re: 2021-22 Basketball Mega Thread

anybody care to do the gamethread saturday?

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Toney's energy was massive. He created so many points for himself just by hustling around the rim.

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Toney looks to be the dude that's going to fill Justin Smith's role.

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Trying something new this year...

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Why are Alabama basketball fans so obsessed with us?

Every Nick Smith not signing early tweet is flooded with Bama fans.

I think your game threads are awesome.

Razorbacks athletics are ascending to a level that transcends superstition.

#BasedHogs #BasedPio

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We're not a top 25 team right now.

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Most teams like us are still figuring it out. Takes time for these teams to gel.

Guess you missed the Elite 8 last year.

We will be fine.

Watching the game today.

Boy we sure didn't start strong.

Lykes is a liability on defense. He's got work to do. But I bet he gets better.

Davis knocking down a 3 is a big deal. Did he even attempt any last year?

We do seem to block out really well on rebounds at least.

We're gonna be better than last year as we gel and the new guys learn how to play defense.

3 man weave outlook for UNI. Should be a tough game tomorrow.

Lady Luck was a stone-cold b**** to the Purple Panthers last season. Strutting proudly with a 2020 MVC title belt in the bag, UNI was promptly humbled right out of the shoot. Any hopes of a regular season repeat were lost the moment AJ Green went down for the year with a severe hip injury just three games into the season.

From there on out, it was a bumpy ride for Ben Jacobson and the boys from Cedar Falls. Despite the trials and tribulations, a jaunty youth movement provided a dose of optimism. The momentum started to simmer as the calendar turned to March, but, lo and behold, there was Lady Luck, Johnny-on-the-spot to spoil the fun. After an opening round MVC Tournament win over Illinois State, COVID-19 tossed UNI to the curb, pulling the plug on the Panthers’ season.

The 2022 reboot will bear a striking resemblance to the 2019-20 story arc. The Panthers will trot out three of the same starters from the 2020 championship squad – Green, Trae Berhow and Austin Phyfe – along with Tywhon Pickford and Bowen Born, who are reasonable facsimiles to two other starters on that 2020 team, Isaiah Brown (comparable to Pickford) and Spencer Haldeman (comparable to Born). In essence, Jacobson will travel back in time, abduct his 2020 roster core, and bring them back to the future!

But wait! Those aren’t the only pieces in Jacobson’s refurbished war chest. While UNI was lost in the wilderness in last year’s forgettable season, Noah Carter sprouted into an invaluable X-Factor. Carter toggled back and forth between starter and reserve, but his impact never wavered. At his core, Carter’s a tweener, able to play on the wing or down low, but the second forward spot is where he’ll find a permanent home this year. That likely relegates Born to the bench, as Green should reclaim his seat in the point guard saddle.

Green, Berhow, Phyfe, Pickford, and Carter, plus Born off the pine? That top-6 is good enough to win this league, plain and simple, which could make this 3rd place projection look foolish by March. As a Purple Panther fan, feel free to stick your nose up at this bronze medal prediction. Green, Berhow and Phyfe are all two years older, wiser, stronger, and presumably better. However, lingering injury risk does warrant moderate concerns. Green’s coming off not one but two hip surgeries, and Pickford’s been chronically injured for nearly three years.

However, this year, Jacobson’s prepared for any ticking time bomb injuries. A long and capable bench is the ultimate insurance policy, which was sharpened by last year’s fissures. Backcourt dynamo Antwan Kimmons is back, who spent most of last season home with his family during the pandemic. Between Kimmons and Born, Jacobson has two stout options to spell Green, which will be critical for Green’s long term load management.

Nate Heise will likely join the bench mob this year, a part time starter last season. He didn’t set the world on fire offensively but made up for it with his defense – the Panthers don’t need him to score, especially now with Green back in the fold. Useful utility wing Goanar Mar, along with Tytan Anderson, James Betz and Cole Henry, round out the rest of the reserves. It’s rare to see a bench that goes 12-deep with legitimate experience.

From a style perspective, it’s precarious why Jacobson revved up the offensive engine last season, especially in the wake of losing two key guards at the onset of the season. Historically, UNI has fallen in line with the rest of the Valley’s molasses slow tempo. Last year, the Panthers checked in with the 3rd fastest pace in the Valley – charting this tempo against Jacobson’s ten seasons shows what a seismic shift this was:

northern iowa tempo.png
This may just be the ‘AJ Green effect’. Part of Green’s ingenuity is his ability to dictate the game on his terms, which is never in hurry-up mode. With Green back under center this season, the Panthers may revert to their old methodical ways – though, this is pure speculation.

On the other hand, we know precisely what to expect from UNI when it comes to defense and rebounding, the pillars to this program’s success since Jacobson’s arrival:

“Defensively, you’ve got to be a good defensive team and you’ve got to be a great rebounding team,” Jacobson told the Gazette when asked about his team’s chances at a 2022 MVC title run.

Last year was a stain on Jacobson’s sterling defensive resume, as MVC foes capitalized on the Panthers’ lack of experience. A return to normalcy should be imminent, given the roster continuity and broader DNA similarities to the 2020 team.

Bottom Line: I’m all aboard Jordan Majewski’s #3BidValley train. The Panthers are ‘1C’ to Drake’s 1A and Loyola’s 1B in the Valley’s loaded upper echelon but could easily emerge as the best this league has to offer.

If more news like this trickles out over the next month or two, I’ll have no choice but to bump UNI to the top pole position in the predicted standings: