EIU's Tyler Smith May be Leaving....

[SplitIdentity]

SH - can you list your projected starting 5 for this winter and maybe even the first player or two off the bench?

Sure... this is mine, but it should be similar to last year's

With Smith:

Center - David Palmer
Forward - Kurt Looby
Forward - Cyrus Tate
Forward - Tyler Smith
PG - Tony Freeman/Jeff Peterson

Without Smith:

Center - David Palmer
Forward - Kurt Looby
Forward - Cyrus Tate
Guard - Justin Johnson
PG - Tony Freeman/Jeff Peterson


Of course, nobody really knows how Lick is going to rotate players in there, this is what the starting lineup would have looked like under Alford. So, this is just speculation.

[mwitt]

But this is a good point - if the BigTen is as strong as some say it is going to be next year, then it could be a long year for Iowa. This is a very good point.

Who is saying it is going to be strong? That wasn't my point. My point was that it doesn't seem to be good at all. Indiana should be better, yes. Doesn't Purdue lose its best player? Iowa won't be better any way you can spin it unless Lickliter is actually Houdini in a disguise. Michigan State could be a factor, but I'm not convinced Michigan will be much to reckon with. Northwestern is Northwestern. Tubby won't fix Minnesota in a year. Penn State will still be terrible.

I don't know which teams Iowa plays twice next year, but I think it's entirely possible they take two from Minnesota, one from Northwestern, and two from Penn State and create the illusion that they weren't terrible this year, despite not beating one team that is worth anything.

[clones_jer]

While it's a blow, it's not a huge blow.

And of course Smith leaving is a big blow - I never said it wasn't.

"Synonyms for "big" include: large, full-size, life-size, huge, giant, immense, gigantic" - Online Thesaurus

[SplitIdentity]

A message board called CYCLONEFANATIC is a odd place for a person with the handle SOUTHERNHAWK to post constantly, IMO.

Not really, considering we're rivals and all ;)

[ISUFan22]

A message board called CYCLONEFANATIC is a odd place for a person with the handle SOUTHERNHAWK to post constantly, IMO.

Lets not make the man defend himself every single day here. He's more than welcome on this site. Not once has he acted like a troll, flamed anyone or anything of the sort.

From what I understand, he's an ISU student that is a Hawk fan. His fellow students are working on the final conversion from Hawk to 'Clone.

Resistance is futile.

[SplitIdentity]

"Synonyms for "big" include: large, full-size, life-size, huge, giant, immense, gigantic" - Online Thesaurus

Lol, well, I wouldn't equate "big" with "huge, gigantic, enormous", but I can see what you're getting at.

To me, saying a "big blow" means, "yeah, okay, so it's gonna sting, but it's something that can be gotten over." Saying "huge blow" means the season will be a disaster of the epic kind, and it will take years to get over it.

If Tyler Smith - a player who was likely to stay at Iowa for one more year anyway - means that much to the team, then the Hawks were in some serious trouble long beforet this year.

Thanks Alford.

[jtd9046]

A message board is an odd place to pick on grammar, IMO.

Agreed... a developing pet peeve of mine is pointing out typos on a message board. Especially starting a post... "I don't mean" or "I don't like"..."to point this out, but you spelled ****** bag wrong." If you don't want to point it out, then don't post it!

[ISUonthemove]

That'll be a tough tough loss for Iowa, no doubt about it. Losing their only two scorers in one year. TS seems like a good kid, I think he would be leaving for the right reasons (his kid, and father). I highly doubt it has anything to do with Lickliter.

[ISUFan22]

If Tyler Smith - a player who was likely to stay at Iowa for one more year anyway - means that much to the team, then the Hawks were in some serious trouble long beforet this year.

Thanks Alford.

And that's what I think is going on. Alford wasn't able to do either of these things...

A. Bring in enough high-level recruits
B. Make the average guys in his program better

So when you lose one of the few high-level recruits, is' gonna hurt.

A lot.

If Lickliter is able to get some of these non-impact players to step up - the pain won't last very long. If it takes a while and the only way to improve is by his new recruits - the pain will last a bit longer.

[SplitIdentity]

Who is saying it is going to be strong? That wasn't my point. My point was that it doesn't seem to be good at all. Indiana should be better, yes. Doesn't Purdue lose its best player? Iowa won't be better any way you can spin it unless Lickliter is actually Houdini in a disguise. Michigan State could be a factor, but I'm not convinced Michigan will be much to reckon with. Northwestern is Northwestern. Tubby won't fix Minnesota in a year. Penn State will still be terrible.

I don't know which teams Iowa plays twice next year, but I think it's entirely possible they take two from Minnesota, one from Northwestern, and two from Penn State and create the illusion that they weren't terrible this year, despite not beating one team that is worth anything.

Considering the recruiting classes over the past two years coming into teams like OSU, MSU, Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue, I would say that it's going to be better.

And the BigTen moved to an 18 conference game schedule, so it's likely that Iowa could go 10-8, with wins like you pointed out - against PSU, NU, and Minnesota. However, Iowa does seem to do well at home against the likes of Illinois, MSU, UM (especially UM), Purdue, and Indiana. UW and OSU - not so much.

But really, let's face it. I'd really be surprised if Tyler Smith means as much to Iowa as you guys are saying, but at the same time, I think Tyler Smith means a lot more than a lot of Iowa fans are saying. I don't think it would be a disaster if he left, but I don't think Iowa would be "fine" by any means if he left either.

[SplitIdentity]

And that's what I think is going on. Alford wasn't able to do either of these things...

A. Bring in enough high-level recruits
B. Make the average guys in his program better

So when you lose one of the few high-level recruits, is' gonna hurt.

A lot.

This is a good point as well. Basically, the reason I don't expect Iowa to flop is because Alford coached Iowa to mediocre seasons with teams similar to what Iowa would be like without Smith. If Lickliter is a good coach at all, Iowa should maintain at least some form of mediocracy.

[Bobber]

This is a good point as well. Basically, the reason I don't expect Iowa to flop is because Alford coached Iowa to mediocre seasons with teams similar to what Iowa would be like without Smith. If Lickliter is a good coach at all, Iowa should maintain at least some form of mediocracy.

That's a good quote. "maintain some form of mediocracy." Fitting.

[CYdTracked]

I don't follow Iowa's roster but Tony Freeman and Seth Gorney aren't going to scare anyone as their top returning scorers. Losing Smith would be a huge blow and you can't replace the scoring that Haluska and Smith provided very well this late in the game. Just look at all the players we lost and while Mike Taylor and Wesley Johnson were nice finds, they didn't make up the offense that Stinson and Blalock had.

If I was a Hawk fan I'd be praying every night that Smith stays because the immediate future looks very gloomy if he leaves.

[mwitt]

But really, let's face it. I'd really be surprised if Tyler Smith means as much to Iowa as you guys are saying, but at the same time, I think Tyler Smith means a lot more than a lot of Iowa fans are saying. I don't think it would be a disaster if he left, but I don't think Iowa would be "fine" by any means if he left either.

You posted your projected lineup without tyler Smith earlier. Who scores 12 points a game in that lineup?

Losing Haluska and Smith would almost be the equivalent of us losing Stinson and Blalock. They were your team, except you knew that one of them would be gone in Haluska.

I'm sorry, I'm trying to be unbiased and I hope you are too, but I have absolutely no idea how you can, with a straight face, predict 10 conference wins for that team if you think the conference is going to improve. I thought the conference quality would decline this year, and I still can't convince myself they're capable of close to that.

[zumbro clones]

That's a good quote. "maintain some form of mediocracy." Fitting.

I love it!