Niang injury. Blessing in disguise?

[Murphcy]

Don't get me wrong I am still screaming at the top of my lungs "He broke his foot?!?!?" every time I think about it.....But is it possible that this could set us up for a big time run? I figured the biggest thing to hurt us would be having to turnaround and play UNC and we got by them with a W.

- At least 30% of our offense was through Niang
+ Most of our game tape will be of him

- Niang helped draw the opposing teams bigs out with his range
+ Edozie is not an offensive threat but he might be able to be an enforcer to at least put some fear in other teams coming to the middle

-UCONN, MSU or UVA in one weekend
+UCONN with a week for the Mayor to prep and a short turn around which we have seen multiple times this year

+Kane and Ejim WILL NOT LOSE.

 

[CycloneErik]

Not really a blessing in disguise, but something our guys will keep overcoming.

 

[Rhoadhoused]

Definitely not a blessing in disguise in any way. Maybe you could find a silver lining is a better choice of words?

 

[Murphcy]

- Not as much Trash talking with Big Georges on the bench.
+ A great heckler/coach on the bench

 

[cyhiphopp]

The way we were playing WITH Niang I think we had a legit title shot. The boys overcame that to beat UNC but I don't know if they can overcome the loss for that many more games.

If we keep shooting lights out, anything can happen, but Georges was often our man when we had to make up for shooting droughts.

I still believe these guys can do anything they put their minds too though. Perfect time for Hogue and Naz to step up in both tourneys.

 

[Cyclonepride]

These guys were focused as hell before it happened, so I can't see it as a blessing in disguise but it has added an extra chip on their shoulders with everyone doubting the rest of them.

 

[Rogue52]

If nothing else, it forced the team to refocus themselves.

 

[00clone]

Not really a blessing in disguise, but something our guys will keep overcoming.

Yeah, 'blessing in disguise' is often substituted for 'well that wasn't as bad as we first thought'..for this to be a blessing in disguise, we'd have to be a better team without Georges...that ain't happening.

As it turns out, it's not as bad as we feared it would be...and that's not minimizing Georges at all, it just shows how many weapons this team has. Just tonight when a dummyhead was telling me how TN will go farther than ISU in the tourney, he was saying "yeah, you just lost your best player"...apparently ignoring that we lost him before UNC...and I asked him...so when you say 'best player', you're not talking about the big 12 conference player of the year, or the big 12 newcomer of the year?

 

[Judoka]

No. This is such a bad question you should feel bad for even asking it.

 

[Murphcy]

Definitely not a blessing in disguise in any way. Maybe you could find a silver lining is a better choice of words?

Yeah i guess i could have phrased that better. I mix things up sometimes. "We don't have a cow, We have a bull."

 

[Rhoadhoused]

I am personally still pretty freaking bummed because I think there is a large chance it costs us a trip to the Elite 8 or the the Final 4.

We are favored by 1 vs Uconn, and if we make it to MSU or Virginia that team will be favored by a posession or two.

With Niang I think we are favored by 4 or 5 vs Uconn and the game vs MSU or Virginia is a pickem.

With Niang on the floor ISU really had a legit shot to compete for the national title. Without him, they still can but it's definitely a lot less likely.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

Don't get me wrong I am still screaming at the top of my lungs "He broke his foot?!?!?" every time I think about it.....But is it possible that this could set us up for a big time run? I figured the biggest thing to hurt us would be having to turnaround and play UNC and we got by them with a W.

- At least 30% of our offense was through Niang
+ Most of our game tape will be of him

- Niang helped draw the opposing teams bigs out with his range
+ Edozie is not an offensive threat but he might be able to be an enforcer to at least put some fear in other teams coming to the middle

-UCONN, MSU or UVA in one weekend
+UCONN with a week for the Mayor to prep and a short turn around which we have seen multiple times this year

+Kane and Ejim WILL NOT LOSE.

If I was a mod I would ban you. Blessing? We were cursed with Niang getting injured. We had a legit shot at a NC.

 

[BigCojones]

He was playing the best he ever has since the Big 12 T.
With him I thought we had a legit shot at the National Title. W/O Him Naz and Matt will have to be almost perfect.
The only benefit is that he would turn the ball over at least 5 times a game it seemed. But that's it.

 

[alarson]

Not a blessing in disguise.

Lets get through the next 1-4 games and see if we end up wishing we had him (hint: unless we win a title, we're going to be sitting here saying 'what if we had Niang'). We still have weapons, and teams much less talented than ours (even without niang) have made some deep runs, so all hope is not lost, but with Niang we might be sitting here as major favorites (instead of a pickem) to make the Elite 8 and some people would probably be starting to talk about if we were a threat at the whole thing.

That said there are some benefits in terms of younger players getting tourney experience minutes. That could pay off for us down the road.

 

[CycloneErik]

I am personally still pretty freaking bummed because I think there is a large chance it costs us a trip to the Elite 8 or the the Final 4.

We are favored by 1 vs Uconn, and if we make it to MSU or Virginia that team will be favored by a posession or two.

With Niang I think we are favored by 4 or 5 vs Uconn and the game vs MSU or Virginia is a pickem.

With Niang on the floor ISU really had a legit shot to compete for the national title. Without him, they still can but it's definitely a lot less likely.

"Still can" is a legitimate shot.

Having seen the other teams still playing, we're still better than most of them.

 

[Murphcy]

-Niang. ISU. 2014.
+Ware. L'ville. 2013 NC.

not that Kevin Ware was the heart of that team or as big of a role as Niang is to Iowa State but the way that team rallied around him showed that if you believe you can do something...you can. Georges is as vocal as anyone and the fact that he is still able to be on the bench and with the team is huge.


Sorry for putting it in poor wording. I forgot we were on the interwebs where everything's made up and the points don't matter.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

"Still can" is a legitimate shot.

Having seen the other teams still playing, we're still better than most of them.

It's all about percentages.

**Telling me there's a chance GIF**

 

[cyfanatic13]

I'll agree with the others.. blessing in disguise probably isn't the correct wording but you have the right idea. I know this team was focused but they sure as hell couldn't be any more focused right now. I as well thought we were a legit final 4 contender with him. Without Niang my expectations went down quite a bit but I will never count this team out especially with Hoiberg at the helm. If I'm going with my head I say we beat UCONN friday and then lose a close one against UVA or Mich St

 

[Cyclonepride]

"Still can" is a legitimate shot.

Having seen the other teams still playing, we're still better than most of them.

I agree. Put our game on the floor and we can beat anyone left.

 

[Dryburn]

To answer the original question of the thread......hell no!

Niang was the center of the offense. It ran through him. He is what helps to create the mis-matches for him and others. He is third on the team in assists, only recently being passed by Monte.

Now, others may be able to pick up the slack, and Fred can no doubt figure out other ways to run the offense and create more isolation plays for the others, but in no way can this injury be described as a blessing.

The competition is going to get tougher as ISU gets closer to the main prize. Hopefully, they can adjust but I still would rather see them at full strength to see what they could do.