Iup basketball

[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.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

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.

[IUPalum]

I think IUP is a solid program but let's not get that far ahead of ourselves, as Townson and Buffalo both would both be a few levels up then the Crimson Hawks. Let's not forget there are teams like Syracuse (120) Maryland (119), and even Louisville (176) ranked below 100. IUP would have a shot at teams in the 300's though.

This is a joke right?

[TopperNation]

Imho IUP could beat d1 teams ranked below top 100, at least.

I think IUP is a solid program but let's not get that far ahead of ourselves, as Townson and Buffalo both would both be a few levels up then the Crimson Hawks. Let's not forget there are teams like Syracuse (120) Maryland (119), and even Louisville (176) ranked below 100. IUP would have a shot at teams in the 300's though.

[Columbuseer]

Imho IUP could beat d1 teams ranked below top 100, at least.

[IUPalum]

IUP beat Morehead a couple years ago in a scrimmage. I surely couldn't see leaving to go there.

Exactly my point. Buffalo and Towson are in the same boat.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Only Xavier would give him more exposure. Buffalo, Towson and Morehead are all subpar teams!

IUP beat Morehead a couple years ago in a scrimmage. I surely couldn't see leaving to go there.

[IUPalum]

Armoni is visiting Buffalo today and Morehead State later this week.

He visited Towson last week and will meet with Xavier next week.


Obviously, there is a connection at Morehead State.

Only Xavier would give him more exposure. Buffalo, Towson and Morehead are all subpar teams!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Armoni is visiting Buffalo today and Morehead State later this week.

He visited Towson last week and will meet with Xavier next week.


Obviously, there is a connection at Morehead State.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

About time Daryl Webb gets into the IUP HOF!

Should have went in the year after he left. Why wait.

[IUPalum]

About time Daryl Webb gets into the IUP HOF!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The attractive thing for teams recruiting Bryce is he has 3 years' eligibility left. He was hurt his first year here and redshirted. His second year was the lost Covid season. And, then this past year, was his redshirt freshman season.

He's a great person and teammate, and is a very hard worker. He can light it up from deep. His drawback here was on the defensive end.

I think the reality is he wasn't going to play much this coming season. David Morris and Shawndale Jones will both log a ton of minutes. The next two guards are very good -- Kyle Polce and Dallis Dillard. And, of course, Joe will be signing yet another (point) guard in the coming days. So, Bryce would have entered the 22-23 season as the 6th guard in the rotation. And, well, the 6th guard in Joe's rotation doesn't actually play.

Bryce will be an academic senior in the Fall despite being a basketball redshirt sophomore. I think it was the wise choice based on timing and his age to find a place he could play immediately. He's a Day 1 starter at many schools in the Atlantic Region. Put him at Seton Hill or Clarion, etc., (with a green light) and he probably scores 15-17 ppg next season.