What do we think of CSP . . .

Rick

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I mean it as a serious question. Although it might end up stirring the pot (not my intention), I just want to know if there is a consensus of thinking since I don't know much about the game.
As you read the replies you will quickly learn most don't know much either but they definitely will have an opinion. If you like what you see and what Prohm has done that is all that should matter. A lot of posters drink too much kool aid
 

Cyballzz

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It's frustrating from my couch - because i feel that i would make all the right decisions :)

He is following Freddy, so it was going to be impossible to win fans over unless he went undefeated and was working on back to back National Championships

It will be interesting to see how next season goes when the roster is officially his.

This... it was either Randy or Chris on KXNO that said we haven't seen Steve coach his team yet. I feel like hes done a good job bridging "eras" so to speak but I want to see him run his system with his guys.
 

BoxsterCy

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I mean it as a serious question. Although it might end up stirring the pot (not my intention), I just want to know if there is a consensus of thinking since I don't know much about the game.

Well, you will find many posters citing their closely held personal opinions and selling that as the consensus and the only real "truth". :rolleyes:
 

CyGuy4Life

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Not completely sold on him as a coach yet. Like the back to back results he's put together the last 2 games, but discouraged by the fact that we keep letting teams back into the game in the last few minutes. He seems to be able to recruit, which is a huge plus. Depending on how this team finishes this year will be very telling of him as a coach. Lot of talent that should be able to make a postseason run.
 

acgclone

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Feb 21, 2007
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I'm fairly happy with him. He's at least met my expectations. He's done as much as you could expect.... Sweet 16 with Niang, and a likely tourney appearance this year.

He's not perfect, and I hope that he can keep bringing in talent, because he was handed a deep hole for 2017 and a short shovel.
 

Cyclonepride

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I'll add, and I alluded to this in another thread about liking what I was now hearing from the players- you are now starting to see, on the floor, what Coach Prohm's been talking about for a while now (moving the ball side to side, less one on one moves, etc). I think he's been very effective at getting the eventual buy-in from these guys (and the guys from last year) by being patient, but persistent with them.
 
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fsanford

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I suspect there is not a fan in the country who at some point during the season was not disappointed how their coach performed especially after a loss.

For me I tend to wait til all the evidence is in. Most of us thought the front line was going to be suspect, and I don't think we can yet say problem solved. But sure seems like progress is being made, and Young has a skill set to actually finish near the rim.


ISU was picked to finish 4th in the Big 12 preseason poll, I think they are tied for 3rd, but currently would lose the tie break with WVU. So they are sitting at 4th.

As far as I can tell they are right on schedule. If you look at some of the other preseason favorites in conference and nationally, there are some top coaches who are really having bad years based on where they are projected

So seems Prohm, is doing a solid job and when I hear color guys, ex-basketball coaches who gush about ISU's spacing, and their ability to run offense, gives me solace that despite what some message board posters think, guy might have some coaching skills.

Grade is still incomplete though, need to finish strong, and try to get win #5 on the road at Tech or WV.

I do think with the right seed, this team could do damage in the NCAA.
 

Cyched

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I've bought in. Granted there are some aspects of his coaching that I question at times, but I think most of it has to do with him being a young coach who is still working on his craft. I like his ability to maintain a balance of being a players coach while still running a tight ship.

People gripe a lot about the close games we lost, but I would also argue that he has won close games a bad coach would've lost. McDermott would've blown that lead when KSU made their run last night.

The way he has them playing on the road is no accident. The best recruiting class in history is no accident. The way his teams have improved as the season goes along is no accident. I hope he continues to get better as a coach, and continues to maintain our level of success. I think once he has his program established he'll be fielding some pretty damn good teams.
 

cstrunk

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Mar 21, 2006
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I have a very up and down opinion of him. Some of things he does (or doesn't do) can be frustrating (questionable rotations, use of timeouts, play calls/execution out of timeouts, end of half plays/execution, etc.). However, 3 of the last 4 games have been outstanding. I was pretty down after a rough non-conference performance (couldn't seal the deal on any big wins and looking foolish at Vanderbilt), but Big 12 play has me encouraged and I'd much rather perform our best at the end of the year and make some Tourney runs.
 

JP4CY

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His timeouts are interesting and I still worry about the end of games and shot selection.
I think he knows his play book and screens, rolls, etc very well.

I think he's a great fit at ISU and I am very impressed with his recruiting especially after TJ left.
 

SCyclone

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th
 
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Sigmapolis

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One nice moment from him last night...

He definitely prefers man 90% of the time. However, late in the game, he switched into a 2-3 zone out of a timeout (I think the under 8 in the second half) and KSU had no idea how to deal with it. They passed around the outside and eventually had to resort to dribbling into a jungle of swiping arms and big bodies at the end of the shot clock.

They got a foul off it, but, still, it confused the heck out of them for a moment. Everybody knows that you get the ball to a guy who can pass or drive in the circle to kill that zone, but KSU did not know how to do it, was surprised by it, and not practiced nor mentally-ready to run a zone-break offense. It tanked 2-3 possessions for them.

A few possessions later, after they started to get the hang of it, Prohm went back to man, told his guys to play hard after a little break on the zone, and stuck with it.

It was a nice little curve ball that...

-- confused K-State
-- slowed the game down towards the end and took some air out of their offense
-- forced them to shoot long, which they are not good at
-- gave our guys... our starters played ~35 minutes last night... a little blow while still on the court for the final push against the press and for man at the end

For anybody who says he does not do anything for the team in-game, that last night was a great example. Tricking #1 Oklahoma and Lon Kruger into a one-shot technical for Matt Thomas last year at the end of that game was pretty awesome, too.
 

MeowingCows

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Granted, this has only shown in it's current state in about 3 of our last 4 games, but I think Prohm is finally starting to figure things out with our current squad. Our last two games (granted, not against the best competition), have looked monumentally better than previous ones. That's two games in a row now without a huge scoring drought in the first half, and without dropping to a 15+ point deficit before halftime. We've more or less been on the opposite end of that. Our starts of the second halves haven't been good, but that's why getting a lead early is important -- it gives us a chance to recover from other teams' runs.

Two glaring differences I (and many of us have seen) are Burton and Young. Burton has been much less crazy-Burton lately and been more a controlled, aware Burton. His statlines are generally improving along with that. Young seems like he has reached the point in his own personal confidence that he's ready to go up against the rest of the Big 12. Prohm has seen that, put him in, and received good results back.

I can't speak to whether Prohm turned Burton and Young into what we're seeing now, but if he did have a hand in it, good on him -- he's getting it figured out. I've also thought that we've opened up our offensive playbook a bit lately and ran some more diverse plays (that, or Prohm gave our players some free reign to make up some stuff on their own). Either way, it looks less like aggressive street ball and more like strong college ball. Defensively, I think we improve dramatically just by having Young out there. He causes a lot of problems in the lane for other teams.

As a team, we're definitely trending the right direction at the right time. I'm curious and optimistic to watch how the rest of the season pans out, and I'm also excited from the class that Prohm brought in this season (and what will be added to it in the near future).
 

Cyclonepride

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His timeouts are interesting and I still worry about the end of games and shot selection.
I think he knows his play book and screens, rolls, etc very well.

I think he's a great fit at ISU and I am very impressed with his recruiting especially after TJ left.

I liked what PJ (I think) said about his sets last night, something to the effect that "they don't run that many sets, but they have a lot of options for creativity that can come out of each set".
 
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CTTB78

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I'm bought in with him. Landing Wigginton and Lewis is all I needed to see. If he's got good players he can win. The fact he's got this roster playing like this on the road is impressive IMO

Agree. Prohm has brought several 'firsts' to the program and he and the team will get better with time.
 

Cyclonepride

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One nice moment from him last night...

He definitely prefers man 90% of the time. However, late in the game, he switched into a 2-3 zone out of a timeout (I think the under 8 in the second half) and KSU had no idea how to deal with it. They passed around the outside and eventually had to resort to dribbling into a jungle of swiping arms and big bodies at the end of the shot clock.

They got a foul off it, but, still, it confused the heck out of them for a moment. Everybody knows that you get the ball to a guy who can pass or drive in the circle to kill that zone, but KSU did not know how to do it, was surprised by it, and not practiced nor mentally-ready to run a zone-break offense. It tanked 2-3 possessions for them.

A few possessions later, after they started to get the hang of it, Prohm went back to man, told his guys to play hard after a little break on the zone, and stuck with it.

It was a nice little curve ball that...

-- confused K-State
-- slowed the game down towards the end and took some air out of their offense
-- forced them to shoot long, which they are not good at
-- gave our guys... our starters played ~35 minutes last night... a little blow while still on the court for the final push against the press and for man at the end

For anybody who says he does not do anything for the team in-game, that last night was a great example. Tricking #1 Oklahoma and Lon Kruger into a one-shot technical for Matt Thomas last year at the end of that game was pretty awesome, too.

I'm not a huge fan of our zone, but in spots like that, against a team that is indecisive, it can work. If KSU had a Matt Thomas or Naz Long on their roster, we would have been burned for a corner 3 every time.
 
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