I know it is December, but this is fun.
ESPN tonight,.....!!!!!
- Thread starter MuskieCy
- Start date
I really hope these past 5-6 games are what we can expect out of this team on a consistent basis. They have a great balance of outside and inside scoring from a variety of players. Our defense continues to actually improve as they play more games together. Stay healthy. Stay injury free. Respond well to adversity...(while, right now there doesn't look to be any...there probably will be.) Stay focus and energized...this team will be right there standing in late March and April!
I'll temper my expectations for now. Last year we were #2 then lost in Morgantown and the season was pretty bad after that game. Of course I feel great about where the team stands right now, but let's not get too crazy yet.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
It's inevitable that they'll come back to Earth a bit as they are on as big of a heater as I can remember seeing on the offensive end. The key is how they handle that, but I think their floor is really, really high because their defense is good enough to win even when they have a cold shooting night, and we've seen their ceiling.
I think the difference this year is the bench. Our 7th, 8th and 9th guys are last year's WAC player of the year, a top 50 4-star freshman who is shooting 47% from 3 and a 21 year old C who was playing professional basketball last year.
Guys we are fans. It is TJ's job to temper expectations with the team. I am so all in on this team. We are so much more balanced offensively than in years past. Can't understate how important that is as the season goes in. We are so much better at the 5 spot than any other team TJ has had. The offense can be initiated through Lipsey, Jefferson, or Buchanan. Defensively this is one of TJ's best teams.
This team honestly reminds me a lot of Baylor's national title team a few years ago. Elite point guard, and two dudes who can just go get buckets. And absolute dawgs who play their asses off on defense. Yeah I'm not in the mood to temper expectations.
This team honestly reminds me a lot of Baylor's national title team a few years ago. Elite point guard, and two dudes who can just go get buckets. And absolute dawgs who play their asses off on defense. Yeah I'm not in the mood to temper expectations.
Last years team never truly felt like they were a legit final four threat. Dishon Jackson and Brandon Chatfield just weren’t final four caliber big men. It felt like the team overachieved all season. This years team doesn’t have that feeling. This years team looks and feels like a real threat for the final four. Milan has finally taken the next step, Buchanan and Pleta are legit bigs, Toure is one of the best freshman in the country, Tamin is hopefully healthy the rest of the year, and Heise’s shot hasn’t come around yet, and when it does, this team is going to be even better and way more dangerous. This is the most complete and deepest team in ISU history.
Both can be correct:
1) It is only December. There is a long, long way to go in the basketball season
2) ISU is deserving of national attention
I disagree with the bold. IMO, last year's team looked every bit the part of a final four team until injuries and illness prevented it from reaching its potential.
I'll temper my expectations some but we are a completely different team than last year. We have more depth, more length, better shooting, and unselfish play. That Purdue win is worth at least 1 if not 2 seed line bumps come March.
They touch on this week's Chris and Chris, but this team just seems set up so much better for long term success. The only potential weakness I see is front court depth against really long athletic teams. If Buchanan gets in foul trouble and you can't afford to go small, can Pleta give you the minutes you need?
But otherwise, just gotta stay healthy
This team seems different with the depth coming off the bench, and the shooting. But we've had fast starts pretty much every year with TJ, and then things fall apart starting in February. If this team is consistent and plays like this through Big 12 play, look out in March.
Totally agree with this. I’ll bet we see an effort to limit minutes - especially Tamin’s.
I agree. Last year I was on cloud 9 then West Va happened. We didn’t handle things well from that point forward. I really believe we need to use the bench more. That’s how we survive the conference season. Further, and this will probably get some disagreement, we need to keep our promising players happy. Look at Bateman. He has so much to offer. We don’t want him considering the portal come April.
