Grading the 25-26 WBB Season

[ISUCubswin]

Interested to see the thoughts from the rest of the fan base.

Pros:

You beat Iowa
Undefeated non-con even though it was the weakest schedule you could ask for
Cracked top 10

Cons
- Lost to a terrible Cincinnati squad
- Blew a 12 point lead in the 4th quarter against TCU because you "ran out of gas"
- Said the goal was to be "monsters in March" and were one and done in the Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament.
- Have quite possibly the worst defense in P4. (Unsure if its lazy, poor IQ, or poor scheme)
- Have zero offense outside of "pass the ball to Audi"

I anticipate Bill and the entire staff being back next year as a "retirement tour." My hope is we find a way to get a little new blood to come in to bring some life to the defensive end - zero ***** were given in the second quarter today, or the entrie first half against Arizona State - and the "zero defensive ***** given" mindset for entire quarters really was an issue we had all year.

 

[Urbandale2013]

Anything other than an F is just lying to yourself.

 

[cyfan92]

Anything other than an F is just lying to yourself.

Agree 100%, the game passed Bill years ago and I wish him well in retirement

 

[Dopey]

It wouldn't bother me as much if I didn't listen to all the preseason hype on Williams & Blum every God damn year

 

[Darius Bieber]

It wouldn't bother me as much if I didn't listen to all the preseason hype on Williams & Blum every God damn year

Iowa really needs some NYC-type media who aren’t afraid to call out coaching malpractices and demand answers.

 

[Cydwinder]

Anything other than an F is just lying to yourself.

I went D because we beat Iowa and we had some tough injuries. I could easily be persuaded to an F though.

 

[ISUCubswin]

It wouldn't bother me as much if I didn't listen to all the preseason hype on Williams & Blum every God damn year

Problem is the talent on this team is Sweet 16 or higher caliber. But there’s more to the game than pure talent

 

[acoustimac]

Non-con was an A
The five game skid I can offer a bit of a pass when you lose two starters, but still a D+ at BEST.
The winning stretch after getting AJ back? A+
The rest of the season? Solid F.

The performance in both tournaments? F——-

 

[t.m.]

Problem is the talent on this team is Sweet 16 or higher caliber. But there’s more to the game than pure talent

We all like to think that, but in 3 seasons, they have one second round game. At some point, have to look at actual results, not hypotheticals

 

[kentkel]

I generously said a 'C' (C- if I coud be more honest). An 'A' for the season up until the Baylor game. An 'F' for the Big 12 and post-season. I did not grade us lower than I did because of the 3 MAJOR injuries to KEY contributors - Addy, AJ and Paulk. I still firmly believe this team was, at minimum, a five seed had they avoided the injury bug. Not sure what the future will hold - but, woof, Bill's recent Tourney teams (with the exception of 2 years ago) have been complete messes.

 

[ISUCubswin]

We all like to think that, but in 3 seasons, they have one second round game. At some point, have to look at actual results, not hypotheticals

Unfortunately there’s a lot more to the game than talent alone. Effort is a clear issue, IQ is a clear issue, scheming is a clear issue

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

I generously said a 'C' (C- if I coud be more honest). An 'A' for the season up until the Baylor game. An 'F' for the Big 12 and post-season. I did not grade us lower than I did because of the 3 MAJOR injuries to KEY contributors - Addy, AJ and Paulk. I still firmly believe this team was, at minimum, a five seed had they avoided the injury bug. Not sure what the future will hold - but, woof, Bill's recent Tourney teams (with the exception of 2 years ago) have been complete messes.

I went C because of the injuries. Team could of easily mailed it in but they fought. The injured fought their way back. Because of the layoff even when we got Addy back she wasn't pre-injury Addy.

Made tournament which I thought they had no shot at in late January.

 

[ZorkClone]

I voted D.

Noncon I would give a B+. We beat everyone, but only Iowa was a win worth anything. Not totally our fault as the teams that are usually good weren’t.

Conference - C- we did have a winning conference record, but the only team of note we beat was TTU. With the injuries I gave a little grace.

Post season- F one and done in both tournaments and not all that competitive.

 

[cyclonespiker33]

We all like to think that, but in 3 seasons, they have one second round game. At some point, have to look at actual results, not hypotheticals

McDermott had Craig Brackins, Wes Johnson, Diante Garrett, Justin Hamilton, Lucca Staiger, etc. Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't get dubs.

 

[FarmerCy1]

I went with D. The non con was nice, but I feel like it was a missed opportunity to experiment/ game out situations such as losing key players (Addy) and what lineups work rather than focusing on blowing WDM Valley level teams by 50 points. We beat Iowa so it’s hard to complain too much.

The Big12 schedule was ok until Addy’s injury. The complete lack of a plan B when that happened was malpractice. Similarly, running out of gas against TCU was just unacceptable.

The post season was just a dismal failure. One and done in the NCAA and in Kansas City is unacceptable.

In all, I feel that this is on a combination of injuries, and the staff (read: CBF’s) insistence on having a golden child strategy. There are times that Audi’s lack of interest in defense should have resulted in her being benched for a few minutes. Any other player Bill wouldn’t hesitate to do so for the exact same thing. The lack of in game adjustments was also frustrating, and a failure of the coaching staff. If this question was solely based on coaching, to me it’s a pretty easy F.

Bottom line, I hope it’s announced pretty soon that next season will be Bill’s last. The program has gone stale, bland and the coaching staff seems to have checked out. I’ll still get season tickets and support the girls, but it’s getting to be a chore to watch the same end of season collapse year after year.

 

[CySmurf]

I grade this in 2 halves...
The first half was pretty good. Undefeated noncon. Beat Iowa... I'd give that an A
The 2nd half...injuries. Bad shooting nights were a common theme...and the coaching was maybe the worst of Bill Fennelly's career. They just didn't gel together like I think everyone thought they would preseason. That's on Bill.
And, in all honesty, the rhetoric that "Bill deserves to go out how he wants to go out" should not just be a given anymore. I grade that a D, D-...so my overall grade is a C

 

[isucy86]

The last two games are a microcosm of why this team underachieved. Other than Audi, players were 25 of 91 from the field or 27.5 percent. And most frustrating 10-58 (17.2 percent) from the 3 point line. Addy was a shell of herself after coming back from her back injury.

If there were 2 things the staff needed to do after Audi's freshman year:

1. Bring in jump shooters to open the paint for Audi.
2. Have a PG who can get the ball to Audi.

I'd give the staff a B- on the later, but a resounding F on the first point. And the reality is that should be the easiest thing to do.

The staff's been good at bringing in role players who can fill 7-10th spots on a roster. But the staff has sorely missed on on 4-6 roster spots who are consistent from game to game. Even the players that have left Iowa State via the portal are not 4-6 roster spot players.

I will continue to say Bill has earned the right to retire on his terms, but have serious doubts if next year can be better without a significant roster overhaul and even then not confident the staff can bring in the right players.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

McDermott had Craig Brackins, Wes Johnson, Diante Garrett, Justin Hamilton, Lucca Staiger, etc. Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't get dubs.

Or perhaps, if you don’t know what to do with it.

 

[CycloneErik]

I went with C, which was awfully generous. I went with making the tournament as a barely meeting expectations, and threw it in the C range. I wouldn't have any qualms rating this one a D, either, especially with the weak schedule and inability to make adjustments or develop players.

So, kind of a yawning C.

 

[Buster28]

D. The 14-0 start kept me from casting a vote for F. But that's it. I don't believe I was this disappointed and checked out by the end even in the handful of losing seasons ISU has had.