Iowa State Cyclones guard Tyrese Hunter (11) lays up the ball around Missouri Tigers’ forward Trevon Brazile (23) during the first half at Hilton Coliseum Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Ames, Iowa.
There is no way around it, this past week was a disappointing one for the Iowa State Men’s basketball team.
Entering Tuesday’s showdown with Kansas, the Cyclones came off a week with two impressive victories and things seemed to be trending in a positive direction.
Two subpar performances later, and we are all left wondering what to expect from this team moving forward.
I will not apologize for saying this, I have a special place in my heart for this team.
I have been a “has been” (some may argue it more appropriately named a “never was”) for a long time, but I too was no one’s ideal player and constantly heard the echoes of doubt that this team has since the season began.
Watching them race off to a 12-0 start and prove doubter after doubter wrong resonated with me and I think many Cyclone fans.
Yet here we are 10 games into conference play and the reality of this team’s offensive limitations has set in.
They were able to overcome this early in the season by converting turnovers into points and were finding three or four players to contribute in the half-court offense each night.
Right now, it seems hard to count on much of anything outside of Izaiah Brockinton offensively.
The truth is Iowa State has a roster that is one offensive playmaker away from being 6-4 or 7-3 in this league.
Izaiah is one of the best wings in the Big 12 and while Tyrese Hunter is one of the best freshmen in the conference, he is a freshman learning on the fly in the best league in America.
The rest of the roster is made up of quality role players who can play off playmakers but struggle to make the right play themselves with the ball in their hands.
That is not a knock on them, I was one of these role players a long time ago.
This is the reality of trying to repair an entire roster in one season.
You place one more player who can create offense for himself and others on this roster and Gabe Kalscheur, Tre Jackson, and Caleb Grill are getting cleaner quality looks on a more consistent basis.
George Conditt and Rob Jones are not asked to facilitate offense from the high post, something that is probably not an ideal fit for their skill sets.
Tristan Enaruna and Jaz Kunc are both good complimentary players, but they are finesse fours playing in the most physical league in the country.
The Cyclones can play better offensively than what we witnessed last week, however. To be fair to this group of guys, they have exceeded expectations all year regardless of how poorly they have played as of late.
We should ask for more out of them but not lose sight of the positive traits that have made supporting them so enjoyable.
As we move into the coming week, I think it is important to remain optimistic they can play better basketball and win games in this league.
However, trying to score in the best defensive league in the country with one player who can consistently create his own shot is an uphill battle.
Iowa State needs to dig deep and lock into executing the basics of offensive basketball.
Trying to play outside of your skillset will only make things worse.
This is a group that was at its best when they played like they had something to prove early in the season.
It is that chip on their shoulder that can help them overcome their offensive limitations, maximize the talent they have, and resurrect the conference season.
