Tulsa Questions? Happy to help!

Iowa State fans kick ass. Made the trip to Ames for Tulsa at IA State and had a blast, more beer from IA State fans on my way to the stadium than I needed! The fans in Tulsa were fun. The fans in Memphis we're fun.

The IA State fans I know are good people and some family of mine might be alumni and more might be on the way to school there. But I'm a Tulsa guy (and my team is staying home again...).

So if anyone is headed this way for the games, I'm happy to answer any questions you have or point y'all in the right direction. Places to stay. Things to do . Food or drink spots. Dumb questions...whatever. Happy to help everyone ennjo the trip if I can.

Latest NBA Mock Drafts

Most of these have updated today:

SI has THT going 25th to the Cavs
https://www.si.com/nba/2019/03/20/n...urnament-zion-williamson-ja-morant-rj-barrett

Bleacher Report also has THT going 25th to the Cavs
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-1st-round-predictions-entering-march-madness

CBS has THT going 22nd to the Celtics

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...virtual-lock-and-then-things-get-interesting/

The Sporting New has THT going 24th to the Pacers

NBAdraft.net has nobody going in the 1st 2 rounds from ISU.

Seems like we better brace for the very real chance that he gets a 1st round guarantee from somebody. Hopefully Shayok gets a 2nd round flyer, and hopefully Wiggs decides to give it another go. At least Haliburton isn't listed on any of these and will hopefully not decide to test the waters...

Scouting the Ohio State matchup

Overall, I think Ohio State is a favorable matchup for ISU.

Defensively, I expect ISU to switch screens 1-4 against tOSU's heavy ball-screen continuity offense. tOSU is patient on offense and is constantly setting ball screens to "muddy" up the floor & confuse opposing defenders. tOSU is not a dangerous 3 pt shooting team, but it does have the personnel to get the job done (often times 1-5 too). They do not have a strong back court and natural playmakers so I could see ISU really benefiting from playing occasional zone to mix it up between possessions, after timeouts, or S/BOBs. This might be a good game to run some 3/4 court defense to speed up the game too. tOSU guards are quite turnover prone which should lead to some easy ISU offense. Run, run, run.

No surprise, but on offense ISU will need to get out in transition off misses, makes, and turnovers. If you want to make Kaleb Wesson obsolete make him run with Jacobson, Lard, and Conditt. tOSU is pretty solid at limiting easy 2s, but they do allow above average 3 pt attempts. I expect that good looks at 3 will be available for ISU, but I think the key will be for ISU to put pressure on defense with aggressive drives and post ups. Passing out of the post to the perimeter from Jacobson, Lard, and THT will be important. While ISU is not a great at this, it will benefit greatly by drawing fouls too (I am looking at you Wigginton, Shayok, and THT). Ultimately, ISU will need to prioritize easy 2s and everything else should follow favorably.

The keys I see are:

1) Run, dictate tempo. I expect Holtmann et. al will want to make this game a grinder.
2) ISU guards need really put pressure on tOSU's guards to create turnovers and making post entry passes difficult.
3) Put pressure on tOSU post defenders through aggressive drive and kicks to stretch the defense.
4) Switch defensive looks periodically to create confusion.
5) Like every other game, the ball cannot stick- it really needs to move around and players need to keep moving too.
6) This will be a good test for Jacobson, Lard, and Conditt. How they defend tOSU's post players and rebound will be critical (surprise, surprise)

p.s. The x-factors are Andre Wesson, Kyle Young, and Justin Ahrens. They all have lower usage, but they are all sneaky good players in their own right.

Gable left ISU over athletic tape?

I am a casual wrestling fan and would not consider myself an expect but I was listening to an interview with Dan Gable today and the interviewer made a reference to an athletic tape incident leading to his departure from ISU to Iowa. Gable confirmed this story was true but they didn't get into the details of the story during the interview. Does anyone know what happened here? I know I am 45 years behind on this but I still find Gable to be a fascinating figure.

Here is the link to the interview: (The story is referenced at the 17:30 mark)

https://www.moonlightgrahamshow.com...n-toughness-and-the-importance-of-his-parents

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