Feb 10, 2018; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Lindell Wigginton (5) controls the ball as Oklahoma Sooners guard Jordan Shepherd (13) defends during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm, senior Donovan Jackson, freshman Cam Lard and freshman Lindell Wigginton all met with the media on Tuesday leading up to the Cyclones’ Big 12 Tournament opener against Texas on Wednesday (8 p.m. on ESPNU). Here are some quotable moments from those breakout media sessions…
We will have further coverage of Iowa State-Texas from Kansas City later this evening.
Steve Prohm on the possibility of Texas being without Mo Bamba and Erik Davis plus losing Andrew Jones for the season…
“Shaka’s been through a lot of adversity this year. Losing those three guys, three terrific players. We know Jericho Simms well because we recruited him really hard. I understand how good he is, his athleticism, his ability to score around the basket and for him to alter shots around the rim. We’ve got to do a great job game planning for Simms because he’s getting more minutes and getting more comfortable. But they’ve got other really good players, Coleman and Roach and (Osetkowski). Those guys are good. Young is playing well now starting to get his rhythm and making shots. So I thought we let one slip in Ames. The game in Austin was a lot closer than the score. It was a six-point game with four minutes to go so I think we’re confident going into the game tomorrow night.”
Prohm on what needs to happen in order for Iowa State to come out with a win on Wednesday…
“I think a couple things. I think they’ve done a great job defensively against us. I think of keeping the game in the 60s. Keeping us at bay right there. We’ve got to do a better job attacking off ball-screens, adjusting to how they’re going to defend our ball-screens and making sure we’re getting good ball reversal, getting their bigs away from the basket. Then you’ve got to make shots, got to do a great job making shots, but we’ve got to play unselfish number one. On the defensive end, we’ve got to do a great job of keeping them out of the paint, really staying in gaps and making sure we contest all the shots then we’ve got to keep them off the glass and be ready to mix up defenses as well.”
Prohm on where the team is mentally entering the game…
“I think they understand that we’ve just got to keep working. We’ve just got to keep persevering. It would be great to try to get a little run going here for these younger guys to understand, ‘Hey, this is what this stage is really all about. This is what this thing’s really all about.’ At the end of the day, you play college basketball, you coach college basketball, to play meaningful games in March and that’s what we’ve got to get back to and we will. Right now, it’s going to take a special four-day run. You can go back and there’s a lot of times it’s happened. That’s why we’ve just got to try to beat Texas tomorrow and go from there.”
Cam Lard on if he likes the challenge of facing Mo Bamba…
“Yeah, I mean, every game I play like it’s my last game so I just go out there and give it my all. I did do pretty good against him last time. It was more of a hype thing so I had to step up.”
Lard on if making a run this week can springboard the team into the offseason towards next season…
“We’re a very young team. We have only three seniors that are going to be gone. This could be a big step if we can make a little run up in this tournament and it will most definitely give us something to look forward to for next year with the team we’re going to have.”
Lard on his struggles in Iowa State’s last few games…
“No excuse, I should never play like that. I should be the most dominant player on the court. That’s how I feel. Everybody should leave that gym saying I played the hardest out of everybody on the court. That’s just not acceptable for me.”
Donovan Jackson on what Iowa State needs to do to get a win against Texas…
“Playing for each other and understanding that it takes the team to win. It’s not an individual game. If we can do that, I like our chances.”
Lindell Wigginton on if this has been the most frustrating season of his basketball career…
“Definitely has been the most frustrating, but I just take it one day at a time. This is the most I’ve ever lost in all my seasons but I take it one day at a time and get through it.”
