Isaiah Ihnen

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Gopherfan1000

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In my opinion Ihnen was a huge bright spot in our loss yesterday. He hasn't received a lot of playing time this year but that is going to change. Seems like he plays with some good confidence and isn't afraid to shoot and can potentially knock down some big shots with more playing time. I'd definitely like to see him play over Michael Hurt and Jarvis Omersa. And, if Demir struggles on defense, he can spell him pretty nicely as well. The kid appears to be a pretty solid defender, he's athletic with length and can block shots. He may turn out to be a nice two-way style player for us. I see him developing nicely over the next year. Hope it all works out for the best.
 

I was wondering what happened to him this year. Thought maybe he was injured. It was a tough loss last night but it was good to see him out there.
 

Chucklehead said:
I was wondering what happened to him this year. Thought maybe he was injured. It was a tough loss last night but it was good to see him out there.
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I think joining the team later in the summer and his early injury was definitely a set back, but he does look ready to go now
 

Based on Ihnen's earlier appearances, he had a lot of work to do on learning team defense and also getting inside and mixing it up on the boards- versus just being a perimeter floater. Last night he appeared to correct both issues. He is long, can run like a deer and can get up in the air as we saw a few times last night. He needs to add some Big Ten strength and he will be an important player next year. I would love to see him play 15 minutes a game or more as results merit, from here on out.
 

He was a bright spot. Even his miss at the end of the game, he went up confidently, took the shot and looked to be upset that it didn't go in.
He was a huge liability defensively earlier in the year, but last night he looked like a different player on that end of the floor. I agree with bga1 in that he should get about 15 min. a game the rest of the season, maybe more if Willis is back and then Ihnen can play some at the 2 or 3 spot
 


He did some little things I like. For example a couple times he took a little dribble to get a better angle or create an angle for a post entry pass to Oturu. Post entry passing and recognition have been bad.
 


Yes it was exciting to see him contribute. I also thought Willams showed marked improvement.
 

I thought Ihnen looked so much more confident. His shot still surprises me with how much arc he puts on it. Love his length on both ends of the floor. Very tough to block his shot and looked much better at being in the right place on defense and was in better position to play help defense on several occasions as well.
 



Hard stat to track, but I think he had a couple deflections last night. He's all arms and legs so that should be a good stat for him.
 

I thought both Ihnen and Williams played well. In both the Illinois and Michigan State game, I thought overall we played well, and could have won both, if we had shot better. That will come. I expect that we'll improve as the season goes on, and I'm excited about next year.
 


Didn't he take one to the hoop last night? I think he picked up a charge but I liked it. I watched him some last during in the World Games and basically all he did was stand in the corner. Wasn't a factor in two games I saw.
 



Ihnen looked lost at the start of the season, but every game he plays, he seems to figure things out more and more. I don't recall him looking lost at all against Illinois and his defense looked good because of it. He's earned more PT going forward and I'll be disappointed if he averages less than 10 minutes per game from here on out.

I think there's a very real chance he will be a productive starter for us next year at the 4.
 

His length was really an asset in the Illinois game. Deflections, getting in passing lanes, etc. were all valuable. Agree with others that he should be getting more playing time from here on out.
 

I know Demir has been improving this season too, but man has his outside shooting been rough and he looks downright sluggish at times. I would like to see Ihnen steal more of his minutes and create some match up issues on the perimeter. He definitely has more pep in his step than Demir.
 

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