CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

[achrist70]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Agreed on a lot of that Sheik.

On Pehl, people need to realize what we need out of him. He is not and will never be a 25 minute a night guy that pushes a double double. What we need from him is 10-12 minutes of him using his athleticism and height to bother the other team on the defensive end, any offense he provides is a bonus. The thing that stuck out to me last night was how much better his ball screens have gotten. He set some very solid screens last night.

Sonnen needs to shoot 500 jump shots a day this summer.

Jake Koch needs to not play Prime Time league this summer. He's having ankle surgery this Friday and needs to take the summer to get healthy after having multiple injections to tolerate the pain this year. Take it easy and get ready for the Brazil trip in August. I believe he played very well considering the ankle he battled through for three months.

Moran will have a great senior year with a shot to be the all time leader in made threes and a 1000 point scorer.

AJ needs to continue to get stronger and continue to work on his ball skills. Still a little shaky handling at times.

Rank just needs confidence. If he has a good start to next year, he will make great strides...

Great Post

I think that what we saw last night is that "Practice" does Pehl good, hes not Allen Iverson and needs it, especially to work on UNI things, more than other team scouting.

I think Sonnen would tell you 1000 shots

Jake fighting through the pain tells you a lot about what type of player he is.

Brazil trip in August? Great thing for a young team!

Johnny I expect will be a man on a mission next year.

Sometimes the ball just isn't as fast as he is!

Chip Rank I think will be an "enforcer" in time, compare him to other freshman, that makes you feel a lot better about the season he had and excited for the future!

[Trapped in California]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Kelly Beaton's take about next year includes this nugget -

And incumbent center Austin Pehl shouldn't be counted out, either, though his offensive game needs to expand.

Kelly also notes -
- High tides in Japan
- Rumors of Arab voter discontent
- A couple of people having problems finding jobs

[DownGoesKansas]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Kelly Beaton's take about next year includes this nugget -



Kelly also notes -
- High tides in Japan
- Rumors of Arab voter discontent
- A couple of people having problems finding jobs

I did like his comment about a juco post player though. Every one knows that it is something we desperately need. If Jake could somehow get one here it would be amazing.

Message to all juco post players: Come to UNI if you want playing time.

With regards to Pehl, I still want him to do well I am just done defending his poor play to friends. Its time for him to contribute. I do not care if he never scores but at least play good D, which was terrible at the start of the game.

[BCPanther]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Jake Koch and Jake both mentioned at tour of Brazil in August. I think you can take an overseas trip every four years. This is not the World University Games. My guess is we will play five or six games against professional and club teams.

Should prepare us well for a tough early schedule with @ODU, the South Padre Tournament, and I would imagine a road game against a big time opponent. Would be nice to get an ACC team to couple with the ODU trip to save on costs.

Could a Mod split the talk of next year into its own thread?? I don't want this to get buried in aCIT thread...

[CF84]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

The box score shows Pehl with only 7 minutes playing time. A bit puzzling since he starts. Don't know that I've seen any other team who starts a player on a routine basis but they consistently end up with less than 10 minutes playing time.

AP had 0 rebounds and Papa was scoring at will in the beginning of the game while AP was in. Overall, the way Jake uses him seems a bit odd. He did make a nice hook shot and made his free throws though, so that's a plus.

[BCPanther]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

I am also frankly sick of The Courier always assigning a negative reporter to our beat. Matt Coss was a giant negative douche and Beaton isn't much better.

His blog also makes it seem like winning 20 games next year would be some monumental feat. We will finish in the top 3 or 4 of the Valley again.

We, as outsiders, complain about the homerism from guys in Springfield and Wichita, but their fans love and respect it, the same way we love Rima. Optimism is a good thing...

[Trapped in California]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

I have no problem (so far) with Beaton's coverage. He's fairly honest about the good & bad. Isn't that what you want out of a beat writer?

[BCPanther]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

The thing that bothers me is that he tries to present himself as some kind of analyst or basketball mind. Your job is to tell me what happened, not what you think needs to happen or what you would do...

[DownGoesKansas]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

His blog also makes it seem like winning 20 games next year would be some monumental feat. We will finish in the top 3 or 4 of the Valley again.

I hope you are right about this. I am a little skeptical though after the way we finished the season. Yes I know Lucas was incredibly valuable to this team but it was still unacceptable to finish the way we did. Adjustments had to be made, players had to step up, etc. We do have an entire offseason to work on it though. A top 3/4 finish is defenitely possible, I just don't think its a lock like you make it sound.

[Marc Wigim]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

I hope you are right about this. I am a little skeptical though after the way we finished the season. Yes I know Lucas was incredibly valuable to this team but it was still unacceptable to finish the way we did. Adjustments had to be made, players had to step up, etc. We do have an entire offseason to work on it though. A top 3/4 finish is defenitely possible, I just don't think its a lock like you make it sound.

Have faith, friend.

We will have the best guard tandem in the league (I will politely debate anyone who disagrees), and we will have some much-needed help on the post. I know they will be freshmen and sophomores, but they'll at least be able to create offense without getting their heads beat in by people much bigger than them.

Add that to the fact that SIU, Illinois State, Bradley, and Drake will once again be what they are, I think we're in a good place for next season.

[Born-a-Panther]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Remember who we have for a coaching staff... all you people of little faith.

And it is not like the new season starts next week. We got time people! Our team and staff will use it well...

[achrist70]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

Also remember what Wichita and Missouri State loose

[DownGoesKansas]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

1. Creighton
2. ISU Blue
3/4/5 toss up. MSU, UNI, Wichita

Drake and Evansville are two wild cards, IMO (as in could be good or bad)

SIU/ISUred/Bradley at the bottom

Thats my early prediction

[jnutt]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

this whole season went into the tank because we lost the big guy. we were thin with lucas and had nothing without him. so guys had to change on the fly late in the season. losing Kwadzo will be big but not AS big. Is Kwadzo a better player than Lucas? Yes. But Kwadzo took AJ under his wing and the improvement is unbelieveable. Next year, he'll be even better and the guards we have a very good and should have some coming in with a ton of upside. This IS the best recruiting class we have ever had. It leaves Jake a ton of options. We just need the bigs to step up and learn to rebound, set screens, and play better D. They are all very young and even Lucas wasn't great at first. They have a whole off season to work on it with a sour taste in their mouth. Not to mention a damn good coaching staff. Next year will have its growing pains but there is a ton left in the cubbard/tank to keep UNI in the top of the MVC for years to come.

[ProwlingPanther]

Re: CIT Round 2: Northern Iowa vs SMU 7PM CST (free official stream also)

I liked the superstition of not doing an official thread. Smart move from Achrist, moose and Hail. I blame the loss on this.