Iup basketball

[IUPalum]

I'm sick and tired of watching 5 on 4 basketball. GET KJ OFF THE FLOOR!!!!!!!!!

[EyeoftheHawk]

Beauty of the point spread. You don't have to agree. You just need to be on the right side of it when the dollars fly. Lol

My actual reasoning:

1) Petteno may miss again today. Joe beat the only team he could playing 5 on 4 -- and barely. While not a great offensive player, Petteno gives them a strong defender and a physical presence. He agitates other players.

2) Edinboro has strong bigs. Also, 7-footers (including this one) have given EP fits in the past. Edinboro has a huge edge at the SF position (no matter who Joe plays but especially against KJ).

3. Edinboro is deeper. Never thought I'd say that. Joe has been refusing to play Brooks and Lambert. That has left his bench incredibly short (and not that good). It didn't matter against UPJ because they are the same way and that was basically 6 on 6.

4. IUP has looked VERY unprepared in its past several games. They are facing a younger, hungry coach - and a team suddenly playing with confidence.

5. I don't judge Edinboro's overall record. They were a brand new team in November under a new coach and system. That takes time. They are drastically better since around mid-December. They also gave ESU and Gannon pretty good games. Admittedly, Garvin didn't play against ESU and it was Bryce's first game.


As always, I hope I'm wrong. I do agree IUP is due for a much better performance. Gambling is trends. I just think Edinboro is trending a little better at the moment. It's a tight spread regardless which team gets the 2.5. One possession game in my opinion.

And, just maybe IUP won't like being a home dog. They all read this crap lol.

I didn’t know Petteno would be out again. That’s one less body for an already depleted group.

Those are a lot of good reasons to pick against IUP. I’m being a little less scientific and going with, “They’re due to play well.” There should be some students in the building today as well so the atmosphere should be a little better. The yokels should show up too. What in the hell else are you going to do on a 17 degree day in January?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What is the reasoning behind Joe being a home dog? It seems to me that Edinboro is worse than IUP despite being competitive, and, the Hawks have won their last six games at the KCAC. The Scots are just 2-6 on the road but they did get a nice win at Hurst last time out.

I give IUP the slight edge in this one at -3.5. I’m also considering IUP’s schizophrenic play. They were awful the other night so I expect them to be way better today.

Beauty of the point spread. You don't have to agree. You just need to be on the right side of it when the dollars fly. Lol

My actual reasoning:

1) Petteno may miss again today. Joe beat the only team he could playing 5 on 4 -- and barely. While not a great offensive player, Petteno gives them a strong defender and a physical presence. He agitates other players.

2) Edinboro has strong bigs. Also, 7-footers (including this one) have given EP fits in the past. Edinboro has a huge edge at the SF position (no matter who Joe plays but especially against KJ).

3. Edinboro is deeper. Never thought I'd say that. Joe has been refusing to play Brooks and Lambert. That has left his bench incredibly short (and not that good). It didn't matter against UPJ because they are the same way and that was basically 6 on 6.

4. IUP has looked VERY unprepared in its past several games. They are facing a younger, hungry coach - and a team suddenly playing with confidence.

5. I don't judge Edinboro's overall record. They were a brand new team in November under a new coach and system. That takes time. They are drastically better since around mid-December. They also gave ESU and Gannon pretty good games. Admittedly, Garvin didn't play against ESU and it was Bryce's first game.


As always, I hope I'm wrong. I do agree IUP is due for a much better performance. Gambling is trends. I just think Edinboro is trending a little better at the moment. It's a tight spread regardless which team gets the 2.5. One possession game in my opinion.

And, just maybe IUP won't like being a home dog. They all read this crap lol.

[EyeoftheHawk]

It will be very cold in Indiana tomorrow (high 17) but no snow. So, it would appear they will play.

Both games should be pretty good.

I'd peg Carey at -5.5 and I have Joe as a +2.5 home dog.

What is the reasoning behind Joe being a home dog? It seems to me that Edinboro is worse than IUP despite being competitive, and, the Hawks have won their last six games at the KCAC. The Scots are just 2-6 on the road but they did get a nice win at Hurst last time out.

I give IUP the slight edge in this one at -3.5. I’m also considering IUP’s schizophrenic play. They were awful the other night so I expect them to be way better today.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It will be very cold in Indiana tomorrow (high 17) but no snow. So, it would appear they will play.

Both games should be pretty good.

I'd peg Carey at -5.5 and I have Joe as a +2.5 home dog.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I know in the post game, Joe claims UPJ did a great job taking Ethan out of the game. Well, it's pretty easy to take a player out of the game when you don't even try to get that player the ball around the rim.

KJ's stat line looks great on paper but let's be honest, most of that stat line was a fluke and doesn't portray how bad he was on defense.

I didn't think Stewart played 31 minutes. It sure didn't fee he was on the court that much.

Bryce will always be a liability on D but he sure can shoot when he gets open looks.

IUP is going to be in a lot of trouble with teams they usually smoke. Their D will get no better with Bryce, KJ and Ethan (playing heavy minutes) on the floor for extended periods.

Rukavina said in the paper they doubled Ethan the whole game - hence literally not guarding KJ.

While Petteno has had his struggles, you couldn't flat out ignore him like they did last night.

I think IUP will blast them at the KCAC (assuming Petteno is back). Seems every time IUP goes to Johnstown they are always missing a key player (or several like last night). Their double-team worked and it was a great call by Ruk. It just won't be there next time.

[hawks16]

https://www.lootpress.com/college-ba...m-back-at-iup/

[IUPalum]

I know in the post game, Joe claims UPJ did a great job taking Ethan out of the game. Well, it's pretty easy to take a player out of the game when you don't even try to get that player the ball around the rim.

KJ's stat line looks great on paper but let's be honest, most of that stat line was a fluke and doesn't portray how bad he was on defense.

I didn't think Stewart played 31 minutes. It sure didn't fee he was on the court that much.

Bryce will always be a liability on D but he sure can shoot when he gets open looks.

IUP is going to be in a lot of trouble with teams they usually smoke. Their D will get no better with Bryce, KJ and Ethan (playing heavy minutes) on the floor for extended periods.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I had to shut it off mid-way into the 4th. That was ugly. UPJ looks like a freaking DIII team and despite IUP’s superior talent at about every position, they somehow had to squeak out a win.

There’s just no continuity to this team. The combinations on the floor at times are baffling and as much as I hate to beat a dead horse, UPJ literally did not guard KJ. I’m not a basketball expert, not even close, but there are some things that seem obvious to me that aren’t being handled well. This team has no identity. You have no idea what to expect from game to game.

Correct. There is no identity. They will look and play different in every remaining game. Some nights they will look good. Others (last night) they will look awful. Obviously, Garvin Clarke was an extreme bright spot last night. UPJ had no guards who could stay with him and IUP had a huge mismatch there.

When you think of this crazy ride so far:

* Three opening night starters are (essentially) gone (Waldo, Petteno and Dillard). The first two have no role and barely play, and the latter was a monster loss due to injury. Dillard was one of the best two-way players in the Region. There's no 'next man up' to replace him.

* Jordan Lambert was a redshirt and was then activated. He was an instant spark on offense. And ... poof. Gone. He now has an all-inclusive package on Joe Island -- not seen in the past four games.

* Denzel Kabasele, a big junior guard and defensive star, was lost in camp for the season with a knee injury.

* They knew the SF position was a disaster coming in to the season and did nothing to address it in the off-season. Remember, Petteno wasn't brought here to play underneath. He was allegedly an elite shooting guard. He is a very physcial player and can at least give them some muscle down there. Waldo is on Joe Island and KJ is KJ. Brooks is in Siberia.

* Romero-Sanz was naturally redshirted so you have to run your superstar ragged and play him 38-40 minutes per game.

* If you'd have told me over the summer that in crunchtime in Johnstown ... IUP would have Sarp Furton, Bryce Radford and KJ Rhodes on the floor ... I'd have cracked up. But ... that happened last night.

* Speaking of Radford (who was working a full-time job in November and retired from basketball) ... talk about a savior. Imagine this team without him right now.


I think as fans we can only sit back and enjoy the circus. There's obviously no expectations at this point. They will win some games the rest of the way -- likely even one or two they shouldn't. They also have some beat-downs on the horizon. It is what it is right now. Joe's recruiting hasn't been good - especially compared to other teams that were built in one off-season.

Up next is a suddenly pretty decent Edinboro team. Another perfect example of a team built over the summer that took awhile this season to mesh together. IUP better be ready to go. It's not going to be the typical IUP vs Edinboro game - and none of these teams give two sh!ts about Joe's problems lol.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Minutes last night:

Ethan - 40
Garvin - 40
Bryce - 38


Brooks - 5 (all first half)
Waldo - 3 (all second half)
Lambert - 0


Joe blamed EP's horrid defensive night on him being tired. Certainly a legit argument as players of EP's size aren't meant to play all 40 minutes. But, at least Romero-Sanz is redshirting.



I honestly think their best bet of staying competitive is to totally punt the small forward position. It's been a disaster since opening night and it's an even bigger disaster entering Game 16.

Start: EP, Bryce, Stewart, Garvin and Petteno. You play Petteno as a fourth guard (and not make him try to be a forward).

Go to the bench as little as possible (similar to now anyway).


I watched the last 10 minutes of Boro/Mercy and could tell instantly Boro is going to cause IUP all sorts of problems. That's where we're at right now.


Last thought on last night: Joe has an all-region senior big man and UPJ started two freshmen underneath. Anybody care to guess how many times IUP ran a set play to get EP the ball underneath? Answer: once. Result: bucket and a FT.

Once. All night.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I had to shut it off mid-way into the 4th. That was ugly. UPJ looks like a freaking DIII team and despite IUP’s superior talent at about every position, they somehow had to squeak out a win.

There’s just no continuity to this team. The combinations on the floor at times are baffling and as much as I hate to beat a dead horse, UPJ literally did not guard KJ. I’m not a basketball expert, not even close, but there are some things that seem obvious to me that aren’t being handled well. This team has no identity. You have no idea what to expect from game to game.

It was a car wreck I had to keep watching.

I questioned it last night and again this morning ... is Joe even playing to win? He looks totally lost. These lineups are rediculous.

Five dudes on a message board can easily see UPJ didn't even acknowledge KJ was on the court. He spent as much time on the floor (literally) as he did standing. He was smoked on defense the entire night. And, I mean smoked. The film doesn't lie.

There's no way Waldo and Brooks shouldn't be playing. It's absurd. KJ hustles. No denying. His stat line was extremely far-fetched. He's out of position on defense constantly.

For instance (regarding his big stat line):
..IUP misses a shot. KJ attempts the rebound but gets launched in to the mat behind the bucket and falls down (missing the rebound). Balls goes the other way. IUP steals it and lobs it back down to a cherry-picking KJ for an easy layup. That was just a perfect example of that stat line. He also caught at least two airballs/bricks for putbacks.

Big baskets, obviously, but all fluke stuff.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I had to shut it off mid-way into the 4th. That was ugly. UPJ looks like a freaking DIII team and despite IUP’s superior talent at about every position, they somehow had to squeak out a win.

There’s just no continuity to this team. The combinations on the floor at times are baffling and as much as I hate to beat a dead horse, UPJ literally did not guard KJ. I’m not a basketball expert, not even close, but there are some things that seem obvious to me that aren’t being handled well. This team has no identity. You have no idea what to expect from game to game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Garvin went for 27 and 10

Heck of a night for a PG

[IUPalum]

I didn’t get to watch the game, but between reading the box score and the board, it seems KJ had the worst 11 point 9 rebound 6 assist game in the history of basketball. Another new bench combination as Sarp and Waldo play and Petteno doesn’t. What is going on?

Petteno was sick and didn’t make the trip.

If you saw how KJ got that stat line then you’d understand. A couple air ball rebounds turned into lay ups (flukes). Box score doesn’t show how he consistently got smoked on D. Sarp got a lot of minutes Saturday too. He might’ve played his way into the rotation. He’s a decent freshman that’ll make a few dumb plays.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I didn’t get to watch the game, but between reading the box score and the board, it seems KJ had the worst 11 point 9 rebound 6 assist game in the history of basketball. Another new bench combination as Sarp and Waldo play and Petteno doesn’t. What is going on?

Petteno wasn't there. Sick.

Brooks barely played at all ... and not at all in second half.

Waldo played about 2 minutes

Lambert never got off bench.

KJ had the most interesting stat night I've ever seen. He had a lot of "right place right time". Nevertheless. He was on the ground at least 18 times.

KJ did make a giant play at the end.

Sark played over Stewart much of the second half. Oddly.


IUP's defense was beyond putrid. I mean UGLY. UPJ is not a good team. They are very young.

That was a real ugly game on both sides. If you watch the replay the board will make more sense.