Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s easy to spin this season as a series of unfortunate circumstances. But one thing not really mentioned is the difference in support - like assistant coaches. This year just one guy from the hs ranks. Before there were at least 2 up and comers looking to impress- like Fite and some guys that could actually practice with the players. Less raining support and probably less manage/secretary support as well. And big changes at the foundation . That makes a big difference. Question is how does he feel about the decrease in support?

Joe had 15 years of having ace recruiters to find all these guys.

He hasn't since Fudala left a couple years ago.


The current product is not a coincidence. Put it that way.

[ironmaniup]

Most seem to be about 50-50 on Lombardi returning


That said, he's not at catastrophe level. He is right now, obviously, but this season is almost over (and shot).

He's got 5 good guards coming back next year (two on the elite level). A couple bigs and they bounce back quick. Several of the good teams in the PSAC are losing a lot when this season ends. This could turn out to just be a blip.

It’s easy to spin this season as a series of unfortunate circumstances. But one thing not really mentioned is the difference in support - like assistant coaches. This year just one guy from the hs ranks. Before there were at least 2 up and comers looking to impress- like Fite and some guys that could actually practice with the players. Less raining support and probably less manage/secretary support as well. And big changes at the foundation . That makes a big difference. Question is how does he feel about the decrease in support?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

hiring since 2020 was hard because of the budget crisis at IUP and Covid. Tort was easy, since they didn't spend on a major search. Carey was odd because of that, along with the sudden need for a coach. Carey seems better than anyone expected, and I think his quirks will grow on people if he's successful. Taking down Gannon was a marquis win for him. Let's see how the post season plays out.

Most seem to be about 50-50 on Lombardi returning - and, that's some people fairly close to things.

I don't personally think it's even a question he will be back for 2-3 more years. He's not that old. The job pays way too much (he's making about $200k in salary). He's also a small-town celebrity, which I think he enjoys.

That said, I think this was a wake-up call. He needs to do much better recruiting. For years he just had more talent than 98 percent of the PSAC. I'm not sure how much 'coaching' he's actually done in the past 4-5 years, and I think they got lazy on the recruiting trail.

That said, he's not at catastrophe level. He is right now, obviously, but this season is almost over (and shot).

He's got 5 good guards coming back next year (two on the elite level). A couple bigs and they bounce back quick. Several of the good teams in the PSAC are losing a lot when this season ends. This could turn out to just be a blip.

[boatcapt]

It’s nuanced and too involved to tease out here, and failure is your word, not mine. The next year is critical for both sports, which happen to be the two the community invests in around here. It’s easy to lead from in front and really easy to have overly friendly relationships with the coaches when things are going well. Things aren’t so wonderful all the sudden so now it’s a different job. As I mentioned, it’s something to keep an eye on.

I think both sports could be at a tipping point right now and I wouldn’t bet on either going one direction or another. As IUPbigIndians said, football SHOULD be way better next year, but if it’s not, then what? Men’s basketball is in the middle of a rebuild now, but the problem is they didn’t really build this year and many of the building blocks coming in to the year will probably be gone next. That means it’s a significant reload for 2024-25 or they can expect similar results, and that’s easier said than done.

Interesting times.

Failure was a term I used based on the posts of a number of IUP faithful on this board. As with WLU basketball (NOT WLU football!), IUP football and basketball are graded on a different curve than a "regular" DII team. I would classify any of the three teams not making the NCAA playoffs as a failure but if you want to call them something else that is less severe, OK.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The Carey hire was very off. Tom resigned late and then Carey given the intern tag 1 month before the season. They never interviewed and then just hand him the job this year. Very disturbing,,, kind of like a inside job. How can a higher profile D2 job like IUP not go through the full interview process??? Kind of shady to me.

When they did give him the full-time job there wasn't even a big introduction or anything.

Like I said, he's done pretty well and he's recruited very well.

Weaver and Henderson were gigantic portal lands.

The only thing that screwed him this year was those four bailing after the start of the season. They were all Tom recruits and likely would've just been deep bench options, but, well, now they have no deep bench options.

I do like his creativity. He's not afraid to add mid-year transfers or add from the student-body if need be.

He doesn't say much but in reality Lombardi and Tort don't, either. They are both professionals of answering a question with a 2-minute diatribe totally off-topic. It usually sounds good but rarely has any substance lol.

Carey's glaring weakness is he needs to get better at working officials. That will come with time. He basically just gets ignored.

But, hey, he's 20-5 and going dancing. He's smoked both Joe and Tort this year.

If they get Preston back (even in a small capacity) they have a legit shot in the Regional.

[IUPalum]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

The Carey hire was very off. Tom resigned late and then Carey given the intern tag 1 month before the season. They never interviewed and then just hand him the job this year. Very disturbing,,, kind of like a inside job. How can a higher profile D2 job like IUP not go through the full interview process??? Kind of shady to me.

[ironmaniup]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

hiring since 2020 was hard because of the budget crisis at IUP and Covid. Tort was easy, since they didn't spend on a major search. Carey was odd because of that, along with the sudden need for a coach. Carey seems better than anyone expected, and I think his quirks will grow on people if he's successful. Taking down Gannon was a marquis win for him. Let's see how the post season plays out.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s nuanced and too involved to tease out here, and failure is your word, not mine. The next year is critical for both sports, which happen to be the two the community invests in around here. It’s easy to lead from in front and really easy to have overly friendly relationships with the coaches when things are going well. Things aren’t so wonderful all the sudden so now it’s a different job. As I mentioned, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I don't know the particulars of the IUP AD. But please explain what actions he has taken that have caused the decline (failure?) of IUP football and basketball this year. I mean, he has been on board since 2019 and except for this season, both the football and basketball teams seem to have done quite well.

It’s nuanced and too involved to tease out here, and failure is your word, not mine. The next year is critical for both sports, which happen to be the two the community invests in around here. It’s easy to lead from in front and really easy to have overly friendly relationships with the coaches when things are going well. Things aren’t so wonderful all the sudden so now it’s a different job. As I mentioned, it’s something to keep an eye on.

I think both sports could be at a tipping point right now and I wouldn’t bet on either going one direction or another. As IUPbigIndians said, football SHOULD be way better next year, but if it’s not, then what? Men’s basketball is in the middle of a rebuild now, but the problem is they didn’t really build this year and many of the building blocks coming in to the year will probably be gone next. That means it’s a significant reload for 2024-25 or they can expect similar results, and that’s easier said than done.

Interesting times.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't know the particulars of the IUP AD. But please explain what actions he has taken that have caused the decline (failure?) of IUP football and basketball this year. I mean, he has been on board since 2019 and except for this season, both the football and basketball teams seem to have done quite well.

I don't know much about the IUP AD. EyeoftheHawk can discuss.


Football had the Timeout (or, lack of one) heard 'round the world ... and the train went of the tracks shortly afterward. They also lost the QB for four games and things started to snowball before eventually finishing a very disappointing 6-5.

Joe's mess is a bit more complex. Most would probably point to three key events:

(1) losing two top guards to ACL's (one in camp and the other in early December). They then lost a reserve forward for the season to a non-basketball injury. One of the guards, Dillard, is of all-league talent.

(2) the small forward position (or lack there of) has killed them all year

(3) roster management of the remaining players (not playing Brooks or Waldo, redshirting the biggest guy on the team, etc.)


Items 2 & 3 ... those topics have been discussed since opening night. They were able to 'somewhat' overcome losing two guards, but the mess at the 4 position has ruined their season.


I think Football will bounce back very quickly. We'll see about Joe's team (assuming he's here next year).

[boatcapt]

I realize Ethan was sick on Saturday but I think this team packs it in and probably ends the year with five straight losses. I’m not suggesting they will give up, rather, they’ve been swimming upstream all season and eventually it beats you down mentally and physically. Their best chance to win again is Saturday at home against Clarion. If IUP keeps it to less than double digits at Cal I’ll be surprised. The real question after that is was this season a blip on the radar screen or the beginning of a nosedive?

There was a reference to the AD earlier. Keep your eye on that. I didn’t like the hire when it happened but we’ll see how he handles what could be long droughts of playoff success in the two major sports. To be fair it isn’t all bad as he’s made good coaching hires and some of the lesser followed (being nice) sports have done well.

I don't know the particulars of the IUP AD. But please explain what actions he has taken that have caused the decline (failure?) of IUP football and basketball this year. I mean, he has been on board since 2019 and except for this season, both the football and basketball teams seem to have done quite well.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I realize Ethan was sick on Saturday but I think this team packs it in and probably ends the year with five straight losses. I’m not suggesting they will give up, rather, they’ve been swimming upstream all season and eventually it beats you down mentally and physically. Their best chance to win again is Saturday at home against Clarion. If IUP keeps it to less than double digits at Cal I’ll be surprised. The real question after that is was this season a blip on the radar screen or the beginning of a nosedive?

There was a reference to the AD earlier. Keep your eye on that. I didn’t like the hire when it happened but we’ll see how he handles what could be long droughts of playoff success in the two major sports. To be fair it isn’t all bad as he’s made good coaching hires and some of the lesser followed (being nice) sports have done well.

Ethan wasn't 100 percent but he still played. SRU leading scorer Maceo Austin wasn't even dressed (Covid) and the Rock played just 6 players - and still blew IUP out of Morrow.

Watch the first 5-6 minutes. IUP storms out 15-5 (and it should have been 19-5 but they missed two gimme layups).

That's when you could hear Joe screaming to slow the pace down. It was a very odd call. Why slow the pace on a team with even less depth than you have -- especially when you have them reeling and the crowd is out of the game.

My guess is he was trying to play slow for Ethan but in reality that now-slower pace was perfect for SRU to recover. And, they sure did.

It was just another questionable decision in a season full of them.

SRU then started a huge run and IUP didn't call any timeouts.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I realize Ethan was sick on Saturday but I think this team packs it in and probably ends the year with five straight losses. I’m not suggesting they will give up, rather, they’ve been swimming upstream all season and eventually it beats you down mentally and physically. Their best chance to win again is Saturday at home against Clarion. If IUP keeps it to less than double digits at Cal I’ll be surprised. The real question after that is was this season a blip on the radar screen or the beginning of a nosedive?

There was a reference to the AD earlier. Keep your eye on that. I didn’t like the hire when it happened but we’ll see how he handles what could be long droughts of playoff success in the two major sports. To be fair it isn’t all bad as he’s made good coaching hires and some of the lesser followed (being nice) sports have done well.

Danny's never going to have a better shot at blowing Joe out of the arena than he will against what remains of this patchwork team - and, believe me, if the opportunity exists, he's going to run it up.

IUP has really lost its juice the past couple weeks. That's a common theme for Joe's teams. Even the majority of good Joe teams get worn out by now due to his lack of depth development.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I realize Ethan was sick on Saturday but I think this team packs it in and probably ends the year with five straight losses. I’m not suggesting they will give up, rather, they’ve been swimming upstream all season and eventually it beats you down mentally and physically. Their best chance to win again is Saturday at home against Clarion. If IUP keeps it to less than double digits at Cal I’ll be surprised. The real question after that is was this season a blip on the radar screen or the beginning of a nosedive?

There was a reference to the AD earlier. Keep your eye on that. I didn’t like the hire when it happened but we’ll see how he handles what could be long droughts of playoff success in the two major sports. To be fair it isn’t all bad as he’s made good coaching hires and some of the lesser followed (being nice) sports have done well.

Yes. I was just tossing out a positive spin for Wednesday.

Personaly, I think IUP loses by 23+

[EyeoftheHawk]

IUP really had to muck up and ugly the first game. They'll have to do that again to have a shot. If the game goes track meet Joe will get smoked.

Cal is just vastly deeper and its starting five causes IUP far too many matchup problems.

The Vulcans have a gigantic mismatch with Bryson Lucas (perhaps the best SF in the West) against KJ. Jermaine Hall is also difficult for Ethan to cover as he plays almost like a jacked up, 6'4" guard rather than a post player. Then, of course, you also have Palek coming in off the bench at 6'8" or so (who can be an elite trey shooter and flopper).

Bryce needs a Bryce night. McClurg shut him down in the first game.

As you said, it will be a physical game. Nobody on the IUP roster is better geared for that than Damir Brooks, and then probably Petteno. I'll stop right there as it's likely just wishful thinking.

Brooks should not only start this game but play as many minutes as he can until he fouls out. KJ's size and skill set just doesn't fit against Cal.

I realize Ethan was sick on Saturday but I think this team packs it in and probably ends the year with five straight losses. I’m not suggesting they will give up, rather, they’ve been swimming upstream all season and eventually it beats you down mentally and physically. Their best chance to win again is Saturday at home against Clarion. If IUP keeps it to less than double digits at Cal I’ll be surprised. The real question after that is was this season a blip on the radar screen or the beginning of a nosedive?

There was a reference to the AD earlier. Keep your eye on that. I didn’t like the hire when it happened but we’ll see how he handles what could be long droughts of playoff success in the two major sports. To be fair it isn’t all bad as he’s made good coaching hires and some of the lesser followed (being nice) sports have done well.