Hey Jake...

[Khan4Cats]

Re: Hey Jake...

Honestly, I'm just asking the question. It was before my time -- where did all the kids who were
to be seniors this year go and why? We had to have recruited more seniors than TB. Reed was a transfer in, correct?

We lost several players during Mac's last few years here.

In Travis Brown's recruiting class, it was Travis, Brian Haak (I belive he was a 5 for 4 preferred walk-on) and I think a kid named Mason Stewart. Stewart was redshirted and transferred, but I am not sure if he didn't leave at semester.

We also lost Atila Santos, a 6-10 center from Brazil, who was either in Coleman's class or a year ahead of him.

There was Vince Polokovic, a German F (6'7"ish) who transferred after playing only a couple games (again, I think in Coleman's class)

There was another German who verballed to us in, I think Travis' class, but he played on the same team as Staiger (and Polokovic) and was ruled ineligible and also academicaaly ineligible. Never came to campus, I don't think.

There was also a juco transfer, but I think that was Mac's last year who played a little than quit as well.

And then of course we had the football walk-ons: Austin Howard (05-06) and Everette Pedescleaux (06-07).

But, of course, Mac left us loaded with depth. That is why just two years later there are only two players on the roster who were here when he was here.

[UNIFanSince1983]

Re: Hey Jake...

The JUCO transfer you were referring to was Mike Williams. I have no idea where he went either. Atila went to Minnesota State Mankato.

[Panther Cat]

Re: Hey Jake...

Guys that transfered or quit during Mac's time that I can remember....

Vince Polakovic - went to South Florida, couldn't guard anyone but could score

Mason Stewart - PG from Aurora, not a big loss in my opinion, transfered to a small school in Ill I believe, not even sure if he plays ball there.

Atila Santos - transfered to Mankato State/Minnesota State - was pretty good for them. Great talent but just too many set plays for him to learn in Macs/Jakes system.

Dylan Grimsley - Stayed at UNI, just quite basketball.

Tyler Griffen - Was going to dental school I think, he was a walk-on. He did join back up when they had some injuries the next year the day before practice started, great guy.

Adam Salow - Stayed in school at least a year. He was a walk-on but would have gotten a scholarship if he would have worked hard.

Matt Bennett - Stayed in school, was a walk-on as well.

Dusty Jira - He redshirted his freshman year and then transfered to Nebraska-Kearney I believe?

Adam Jacobson - Coach Jake's newphew, he transferred but I can't remember where. I want to say a D2 school?

Michael Miller - he might have been a walk-on as well. He stayed for a year and transfered somewhere, not sure if he played baskeball again.

Keyonn Tutt - He had some knee injuries and decided to give up basketball his senior year, he might have left school after that, not sure?

Jarmain Raffington - Commited to UNI but because of elegibilty never played here.

Michael Williams - A little JUCO PG, he left to move back closer to home. I think he thought he would get a lot more PT.


These are the only guys I can think of. As you can tell it's a pretty big list. But if you look at most of them there were a lot of walk-ons and not as many scholarship players leaving. They are kids, they change their mind all the time. In some cases it's definitely the coaches fault, but in probably most cases I'd say it's just the kids not understanding what it takes to be on a certain team.

[oldcat]

Re: Hey Jake...

I'm getting a little tired of this same old argument (no offense oldcat).

So what? Wartburg fans can probably say this exact same thing. Heck, that's the progression of sports in our society in general. Even high school sports. My brother's high school basketball team has their own web site with video clips.

Just because we have a flashy new arena and cool Nike jerseys playing in close games DOES NOT mean that our actual level of play is "light years" ahead of what it used to be. Sometimes the emphasis we put on sports and the money we spend on sports, gives everyone the impression that things are more entertaining. It just means that the culture of sports has changed. Don't confuse entertainment with quality of play.

If you want to be satisfied with mediocre seasons just because it's better than what you've personally experienced in the past, good for you. But please, don't get down on young Panther fans who feel that this team is WAY more talented than they look right now.

I want to win just as much as anyone. When was the last time we won the conference championship in basketball? I would love to see one of those................it hasn't happened. You have to learn some patience. Learn to stand in line for awhile. Stop eating fast food all the time. They are a very young team. They will improve.

[clenz]

Re: Hey Jake...

Bottom line is that Jake will never be able to win over the fan base here at UNI. He comes in after the most successful stretch of UNI basketball ever. Which, in turn meant, unless he did better than Mac the fan base would never embrace him.

It didn't matter what was coming back on the team, what the incoming recruiting classes would look like, what the W/L records would be (which is obvious because of the fact the last two years of 2 of the top 5 or 6 UNI seasons ever if I'm not mistaken), it wouldn't matter what offense he ran, it won't matter what Jake gives for an explanation, and it won't matter if the players perform or not. Jake will not win this fan base over, at least not the fan base on PN, which is sad.


I'm not blind with the choices Jake makes, I've called him out plenty of times before. However, I'm not going to blame Jake for whatever struggles there may be right now. Look at the youth of this f***ing roster. Brown, Koch, and JE are really the only players we have on the roster right now that have saw significant minutes the last year or two. Dunham, Haak, O'Rear, and Montgomery have saw time, but not a lot.

This team has ONE senior on it, and a bunch of talent that is new to the team this year. Look at the players who are seeing time this year and look where they were last year. Moran was a HS senior, KA was injured, Dunham didn't play much at all the first half of the season, Haak didn't play much last year, Ali was at a JUCO. This team is going to need time to gel on the court. Yes, practice is a great time to gel. However, there is a difference between gelling in practice and during a game. It is still early in the season, and the shooting will hopefully come, I know we have been fed this for the last two years but I think we have better shooters this year. We have a lot more athleticism in the back court than we did last year.


Yes, this team needs to learn to play against a zone, but if the confidence for a player to be where you want for a pass isn't there, a zone can be tough to beat. Koch has made leaps and bounds from last year with agression. KA and Johnny will be able to slash the zone once they get comfortable with it more, Kerwin has to start getting better at some point, JE is coming around.


I guess the only way for Jake to win this fan base over is to leave the program.

[KansasCityPanther]

Re: Hey Jake...

Most here seem to be over reacting. The Cats had plently of chances to put that game away and didn't execute. I quit counting the bunnies they missed on the inside, Jordan had more than his share. Face it he had a bad night that's why he sat at the end. In order to over look his D last night he was going to have to be more productive on the offensive end, he wasn't Koch was. Jordan will bounce back and dominate it the Valley. Brackins will be first team Big 12.

That was a great basketball game to watch, if the Panthers would have hit a few more shots everyone would be all excited and talking about be the mythical state champs.

I'll say it again, this team will keep getting better and better. The outside shots will fall and open things up.

It's disappointing to see so many fair weather fans on this board. That's the demise that is far more troubling to me. The fair weather attitude is what will do more harm than a few painful loses.

[BCPanther]

Re: Hey Jake...

Bottom line is that Jake will never be able to win over the fan base here at UNI. He comes in after the most successful stretch of UNI basketball ever. Which, in turn meant, unless he did better than Mac the fan base would never embrace him.

It didn't matter what was coming back on the team, what the incoming recruiting classes would look like, what the W/L records would be (which is obvious because of the fact the last two years of 2 of the top 5 or 6 UNI seasons ever if I'm not mistaken), it wouldn't matter what offense he ran, it won't matter what Jake gives for an explanation, and it won't matter if the players perform or not. Jake will not win this fan base over, at least not the fan base on PN, which is sad.


I'm not blind with the choices Jake makes, I've called him out plenty of times before. However, I'm not going to blame Jake for whatever struggles there may be right now. Look at the youth of this f***ing roster. Brown, Koch, and JE are really the only players we have on the roster right now that have saw significant minutes the last year or two. Dunham, Haak, O'Rear, and Montgomery have saw time, but not a lot.

This team has ONE senior on it, and a bunch of talent that is new to the team this year. Look at the players who are seeing time this year and look where they were last year. Moran was a HS senior, KA was injured, Dunham didn't play much at all the first half of the season, Haak didn't play much last year, Ali was at a JUCO. This team is going to need time to gel on the court. Yes, practice is a great time to gel. However, there is a difference between gelling in practice and during a game. It is still early in the season, and the shooting will hopefully come, I know we have been fed this for the last two years but I think we have better shooters this year. We have a lot more athleticism in the back court than we did last year.


Yes, this team needs to learn to play against a zone, but if the confidence for a player to be where you want for a pass isn't there, a zone can be tough to beat. Koch has made leaps and bounds from last year with agression. KA and Johnny will be able to slash the zone once they get comfortable with it more, Kerwin has to start getting better at some point, JE is coming around.


I guess the only way for Jake to win this fan base over is to leave the program.

Very, Very well done clenz!!

[KansasCityPanther]

Re: Hey Jake...

One more point. I am fairly convinced that had Mac stayed, the out comes the last 2+ years would have been pretty much the same. Both Jake and Mac approach the game the same way. Both have had to deal with injuries, transfers and other problems.

This is not a demis, it is simply 2-4 losses each year that we didn't have the three NCAA years.

This team just needs to beat the teams it should and believe they have a chance to beat everyone else.

THE FANS NEED TO PROVE THAT PANTHER FANS PASSIONATE WIN OR LOSE AND WILL SHOW UP IN FORCE.

[jman2004]

Re: Hey Jake...

So, if the Rays next season only finish with 85 wins and miss the playoffs, 789 will say that they have gone into a tailspin of decline.

That's stupid, and it's not what 789 is saying. The Rays completed ONE good season. That's why he was saying each coaching hire is different. The pressure on Maddon was slightly different than let's say, the pressure on Girardi in New York. If the Rays keep up their success, trust me, the pressure on Maddon to keep it up, will be there.

The pressure on Jacobson was different because we had achieved a great deal under McDermott and he was left with many key components from that success. If McDermott would've struggled through 6 miserable seasons with us, I think fans would've had lower expectations for Jacobson.

[Da Hog]

Re: Hey Jake...

You have to look at each situation case by case. There's a big difference between taking over a program that had an opening because its coach took a bigger job, and taking over a program because the last coach got canned.

This case seemed to have nobody around with any BIG skill and BIG size. And at this point, we are missing that. And appear to be next year as well. I havent seen who signed besides Sonnen. And although he lookds good, he is the same as what we have I beleive.

Who is coming in with skill and height and quickness?

[PantherHawk]

Re: Hey Jake...

I have been able to watch 2 UNI games this year and both teams played zone against them! I will tell you this, Jake needs to figure out who is starting 5 are and keep them on the floor! Also he needs to start riding these guys harder! I don't care who you are, if you cannot dribble penetrate a zone and kick out, then you are div 1 material!

Both games, I think UNI passed the ball and cut through and kept it out on the perimeter! If they want to break teams of the zone, have your bigs come up to the free throw line and set screens on the top two guards! If they are cheating at all, then its an easy dribble drive and dump off to the big man, for the elbow jumper! But standing around against a zone does absolutly nothing! quick passing does nothing, unless you can penetrate the zone! If you can't get penetration against a zone, you are going to lose more times than you will win! We better pray we get better against a zone, we are going to see it the rest of the way out!

[joecooll6]

Re: Hey Jake...

I was there actually for once. albeit, by these goons who kept shooting a cop with paper airplanes. What are we 10? My 3 year old seems more mature.

I think you and others took it out of context. Last nights crowd was ahmazing! However, it is much like the Iowa game last year. Where we coulda shoulda won and didn't. The fanbase, especially in students seemed to drop. So therefore, I was comparing and said 'just hafta wait and see".

I see what you mean.

In that vein, I would take a big student crowd over a small one any day, BUT when theyre small its kind of fun cause you can be goofy and yell random things and everyone can hear you. Feels more like a cohesive group.

[Panthers#1]

Re: Hey Jake...

I agree. Some people are optimist and others are pesimest. I've read some studies where optimistic people are supposed to live longer, so I'm happy .

I also read that 73% of all studies and statistics are made up.

Did you know 93% of all people wish the moon was made of cheese?

[Khan4Cats]

Re: Hey Jake...

That's stupid, and it's not what 789 is saying. The Rays completed ONE good season. That's why he was saying each coaching hire is different. The pressure on Maddon was slightly different than let's say, the pressure on Girardi in New York. If the Rays keep up their success, trust me, the pressure on Maddon to keep it up, will be there.

The pressure on Jacobson was different because we had achieved a great deal under McDermott and he was left with many key components from that success. If McDermott would've struggled through 6 miserable seasons with us, I think fans would've had lower expectations for Jacobson.

HELLO READING COMPREHENSION!!

You have indicated you work in a school. Hopefully you are not preparing the next generation of learners to read like this or we are in real trouble.

The quote you "quoted" me on was purely a fictitious statement that I was putting in 789's mouth because he had chosen to put words into mine. That was all it was. You want to take it further than that, then you are failing to grasp that that is ALL it was.

I agree that Jake was left with a program in better shape than most new coaches get. But he wasn't left with a program that was a Gonzaga, or even an SIU. He had three players with any major amounts of playing time coming back (Stout, McKowen, Coleman) and two players with limited PT (Josten and Brown). He did have a fantastic recruiting class. But to ask any of them to step in and make a huge impact was too much. Especially considering the level of experience that was coming back in the rest of the Valley. Jake still led them to an upper-division finish. He followed that by leading a team that lost its' only experienced PG before the season and battled injuries all year to another 5th place finish, marking the 3rd straight year UNI finished at that level (which includes Mac's last year here).

I don't know, maybe it's just an element of fans here in Iowa. Look at Drake. They have their first glimmer of success in 30 years and they were ready to fire the new coach after the first game of the season.

This "I want it here and I want it now mentality" of the younger generation is going to come back and bite us sometime. Probably somewhere where it really hurts like over-extending on lines of credit or something along those lines that might lead to some kind of financial crisis when they figure out they can't really afford everything that they just had to have without working for it first and building up to it.

[jman2004]

Re: Hey Jake...

I guess the only way for Jake to win this fan base over is to leave the program.

I don't agree with this at all and I think that a portion of people on this site are grossly misinterpreting what others are saying.

Let me say this loud and clear . . . Jacobson should not be fired. There aren't too many people on here saying that he should be. Not even the "negative" folks. He's had 2 straight 18 win seasons. We acknowledge that. He's brought in some good recruits and is putting together a decent team. We acknowledge that.

But fans also have the right to complain about what they're seeing on the court if it's not living up to expectations, and you cannot blame a single Panther fan for having high expectations upon Jacobson's hire.

Just because some people want to talk, discuss, or complain about Jacobson's coaching strategy and possible ways it's inhibiting us from winning games we should be able to win, does not mean we want him fired. You, yourself clenz, have called him out on things. Did you want people to think you were a raving lunatic when you called him out, or were you just looking to vent and talk about UNI basketball, good or bad?

Maybe some of the Jake-Hate is becoming overdone (maybe I've added to that without trying to - I don't know) but so is the melodramatic assumption by many that most of PantherNation is ready to run Jacobson out of town. I simply do not think that is the case.