This Is Worth Watching. UConn backup quarterback Johnny Mac throwing footballs at things. And in things. And through things.
Armchair Point Guards. The primary question coming out of Iowa's overtime loss to Wisconsin Tuesday night was why Fran McCaffery didn't call a timeout to set a play with 6 seconds left and down by three points. Instead of resetting for the last shot, the Hawkeyes ran Gatens through a well-defended screen and were left with Bryce Cartwright taking a contested shot from 30 feet. This mirrored the end of regulation, when McCaffery let Cartwright run the clock down and take a shot, this time open.
It was the third question out of the postgame press conference (video courtesy of Hawkeye Drive), and that is only because the first two guys were warming McCaffery up. As John Bohnenkamp writes, it's a question of style and confidence in your players:
Bryce Cartwright had chances to hit buzzer-beating shots at the end of the second half and at the end of overtime in Iowa's 62-59 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday night.
Twice he missed.
On neither occasion did Iowa coach Fran McCaffery call a timeout to set up a shot. That's not his style, McCaffery said.
"I don't usually do that," McCaffery said.
His players admired that. "He's trusting us," freshman forward Melsahn Basabe said. "There were plays called. On the court, you've got to get it done."
"There was a play called, and it's our job to execute it," Cartwright said.
If there's a call in the previous huddle and circumstances haven't fundamentally changed, it makes a lot of sense to push the issue without a timeout to let the defense reset. If the team is OK with it, you won't get any further complaint from me. Although, when you channel Hayden Fry in talking about "moral victories," you can do a lot of questionable things and still get my support.
If Caring Is Creepy, Darrell Wilson Is the Chairman of NAMBLA. As recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson pointed out in his interview with Mas Casa, linebacker coach Darrell Wilson is responsible for a huge chunk of Iowa's class of 2011. Wilson has been the primary force behind the development of the Hawks' pipeline to the DC area, and has remained responsible for New Jersey and Philadelphia. As a result, he was responsible for seven Iowa signings last week (and it would have been eight if Austin Vincent's test scores didn't keep him out of school). He also damn near landed Cyrus Kouandjio and might still add an eighth (if you listen to some people). So it's both entirely expected and completely deserved that he was named one of the nation's best recruiters by Rivals.
BLURBZ:
Iowa women's basketball -- which dispatched of the dastardly Gophers last night on a last-second layup from Kachine Alexander -- ranks eleventh nationally in average attendance this season. The 6188 spectators in CHA for a typical women's game place Iowa third in the Big Ten, behind OMHWR Purdue and league leader Michigan State.
A reader over at The Only Colors takes the time to calculate Points Over Replacement Per Adjusted Game (PORPAG) for every Big Ten player with over 40% of his team's minutes played. By law of averages, Iowa should have 5 in the top 55. In practice, they have 3: Matt Gatens, Melsahn Basabe, and the juvenated Jarryd Cole. Devyn Marble is ranked ahead of Eric May, which strikes us as odd. And Zach McCabe is basically the textbook definition of replacement player.
Prepare for the DAHMMERCIDE! There's an Iowa baseball preview that mentions a Big Ten title, and it does so unironically. Iowa's only won one conference title in program history, but a late season winning streak and run to the Big Ten title game in 2010 has the Hawks thinking of bigger and better things for 2011.
Did you know Iowa indoor track was ranked third in the Midwest region? Do you have any idea what that means? Is track relevant or is it just 'riding oldschoolwaves' [via running in circles]?
He might have killed Iowa twice this year, but at least OSU superfrosh Jared Sullinger can take a joke.
And finally, the 'N' on their helmets is for 'sense of humor'.