The pressing Hawkeyes? Coming to an arena near you
Iowa's Eric May
Iowa City, Ia. – Maybe not 94 feet of hell.
But Iowa’s basketball team unveiled some full-court press, and other press variations, during Sunday’s 79-59 victory over Northwest Missouri State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
We’re going to press,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, starting his second season, said after the game. “I said than when I got here. We didn’t have the depth (last season) to play the way we did (Sunday). We’ll do even more of that, and we’ve got even more in us.”
Nine players saw at least 14 minutes of action, and McCaffery said last week that he could go 11 players deep this season. Gabe Olaseni played 5 minutes and Andrew Brommer missed the game with a sprained right knee.
Senior Matt Gatens said the added depth “gives coach a lot of different weapons, and different squads to put out there. Especially with the style he wants to run. You’ve got to be deep to try and get up and down. Guys get tired, and you need some guys you can rely on this year and coach can trust.”
The press, and more fast-break basketball, will be among the biggest changes fans will see when they come to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for games starting with Friday’s 7 p.m. regular-season opener against Chicago State.
“If some guys get tired, me included, there’s somebody who can come in and pick up the energy,” junior forward Eric May said. “That’s huge. Because we need that at points, to have guys come in and do that.”
May likes the addition of a full-court press to the gameplan.
“Just to throw a little more stuff at them,” May said. “It makes it a lot more difficult for those guys to get comfortable, because it’s constantly changing. If we take them out of their comfort zone, it’s going to be harder for them to be successful and stay in the game.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
nice artical Brown, well done.
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I’ve never been a fan of the full-court press. Back in the Dr. Tom days, opponents who were quick and had good ball handlers would find a way to beat the press and that often lead to easy baskets. This is why you never see NBA teams utilize it.
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