Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Especially in a league that is known for dominant, athletic big men. I'd be less surprised to see good rebounding guards in the MEC where the offensive systems are a bit more wide open. Alek West (a smallish guard) is WLU's top rebounder for instance, but that's not surprising given the spread floor. But that's a particularly impressive stat for Clarke when you factor in the league context. That dude is a keeper.

I think that is certainly the reputation of the PSAC, but the typical post player has changed dramatically within the divisions.

In my era here, the league was full of 6'8", 250 lb, bruisers. IUP had physical monsters in that period but they also always had elite guards. Those IUP teams were nasty, and those giants just weren't big bodies. Dennis Mims, for instance, was about 6'9" and 245 lbs -- and ripped. He was arguably the most dominant big to ever play here (and, I know that will open a can of worms). He was clearly not a D2 guy (and, how he got here from Virginia Tech back in that era is a whole different story).

Gannon and SRU (under their previous coaches KR and JR) used to field teams that looked like hybrid NFL/NBA rosters. Giants. Everybody had those guys up until Joe made the switch to taking more 'stretch fours' ... the 6'7" or 6'8" SFs that weighed 210 lbs instead of 260 pounds -- much faster and could shoot outside. Marcel Souberbielle and Jacobo Diaz really changed how West rosters had to be built.

The growing pains of the transition, however, was while Joe was building a team for March, his skinny forwards had to battle through January and February against those bruiser lineups.

Joe also hit home runs with guys in the 6'6" and 225 lb. range -- Darryl Webb and Daddy Ugbede were nearly unstoppable on offense (Webb was unstoppable on both ends). I have zero doubt if Daddy wasn't a total hack on defense and could have played 32 mpg ... he'd have easily scored 30+ ppg for the season. He was such a force of power and his spin move was so fast nobody could defend it at this level. He was also an excellent FT shooter.

Ethan Porterfield is kind of the unicorn of IUP forwards of the past 25 years. He's big like the old ones (he's probably legitimately 6'9" and 235 lbs) but he plays more like a guard than a forward within their offense. Mims would have literally ripped EP apart under the basket, but Mims didn't have an outside shot like Ethan has.


Anyway, the West by and large is now all playing more the 6'8", 215 lb. types today. All the top forwards in the league today can shoot outside and run the floor. The game is still slower, but that is largely due to the coaches and not the players. IUP, Mercyhurst, UPJ, Clarion, Slippery Rock and Seton Hill still want to win every game 59-55. Cal will play fast or slow under Danny. The new Edinboro regime is playing a bit faster and we know what Gannon does.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Especially in a league that is known for dominant, athletic big men. I'd be less surprised to see good rebounding guards in the MEC where the offensive systems are a bit more wide open. Alek West (a smallish guard) is WLU's top rebounder for instance, but that's not surprising given the spread floor. But that's a particularly impressive stat for Clarke when you factor in the league context. That dude is a keeper.

Garvin is a load to deal with because he's very strong to go along with his size (guessing about 6'1" and 170 lbs). He's also lightning fast and just beats people to the ball. He has insane jumping ability for his size, too, and really has a knack for getting position on people. I've seen it 50 times this year ... a forward is just waiting for the ball when Garvin leaps out of nowhere and takes it from him.

He'll be of the mega-star variety next season. Joe just needs to get him some help. I get nervous about one guy coming back from an ACL (let alone two). But, they'll be fine at guard next year. Down below is the big question mark.

[Scrub]

Garvin is 9th in the PSAC in rebounding. Pretty odd stat for a point guard.

Especially in a league that is known for dominant, athletic big men. I'd be less surprised to see good rebounding guards in the MEC where the offensive systems are a bit more wide open. Alek West (a smallish guard) is WLU's top rebounder for instance, but that's not surprising given the spread floor. But that's a particularly impressive stat for Clarke when you factor in the league context. That dude is a keeper.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Garvin is 9th in the PSAC in rebounding. Pretty odd stat for a point guard.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Safe to say Rukavina isn't going to miss Ethan Porterfield. EP poured in 33 last night.

Garvin (again) just missed a triple double. Nice luxury to have when your PG is your best rebounder. He had 13 boards last night.

[IUPalum]

I know there is one jackass on this board that doesn't know **** about basketball. That's the person that said KJ is the best option at the 4 over Brooks and Petteno. Brooks got on the court and was a force until he took that elbow to the nose and had to come out. KJ is a joke and has been all year!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

An interesting item tonight is Petteno didn't play in the first meeting between IUP and UPJ (he was sick and didn't make the trip). Brooks played just 5 minutes.

I really don't think Rukavina will 'doink' Petteno like he did with KJ. They suffocated Ethan in the first game, thus turning IUP into a playground team.


Broken Record: If there was a game perfectly-suited for Damir Brooks, this is it. UPJ plays very young forwards (tall but very thin). Damir could have a dunk fest tonight if they try doubling EP again. He's also a physcial mismatch for UPJ's post players. Wishful thinking. I know.

[IUP24]

I think we've all had cases of recruits who were originally at D1 schools transferring to our PSAC schools. Usually it's from the lower end of D1, but still at one time someone thought these players could be D1 material. On the other hand, we get kids at our level who certainly could play at some D1 schools. Recruiting is far from an exact science.

The edge many coaches like Lombardi had is gone now with the one-time free transfer rule. He typically took D1 recruits with multiple years of eligibility remaining given that those guys did not want to sit out a year. So they would go to a program like IUP and be immediately eligible. That no longer is the case. So those types of players no longer drop into the laps of the better programs at this level.

Within the context of the Porterfield discussion, somebody like Alabama isn't viewing him in the role he fills at this level, which is a "do everything" kind of role. Consider that Porterfield is 6'9" and a lethal shooter from the outside when he's on. I'm not sure Alabama, or anybody at that level, needs him to play 30-35 minutes a night. They just need 8-12 minutes and for him to go 3 of 5 on outside shots. There's a significant difference in roles that the top programs evaluate players for in most cases.

[Ship69]

I hear you- I don’t doubt your source, I just know how the recruiting game goes- until they actually offer you one of the 13 scholarships and ask you to sign on the dotted line, a lot of it is just talk. Alabama knows what they are doing as evidenced by their results, so I’m skeptical that someone on their staff legitimately thought he was good enough to play there. His three point percentage was incredible one year (maybe the Final Four year?) so that could’ve been what caught their attention.

I think we've all had cases of recruits who were originally at D1 schools transferring to our PSAC schools. Usually it's from the lower end of D1, but still at one time someone thought these players could be D1 material. On the other hand, we get kids at our level who certainly could play at some D1 schools. Recruiting is far from an exact science.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe needs to rebuild in a hurry!!!

Very interesting off-season approaching.

First and foremost, lock Garvin Clarke inside the KCAC with no phone or internet. LOL. Joking, but, not really. He's the key to next year.

Item No. 2 will be how Dallis and Denzel return from their ACL injuries. Denzel will be at a full year recovery when camp opens next Fall. Dallis will be at about 11 months. Denzel would have been a very important player this season. We never got to see him.

Assuming Jaylen Stewart and Sarp also return, IUP should be fairly strong at the guard position. I still think they add a shooter (former UPJ guard Andrew Shull would fit perfectly in that role).

Who knows what happens underneath. I think Brooks will stay depsite the crap he dealth with this year. Romero-Sanz will make his debut. We'll see about Waldo. I suspect Joe adds 1-2 transfers in this area -- at least one for sure.

[IUP24]

I hear you- I don’t doubt your source, I just know how the recruiting game goes- until they actually offer you one of the 13 scholarships and ask you to sign on the dotted line, a lot of it is just talk. Alabama knows what they are doing as evidenced by their results, so I’m skeptical that someone on their staff legitimately thought he was good enough to play there. His three point percentage was incredible one year (maybe the Final Four year?) so that could’ve been what caught their attention.

The interest they had in him was predicated on him being a deep bench guy who could be a potential matchup problem that was a good shooter from outside. They never intended on him being in their starting five or one of the first off the bench.

[IUPalum]

Joe has offered Ian Herring (6'6" SG) from The Kiski School.

He played at Quaker Valley prior to this stint at the Saltsburg private school. I 'think' he is there as a post-grad player (similar to what Shawndale did there).

IUP offered him first. Since then, Cal and Lock Haven have offered. He also has an offer from Hofstra.

Joe needs to rebuild in a hurry!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe has offered Ian Herring (6'6" SG) from The Kiski School.

He played at Quaker Valley prior to this stint at the Saltsburg private school. I 'think' he is there as a post-grad player (similar to what Shawndale did there).

IUP offered him first. Since then, Cal and Lock Haven have offered. He also has an offer from Hofstra.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Correct. The Heritage doesn't provide players for Joe other than the occasional token walk-on. The ladies' side is much different. The PSAC as a whole recruits it heavily (aside from IUP).

I doubt there are three players on the boys side of the Heritage that are anything more than garbage time or role players at the DII level. As you pointed out, it’s much different for the girls. From top to bottom, D6 in girls is up there with the best in the state and the Heritage is arguably the top small school conference in the district.

[IUPHawks24]

In fairness to Sunahara, he was injured in early Nov. His first game back was Dec 16. That has affected playing time
he started for GA vs miss state on Feb 7.

I figured he was hurt earlier in the year looking at the season box score. Still, I think it’s fairly evident he’s a fringe rotation player at that level at best. Maybe they got really good NIL deals, but Pierre and Sunhara from Nova Southeastern went to a way too high level if their goal was to actually play and have a role this season.