Can somebody tell me what has happened to this team?

[jman2004]

We didn't have that last season either dropping four of five down the stretch. Please do not insult Funk by comparing him to Ben Jacobson. Ben Jacobson couldn't hold Funk's jock strap!

Come on, I never said that Benny was as good as Funk. Funk is awesome (and is going to be my good friend's brother-in-law). You can't deny the fact that Benny was a top-tiered player in this league. That's all I was saying.

[Panther-Sheik]

[QUOTE=bobo34;73860]The main problem is the guard court. They are not hitting from the outside and no one can drive the lane or create their own shot. They lack athletic ablilty. The games I have watched we get killed by teams penatrating against our guards and we can not do that to them. This allows the other teams to pack it in against Stout and Coleman.
Freethrows have also been a problem. Bottom line they need to recruit better athletes.[/QUOTE]

This is a crucial point of fact and needs all of our support to happen. If you are not yet a member of the Panther Scholarship Club (formerly Athletic Club), please let me know and we will get you signed up. You can join for as little as $100 (annual) and it is billed later in the year. It is this money that is used to fund the scholarships that the Panthers need to offer to these "better athletes". I'm in agreement, and I'm also a member...If you are under 30, it is half price to join, and it is ALWAYS tax deductible.

Let me know...and let's all put our money where our mouths are and support the Panthers.

[Ronin]

Game vs Slide

For the game with MS the officials did hurt us. As for the losing streak it's the lack of guard play. Coleman is impressive and plays with heart. IMHO the guards spend to much time looking at the bench. Not sure if this is due to the coach or the players, but it's disrupting the flow of the game to UNI's detriment.

[SA4UNI]

Well I can only speak from what few games I hear Rima call over the 'net on my windows 98 driven computer, but I too agree that that guard play is lacking. Well maybe not guard play, but the 2-3 positions (the shooting guard and small forward). Is it lack of athleticism, or talent? Or is it experience? Those are positions that Benny and Crawford held for these past few years. Stout and Coleman are awesome, and Brooks has impressed me this year, but I feel it could be the lack of experience, and perhaps maturity at those positions that's taking it's toll at this time of the season, both on offense and D. Just my two cents.

[merkpanthers]

Can't believe the Iowa schools keep missing out on these great Iowa players. Funk, Kyle Korver, McKinney, Ryan Sears. UNI needs to get ALL of these type of kids in the future because it doen't appear that Alford doens't think basketball is played well with these Iowa kids.

Well Kaleb Korver already signed with Creighton for next year. So we lost him because his older brother went to Creighton. There's still one left, so maybe we'll get him.

[panther2317]

When those players were going to Creighton...who was the coach at UNI? There was a lot of damage done with Iowa High School coaches from the previous regime and it took some time for Coach mac to heal those wounds. Now, Iowa coaches, players and even some general hoops fans know UNI is a great program and kids can get to the NCAA Tournament (and play professional basketball) with an education in Cedar Falls.

[UnderParPanther]

Well maybe not guard play, but the 2-3 positions (the shooting guard and small forward).

I think the 2 has been there. Josten has played really well this year. I wish he'd shoot more often. Its been the 3 during the losing streak that hasnt been producing. Viet and Brown have gotten great shots, but they arent going down. Hopefully they can get some confidence back intime for the MVC Tourney.

[BCPanther]

The reason that Josten is an effective offensive player is because he takes the right number of shots. He doesn't force anything and takes shots that he is confident that he can hit. Josten is just a really solid role player. Every successful team has a guy like him that plays defense and steps up and makes a shot every once in a while...

[Panthers to the Bone]

Why did UNI not get Funk? They went after Ben Jacobson instead.
Why did Iowa not go after Funk? They got Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner
Why did Iowa State not go after Funk? They got Adam Haluska

All on the same AAU team (I believe). Not bad huh?

Remember, this was still back in the 5 in 8 rule days, so there were some scholy restrictions. Tim Barnes was also recruited in that same class as Haluska to Iowa State.

[SteinPizza]

The reason that Josten is an effective offensive player is because he takes the right number of shots. He doesn't force anything and takes shots that he is confident that he can hit. Josten is just a really solid role player. Every successful team has a guy like him that plays defense and steps up and makes a shot every once in a while...

Agreed, and I like Josten's game too. The only thing wrong is that he's just that, a role player (albeit a valuble one). For next year, we need some consistent offensive firepower from either his spot or the 3 to take some pressure off Coleman. IMO that's what this year's team lacks. I'm not sure Josten is that kind of player, so I hope either Brown or Reed really steps up their offensive game over the summer. I like Viet too, but he's too slow to be the that type of player. The wild card in all this is Dunham.

[jman2004]

I hope Dunham doesn't disappoint, because I sure have been talking him up to people.

Maybe not next year, but eventually, watch for him to be a star.

(I'm probably wrong though, I am quite a bit although you'd be surprised at how often I can spot out talent).