Iup basketball

[EyeoftheHawk]

2,329 announced gate.

I thought it was a good crowd numbers wise and the student section was full, but it was quiet for the most part. A lot of students left at halftime. I’m not sure everyone is in the basketball mindset yet.

Seeing the Hawks in person all I can say is, wow! They were far from perfect and that 6-8 minute stretch early in the second half was messy, but when it was still a competitive game and they were playing together they looked outstanding. Tomiwa is an absolute beast. Bowie had some size height wise, but they had no chance of handling him. Dallas looks a little bigger and I think he’s going to be a force this year, especially on defense. David and Ethan are who we know they are so all good there. My lone concern is Shawndale trying to do too much on his own. There were times he didn’t make passes to guys that were wide open when he drove to the hoop and he opted to force shots. He’s a beast, but what got them that fancy trophy they showed off tonight was outstanding teamwork. They’ll need that again.

Kyle was good and I can already see he’s going to be better than last year. KJ should provide some solid minutes, but I think Damir and Jaheim have to catch up to the speed of the game. They both kind of reminded me of how Dallas looked when he entered the scene last year. If they can come along like he did, that would be outstanding. Overall this is a team with some depth and it showed tonight. Defensively, they were lights out when they wanted to be. They made a very good Bowie team look like an average group.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Small crowd tonight. Not good.

2,329 announced gate.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP 76
Bowie State 55

Final

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That 94 ppg avg ....

Yeah not so much.

[IUPalum]

Home side is jammed. You can't see it on camera.

Last two minutes of that half were a joke! Joe may kill some of them. Instead of the dagger they went full show off.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Small crowd tonight. Not good.

Home side is jammed. You can't see it on camera.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP up 10 at half, 38-28.

Easily should be up 20. Way to cute at end of half.

[IUPalum]

Small crowd tonight. Not good.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I think IUP gets it done tonight. Joe’s success against high scoring teams averaging around 100 is pretty good. It’s also the home opener and I think there will be a pretty good crowd. I’m throwing on the hat and gloves and heading down.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Taking a closer look at Bowie State:


* The Bulldogs are deep and balanced. Against East Stroudsburg, (6) Bowie State players scored in double figures (19, 18, 14,14,14, and 11).

* (8) players played double digit minutes but nobody played more than 31 minutes. So, they like to rotate fresh bodies. Granted, some of this could have been from the frantic pace of play against a 40-minute press.

* Their main rotation is similar to IUP's in it is a good mix of experienced upperclassmen

* Lot of size ... similar in height to Winston-Salem under the basket but Bowie's post players have more bulk ... several in that 215-235 lb range.


As IUPAlum and I were discussing, there's really only one absolute main key to tonight:

Tomiwa

If he can't stay in the game, IUP could be in big trouble. If he has two fouls before the first media timeout, IUP is probably going to lose this game. With no Diop and Ethan nowhere near full health, Tomiwa has to give them a solid 28-30 minutes tonight (if not more).


After two games, Bowie State has the following averages:

PPG - 97
Opponents PPG - 94.5

FG% - .538
3PT% - .395 (17-43) ... not afraid to chuck it from deep

FT% - .698

Rebounding margin: -5 (IUP has been out-rebounded in both games)

[IUPalum]

Too far for me. I did look it up ... was hoping it was more in the two-hour range. But, six hours round trip is a long venture for a 90-minute game.

I think most of the GMAC uses Stretch Internet ... which is typically so bad it even makes Gannon and UPJ look like network television productions.

If Joe offers a seat on the bus I'd consider it. lol

No seat for you!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Is anyone planning on making the trip to Walsh on Saturday afternoon? I'm considering, but have not decided yet. 2 hour commute to Canton from Columbus for me.

Too far for me. I did look it up ... was hoping it was more in the two-hour range. But, six hours round trip is a long venture for a 90-minute game.

I think most of the GMAC uses Stretch Internet ... which is typically so bad it even makes Gannon and UPJ look like network television productions.

If Joe offers a seat on the bus I'd consider it. lol

[IUP24]

Is anyone planning on making the trip to Walsh on Saturday afternoon? I'm considering, but have not decided yet. 2 hour commute to Canton from Columbus for me.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Tough three-game stretch starting tomorrow night -- Bowie State, (at) Walsh and New Haven.

I think tomorrow is going to be a war with Bowie State. Joe's giving out free t-shirts to students tomorrow. He only does that when he wants a big crowd.

One thing I've learned over the years with the better CIAA teams is they don't quit when they get down. We just saw it again with Winston-Salem. You have to beat them all 40 minutes. We see a lot of PSAC teams get down 15-20 points and basically pack it in. WSSU didn't start playing well until it got down in that range. IUP ended up winning by 17 but it was getting a little dicey there when they cut it from 21 to 9 with 7-8 minutes left.

Joe said after the game he thinks Ethan is at about 60 percent but is getting stronger by the day. All the more reason they better get 28 (or more) minutes out of Tomiwa tomorrow.


Ironically, it's almost (to the day) the 7-year anniversary of the oddest game I've ever seen in the KCAC. IUP was up by 24 points in the first half ... and lost to Bowie State. Dante and Cobo were true freshmen. It was the 'island of misfit toys' team the year following the national final appearance. IUP still could (should) have won at the end but couldn't hit a foul shot to save its life. Conversely, Bowie State couldn't hit the side of a barn in the first half and then couldn't miss a shot in the second half. That was some wild game to watch. It was also Bowie State's last win in the series. Never has an IUP team been more sporadic than that group. That team would look phenomenal in stretches -- and 5 minutes later they'd look awful. Life with a young team, I guess.

East Stroudsburg was picked to win the East (and is very good) and Bowie just gave them a hell of a battle before losing, 110-100. As we said, the score won't be anywhere near that tomorrow. IUP will play a much different pace. But, it's going to be a big test.

[Ship69]

Joe's obviously tough to beat in a half-court game. They do so much switching on defense that it seems to really take opposing teams out of their rhythm. On offense, they impose the fear from the guards and then Porterfield can shoot from the bleachers (he led D2 in 3pt percentage last year) -- or Tomiwa can thunder-dunk or hit the very rare (modern game) mid-range jump shots all day. It's certainly a pick your poison approach in defending them.

One big advantage IUP has had is it hasn't gone through all the Portal crap. Armoni left, but that's really been about it the past several years -- at least in the rotation. Winston-Salem was way deeper, bigger and more athletic yesterday. They just aren't nearly as crisp and in-tune with each other. They will be a scary team down the stretch as they start to gel a bit more.

Ship has been fortunate in avoiding transfers as well. I think Coach Fite has built a good culture there. But the pandemic effects are beginning to be felt. Losing Biss would have been bad enough, but losing an experienced guard like Hardy along with him made it doubly tough. They have the four experienced forwards who've been in the system quite a while, but little experienced depth behind them. Carter and Nedrow fouling out Saturday was one of the keys to losing the game to Virginia State. I'm assuming Smith, the transfer from Kutztown, might be injured. I'll see if he's playing or sitting on the bench at our first home game. Fite has played a half-dozen guards the first two games, obviously searching for the right combination. Andrew Recchia got some minutes at point guard, but I think scored only two points in those two games — obviously they'll need more than that after being accustomed to Biss's 16 ppg. Tim Connor and Trey Martin seem like promising freshmen, but they are freshmen. We have Bowie coming up, looks as if Seton Hill might be tougher than expected, and a slew of tough December games. Hope we can get it together at guard before then, or trouble could be on the horizon. And next year's recruiting will be big for the immediate future of the Ship program, as Fite is well aware.

I think you guys will be fine, and getting the Diop kid after the break will add to the depth. Jones already seems to be doing pretty well and should get better as the season advances. We all have to hope we're not hit by crippling injuries. Maybe I'm imagining it, but is seems as if PSAC teams are having more injury troubles than usual the past couple of seasons, and it often seems to be the outstanding players who are getting hurt.