[Foval21]

i know this has been talked about a lot but i believe that the true reason has been overlooked. the reasons that have been talked to death are his ability with the ball in his hands (wings have the ball a lot too in our offense) and how good he is playing this year. what hasnt been talked about much is what our team struggles with...defense. i will start by saying i think devyn is the best player on the team and the only reason we lost to nebby was his foul (i am discounting basabe in the game as others stepped up for him).

marble has length on defense because he is 4-7 in taller than other pgs. but his length against the good to great pgs wont mean a thing because he isnt very defensively quick. his length would be more helpful in the passing lanes because he isnt the best on ball guy right now because he is at least a step or 2 slower than the guy he is guarding. not the case if he is on the wing. i have seen gesell play and he is not a great defender but he is a lot quicker than devyn. clemmons from the videos seems lightning quick. i feel that they will be able to keep pgs in front of them better allowing devyn to get steals on the wing.

the reason we dont fully see this right now is how poor the other players are at defense. bryce is terrible which makes devyn by comparison look good eventhough at the point he is below average. will devyn play pg next yr? yes some but he is a wing it is where he belongs. can we win with him at pg? yes we do it now. is he our best option at pg? no defensively we can do better next year.

with the way basketball has evolved and the importance of a strong pg for most teams it has become important to have good pg defense. though marble offers a great deal of positives on the offensive side and probably more than the incoming frosh will. the frosh will have the advantage on defense and i believe next years team can overcome a little offensive loss as long as the defense gets better. and the freshmen will make the defense better.

[CAARHawk]

Iowa's perimeter defenders are some of the slowest of any major conference teams. That is one reason why teams shoot such high percentages against Iowa. Iowa needs an off shooting night from the other team to succeed.

Will be interesting to see what happens with DM. When you think about frontline guys, you have the centers Woody and Gabe, and then White, Mel, Meyer, McCabe, May, and as you think Marble.

McCabe is staring to turn into a match-up nightmare, White has a high skill set that will get even better with more physical training, Meyer is going to fit perfectly with those two.

Now you have Mel, Marble, and May.

May has one more year, that is about it.

If Mel's attitude changes he could be a nice high energy sixth man. But I see him dropping down a level where his limitations won't matter as much.

That leaves Marble. He could develop as a nice slashing wing.

The question is whether he is a better starting option over White? Or is he a better option as a scorer off the bench?

[Foval21]

pg - gesell/clemmons (split with some back-up by marble)
sg - marble/ogelsby/ingram (marble will play all 3 backcourt spots)
sf - may/marble/white (white will play sparingly here as he is a defensive liability on the wing)
pf - basabe/mccabe/white (for tough match-ups for most teams)
c - woodbury/meyer/mccabe (i don't think olaseni plays anymore next year)

marble is the most versatile player we have he will play all 3 guard spots. ingram will play because he is a physical player with defensive ability which is what ogelsby lacks. gesell and clemmons are two sides to the same coin as gesell is more offensive oriented and clemmons is more defensive oriented, but both will be more than adequate at the other because of their natural skills. may will still play because of his defensive capabilities. white at the wing is a match-up nightmare on offense, but a liability on defense (especially on the wing) because of lack of quickness (he is like marble at the point - great offense but weak defense); he will play some at both 3 & 4 like this year which makes him a perfect 6-man. mccabe has played himself into starting over basabe next year if woodbury or meyer can take over the 5 (not 100% sure this will happen right away though). basabe is still one of our better players when he is on his game (hopefully this is a sophomore funk). woodbury will give us a true big to help our smaller posts out. meyer i think will be what white is for the 4 & 5 spots.

[AZmess]

Marble won't be PG next year because Fran recruited two in next year's class. He's going to play on the wing.

[HaydensHawk]

People will crucify me here, but I think Marble is going to have a nice NBA career. Something in his game just stands out to me. He is starting to get the attitude necessary to take his game all the way up. He is the best player on this team and the best player to play for Iowa in a long time. Huge skill set. If he develops a consistent 3 point shot, he will be very difficult to stop.

[tweeterhawk]

Good assessments, all. Hadn't really thought of Devyn's defensive weakness at the point but I can see what you're saying. Putting him on a wing will help with perimeter defense and stop passes inside. He is definitely the best player on the team right now and will be among the top next year, if not the top. Certainly will be in the starting rotation at the 2 or even the 3 spot.

I would imagine Fran also likes the comfort of having two true PGs in next year's class, plus Dev as a strong back-up, if needed.

[herbyhawk]

didn't realize that basketball had become 40 yard dash contest, last i checked the court is only 32 yards long,
Marble did just fine against Taylor and he is supposed to be the best PG in the BT, but he will be a 2, White is very athletic for his size, and is just a "FRESHMAN", to write off Olaseni after his FRESHMEN YEAR is dead wrong and totaly moronic, most had discounted Marble after his freshman year,
i have seen so many idiot writing off a kid because of his freshman season

[imported_Tmoney12]

Gabe will avg a dbl, dbl next year.

[AZmess]

Originally Posted by HaydensHawk

People will crucify me here, but I think Marble is going to have a nice NBA career. Something in his game just stands out to me. He is starting to get the attitude necessary to take his game all the way up. He is the best player on this team and the best player to play for Iowa in a long time. Huge skill set. If he develops a consistent 3 point shot, he will be very difficult to stop.

NBA? While I appreciate the enthusisam he's got a LONG way to go before that is even a possibility. I mean...a LONG way.

[oroko]

Originally Posted by HaydensHawk

People will crucify me here, but I think Marble is going to have a nice NBA career. Something in his game just stands out to me. He is starting to get the attitude necessary to take his game all the way up. He is the best player on this team and the best player to play for Iowa in a long time. Huge skill set. If he develops a consistent 3 point shot, he will be very difficult to stop.

Definitely not worth crucifixion but as far as the NBA goes, Marble......is........really.........slow.

[herbyhawk]

yup 2 and 1/3 seasons to go, in maturing and getting stronger.
not to mention playing the position he is supposed to and that is not PG

[RADMAN]

Originally Posted by Foval21

pg - gesell/clemmons (split with some back-up by marble)
sg - marble/ogelsby/ingram (marble will play all 3 backcourt spots)
sf - may/marble/white (white will play sparingly here as he is a defensive liability on the wing)
pf - basabe/mccabe/white (for tough match-ups for most teams)
c - woodbury/meyer/mccabe (i don't think olaseni plays anymore next year)

marble is the most versatile player we have he will play all 3 guard spots. ingram will play because he is a physical player with defensive ability which is what ogelsby lacks. gesell and clemmons are two sides to the same coin as gesell is more offensive oriented and clemmons is more defensive oriented, but both will be more than adequate at the other because of their natural skills. may will still play because of his defensive capabilities. white at the wing is a match-up nightmare on offense, but a liability on defense (especially on the wing) because of lack of quickness (he is like marble at the point - great offense but weak defense); he will play some at both 3 & 4 like this year which makes him a perfect 6-man. mccabe has played himself into starting over basabe next year if woodbury or meyer can take over the 5 (not 100% sure this will happen right away though). basabe is still one of our better players when he is on his game (hopefully this is a sophomore funk). woodbury will give us a true big to help our smaller posts out. meyer i think will be what white is for the 4 & 5 spots.

White will play sparingly? You are showing your lack of BB knowledge. May will not see much of the floor after this year. White will be the starter for the next 3 years. Basabe either will be off the bench or he will be transfering. White has the most upside of the current players along with McCabe. He plays good enough D and that is why he is getting more and more minutes. Marble will be a wing after this year.

[drew003]

Positions aren't that important. Marble can plan with the freshman guards. Whether he is playing "point guard" or not, Marble is going to play with the ball in his hands. End of shot-clock situations, he's going to have the ball. He's going to get the ball on the top of the key to isolate through the offense. He is going to play pick-n-roll basketball. We can run the "point guard" Gessel off screens. It's all interchangeable; why are people so hung up on this? Marble is going to be more advanced than the freshman, he's taller, he's shown he can isolate ... he's not going to suddenly stop isolating.

But your overall point is good. We need to get more athletic. We need quicker perimeter defenders (another reason White should log only limited minutes on the Wing). Gessell/Clemmons alongside Marble and May/Ingram/Oglesby is going to be a stronger perimeter defensive team. We can apply more ball pressure, make post-entries more difficult, fight through screens better, ect ...

[AZHAWKFAN1]

I just don't get why so many posters want Basabe starting ahead of McCabe. It doesnt make any sense at all!

[atomicblue224]

Originally Posted by imported_Tmoney12

Gabe will avg a dbl, dbl next year.

didnt everyone say masabe will average double double every night at the begining of season. so far i only seen it few times this season.lets not get too far ahead .