Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Reaction to Iowa basketball's defensive win over Penn State plus why Iowa football is targeting transfer portal TE Steven Stillianos

Episode Date: January 24, 2022

The Iowa basketball team took care of business in front of a sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye arena after a rough ending to the first half. Are the Iowa Hawkeyes getting better defensively and did Jordan Bohannon regain his swagger with a strong shooting performance? We discuss that and what to expect from Iowa going forward with the rest of the season.We also talk about Name, Image, Likeness, and why Iowa isn't at more of a disadvantage than it was ever before wrapping up by telling you why a graduate transfer tight end would want to play at Iowa with their current roster and why Iowa would be targeting him in the first place.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.NetSuiteOver twenty-seven thousand businesses already use NetSuite and RIGHT NOW through the end of the year NetSuite is offering a one-of-a-kind financing program to those ready to upgrade at NetSuite.com/LOCKEDONNCAA.GetUpsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code SCORE to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back Hawkeye Nation to a Monday morning episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Podcast Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wayne. We have another great episode coming at you today. We have to talk about Iowa's win over Penn State. And is this defense actually getting a lot better?

We're going to be talking about that. Also, Iowa and name image likeness. I had some interesting Twitter conversations this weekend. I want to recap and discuss that on today's show. And also, why is Iowa in the portal for our transfer tight end target? Considering we have Luke Lachey and, obviously, Sam Laporta returning, we're going to be talking about all that on the show today. But first, I want to thank you all for making the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast your first listen every single day.

You can find the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get podcasts at and also on YouTube by searching Locked On Hawkeyes. And today's episode is brought to you by Sonos. Experience the game like never before with the Sonos Arc, the premium smart soundbar for TV, movies, music, gaming, and more. Visit Sonos.com to learn more. So let's get into it. Iowa took on Penn State this weekend after a very, very nice start in that game. Cooled off quite a bit. Penn State taking care of business on the glass. Iowa was having some of the same issues they've had throughout the season. They've just not been aggressive enough on the boards. They are allowing too many second chance and third chance opportunities for

other teams. And Penn state took advantage of that to keep the game close in that first half being within five points at halftime, they were beating Iowa on the boards 22 to 10. However, if you watch this game on Saturday, a sold out Carver Hawkeye arena, Iowa came back, took care of business in the second half.

Didn't really come back, but took care of business in the second half to end up beating Penn State 68-51, and they absolutely dominated Penn State on the boards in the second half, defensively playing much better basketball as well. In that whole game, after being out-rebounded 22-10, after being out-rebounded 22-10, Iowa ended up out-rebounding Penn State 37-34. So a very much better second half,

and Penn State's head coach even said as much. Iowa came out with a lot more toughness in that second half. came out very strong defensively he felt like his team was the stronger more tough team in that first half but Iowa was not willing to back down and I think if we had to kind of a couple takeaways from this game we're going to get to the full-on takeaways Iowa is not a team that's going to be backing down from anyone now we kind of saw this play out a couple of years ago with Luka Garza and Joey's camp right during that COVID year. I felt like Iowa was starting to figure a few things out, especially after going into the double overtime or in overtime with Tennessee and then to have a tournament the year before that team the year after, maybe not the best team, but a team that

was not willing to back down from anyone who was in and competitive with every single team they played against. And that's the kind of thing you need going into March Madness. You also obviously need a lot of other things, but being tough and being willing to handle and able to handle adversity is a huge component of that. Getting back into the kind of the recap of the game again, as you've listened to our show before, we do it in three parts, right? We right we do a recap takeaways and what is next for this Iowa basketball team Chris and Keegan got things going Keegan 15 points with eight rebounds two assists one turnover three blocks and one steal Chris 13 points on three or five shooting from three four boards two steals

two assists again there have been a couple games where Chris is not playing significant amount of of minutes, and I don't completely understand that. I would argue that Chris might be our third best player on the team, fourth best player at the minimum. It really depends on the game, right? We've seen those games where obviously Chris had a career high in points, and he was definitely Iowa's best player, but you need to be able to get your best players on the court. And I would argue having Chris Murray in the lineup is very advantageous. If not from a starting perspective, at least get him in for 20 minutes a game. I think I do like the rotation Iowa has in the starting lineup, and I like Chris being able to come in later on and kind of run that second unit.

But we've seen Chris and Keegan play really, really well together when they're on the court at the same time. but we've seen Chris and Keegan play really, really well together when they're on the court at the same time. For the game, Iowa, despite a few guys getting involved behind the perimeter, not the greatest three-point shooting day, 31% from behind the arc. Patrick McCaffrey went 3-6 against Chris Murray, went 3-5. So a couple of good performances there, but overall 31% from three. And a big difference here in this game, 17 turnovers for Penn State,

only 10 for Iowa. We talked about that defensive effort. When we look at the takeaways from this game, is Iowa starting to figure it out defensively? Are they starting to figure out their identity? We've seen bits and pieces of this, right? Iowa, I think, has been one of the better teams in the nation at forcing turnovers.

They've been very aggressive. I love their full-court press, their half court traps. I think they have done a phenomenal job with that. And in spurts, they are a very dominant team. Defense only goes as far as your rebounding allows it to go, though, because one of the pieces is stopping teams from scoring, but then not letting them have a second chance to score. Iowa is one of the best teams in the nation

in terms of the defensive length of possession. They make teams wait out the entire shot clock, but unfortunately, if you can't get the rebound, you're going to struggle there. So if Iowa can really get that piece figured out, this could be a very, very good defensive team. Now, to be fair, they played Indiana and Penn State, not known for being offensive powerhouses. They get Purdue this week. That's going to be a big opportunity, especially considering the fact that Purdue has two big men

who are going to be much better than what we have down low at this point. Phillip Aracha playing as an undersized five, and then Josh and Riley not ready at this point, but I bet we're going to see a bit more Josh if he's healthy in this upcoming game. We talked about defense Iowa two games ago, 160th in Ken Palm defensive adjusted efficiency as of today, 92nd, only 46 points allowed and are 48 and 51 points allowed in the last two games. Two of the best 10 defensive performances from a Fran McCaffrey-led basketball team. That includes a lot of non-conference teams that are not very good. Very impressive outings the last couple games. Another big takeaway, Jordan Bohannon seems to have gotten his swagger back. He made a few comments as well about how he wasn't feeling very confident after the Indiana game, and rightfully so. He made a few comments as well about how he wasn't feeling very confident after the Indiana game.

And rightfully so. He did not look like he was having a bad Jordan Bohannon performance. He looked like he was having one of the worst performances he's ever had shooting the basketball. Just unable to even connect with the hoop at all for this game. 3-7 from three. So Jordan Bohannon seemingly getting his stuff figured out. This is a guy that Iowa needs to go far. This is a guy that teams have been keying on. Despite what you're seeing, a lot of teams putting one of their best edge or perimeter defenders on Jordan Bohannon,

making sure he can't get hot and take over a game because when he gets hot, when he gets confident, he can help get Iowa out of any rut or he he can help turn a 10-point lead into a 25-point lead very, very quickly. So what's next for Iowa? Well, Iowa went 4-2 in this stretch, and yet I'm a bit more confident than I was coming into this stretch. I thought Iowa needed to go 5-1. I really did. But Rutgers is a solid team.

Rutgers is a very good team. They've had some rough goes with Geo Baker being out, but Rutgers is a solid team going 4-2 in that stretch. I felt like Iowa could have won both games. I know it was not that close from a score perspective against Wisconsin, but I feel like Iowa was not out talented in either of these games. Yet they went four and two. They are currently projected as a seventh seed in the NCAA tournament, and they've rose up to 23rd in the net ranking up from 25. So again, net ranking is really how the tournament committee begins kind of deciphering and pulling some of these teams out for the NCAA tournament.

The biggest thing here is in the next two weeks, can they get a Q1 win? Can they get a Quadrant 1 win? Right now, 0-4 and Quadrant 1 wins. They have an opportunity with Purdue. They have been very good at Quad 2 wins, 4-1 at that point. They get Purdue at home on Thursday, January 27th. We need a big crowd. What we did at Penn State was impressive. We need to do that against Purdue, a top ranked team. After that, Iowa gets a little bit easier of a stretch. Again, we get Penn State, a good Ohio State team, Minnesota, who has been battling so many issues as of late,

Maryland, and Nebraska. There is no reason why Iowa shouldn't win at least four of their next six games. Currently, according to Kempom, they are projected to win four of their next six games. I think if you go anything worse than four and two, you have to be worried about this team. Not every game is a must win, but when there's not a lot of room for error, not a big margin for error, especially in the Big Ten, especially for the Iowa basketball team, you need to be able to win the games that you should win.

That's Penn State, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska. Now, if they can pull out a win against Ohio State or a Purdue, I will be absolutely ecstatic and very excited about the postseason possibilities for this Iowa basketball team. Coming up, we're going to talk a little bit about NIL and why Iowa is not actually at a disadvantage compared to what some people might actually say. So we're gonna be talking about that here in a few short moments. But hey, Hawkeye fans, this is your host, Andrew Wade, with an incredible app everyone who buys gas needs to know about, GetUpside. My listeners are making up to 25 cents for every gallon of gas every time

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It is that simple to get money back at GetUpside every time you fill up at the pump. All right, y'all. We're going to get back into it. But first, I want to say thank you again for making the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast your first listen every single day. You can find the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get podcasts at. And we're going to be talking about NIL. And I'm actually, I can't even remember the guy's name.

It was just such an interesting conversation throughout this weekend with Corey Richardson, who seemingly feels like he knows everything about anyone and had some really interesting things to say. He started off by calling Iowa fans racist. He then went on to call an Iowa fan a bunch of derogatory terms and making fun of his appearance. But nevertheless, this guy is not exactly a guy you typically want to talk to. I tried to get him on the show.

I thought it'd be a fantastic debate, a very interesting conversation. He clearly feels very strong about his opinions, even if I feel like his opinions are incredibly wrong. But since he's not going to come on the show, I figured I would give my full onslaught of opinions here. With NIL, the biggest concern about name image likeness was, were we going to see teams fall to the wayside? Were we going to see teams like Alabama or Texas or really any of the major SEC schools have a significant advantage compared to a team like Iowa or Iowa State. That's a possibility with name image likeness.

Here's my counterpoint. They already have a significant freaking advantage, y'all. They are recruiting hotbeds. They have that blue blood program status. They have that blue blood program status. They consistently get five-star recruits every single year. It isn't that much different, if any different at all. In fact, I would argue in some instances, name image likeness might actually help the Hawks.

You're not going to go into Texas and recruit a five-star running back and convince him to come to Iowa pre-NIL or post-NIL. So what's the difference here? Well, you look at some of the big recruits Iowa has right now. Xavier is a great example. He was looking at Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Iowa. All three, fantastic pedigrees for developing defensive backs. Ohio State and Notre Dame, a better pedigree for going to bigger games. They do win more.

Just a fact of the matter, they have won more in the past. more. Just a fact of the matter, they have one more in the past. Yet, Iowa had a slight advantage, in my opinion, in developing defensive backs. And the fact that Iowa was in the state of Iowa, the fact that it was not that far away from Xavier, the fact that Iowa sold the NIL deals that you can get from being a hometown hero, it all spoke to Xavier, and here he is as an Iowa Hawkeye. The biggest non-legacy recruit Iowa has had in 20 years.

Yes, he could have went to Alabama. He could have went to Ohio State. Could have went to Notre Dame. At Ohio State, he might not play right away. He might be on the bench for a couple of years. Maybe not. He could start. I mean, he's very talented, especially considering the fact that we're

projecting him to potentially start for this Iowa secondary that's already very talented. There's not a lot of difference in between those secondary rooms. But the point is, there are other advantages to NIL that people are not taking into account. Yes, a media market's huge. USC, UCLA, fantastic media markets. But you still got to coach the kids.

You still have other factors that these kids are taking into account. Not every kid is solely thinking, I want to go make money. And if they are, good on them. They can. They can go make money if they want. They don't need to necessarily, though, but they can. They have that as an option. But assuming every 17- to 22-year-old is only thinking about

what is the best way I can make money is absurd. And I would argue Iowa has never recruited those guys who are only in it for the money. They want to recruit guys who want to grow, develop as a player and a person, and hopefully make it to the NFL and leave with a degree. And Iowa's going to work them hard. They're going to work their butts off to get them to that point. So to me, this is not a disadvantage for Iowa.

In fact, it fits very nicely into what Iowa likes to do. They know the type of player they want to recruit. They understand that name image likeness is a big deal, but they also understand the players they are targeting, name image likeness is not everything. So yes, you might see a few teams rise up because of name aim image like this, because they're able to secure and land bigger recruits. But you still have to worry about coaching, development. And the other thing we haven't talked about is scholarship limits and the amount of players who can get on the field at any given time.

Alabama could have 95 star recruits. Only 22 of them are going to start. Maybe another 20 get decent playing time. You're still up with 55 star recruits who are not starting or getting any sort of significant playing time. Now a team like Alabama does a good job of handling all that. You see them constantly get guys in and they play one year, they do well, and they make it to the NFL. That is not the norm. That is the exception. That is an anomaly in today's college football

environment where people transfer very, very quickly if they do not get playing time, or where they at least have the option to do so. So yes, some teams will have advantages, but it is not astronomical to the point that Iowa will be rendered irrelevant. It is not astronomical to the point that Iowa State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota are going to be rendered irrelevant. What they bring from a school perspective, what they bring from a development perspective, these are also selling points for these programs.

So next time you get into a name, image, likeness, Twitter beef with anyone, what they bring from a development perspective, these are also selling points for these programs. So next time you get into a name, image, likeness, Twitter beef with anyone, feel free to throw some of that stuff at them. Scholarship limits, starter limits, the already advantageous path that we are seeing. There's a reason why we typically only see a Clemson, Ohio State, an Alabama, a Georgia, or Oklahoma in the college football playoff. They clearly are head and toes better than almost every team in college football.

So what are we really changing here, y'all? Not a lot. So feel free to throw that stuff in their face. Next time I try to talk to you about name, image, likeness. Coming up, we're going to talk about an Iowa tight end transfer target that I think people are wondering, why are we going for him and why would he be interested in the Hawks? We're going to be talking about all that here in a few short moments. But first, BetOnline would like to wish you a happy new betting year as we continue our

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We've talked about name, image, likeness, and why it doesn't hurt Iowa football as much as some ignorant people think. Now I want to talk about the Iowa transfer portal talk. At this point, Iowa has officially extended an offer to Lafayette grad transfer Steven Salenos. You might be wondering, why in the heck are we doing that? Well, first and foremost, Iowa wants to make sure they are getting better at all times. They want to build a program that has depth and can win at any given point. Now, you might look at the tight end position and think,

we are good here. We don't need to worry about having a tight end. Well, to a degree, maybe. When you have Sam Laporta, who has decided to come back, he is a guy who could be a first or second round draft pick with a big year next year. Luke Lachey has all the makings of a potential next fantastic NFL tight end coming out of Iowa.

Elijah Yelverton had so many offers coming out of high school, has struggled with injuries a little bit, and Iowa bringing in two other tight ends in this incoming class with Cale Vanderbush and Addison Ostringa. You might think, why do we need a tight end? Well, there's a couple things. Again, first and foremost, Iowa just wants to be better. That's why they're recruiting Steven Salenos from Lafayette.

They want to make sure they have the ability to do anything they want. What if a Sam Laporta gets injured? What if a Luke Lachey gets injured? That could hurt the way this team functions from an offensive perspective they love to run two tight end sets but what you're not thinking about is the fact that Iowa also loves to run three tight end sets they like the ability to be able to play all three tight ends especially when you have tight ends who are flexible to do a couple different things like a Sam Laporta like a Luke Lachey or like a Steven Salenos, who is not only an above-average blocker,

but a fantastic pass catcher as well. At 250 pounds, 6'5", Steven moves pretty well for a guy his size. And at Lafayette, they did a good job of splitting him out wide, so we could see some of that as well. If Iowa were to play three tight ends, it brings in the defense. They are likely going to be playing a multiple linebacker look, getting out a kind of like a nickel look that they'll typically be in if Iowa was playing three wide receivers.

And it actually puts Iowa at an advantage. We saw them do this with TJ Hawkinson, Noah Fant, and Nate Weeding, playing those three tight end sets. Nate did not get as involved in the passing game, but he was an asset nonetheless from blocking perspective and the ability to go out for a pass if needed. It does give Iowa a different dynamic. Now the question is, why would Steven go to Iowa?

He's basically, to me, he's kind of looking at playing time versus NFL development. He has offers to Rutgers, Virginia, and Pitt, among others. And you have to think, you go to Rutgers, you go to Virginia, you go to Pitt, there's a very good chance you play a lot more than you would at Iowa. However, those teams do not have the same development track record as Iowa does with the tight end position. A lot of people want to hate on Brian Ferencz, but you look at what Brian Ferencz,

but you look at what Brian Ferencz has done. He helped develop Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. It's pretty impressive. Rob Gronkowski has played in the NFL for a long time and has done a phenomenal job. Aaron Hernandez, outside of his off the field significant issues, was a fantastic tight end on the field. It gives Iowa an insurance policy. I think if you're Steven Salenos, the question is, do I want to go get playing time and put more tape on against D1 opponents? Or do I want to

go to Iowa where maybe I get some playing time? But also I have that development and that track record of being an Iowa tight end. And maybe he does beat out Luke Lachey. Maybe he does. There's always that possibility. But I think if you're Iowa and you're an Iowa fan and you're thinking, why are we recruiting a tight end? I would say, why the heck not? Why not bring in more talented players?

Just like we did with Xavier last year, coming from UNI. We had a very talented secondary. Now, Iowa wasn't completely sure if they were going to get Matt Hankins back, but nevertheless, they did, and Xavier still came. They wanted that depth in case they needed to utilize that depth. Iowa struggles when they have a lot of injuries because they don't have as ready of depth players. So why not go out and get a grad transfer tight end,

especially when it's such an integral part of your offense. That does do it for our show today. We will be back tomorrow. It might be a little bit of a delayed episode. So dropping a little bit later in the morning. I do apologize for that. I do have my parents in town. At least my mother is in town right now.

So I'm trying to spend some time with her. So probably not going to get that episode out till later tomorrow. So be on the lookout for that. But again, thank you all for tuning in to today's episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. If you want to listen to some more Locked On content or want to know how to bet on any games today, I highly recommend you check out the Locked On Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling of Paramount Sports. They do a great job of breaking down three to four games every single day and telling you where to bet at betaline.org. That will do it for our show today, though. Have

a fantastic Monday. I hope you had a great weekend, Hawkeye Nation. And as always, let's go Hawks.