Jacks @ UNI Friday

[thebluehatman]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

62-53 UNI. State turns it over. 1:34 to go in the game.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

UNI makes 2 FT 64-52 UNI with a minute. Caddy follows with a 3. 25 for caddy. 64-56 UNI.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

69-56 is your final.

[Grizzled_Jack]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

Fading down the stretch doesn't show character. Sounded like another Cadwell one man effort.

I was a bit concerned about making Callahan seem like the second coming before he'd ever played a game. That can't make it easier for someone that young.

[filbert]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

I'm not sure there's cause to question this team's character quite yet . . . Callahan's hand is still weak, Yackley is still getting his game legs underneath him, for instance.

I'm still holding out for at least a 3-12 record in first half of the year followed by a .500 or better second half. I think progress is being made, but the first-half schedule from here until New Year's is pretty stiff competition.

[JackJD]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

Can't say why, but compared the the past couple of years, I have a much better feeling about how this season will develop. I think filbert is right: watch for the second half of the season. But I also think that in the first half of the season, we'll start seeing some signs of better times ahead.

[Jacks15]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

We outshot and outrebounded a pretty good Northern Iowa team. I would say that we have shown a lot of improvement over the start of the season. Now they just have to learn how to finish. How many times in the first half did we have a chance to take a lead, only to take a bad shot or turn the ball over. Remember we also had a possession in the second half where we could have taken the lead, but we turned it over and they went down and hit a three and that was all she wrote.

Cadwell played well, Callahan is getting his game legs, Yackley has hit some buckets, and Engen came in and gave us a shot blocking presence. Hopefully by Christmas we are firing on all cylinders.

[jackmd]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

We outshot and outrebounded a pretty good Northern Iowa team.  I would say that we have shown a lot of improvement over the start of the season.  Now they just have to learn how to finish.  How many times in the first half did we have a chance to take a lead, only to take a bad shot or turn the ball over.  Remember we also had a possession in the second half where we could have taken the lead, but we turned it over and they went down and hit a three and that was all she wrote.

Cadwell played well, Callahan is getting his game legs, Yackley has hit some buckets, and Engen came in and gave us a shot blocking presence.  Hopefully by Christmas we are firing on all cylinders.  

I think this is a pretty good assesment. It not suprising that a young team can't quite get over the hump. Its also frustrating to listen/watch. Trust me, I about flew out of my car seat more than once last night! Steve would mention that the Jacks had the chance to take the lead and we would promptly blow it. Some credit to UNI, of course.

I was happier with the overall performance. Still looking for some of the freshmen to declare themselves as the real deal or not. Patience is the key but man its hard.

[filbert]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

I suspect one thing that's happening is that all the guys are still figuring out their roles. I think that more than anything was hurt by Callahan's (and Yackley's) pre-season injuries--it forced some of the guys into different roles that weren't quite comfortable for them. Some of what we'll probably see is that the youngsters will settle into their roles and stop trying to do too much on the court.

I think Nagy or somebody made a comment about Caddie--maybe it was the UWM pre-game comments, that part of what he had to do is trust his teammates. I think Caddie echoed that a bit in his UNI post-game comments when he said he had to do more to help the other players on the court.

It's the old "play within yourself" thing. It's got to be tough to be a 19-year-old star high school athlete who comes as a freshman to a struggling D-I program to NOT try to do too much.

I think we'll be OK . . . these are things that it just takes time to work out.

Stay together and stay positive, and Go Rabbits!

[gojacksgo]

Re: Jacks @ UNI Friday

Just got back from the game to a spot with internet. I thought, overall, a good game by the Jacks. They still struggle with their turnovers, but at the same time, forced many from a very good UNI squad. They lost by 13, but the game was much closer than it appeared. UNI has made the tourney the last three years, and two of those times as an at-large bid.

The Jacks have gotten better with each game played, and that is a positive sign. They played their most complete game of the year last night, but in the end, UNI was just too experienced and too talented for the Jacks.

Cadwell and Casey played pretty well. Engen seems to be coming around, with a number of big blocks last night. We still don't have much of an inside game yet, but Bassett and Engen will continue to improve, and Loney is crafty enough to get us some points down low. Those freshmen will improve, and should pose some kind of threat by the end of the year.

The defense was very good last night. They were all over the place, forcing turnovers, helping to force bad shots, etc - it was really fun to watch. One thing I noticed was Nagy got warned by a ref 2 minutes into the game - that ref went on to allow UNI players to talk to him the rest of the game - kinda a joke if you ask me, but I guess that is what happens when you go to a MVC school to play with MVC officials. I thought two of the refs did well, but they were very inconsistent on their travelling calls.

One thing I noticed is the Jacks played a couple times with 4 freshman(2 being true freshman) and 1 sophomore on the court - UNI countered with 2 seniors/2 juniors and a sophomore - all with big game experience in the big dance last year. Remember they are young, and they will be inconsistent. I think last night showed a little of what we can expect from them next year and a couple years down the road.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't too disappointed with the outcome.

UNI has a great facility, similar to Iowa's, just on a bit smaller scale. They had about 6,000 there last night, and I didn't notice more than 40 SDSU fans(thought SDSU would travel better than that). One thing I look at is 5-7 years ago, UNI was in the cellar of the MVC - they are now one of the top mid-major programs. Teams have their dry spells, and I have confidence in Nagy and the rest of the staff that they will come out of this. These kids just need to stick together for four years and they will be fun to watch. They will continue to get better throughout this season. Stick with them.


P.S. If you want to know how good the MVC is, listen to these scores from last night and today:

Witchita State over LSU by 6
Missouri State over Wisconsin by 4
Southern Illinois over Minnesota by double digits