Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Portal Pain Iowa Hawkeyes Passing Game Repels Cade Wolford Basketball Assistant Bryston Williams Joins The Show

Starting point is 00:00:01 We're joined today by Iowa System Basketball Coach Bryston Williams as they get ready for their big matchup against Illinois. A wide receiver chooses Cincinnati over Iowa, and it's not just bad portal luck. It's five years of an enemic passing game keeping talent away. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lodewa. Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. We are your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Come to you five days a week here on the Lockdown Network, now number one for sports podcast. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by Fandual. Before tip off, check out the Fandual app and see what's dropping during NBA Happy Hour. Every Friday from 6 to 7.30 Eastern, that's 5 to 630 central time. We are going to talk some basketball in the huge weekend in front of both the men and the women, Iowa, Illinois on tap at Carver Hawkeye Arena, potentially the first sellout in a couple of years at Carver on deck for that one as Iowa looks to bounce back after their tough loss Tuesday night against Minnesota.

Starting point is 00:01:22 The women, they go on the road to Indiana, face an Indiana team that isn't quite what they've been the last couple of years. Still, it's a road game. And after the performance we saw from the Iowa women on Monday night against a bad Northwest. Western team. They need to play much better if they're going to beat the Hoosiers. Plus, we'll be joined by Iowa assistant coach, Bryce New Williams, who will stop by. We'll get a conversation with him, the latest on Iowa basketball, and a deep dive into a couple of interesting topics coming up with one of the assistant coaches for Iowa basketball. But we begin today where we've been beginning all week as we get ready for the second weekend in front of us with the transfer portal opening.

Starting point is 00:02:00 It's been open now for a week, dating back to last Friday. I will lose. is a wide receiver. One of their most important targets, I believed, in the transfer portal and certainly a very big need position, the wide receiver spot. So wide receiver, Cade Wolford has made his commitment to Cincinnati. This was the wide receiver. We've talked about a ton here throughout the course of this week, took a visit to Iowa City. Not only that, returned kicks, an all-purpose guy at the high school level this past season at Kent State. He was used to married a different ways. Though he caught just 19 passes a year ago, they went for seven touchdowns.

Starting point is 00:02:36 On top of that, he averaged 26.7 yards per reception a season ago during his redshirt freshman campaign at Kent State. Now, he's an Ohio kid. Maybe it's just as simple as he wanted to stay somewhere close to home. And if that's the case, we cannot read this as some kind of indictment on the Iowa football staff and the recruiting of wide receivers and the like, okay, I completely buy that. But let's move that to the side because that's boring, right? So let's take this a step further and take a look at this for what I believe this really is.

Starting point is 00:03:09 And it's, I think inability is probably not a fair term. Look, I was been able to bring in every position, including quarterback and guys that maybe you wouldn't think with Iowa's past woes offensively, they would be able to target and land. And they have been able to do that certainly. But wide receiver is just different. And it's not that they're going to close up shop. They're not going to have Iowa football. And let's all freak out and lose our minds because that's silly.

Starting point is 00:03:36 However, when you look at it and this continual cycle that Iowa is in, Iowa can't pass the football. And because they can't pass the football, they won't pass the football. And because they won't pass the football, they can't get wide receivers. And since they can't get wide receivers, they're not going to pass the ball. And we just continue on this hamster wheel over and over and over again. and it's the same things, and it continues on. Iowa brought in a couple of guys. Last year they got Sam Phillips,

Starting point is 00:04:05 very short wide receiver listed at, what, 5'7? And it looked like he was open a few times. And that's that combination that we just don't know. I mean, unless you're watching the All-22 film and have access to that, it's very difficult to see in this Iowa passing game this past season what was out there? Was it just misses from Grinowski?

Starting point is 00:04:26 Early on, an inability coming off that shoulder injury for him to throw the ball down the field. We go back before Mark Rannowski, two years of Cade McNamara, we had Deakin Hill in there, we've had Sullivan. Again, we're not talking about elite-level passers by any way when we're talking about these guys, but was it that that the wide receivers weren't there, and that's why we weren't seeing targets down the field, though we did see much more of that this season, or was it the quarterback issue? And another step that you throw into is obviously the scheme. What you're doing schematically, and that gives an ability or an advantage to the wide receivers that are out there. And then we take this another step, and you look at the position, coach and John Budmeyer.

Starting point is 00:05:09 And Budmeier, a guy that was a quarterback at Wisconsin, guy that didn't play the position, certainly on the surface and hearing him in interviews, not the most dynamic personality, though that doesn't matter. Phil Parker is not a dynamic personality in front of a microphone in front of the media. And in general, that doesn't matter because there's plenty of guys that are that way. However, at a position like wide receiver,

Starting point is 00:05:34 that tends to be a little bit more flamboyant, right? We watch football, you know, those guys, yeah, may be wired just a little bit differently. Then you go into that. It is never ending. I will continue to search. I will continue to go out there. I know they're very excited about the freshman

Starting point is 00:05:51 coming in Stinson and they believe that he can play as a true freshman, something we didn't hear a whole lot with Taryn Smith, who did redshirt this past year, that maybe he's going to be a ready-made guy that's going to be able to help out. We've talked about the returning of Dayton Howard back for another year, hopefully another year of ascension from him, that big body wide receiver. We know Reese Vayner Zee can do it. He just needs to stay healthy, but it just sucks.

Starting point is 00:06:14 To be on this continual wield of what Iowa is on right now for wide receivers, they're going to have to overspend likely in order to get anybody of any kind of stature in the transfer portal at the wide receiver position. But that's okay. And it's okay because you should have more money. You should have more ability in the portal because you're not paying a quarterback like you've done in the past.

Starting point is 00:06:37 You're not paying what it took to get Cade McNamara. You're not paying what it took to get Mark Granowski. And because of that, there should be more flexibility that, yes, you can go out there and you can overspend to get, they're not getting an elite wide receiver. It's just not going to happen. I live in reality. It's not going to happen.

Starting point is 00:06:57 But to go out, get a guy that's been productive at a lower level and hope that he pops here. That's all it is, hope. Look, as we've seen, this transfer portal, it's a crapshoot. Much like the NFL draft where in the end, at best, it's a 50-50 proposition, even in the first round of the NFL draft, when you're talking about taking these guys and having them jump up a level from the FCS, even for the mid-major ranks, from the Sunbelt, from Conference

Starting point is 00:07:22 USA, even from that level, we don't really know. That's the reality that we're in right now with Iowa football, and we will certainly continue on that realm. I keep getting this question. What about quarterback? Look, it's not happening, folks. We've been telling you for a month, months, according to the coaches, it's not going to happen. Kirk Farrants has been asked.

Starting point is 00:07:43 Tim Lester has been asked. they are happy where they are right now at quarterback with Jeremy Hecklinski, the Wake Forest Transfer, fighting it out, duking it out with Hank Brown, the Auburn transfer. They're happy where they are. And good, bad or indifferent, that's where they are. Should they be looking for us a little bit more depth, potentially?

Starting point is 00:08:05 But here's the other part. As we're now a week into this portal, both the guys are still here. They're going to be going through spring practice and once you're here, unless you're a grader, transfer and over and graduated, you're going to be here. You're not going to have an ability to move on. So both those guys will go through spring practice.

Starting point is 00:08:23 We'll see who wins the job. Will they name a starter? Or will it be something that goes into summer and into August camp? Knowing Kirk, that's the way that it's been certainly in the past. Look, my favorite is simple. I want Jeremy Hecklenski. I don't know he's 5'10. I don't know little guys can be a little bit concerning.

Starting point is 00:08:43 However, what has been unleashed in the Iowa offense, when we've seen the Iowa offense at its best the last two years, it's been with a guy that can move around. That's when with the mobile quarterback. And going from seeing Brennan Sullivan in that goal line situation and what they did with him kind of creating that special package of plays inside the 10-yard line, taking that a step further then. And then what we saw when he had to come in and become the starter after an injury

Starting point is 00:09:12 to Cade McNamara. of that McNamara quitting on his team. You take that to this season. Obviously, Mark Grinnellski on the ground. For Iowa to untap, and the way that they play, their highest level offensively, they have to have a guy that can move back there. Hicklinson is that guy.

Starting point is 00:09:29 Hank Brown's not a statue, but he's also not a guy that's going to beat very often with his feet. And I like the ability. I like the opportunity for that. Obviously, we saw Heckniewski take over as the backup this year. they call those things go hand in hand. Iowa football, the transfer portal. We got you covered here on the lockdown network each and every day with the latest on the portal.

Starting point is 00:09:51 What is happening there? And you can join us as well with our everydayer club here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. It's an opportunity for you to get our show each and every day ad free. That's right. An ad-free audio fee that's going to be set up for Lockdown Hawkeyes. It works with Apple Podcasts, with Spotify, all the major podcast apps that are out there. Plus, you can join us on our members-only Discord server for our Everydayer Club. An opportunity to you interact, try to create a great community there, having a lot of fun

Starting point is 00:10:20 and doing things away from some of the toxicity that is out there with social media. You can check out all the information at locked on hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com. See what's there for you. You can also find the link at the bottom of our show notes as we jump into that. We're going to jump into some basketball when we come back in our exclusive interview with Christen Williams and an Iowa assistant coach will hear from him get his thoughts on the matchup against Illinois. What went wrong against Minnesota and how you figure out a way to win games on the road?

Starting point is 00:10:50 We'll talk about that with Coach Williams when we come back, locked on Hawkeyes. Let's talk about something most men don't bring up, but absolutely should. Stress from work, money, life. It doesn't just switch off at night. And when it shows up at the worst possible time, Rugi at Ready is designed to help you take back control. Rugi at Ready is a next generation prescription treatment created to support both the brain and the body so you can feel present, confident, and ready when the moment matters. Rugi at Ready combines three clinically proven ingredients in one mint that dissolves under your tongue,

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Starting point is 00:12:11 Back with you, Lockdown Hawkeyes, Trent Codden, joined now by Bryston Williams. He is assistant basketball coach with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Coach, good to check in with you here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, number one for sports podcasts. And good to talk to you. I was over in Iowa City before the season. Huck out with you guys as we had Media Day over there, did my radio show, did my podcast over there. And then finally, for the first time this year, Ashley got to see you guys in person, just didn't work with the schedules.

Starting point is 00:12:42 We're over here in Des Moines. I got two kids and well, you know, with kids and running around and schedules and everything. But finally took the kindergartner over there to Carver for the UCLA game. What a performance out of you guys. And for him, what a victory because he hasn't seen very many of those in Carver when we've gone over the last couple of years. First of all, thanks for having me. But no, that was an unbelievable environment. The crowd was awesome.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Our guys, you know, played well, competed hard. So, you know, hopefully we can keep it rolling right now. big one obviously on Sunday against Illinois. And I think the importance ratches it up even another level after what happened on Tuesday up at the barn. Never an easy place to play. Anico Medved, a guy that has connections with you guys at Drake, obviously. He was there a few years previous and a coach in between. But a guy that's doing a good job, guy that certainly knows ball.

Starting point is 00:13:33 He coupled that. There's been some great Iowa basketball teams that have gone up there and lost a bad Minnesota teams. And I certainly don't think that's a bad one there. But I guess it's just the reality, right? Life on the road in the Big Ten and life on the road in college basketball. Yeah, I mean, every game's going to be tough. On the road at home, like the schedule is, you know, when you look down the schedule, there's no easy one.

Starting point is 00:13:54 And you got to be ready to compete every single day. There's no days off. And especially with how we're built, our team is built, we're not going to walk out and just be the most talented team every night, right? And so we have to make sure we are ready to compete. play together, do the things that it takes the little things to win games every, every day and every time we step on that court. Slow start.

Starting point is 00:14:22 Get off to a rough one there. Came back, got the lead there in the first half, then slips away again. It was just, it was a game of runs. One thing, though, that I know a lot of Hawkeye fans have enjoyed seeing, even in the three losses this year. As each and every time, there were those moments that I think as Hawkeye fans that have been watching this team, you know, for a long time now, Well, we see they get down, and then maybe that tail tucks between their legs.

Starting point is 00:14:46 Your guys fight. And they battle back in all three of those games and never were able to get over the hump against Michigan State. Had a chance, had a chance with three great looks at three pointers in the final 12 seconds of that one and how one of those didn't fall. I'll never know. But to see that, how do you instill that in a group? You know, how do you get guys to believe you're down double digits? You played poorly for long stretches. How do you get a group to believe?

Starting point is 00:15:10 We're still in this thing. we still can come back. You know, I think it's summer and then preseason. And like when we get our guys, that is one thing that we always talk about is building that mental toughness and talking about understanding when things go right and you're making shots and it's, you know, everything's flowing and going your direction. You may be getting foul calls. Obviously, it's easy for everybody to stay happy, to stay positive,

Starting point is 00:15:37 to trend in the right direction and want for your teammate success. right but when things you know like our offense versus minnesota got stagnant got like our spacing got messed up a lot our flow was slow it got the ball got stuck and you can't really like we were getting some stops um offensively couldn't score a lot how do you keep building off of that and so for us that's one thing you know it comes down to the players you have number one of their mental makeup and their emotional build individually. And that's why it's so important to have competitors. When we are recruiting, that's a big deal is to find dudes that want to win and compete every time you watch them because those guys are the ones when they do get down that they'll keep fighting for you. And then

Starting point is 00:16:28 obviously with having great character dudes, you want for each other's success. I've covered some AAU events. I've broadcast a few of them. And you can see those guys. too. I mean, it's one thing to see and a lot of times you can watch a game. You see right away, all right, that dude, that dude, yeah, those guys can play. That next level two, though, you can see that play, and they're going to play their way. And to find those kind of guys,

Starting point is 00:16:50 it's not easy to find those guys and then find those guys that you can make your way to Iowa City, certainly, and building on this thing that you guys are working to build over there. What I just mentioned for a moment, Illinois, and a team that is really big, really sealed, a lot of offensive

Starting point is 00:17:05 versatility that they can do. They can meet you myriad of different ways. It does feel like a game, though, they're probably going to get there at times. They're probably going to have a big scoring run at some point. You guys are going to impose your will defensively, but it does feel like if you're going to get done, got to play pretty well also on the offensive end of the floor. Yes, yes, you have to because they are a top defensive when it comes to efficiency. They're one of the best defenses in the country. Obviously, they got two footers down there that protect the rim a lot. And so when you have that, you know, they don't have to be elite around the perimeter guarding because now you're going to just go in there

Starting point is 00:17:41 and run into a seven footer, which is hard to finish over. But yes, our offense, you know, we have to make sure, number one, we space correctly and then our pace that we run our action with. And then after that, keeping the flow. And you got to, once you create the advantage on them, you have to make sure you keep that. Because if you get, if the paint gets all muddied up, they're already a good defensive a team. It makes the reads harder. And so for us, we need to make sure that everything is flowing as a team where we're making each other better and the reads become easier. And so we can get good looks. This Illinois squad, it is the rivalry for us old timers that definitely remember back to the 80s and the early 90s and some epic matchups with the Alainai, Bruce Pearl,

Starting point is 00:18:30 Dion Thomas. That's a whole story. And I'm sure you guys have found out a little bit more. don't have a real rival yet. For me, growing up, it was Minnesota because where I grew up. I know my wife's from Sioux City, I told this at the top, it's Nebraska for her. We're in Central Iowa. Iowa States, obviously a big one where I'm at now. It kind of depends on the spot,

Starting point is 00:18:50 but is this something that likely for you guys as a staff? And as a basketball, not for the fan base, but more for you guys inside of that. Does that have to grow organically a rivalry? Yeah, I think just over time when you're new, like, you know, when you're new to a place and you haven't really played

Starting point is 00:19:06 some of these teams like on the other side from a sideline standpoint. It just, it will take time to all the battles you go through and the fun, you know, competitive games. That's where it will really like start to build from a rivalry for us. Obviously, you know, Coach McCollum being from Iowa, he has a whole different aspect and outlook fly on most of these games. But yeah, like for myself, you know, just trying to compete versus the time. top and some of the best.

Starting point is 00:19:37 And at the end of the day, it's all fun. And, you know, you just want to win. And hopefully the rivalry is not much of rivalry if you can win them. Yeah, that's the goal. But obviously it's hard. And, you know, they're going to compete. And again, the schedule is just when you look at all the teams around us with Nebraska and how well they're playing in Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota.

Starting point is 00:19:59 Like, there's some good teams, man. And so at the end of the day, they're all fun. And it's just about the competing, being able to compete for. these teams. Day in and day out, going to be a grind, certainly in the Big Ten, and we're seeing that as they are projected, have the most teams in the NCAA tournament by many of the brackatologists that are out there. We're joined right now by assistant coach Bryston Williams here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Coach, before let you go, want to talk about a couple of players. What to start with Cooper Koch. And our everyday listeners here probably get sick of me because

Starting point is 00:20:28 it just looks night and day from the guy we saw. And I know it was just a glimpse of him a year ago before he was sideline. So got that redshirt year. So just a redshirt. So just a redshirt. freshman, but not just from a season ago, but for the beginning of the year, Cooper, we know he can shoot it from the outside. He struggled a little bit here in the last couple of games, but obviously as pretty of a look and right-handed shot is he going to have. Those lefties, they're always a little prettier, but that's a different conversation. But what we know he can shoot it, he's really skilled offensively, good skill set there. It's on the other end of the floor. And what we're seen from him from the beginning of November to today, what we saw a season

Starting point is 00:21:01 ago, leaps and bound. He can't, he was, I remember in high school, just talking. about dudes a really good offensive player. Nobody really talked about that other end. He's becoming a complete basketball player. Yes. I mean, even since the time that we got here till now, I mean, his jump defensively has been tremendous. And just the toughness to sit down and really trying to get that stop, really guard the ball. But again, to his credit, now, that's one thing that when coming in, we knew he could shoot it at a high level. Like you said, offensively, his skill set, it was more going to be on the defense. defensive end because with how our roster ended up being, we knew that he's going to have to

Starting point is 00:21:41 guard multiple positions. And sometimes, you know, the four spot, which he's probably more of a three, sometimes he's out of position defensively guarding those guys. But he has set down and truly try to compete on that end. And he's taking pride in guarding. And, you know, that's what's going to make him go from a good player to a great player, from a great player to a special player over time. I mean, we're going to have a lot of time with him, hopefully. And I think he's just going to keep building off of that toughness and competitive. You know, like you talked about imposing as will. He's really embraced that.

Starting point is 00:22:19 And, man, he's come a long way. Another guy freshman that has really open some eyes has been Tate Sage. A guy from down at Oklahoma, you guys had him committed at Drake. It took a while before his commitment, at least was public to us, which was weird. I was like, what's going on here? It feels like he's coming, but we didn't know exactly. I don't know if there's a story behind that, but boy, this fine too. And, A, imagine this guy right now in the Missouri Valley would just be absolutely incredible.

Starting point is 00:22:47 But that was the other thing too. And I think I need to lose a scout's number because he was like, I'm not exactly sure. Tate Sage, that guy's a dude. Yes, he, you know, again, he's another competitive dude, very, very versatile, can shoot it, very, very high IQ when it comes to cutting, can handle a little bit. And he's another one offensively, like really skilled. And he has that edge defensively. And he's only going to get better as time gets going and keeps going with us. And so he's one that can be very special and has a really, really high ceiling and probably

Starting point is 00:23:20 one of the most potential, highest potentials out of the group from a versatility standpoint. Two other guys. One, Elverro coming off the bench, Elverro for Ugaris. the inconsistency that we see because boy, when he's on like he was in the first half against UCLA, there's not many guys that can guard that with the skill set that he has certainly offensively, the link that he has on the defensive end. How do you smooth out that inconsistency we've seen throughout the course of his Hawkeye career? You know, it's kind of, you always wanted to happen right now.

Starting point is 00:23:53 But again, he's new to the system, just like a lot of these guys are. And it's about really finding his rhythm because he is very skilled. You know, he can, as you can see, he can shoot it. He can pick and pop. He can create action. Great passer. Like, he does a little bit of everything. And so, like we talked about with last game in Minnesota, you know, it's just about finding the time for as a group with our space, our pace and the half core, and then keeping the flow without getting in each other's way. Because we do have a lot of high IQ kids. And so when that happens, you got to make sure that we're all on the same page. And so you're seeing sometimes where it's like, okay, he wants to create more action than we kind of need. It depends some of the defenses we go against. It's just going to take time with him.

Starting point is 00:24:39 And as you've seen, there's some really good moments and moments where it's like, ah, where we need to get better. And so he's going to be fine. He's going to be a special player for us. He's very impactful. And we need him to be great if we want to reach our ceiling. And so it's a daily process, daily grind, very common. coachable. He believes in his self. And when you have those things, it will over time, things will take care of themselves. Final guy for you, coach, and that is Brendan Hassan,

Starting point is 00:25:10 comes in from K-State by way of Villanova, a guy that I think a lot of us in the media had penciled in as a starter this year. Definitely has not been in that kind of role. We can see it on the defense event. He is not an elite level guy there, but he's also an elite level shooter. And we've definitely seen that at different moments going back to that. that second shot that he got at the three-point line there on the right wing, and how that thing rattled out. But this guy can help you, certainly on the offense event, trying to marry those things together.

Starting point is 00:25:39 Maybe you're giving up a little something defensively, but you're adding something offensively. What kind of role can he still carve out in his final go-around in college hoops? Well, I mean, I think you saw last game. You know, the one thing that I've been most proud of that dude for is his daily commitment. He comes ready every day. He does not allow his situation to,

Starting point is 00:25:58 wear on him. He don't wear, you know, on his body language where he comes in. He's, and he acts like a true pro. He coaches our young guys. He's, he's positive. As you've seen in Minnesota, though, his number was called, I think he went in with eight minutes to go in the game. And he impacted the game. He changed the game from an energy standpoint, from an offensive standpoint. Like, he competed. But that's the growth of him and that's what he's bringing every day. He's not sitting here complaining about his situation where we can't play him. When his name was called, he was ready. And so, you know, I think that's the biggest thing, especially in today's game with these players

Starting point is 00:26:40 and his situation where he's played a lot of minutes. He's bought into, hey, what do I need for this team? That's what's going to make us the best team going forward because that's the buy-in from everybody. And with him, it's only going to make him a better player. it's going to make him a better teammate and leader. The rest of the, going into the rest of finishing out the rest of this season and when he goes and plays pro. Culture, something that you guys talk about a lot. And I think that says a lot about your culture.

Starting point is 00:27:09 Also, the guys that you're recruiting because I think this is 98% of transfers in their final go-around. There'd be a lot of pouting. There'd be a lot of quit. There'd be a whole lot of negativity. And that's not the case here. It says something about him. I think also says something about you guys as well. 11 o'clock tip off at Carver, Illinois comes to town.

Starting point is 00:27:28 Keep that ugly orange out of there. Let's get his plenty of Hawkeye fans in the building at Carver. Getting close to as close we had to a sellout here in a couple of years and continue to gobble up those tickets as we're joined today by Coach Williams. Coach, good to catch up with you. Good talking a little basketball. Maybe next time we'll dive in a little bit more X's and O's. Want to talk a little bit about some of the things you guys do there.

Starting point is 00:27:48 But great to catch up and talk a little Iowa basketball. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks again to Coach Williams for joining. us here, Locked on Hawkeyes. We come back, what's it going to take for Iowa to get this victory? The game plan for victory against the Illinois. That's next. Locked on Hawkeyes.

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Starting point is 00:29:05 You make your picks, then apply your profit boosts to go after even bigger payouts while the playoffs are rolling. Visit Van Duel and official sportsbook partner of the NFL and grab your profit boost pack every NFL game day again with Van Duel. Back with you one final time, lockdown Hawkeyes. Trent Conn here, so we mentioned the matchup against Illinois. What a big Sunday this is going to be. Indiana on the women's side, Iowa, Illinois on the men's side. Iowa right now, this is as close to a coin flip game as you can get. Ken Palm has Illinois favored by a point. Bart Torbick, another one of the analytical sites. They have Iowa favored by 0.1 points. That's where we are in this one. Now, as we talked about with Coach Williams and Illinois team really talented offensively. They're big inside. Third in the country in offensive. efficiency. A couple of blowouts here recently. This is a squad with Stoyakovich, I think, is where you got to start.

Starting point is 00:30:11 Paysia's son, yes, if you're an old time or you remember him playing for the Kings. Well, now his son's out there. And though he hasn't shot it nearly as well as he can from the outside, something that's scary. He does a really good job of getting the free throw line and something that, now, Iowa continuing to find ways to get to the foul line even more is going to be big. Boswell, their point guard, might be one of the first. of the best on ball defenders in college basketball and certainly in the big 10. So here comes another one of those elite level point guards coming in, as we saw a week

Starting point is 00:30:42 ago with Donovan dead. Now, Boswell's different. He is thick. He is strong. He is going to be tough on Bennett's sturt. And it feels like another game where a few other guys are going to have to step up. We talk about the bigs inside. Look, I was going to shoot the ball well.

Starting point is 00:30:56 I think, as I mentioned to Coach Williams, this is not a game where I think they can grind it out, where they can, you know, try to. to get that rugged, like they did against UCLA. You're not holding Illinois to 61 points like they did against the Bruins. I don't know if you're holding them to 70 like you did against Minnesota on Tuesday night. You're going to have to score, I believe, to win this basketball game. I think the opportunity is going to be there. I don't think this Illinois team is quite as good defensively outside of Boswell as what some of the metrics say.

Starting point is 00:31:28 I like Iowa to bounce back and find a way. Let's get to the foul line and even that thing up as well. make that happen. On the women's side, it's Indiana. Now, Indiana has been really good recently, really good program, done a lot of good things. This is not what we've seen from Indiana. I mentioned that a couple of different times so far this year. It's not that the Hoosiers are brutal, but they're 11 and 6th. They have not won a Big 10 game. They've had an incredibly difficult schedule, though. Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan State, Maryland, Nebraska. I believe all of them tournament teams, maybe all of them except for one.

Starting point is 00:32:05 They are this Hoosier team, though. It's a real game. No, that's always more difficult, is proved already this week. They can score. They're just not very good on the defense event. So play efficient, play smart, keep Ava Hayden out of foul trouble.

Starting point is 00:32:19 I think this will be a road victory, but they're a dangerous team. And Terry Morin, really good coach. She's going to have her team ready to go. I was got to play better than they did against Northwestern. Let's hope this is a Sunday to remember. A couple of nice basketball wins, hopefully on the heels of a bear's victory on Saturday night. Let's make it happen. Hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for being with us here. Locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:32:43 We'll be back with you over the weekend to recap what we see on the Hardwood and everything going on in the transfer portal. We got you covered your team every day here on the lockdown network and with Lockdown Hawkeyes. And you can also check out our Everydayer Club, an opportunity for you to join ad-free episodes of Lockdown Hawkeyes and help support what we're doing here. along with getting access to our Discord server. A lot of fun conversation happening there. Do it with Hawkeye fans and do it without some of the negativity that's on social media. What you do, head over to lockdown hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com to get signed up or just see all the tears that we have

Starting point is 00:33:19 and all the opportunities we have for you and help support us here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Hope you have a great weekend. We'll talk to you again over the weekend. Until then, go Hawks.

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