Grade the 2016-17 season for Iowa State men's basketball. Elaborate on your choice/discuss poll results as desired. Go!
Poll: Grade the season
- Thread starter cyclones500
- Start date
I would say overall a B. Started kind of rough, aced two tests, and then did OK on the final.
A- or better. It wasn't all sunshine and roses with the Malou/Lard losses for this year, but they really figured it out and put it together late. Their accomplishments (tied for 2nd, Big 12 tournament championship, NCAA win and close loss to go to the Sweet 16) was about all I could ask for. Sure, they could have gone further, but the tournament is that way.
I gave a B+. Lost some games we really had no business losing. Struggled immensely early. But we put together a great run. Won in Allen Fieldhouse. Big 12 tournament champs. Earlier exit from the NCAA than most hoped for but a good season overall.
Overall, I grade the season as an 89.9% B+. Beat Purdue would have brought that up to an A-.
I felt the team's ceiling was a little higher than the Ro32 at the end of the year.
Purdue was a hard one, but I was proud of this team this year.
B+/A-
Purdue was a hard one, but I was proud of this team this year.
B+/A-
I wanted to click "A", but I ended up voting "B+". It became apparent as the season progressed that CSP was going to insist this team play solid defense, and even though I'm not sure they bought into it early, it certainly paid big dividends at the end.
I felt bad for Naz - even though this season had to be a blessing for him, after missing last year, I don't think even he would say that he played up to his potential. Not that the effort wasn't there, not at all. But I think a year's worth of rust ended up affecting him more than he thought it would, and better shooting from him in the postseason would have helped immensely. Of course I've never trade the ocean of intangibles he brings.....he's both a coach and a cheerleader on the floor.
Truly a marvelous experience, beginning to end, and really looking forward to a new beginning in November. I can't wait!!!!
I felt bad for Naz - even though this season had to be a blessing for him, after missing last year, I don't think even he would say that he played up to his potential. Not that the effort wasn't there, not at all. But I think a year's worth of rust ended up affecting him more than he thought it would, and better shooting from him in the postseason would have helped immensely. Of course I've never trade the ocean of intangibles he brings.....he's both a coach and a cheerleader on the floor.
Truly a marvelous experience, beginning to end, and really looking forward to a new beginning in November. I can't wait!!!!
B+ mostly because of some missed opportunities in the non con. We finished out as an A- but we missed a couple of early assignments and couldn't quite bring our grade up enough.
B+. Slow start hurt quite a bit as they could not figure out how to play with a small lineup. I swear in February and March is when they actually started to leap after rebounds whereas up until then they just waited for the ball to fall into their hands and we would get outrebounded by 15 or 20 every game. Rebounding is what helped turn them into a team that could win almost any game at the end.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I graded a B. We expected a small regression and we ended up just short of matching last years tourney run. B+ would be sweet 16, A would be elite 8 and further. Big 12 tourney champs are fun and all but I think most would say deep run or reg season is much more prestigious
I gave it a B. As a whole it is about what o expected. The beginning of the year was well below expectations and the later part was above expectations. In the end the way we were playing I thought we were an Elite Eight/Final Four team but the tournament is weird.
I'm thrilled with the season but do still have minor concerns. Hopefully next year completely locks those up and throws away the key.
I'm thrilled with the season but do still have minor concerns. Hopefully next year completely locks those up and throws away the key.
I think if the team would have jelled early like it did at the end of the season it could have been really special... Fun to watch every game, but for an A, I need more consistency, plus I really think if Naz's shot was not off and/or another player would have contributed in the Purdue game early, we would not be doing this poll yet....
B+.
Monte had a slow start to the year relative to expectations but then played at the level of the top point guard in the country down the stretch. With the accolades he achieved during his 4 years, he has a legitimate case for greatest Cyclone ever.
Sure Naz was a bit streaky as a shooter, but he shot close to his career marks overall and added a new element to his game by becoming a great finisher around the rim. I was really pulling for him to get the career 3's record. Naz may be my favorite cyclone of all time because of his passion for Iowa State... nobody gave more or cared more about this program than Naz Mitrou-Long and Georges Niang did during their 4/5 years.
Matty T was solid throughout the entire year and I'm really going to miss how near automatic open shots became for him. I was so happy on Senior night to watch him tie his career high and let loose a little on the court that night. That guy put in the work and he deserved a great season.
Deonte Burton's growth throughout the year was incredible... He went from an inconsistent player with a high upside to playing at an elite level on both ends of the floor by season's end. Blowing the roof off the Sprint Center against WVU was the dunk we had been waiting 2 years for.
Losing to Iowa and not making a deeper tournament run are the only things holding me back from giving this season an A+. I will say winning another Big 12 Tourney is something that compensates a little for the lack of deep tourney run in my mind. In the grand scheme of things though, I will always look back on this season very satisfied with what our legendary seniors accomplished.
Monte had a slow start to the year relative to expectations but then played at the level of the top point guard in the country down the stretch. With the accolades he achieved during his 4 years, he has a legitimate case for greatest Cyclone ever.
Sure Naz was a bit streaky as a shooter, but he shot close to his career marks overall and added a new element to his game by becoming a great finisher around the rim. I was really pulling for him to get the career 3's record. Naz may be my favorite cyclone of all time because of his passion for Iowa State... nobody gave more or cared more about this program than Naz Mitrou-Long and Georges Niang did during their 4/5 years.
Matty T was solid throughout the entire year and I'm really going to miss how near automatic open shots became for him. I was so happy on Senior night to watch him tie his career high and let loose a little on the court that night. That guy put in the work and he deserved a great season.
Deonte Burton's growth throughout the year was incredible... He went from an inconsistent player with a high upside to playing at an elite level on both ends of the floor by season's end. Blowing the roof off the Sprint Center against WVU was the dunk we had been waiting 2 years for.
Losing to Iowa and not making a deeper tournament run are the only things holding me back from giving this season an A+. I will say winning another Big 12 Tourney is something that compensates a little for the lack of deep tourney run in my mind. In the grand scheme of things though, I will always look back on this season very satisfied with what our legendary seniors accomplished.
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Pros: Caught fire when we needed to down the stretch and ripped through the Big 12 tourney. Also winning at Kansas was awesome.
Cons: Had some stinkers of a loss (though in hindsight besides Texas none were that terrible) and missed out on the sweet 16.
All in all that's a B+/A- of a season. If we hadn't dropped that Cincy home loss, Vandy road game, and Texas road game, we would have been a 3 seed and probably still alive.
Cons: Had some stinkers of a loss (though in hindsight besides Texas none were that terrible) and missed out on the sweet 16.
All in all that's a B+/A- of a season. If we hadn't dropped that Cincy home loss, Vandy road game, and Texas road game, we would have been a 3 seed and probably still alive.
I agree with this. It was so much fun to follow the team that weekend and also I was just happy for our fans to be able to enjoy something for a few days.
