I had us in the 7-10 seed range. Didn’t expect Toure to be this good. Didn’t realize how much a slow Jackson last year hurt us and how much of an upgrade Buchanan is. Crazy to think how much we wanted Cluff and he might’ve been a bad fit.
Before the season...curious
- Thread starter dahliaclone
- Start date
I was hoping for a national championship but my realistic hope was round of 32, maybe Sweet 16. Possibly a little better if Buchanan was good, Batemon could shoot well and Tamin stayed healthy. I was worried after the one transfer announced that he was out because I didn't know if we had any point guard depth. I wasn't sure we had enough shooters.
Buchanan has surpassed my expectations and Toure has solved the point guard depth problem. Milan's improvement and Jefferson's improved shot have eased my shooting questions. Toure isn't too bad outside and Batemon has proven that he can hit a shot.
At this point, all my questions have been answered and we have more depth than I can ever remember.
Buchanan has surpassed my expectations and Toure has solved the point guard depth problem. Milan's improvement and Jefferson's improved shot have eased my shooting questions. Toure isn't too bad outside and Batemon has proven that he can hit a shot.
At this point, all my questions have been answered and we have more depth than I can ever remember.
I was skeptical. I wasn’t a believer in BB and didn’t have any expectations for Toure.
Toure is awfully good for a 19 y.o.
I was confident we'd be good (hopefully one of the top 16 seeds, second weekend, etc)... I wasn't expecting to be THIS good.
I thought our ceiling was a top-five finish in the Big 12 and a third-round tourney team. I now think our ceiling is a top-one finish in the Big 12 and a sixth-round tourney team.
In addition to Toure being what he is so quickly, Lipsey, Jefferson, and Momcilovic have all taken big steps forward, and Buchanan is way better than I expected.
In addition to Toure being what he is so quickly, Lipsey, Jefferson, and Momcilovic have all taken big steps forward, and Buchanan is way better than I expected.
It's really hard to compare to last year's team, because there really were two very different teams. There was early season ISU with a reasonably healthy Gilbert. Then there was the team after all the injuries, and of course Gilbert never returned and all that.
I thought this team would not be as good as early season ISU from last year when everyone was healthy. I thought this years team would be better than the team that finished the season last year because frankly, ISU was not all that good at the end of the season.
My expectation was that Toure and Pleta would both play and be good. I am heavily biased toward Euro players. I think they are pretty much always underrated coming into the US. Skill and basketball IQ-wise they are usually more advanced than US players. Still, Toure has blown away even my pretty lofty expectations. I think Pleta will get there.
Buchanan has also blown away my expectations. I expected him to start, but I kind of thought he would be a slight upgrade from Jackson and Chatfield, but in that range.
I thought this team would not be as good as early season ISU from last year when everyone was healthy. I thought this years team would be better than the team that finished the season last year because frankly, ISU was not all that good at the end of the season.
My expectation was that Toure and Pleta would both play and be good. I am heavily biased toward Euro players. I think they are pretty much always underrated coming into the US. Skill and basketball IQ-wise they are usually more advanced than US players. Still, Toure has blown away even my pretty lofty expectations. I think Pleta will get there.
Buchanan has also blown away my expectations. I expected him to start, but I kind of thought he would be a slight upgrade from Jackson and Chatfield, but in that range.
I think Pleta was getting there prior to injury. Averaging 11 mpg.
I was admittedly expecting a small step back. Particularly from an offensive perspective.
thinking we'd go from legit #5-10 kind of team to maybe #15-20. Still a great year, but not thinking about a final four run. I was in the "damn it, last year was our chance for something special".
My expectations centered almost entirely on the loss of Gilbert and particularly Jones. Someone who could (a) go get a bucket or get to the line when we needed to put someone away or start a run and (b) a shooter to put opposite of Milan.
Was I wrong? Yes, obviously. And happily so
I really didn't expect to see us somehow be better offensively. To be honest, I'm not even sure how to explain it.
thinking we'd go from legit #5-10 kind of team to maybe #15-20. Still a great year, but not thinking about a final four run. I was in the "damn it, last year was our chance for something special".
My expectations centered almost entirely on the loss of Gilbert and particularly Jones. Someone who could (a) go get a bucket or get to the line when we needed to put someone away or start a run and (b) a shooter to put opposite of Milan.
Was I wrong? Yes, obviously. And happily so
I really didn't expect to see us somehow be better offensively. To be honest, I'm not even sure how to explain it.
Probably a Sweet 16 ceiling for me. I was worried about scoring and the front court.
Overlapping some with a post/convo I had in Computer Projections thread. I tagged us as 5 seed, something around 10-3 or 9-4 in non-con (although anything lower would've shocked me). Starting a little slower compared to 24-25 due to roster changeover and unknowns & trying to fill Gilbert/Jones departures.
I won't attempt to predict the next two-thirds of regular season or postseason, because I think of what last year's team potential looked in late-December/early-January and you never know.
I won't attempt to predict the next two-thirds of regular season or postseason, because I think of what last year's team potential looked in late-December/early-January and you never know.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I figured we'd lose to Purdue (prior to Las Vegas---after Vegas, it was a real shot there, too), but otherwise run the table.
As long as TJ is here, I'm going to assume we have a national title contender each year.
As long as TJ is here, I'm going to assume we have a national title contender each year.
Definitely thought we'd be dancing, but around 5th in Big 12. Our chances to go further than enter in March depends on if key players stay healthy. Lipsey, which is worrisome, and JJ. We could be good with out Lipsey just not final 4 or beyond good.
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Another detail, if time-travel info came to me in preseason that Lipsey would miss two of three Players Era games, I assume I'd think 1-2 was the ceiling there.
This team is +2 in the win column from where I expected them to be. I figured Purdue and one loss in Vegas that never came.
I'm like you, OP. I thought we'd be solid and safely in the tourney / a lower level top 25 team. Maybe a 5 or 6 seed. I would have guessed 8-2 at this point. Toure has really raised the bar, along with Buchanan, Batemon and Pleta. These guys have been so impressive and the coaching staff is doing an amazing job bringing in the right compliment of players to fill out the roster well. It's just fun to watch. I did not expect them to be this good.
Sidenote: I do hope Otz plays Batemon more. It looked like he sat him the entire half last night. He basically did the same against Purdue. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, Heise struggled offensively, and I just feel Batemon gives more offensively than Heise. Heise's D and rebounding is great though. It seems Otz is already shortening the bench and it has come to bite us in the past as the team comes out like a rocket in the early season under Otz, then gets warn down a bit, or injured, later in the year. I personally don't think it's great for Lipsey, Momcilovic and Jefferson to be playing 35 mins a game this time of year. I get it, and these guys are competitors and want to win. Otz is obviously a great coach, but I worry they'll be beat up at the end of the year again, and we might lose a talent like Batemon next year. I wrote about it already here and I think it could hurt us again. As a fan, we have to find something to nitpick even when things are going incredibly well, right! Edit: as much as the sports world makes fun of it, there's a reason for "load management" in the NBA.
Sidenote: I do hope Otz plays Batemon more. It looked like he sat him the entire half last night. He basically did the same against Purdue. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, Heise struggled offensively, and I just feel Batemon gives more offensively than Heise. Heise's D and rebounding is great though. It seems Otz is already shortening the bench and it has come to bite us in the past as the team comes out like a rocket in the early season under Otz, then gets warn down a bit, or injured, later in the year. I personally don't think it's great for Lipsey, Momcilovic and Jefferson to be playing 35 mins a game this time of year. I get it, and these guys are competitors and want to win. Otz is obviously a great coach, but I worry they'll be beat up at the end of the year again, and we might lose a talent like Batemon next year. I wrote about it already here and I think it could hurt us again. As a fan, we have to find something to nitpick even when things are going incredibly well, right! Edit: as much as the sports world makes fun of it, there's a reason for "load management" in the NBA.
We will always be a top 20 team under TJ. I don't think a lot of our fans even understand how smothering our defense has been since he's been here. I'm not sure anybody plays D like we do. Even in his first year when we were somewhat limited offensively the D made us a top 20-25 team. Even people that consider us a great defensive team don't comprehend how good we are at it most of the time. Who's consistently been better defensively than Iowa State the last 5 years? I can't think of anyone.
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