Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
how about Matt Gatens' performance?!?!?! WOW!
the versatile senior went 7-10 from 3-point range and 10-18 overall from the floor, played tenacious defense in completing shutting down Indiana's hyped hoodrat Christian Watford (whom Gatens guarded much of the night as Watford went 0-5 and only scored 1 point), and generally played a terrific all-around game. Indiana was doing everything within the rules to slow Gattens down and simply couldn't do it. to show just how valuable Gatens is for the Hawkeyes, he didn't leave the floor all night. he played the entire 40 minutes, and despite all the defensive attention he drew only committed 2 turnovers. damn, he can play!
a guy to keep an eye on for Iowa is 6-8 freshman forward Aaron White. he's a very bouncy kid who really attacks the rim. he is aggressive battling for rebounds, wants to block shots, and looks for opportunities to dunk on people. if he finds the weight room, he's got a chance to be special. as it is, he's already a good player (averaging over 10 points and 5 boards). he finished the Iowa-Indiana game with 8 points, 10 boards, an assist, a blocked shot, and a steal.
one last note on the Hawkeyes ... they started 4 White players against the Hoosiers (who also frequently have 4 White men on the floor for long stretches). there were frequently 8 White players on the court at a time, and i don't think there were ever fewer than 6.
i also wanted to mention two guys' play for Indiana in addition to Zeller (who Deadlift talked about). athletic guard/forward Will Sheehey is showing signs of returning to his former self (he missed a lot of time to injury earlier this year). the strong and springy sophomore wing defended four positions against Iowa. he literally guarded every spot except the 5. if there is a more versatile defender in college basketball, he doesn't immediately come to mind.
sharp-shooting senior Matt Roth went a perfect 4-4 from the floor, all 3-pointers, in just 15 minutes of action. i don't know why he doesn't get more playing time. he can flat out knock down shots.
and a hat tip to Jack Lambert for pointing out the Michigan State-Purdue game. the short-handed Boilermakers saw a terrific performance by Robbie Hummel in defeat. the senior point forward dropped 24 points on the Spartans, while grabbing 15 rebounds, blocking 3 shots, and dishing 3 assists with just 1 turnover in 39 minutes. one can only imagine how good Hummel could have been if devastating knee injuries to both knees hadn't taken away most of his explosiveness. i mean, the guy is STILL usually the best player on the floor and can barely move compared to what he was before ... what a talent he was, and what a terrific player he still is.
the Herculean effort just wasn't enough, though, as MSU was able to focus solely on Hummel in the second half (he was held to 6 points after the break) since no one else could hit an open shot. Purdue began the second half an abysmal 1-23 from the floor. ouch!
Michigan State got a nice scoring boost from Austin Thornton, as well. normally on the floor for his defense, Thornton scored a career-high 17 (on 6-10 shooting).
Wisconsin had a balanced effort in a workmanlike game against Penn State. their balance makes them a tough team to handle, as any given player can hurt you in a variety of ways on any given night. one wonders why more people don't approach recruiting in a similar vein to Wisconsin's Bo Ryan. it obviously works ... and with White players! who'd a thunk it?
the versatile senior went 7-10 from 3-point range and 10-18 overall from the floor, played tenacious defense in completing shutting down Indiana's hyped hoodrat Christian Watford (whom Gatens guarded much of the night as Watford went 0-5 and only scored 1 point), and generally played a terrific all-around game. Indiana was doing everything within the rules to slow Gattens down and simply couldn't do it. to show just how valuable Gatens is for the Hawkeyes, he didn't leave the floor all night. he played the entire 40 minutes, and despite all the defensive attention he drew only committed 2 turnovers. damn, he can play!
a guy to keep an eye on for Iowa is 6-8 freshman forward Aaron White. he's a very bouncy kid who really attacks the rim. he is aggressive battling for rebounds, wants to block shots, and looks for opportunities to dunk on people. if he finds the weight room, he's got a chance to be special. as it is, he's already a good player (averaging over 10 points and 5 boards). he finished the Iowa-Indiana game with 8 points, 10 boards, an assist, a blocked shot, and a steal.
one last note on the Hawkeyes ... they started 4 White players against the Hoosiers (who also frequently have 4 White men on the floor for long stretches). there were frequently 8 White players on the court at a time, and i don't think there were ever fewer than 6.
i also wanted to mention two guys' play for Indiana in addition to Zeller (who Deadlift talked about). athletic guard/forward Will Sheehey is showing signs of returning to his former self (he missed a lot of time to injury earlier this year). the strong and springy sophomore wing defended four positions against Iowa. he literally guarded every spot except the 5. if there is a more versatile defender in college basketball, he doesn't immediately come to mind.
sharp-shooting senior Matt Roth went a perfect 4-4 from the floor, all 3-pointers, in just 15 minutes of action. i don't know why he doesn't get more playing time. he can flat out knock down shots.
and a hat tip to Jack Lambert for pointing out the Michigan State-Purdue game. the short-handed Boilermakers saw a terrific performance by Robbie Hummel in defeat. the senior point forward dropped 24 points on the Spartans, while grabbing 15 rebounds, blocking 3 shots, and dishing 3 assists with just 1 turnover in 39 minutes. one can only imagine how good Hummel could have been if devastating knee injuries to both knees hadn't taken away most of his explosiveness. i mean, the guy is STILL usually the best player on the floor and can barely move compared to what he was before ... what a talent he was, and what a terrific player he still is.
the Herculean effort just wasn't enough, though, as MSU was able to focus solely on Hummel in the second half (he was held to 6 points after the break) since no one else could hit an open shot. Purdue began the second half an abysmal 1-23 from the floor. ouch!
Michigan State got a nice scoring boost from Austin Thornton, as well. normally on the floor for his defense, Thornton scored a career-high 17 (on 6-10 shooting).
Wisconsin had a balanced effort in a workmanlike game against Penn State. their balance makes them a tough team to handle, as any given player can hurt you in a variety of ways on any given night. one wonders why more people don't approach recruiting in a similar vein to Wisconsin's Bo Ryan. it obviously works ... and with White players! who'd a thunk it?
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I hope he'll get his shot in the NBA.
