Iup basketball

[boatcapt]

On a given night, elite D2 teams could rise up and possibly pull a major upset.

But, even the best D2 teams couldn't survive a full season up there. Getting up for one game is much easier than running a gauntlet.

For starters, I don't think the D1 teams spend much time scouting D2 teams for exhibition games.

IUP made the Final Four this year but wasn't anywhere near what it would have been with Shawndale Jones. Add to it Armoni Foster played with one hand the final two months.

If Joe had this year's team fully healthy ... he could have probably beat many lower mid-majors.

A top tier DII has a punchers chance against a mid tier D1 during the regular season but almost zero against a top tier D1. I'm talking during the regular season when the games count on the W/L record.

[IUPalum]

Well, Joe's shopping list is getting a little bit bigger.

4/21 Roster:

Guards: Shawndale, David, Dallis, Polce

Forwards: Tomiwa, Ethan, Brooks, Waldo

Utility: KJ

Deep Bench: Burk, Enrique


Departed: Armoni, Diop, Radford

Graduated: Demo



By my count, Joe should have at or very close to (3) equivalencies available. Armoni and Demo likely both had full rides and Radford/Diop likely combined for (1) equivalency.

Diop/Radford both out of state guys which is more money.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, Joe's shopping list is getting a little bit bigger.

4/21 Roster:

Guards: Shawndale, David, Dallis, Polce

Forwards: Tomiwa, Ethan, Brooks, Waldo

Utility: KJ

Deep Bench: Burk, Enrique


Departed: Armoni, Diop, Radford

Graduated: Demo



By my count, Joe should have at or very close to (3) equivalencies available. Armoni and Demo likely both had full rides and Radford/Diop likely combined for (1) equivalency.

[IUPalum]

Ousmane Diop hit the portal.


Seems the big guy is clearing up some coin.

Is he clearing coin or did Diop want more PT? I can see why Diop would want out if he did. He didn't get much run in real games and is very athletic. His D did wory me but the only way to fix that is play!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Ousmane Diop hit the portal.


Seems the big guy is clearing up some coin.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Fyi

in case you did not know the type of coach running the Augusta Univ. Basketball Program. Definitely D1 coaching potential.

https://www.theaugustapress.com/au-b...ty-violations/

I read about that prior to the game.

If you ain't cheatin' ... you ain't racin'

LOL

[Ship69]

Fyi

in case you did not know the type of coach running the Augusta Univ. Basketball Program. Definitely D1 coaching potential.

https://www.theaugustapress.com/au-b...ty-violations/

They should be required to forfeit their wins in the tournament, not that it helps the other teams much at this point.

[Columbuseer]

Fyi

in case you did not know the type of coach running the Augusta Univ. Basketball Program. Definitely D1 coaching potential.

https://www.theaugustapress.com/au-b...ty-violations/

[Ship69]

Great points. Just to clarify, by elite athletic ability, I was referring to the individual athletic advantage that many d1 schools have over good d2 schools, not blue blood teams in top 100 loaded with potential NBA level talent. D2 schools would not win the pregame warmup against d1. Lol
so many d1 teams tolerate their d1 athletically elite players playing with a middle school understanding of the game. That levels the playing field against very good d2 teams.

Gonzaga is one of my favorite teams, with elite points per possession of about 1.20. High iq basketball.

However a bad shooting night or a bad matchup can doom them against more athletic teams.However, they have an enviable record in the postseason.

Gonzaga Season By Season Results
SEASON	W-L	RESULTS
2022	2-1	Defeated Memphis in second round, 82-78
2021	5-1	Defeated Creighton in regional semifinal, 83-65 Defeated USC in regional final, 85-66 Defeated UCLA in National Semifinal, 93-90 Lost to Baylor in National Championship, 86-70
2019	3-1	Defeated Baylor in second round, 83-71
2017	5-1	Defeated Northwestern in second round, 79-73 Defeated Xavier in regional final, 83-59 Lost to North Carolina in National Championship, 71-65
2016	2-1	Lost to Syracuse in regional semifinal, 63-60
2015	3-1	Defeated North Dakota State in first round, 86-76 Defeated Iowa in second round, 87-68 Defeated UCLA in regional semifinal, 74-62 Lost to Duke in regional final, 66-52
2014	1-1	Lost to Arizona in second round, 84-61
2013	1-1	Lost to Wichita State in second round, 76-70
2010	1-1	Lost to Syracuse in second round, 87-65
2009	2-1	Defeated Akron in first round, 77-64 Defeated Western Kentucky in second round, 83-81 Lost to North Carolina in regional semifinal, 98-77

Those of us who went to school at Northwestern will never forget the stunningly obvious goaltending call that was missed late in the Gonzaga-Northwestern game and the resultant technical foul on Chris Collins that completely changed the momentum of that game.

[Columbuseer]

I think that's the double-edged sword of major D1 basketball. If we're going to use the word 'elite' ... in most peoples' minds that narrows the field to the Blue Bloods, Gonzaga, etc.

Gonzaga is the exception to modern, 'elite' D1 basketball. They probably function more like an elite D2 than elite D1 -- meaning, they aren't full of one-and-done players, their primary offense isn't 'playground', etc.

But, I will say this: Gonzaga is much better against D1 'elite' teams early in the season than later in the season. They get most of their big, marquee wins in November and December -- when the elite D1 teams are still full of their lottery picks but who are raw to the college game. By the time March rolls around ... and those kids aren't kids anymore ... Gonzaga's success rate takes a big dip.

That wasn't a great IUP team at the end of the season in terms of basketball. It was a great team in terms of overcoming adversity. They were so beat up -- much more so than the masses know about. They lost their star in Game 7. Their other star had one hand from Jan-March (and it wasn't his shooting hand). Ethan Porterfield lost about 35 lbs over the course of the season due to a prolonged illness. David Morris had a bad ankle the last two months. Tommy Demogerontas missed a ton of games and had a bad knee all year. It's just incredible what they did as a program.

If you could get a time machine and take Joe's November team and play mid-major D1's ... I'd give them a pretty good shot most nights.

Great points. Just to clarify, by elite athletic ability, I was referring to the individual athletic advantage that many d1 schools have over good d2 schools, not blue blood teams in top 100 loaded with potential NBA level talent. D2 schools would not win the pregame warmup against d1. Lol
so many d1 teams tolerate their d1 athletically elite players playing with a middle school understanding of the game. That levels the playing field against very good d2 teams.

Gonzaga is one of my favorite teams, with elite points per possession of about 1.20. High iq basketball.

However a bad shooting night or a bad matchup can doom them against more athletic teams.However, they have an enviable record in the postseason.

Gonzaga Season By Season Results
SEASON	W-L	RESULTS
2022	2-1	Defeated Memphis in second round, 82-78
2021	5-1	Defeated Creighton in regional semifinal, 83-65 Defeated USC in regional final, 85-66 Defeated UCLA in National Semifinal, 93-90 Lost to Baylor in National Championship, 86-70
2019	3-1	Defeated Baylor in second round, 83-71
2017	5-1	Defeated Northwestern in second round, 79-73 Defeated Xavier in regional final, 83-59 Lost to North Carolina in National Championship, 71-65
2016	2-1	Lost to Syracuse in regional semifinal, 63-60
2015	3-1	Defeated North Dakota State in first round, 86-76 Defeated Iowa in second round, 87-68 Defeated UCLA in regional semifinal, 74-62 Lost to Duke in regional final, 66-52
2014	1-1	Lost to Arizona in second round, 84-61
2013	1-1	Lost to Wichita State in second round, 76-70
2010	1-1	Lost to Syracuse in second round, 87-65
2009	2-1	Defeated Akron in first round, 77-64 Defeated Western Kentucky in second round, 83-81 Lost to North Carolina in regional semifinal, 98-77

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Hahahaha... Joe might have something even bigger on tap.

I trust in the big guy.

I remember two years ago we were waiting for some other transfer import and all the sudden we saw Joe signed a kid from England named Tomiwa Sulaiman.

That turned out pretty well.

BTW, I haven't given up hope on Armoni. Testing the water doesn't always mean jumping ship.

[IUPalum]

Every day I log in to VC ... waiting to see Fred Mulbah signing with IUP.

I hope today is the day.

Hahahaha... Joe might have something even bigger on tap.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Every day I log in to VC ... waiting to see Fred Mulbah signing with IUP.

I hope today is the day.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree that d1 is much too physical for a d2 team to survive a full season. Not a fan of bully boy basketball.

But have you seen the knucklehead plays and lack of fundamentals exhibited by many d1 teams? And weak defense? Heat check shots? Very low points per possession as a result. D1 players can't seem to grasp that an open 8 ft. pull up jumper counts the same as a windmill dunk, for they spend inordinate amounts of time on the latter.

Of the elite 8 teams, IUP had the roster most resembling a D1 team plus a great coach, great defense and good discipline on offense. They could match up reasonably well physically with many non p5 teams.

How often does a 100+ ranked d1 team play an elite d2 team in exhibition? How many nearby schools want to play iup or wlu? Heck, Toledo only beat a decent, but not elite, Findlay 83-78 in Oct 2021.

I am not in awe of elite d1 athletic ability unless it is accompanied by an understanding of the game. Heck Denver could not even communicate a simple switch against Golden state.

I think that's the double-edged sword of major D1 basketball. If we're going to use the word 'elite' ... in most peoples' minds that narrows the field to the Blue Bloods, Gonzaga, etc.

Gonzaga is the exception to modern, 'elite' D1 basketball. They probably function more like an elite D2 than elite D1 -- meaning, they aren't full of one-and-done players, their primary offense isn't 'playground', etc.

But, I will say this: Gonzaga is much better against D1 'elite' teams early in the season than later in the season. They get most of their big, marquee wins in November and December -- when the elite D1 teams are still full of their lottery picks but who are raw to the college game. By the time March rolls around ... and those kids aren't kids anymore ... Gonzaga's success rate takes a big dip.

That wasn't a great IUP team at the end of the season in terms of basketball. It was a great team in terms of overcoming adversity. They were so beat up -- much more so than the masses know about. They lost their star in Game 7. Their other star had one hand from Jan-March (and it wasn't his shooting hand). Ethan Porterfield lost about 35 lbs over the course of the season due to a prolonged illness. David Morris had a bad ankle the last two months. Tommy Demogerontas missed a ton of games and had a bad knee all year. It's just incredible what they did as a program.

If you could get a time machine and take Joe's November team and play mid-major D1's ... I'd give them a pretty good shot most nights.

[Columbuseer]

On a given night, elite D2 teams could rise up and possibly pull a major upset.

But, even the best D2 teams couldn't survive a full season up there. Getting up for one game is much easier than running a gauntlet.

For starters, I don't think the D1 teams spend much time scouting D2 teams for exhibition games.

IUP made the Final Four this year but wasn't anywhere near what it would have been with Shawndale Jones. Add to it Armoni Foster played with one hand the final two months.

If Joe had this year's team fully healthy ... he could have probably beat many lower mid-majors.

I agree that d1 is much too physical for a d2 team to survive a full season. Not a fan of bully boy basketball.

But have you seen the knucklehead plays and lack of fundamentals exhibited by many d1 teams? And weak defense? Heat check shots? Very low points per possession as a result. D1 players can't seem to grasp that an open 8 ft. pull up jumper counts the same as a windmill dunk, for they spend inordinate amounts of time on the latter.

Of the elite 8 teams, IUP had the roster most resembling a D1 team plus a great coach, great defense and good discipline on offense. They could match up reasonably well physically with many non p5 teams.

How often does a 100+ ranked d1 team play an elite d2 team in exhibition? How many nearby schools want to play iup or wlu? Heck, Toledo only beat a decent, but not elite, Findlay 83-78 in Oct 2021.

I am not in awe of elite d1 athletic ability unless it is accompanied by an understanding of the game. Heck Denver could not even communicate a simple switch against Golden state.