Roundtable Q’s: Men & Womens Hoops With a Hint Of Football

Dear Old Gold will be starting up a weekly roundtable with the three staff members.  This segment will ask three questions every week regarding issues or other things that have to do with Iowa athletics.

These piece’s will give you readers different insight and we welcome you to get involved in the conversation as well.  This first week, we’ll talk about the Iowa men’s and women’s basketball teams remaining schedules and we’ll review the recruiting class that Kirk Ferentz brought in a couple of weeks ago.

1. With 6 games left in the regular season, what does Iowa basketball go over those 6 games, and why?

Jeremy: I have them going 5-1. I think it would be important to beat Wisconsin here and Minnesota on the road, as Iowa only has the Michigan Victory as a signature win. Michigan State should be relatively healthy going into their Senior Night, and I think Iowa runs into a buzz saw in East Lansing.

Alex: I think they will go 5-1 with the one loss being at Michigan State. I believe they will finish the regular season with 24 wins which is incredible considering where they were just four seasons ago.

Dylan: I believe this team will finish up 4-2.  I think they lose to a Wisconsin team that has really been hot as of late and they’ll fall to a healthy Michigan State team in East Lansing.  That will likely end their hopes of winning the Big Ten regular season championship.

2. What grade would you give Iowa’s football recruiting class this year, and why? 

Jeremy: A solid B. Look, the program that Kirk Ferentz has built is predicated on taking average-above average talent and getting the most out of them. It’s not flashy and won’t bring national headlines, but it’s worked. They addressed the areas of need in the secondary, could potentially have their QB of the future and addressed their special teams situation. Nobody to knock my socks off, but they did enough where they need to.

Alex: I think that the recruiting class took a huge hit when they lost is the commitment of Ross Pierschbacher to Alabama. However, I think that there are some hidden gems, especially on the defensive side of the football, in this recruiting class. I think Tyler Wiegers could be the quarterback of the future and I think Markel Smith is going to be a very good running back.

Dylan: I give them a B-.  They landed some good recruits and they will impact this team in the future, but it won’t be the near future.  I’m really excited for C.J. Hilliard to make an impact in Black and Gold, and like Alex, I think Tyler Wiegers could be an absolute stud in a couple of years.  Jay Scheel, the teams top recruit, will make an impact once he figures out his position.

3. How far can the Hawkeye women go?

Jeremy: I have them in the Sweet 16. Having the first two rounds at home will be a big benefit, where they’ve gone 12-3 thus far. Being just 5-3 away from the friendly confines will make it tougher, especially as the talent increases towards the back end of the tournament, but a solid Sweet 16 is nothing to sneeze at for another good year in the program.

Alex: I think they are a one win and out team. If they are able to secure a seven seed and play at Carver Hawkeye Arena then maybe I could see them winning two games. However, they haven’t been outstanding at home this season which makes me skeptical that they would be able to beat a two seed on their home floor.

Dylan: This team is going to go as far as Samantha Logic is going to take them.  The senior guard has 3 triple doubles this year and has done it all for Lisa Bluder’s ball club.  I have them winning a couple games in the tournament because I feel they can beat a two seed on their home floor, they’ve beaten good teams this year and that will help come tourney time.

If you as readers have anything you’d like the staff to discuss in the coming weeks, feel free to comment below or you can tweet us your topics.