games if Damir Brooks wasn't suspended? Who knows. His immediate demotion, and Damir remaining in the dog house all season, made way for the KJ tenure. Recall the original plan was KJ was to be Ethan's backup (a job that plays about 4 mpg).

Waldo is pretty skilled. He's almost more of a 6'7" shooting guard than a forward. That will be different at the D3 level, where he won't see the physical monsters of the Atlantic Region.

My personal opinion is Joe gave up on him too early. He needed to drastically bulk up to be effective at IUP. We never got to see him play without the deer in the headlights thing going. Freshmen take time - a lot more than two games.

There's probably more to the story. Always is. But, he's gone.

Joe needs at least one more ready-to-play post player. He couldn't possibly convert another guard. Well, I do think he dreams of finding a 5'11" power forward.

Perhaps it is Petteno and we just don't know it yet. If he does stay, however, I'd sure hope Joe doesn't waste him playing in the low post again. He really came on down the stretch. Sure makes you wonder.

With Waldo, there’s a lot we don’t see that may have come into play. Maybe he didn’t put in the effort to gain size and strength last off season and it led to him not being competitive in the rough style of the PSAC. Or, maybe he tried and couldn’t and on top of that lost his shooting touch and a lot of confidence. It may just be he’s a D3 player and that’s the right place for him. The list of dominant high school players that didn’t make it at the next level is long because it’s such a different game with wide variations in competition.

Romero-Sanz may go down as one of the most talked about IUP players that never actually put on a uniform.

I’m pretty surprised to hear that Stewart hasn’t signed yet. He was inconsistent here, but overall a very good player in my opinion that could handle the ball well and was a streaky shooter.

In terms of overall signings for IUP, this won’t be a popular opinion but if the group that’s here now ends up being THE group, 2024-25 may look a lot like 2023-24. It’s great to have a stable full of good guards but you can’t win without good forwards and you certainly can’t make a playoff run without at least one dominant one. Add to that the loss of Ethan and everything he brought to the table and the IUP faithful should be a little bit nervous right now. Realistically, what impact forward is IUP going to sign at this point? I know there’s still time but…

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't think anybody had Waldo to a PSU branch on the bingo card.

I think he'll become one of the great mysteries of the Lombardi era. Recall he was a (VERY rare) early signee. As we know, Joe almost never signs high school players in the Fall window.

Waldo started the first two games of the season at SF. He was given the game-winning shot opportunity on opening night. By Game 3 he was exiled to Joe Island -- essentially never seen again. Was the play actually called for him against Concord? Recall he jacked up that trey with 12 seconds to go. Did that lead to the exile?


Now, would he have started those two first games if Damir Brooks wasn't suspended? Who knows. His immediate demotion, and Damir remaining in the dog house all season, made way for the KJ tenure. Recall the original plan was KJ was to be Ethan's backup (a job that plays about 4 mpg).

Waldo is pretty skilled. He's almost more of a 6'7" shooting guard than a forward. That will be different at the D3 level, where he won't see the physical monsters of the Atlantic Region.

My personal opinion is Joe gave up on him too early. He needed to drastically bulk up to be effective at IUP. We never got to see him play without the deer in the headlights thing going. Freshmen take time - a lot more than two games.

There's probably more to the story. Always is. But, he's gone.

Joe needs at least one more ready-to-play post player. He couldn't possibly convert another guard. Well, I do think he dreams of finding a 5'11" power forward.

Perhaps it is Petteno and we just don't know it yet. If he does stay, however, I'd sure hope Joe doesn't waste him playing in the low post again. He really came on down the stretch. Sure makes you wonder.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah, that would be a definite "yikes" if true.

It's true. He posted it.