COLUMN: An analysis on the future of Iowa State basketball
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
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I hear you on that.
But I do think he can turn this around. Imo, if he embraces that he is the CEO type coach that needs some very good basketball teachers on the staff, he’d do a lot better.
Although the GM side has failed him this season, that’s a pretty quick fix and lesson learned (I hope).
If you have ever seen a practice - Prohm is definitely not a "CEO type coach."
I didn’t say he was, I’m saying he NEEDS to be. As measured by our execution of fundamentals, his strengths aren’t in teaching basketball to the degree needed. He’s also not a tactician.
Wow - and you're qualified to evaluate Prohm in this way exactly how?
And how are you qualified? Nice try, old man!
Now that we have that out of the way, it’s clear in the results on the court that Prohm’s strengths are not in teaching fundamentals and not in x&o tactics. But he’s the head coach, so he can make great hires to fill your weaknesses- be a good CEO of the program!
You can preach fundamentals all day long, but the kids still have to go out there and execute them correctly. Against high level competition, even the slightest mess up can result in a negative outcome. Prohm and this staff teach fundamentals, but some of our players haven't exactly displayed them correctly. Some kids just can't do it at all because their high school never taught them the basics. They may end up working out the kinks but they may not. Some are fundamentally sound but there are times when the high level competition diminishes the fundamentals. There are also the guys who practice the fundamentals and are perfect in practice but once the bright lights come on, those fly out the window.
We have guys on this team that are not cut out to play this level of basketball night in and night out. Prentiss Nixon is not a Big 12 starting guard. He should be playing minutes that Hallice Cook did here back in the day. Mike Jacobson is a nice player, actually very fundamentally sound, but the reality is that he probably should not be playing the minutes he does at the current 4 position in the Big 12. Terrence just hasn't figured it out and it's probably safe to say at this point he probably never will. He's such a liability on defense and his inability to know the sets on offense completely negates his offensive scoring abilities. Who knows on Zion. He's athletic enough to play at this level but he's out of control on offense and hasn't figured out how to be a weapon on defense yet.
Tre Jackson and Caleb Grill were thrown to the wolves this year. Both of them were not ready at all but we needed bodies. This could end up helping them in the long run and both of them look like they could be figuring it all out. They're probably the best defenders on the team at the guard position and they're freshman, which is a very good sign. Solomon Young struggled at times but has ended up being the most solid player on this team besides a healthy Tyrese. He's very fundamentally sound and does a lot of nice things. He will be a very nice senior to have next year. Conditt defensively is there. He's probably one of the best shot blockers in the nation but his offensive production has dipped and he's still getting into foul trouble which decreases his minutes. He's opened up his game a bit more offensively and I think doing that is going to drastically increase how he's used on offense. Bolton is good, but he's raw. There's so much talent and athleticism there and I think he's going to end up being very good for us in the future. Getting him off the point guard position is going to help him a lot and open up his driving and shooting abilities. Defensively, he'll get there.
To round this all out.. We just don't have the horses this year. Guys are playing a lot of minutes that are either not cut out for this level at all, or still need time to get better and develop their games. The subtraction of a couple of guys and the addition of high level athletic talent is going to completely change how this team is next year. We need one more piece to fall in JUCO or grad transfer and this team and program will be playing at a high level once again. Good things are coming.
Yes, and it does make some sense. First, he's just flat out stepped up. Second, while of course ISU is better with Tyrese, there is a tendency for guys to stand around and watch and wait for a guy like Tyrese to make something happen. So overall the movement without the ball is improved. Third, as much as people complain about Nixon, he works the ball into the post when Young gets a seal. Jackson is starting to do it too. I think Tyrese was trying to too hard to set guys up for wide open shots and layups rather than rely on guys like Solo to make plays.
Watching the games doesn't make you qualified lol.
No, I doubt the poster knows of a "fundamental" or "tactic" that Prohm lacks knowedge in, if it hit him in the face. See, he didn't answer my question.
Sure, fans can judge coaches on success, like too few wins, and too many losses. Like even Pollard has a right to. But reading all of these posters (99% have never played even high school basketball, let alone ever coach) evaluating Prohm's "knowledge of the game" - is hilarious. As if they know...
When it’s across multiple rosters and many players, it’s a coaching problem. They can’t teach it and/or when recruiting they don’t recognize players that can learn and perform what they teach.
It’s not a strength. Hopefully next year’s roster is inherently more versatile 1-4, which reduces the need for precision (fundamentals) on defense. We’ve been our best, going back to 2010, when we can rely on switching.
In that respect it's not like Pollard or most ADs know that much about the game to judge teams. There's a big difference between saying "here's what Prohm should do" and "whatever Prohm is doing isn't working this year." The latter is what most are saying, and the latter is pretty obvious, and Prohm would probably say the same.
There are very simple, obvious things that shouldn't be acceptable in high school or probably even middle school.
- Three guys watching while guys like Davide Moretti come in between them all and gets an offensive board
- Let Florida F'ng A&M overplay passing lanes all game long and instead of back cutting (other than Lewis) the guards just keep drifting back until they spend most of the shot clock 30' from the basket and letting FAMU get there hands on all kinds of passes
- Double team a big (rewatch the Iowa game if you dare) and leave 2' between each other and allow for a piece of cake split.
- Vs. Auburn and TTU (both games) there are runouts by the other team. The first shot is challenged and missed, but still ends up in a bucket after 2-3 more shots because other than ISU's one-two guys back challenging the other guys dog it while Auburn/TTU have all 5 guys back in the play. This happened multiple times in those games.
All teams have lapses, but these are just a few examples of things off the top of my head. Coaches talk about details. These aren't even details. These are simple basic things that it should be an expectation that every player at any serious level of basketball get right a vast majority of the time. It doesn't take a college coach to see these things. Doesn't mean any of us can say, "Prohm should coach in this way." But anyone with any sort of clue about the game can say without question that the combination of approach by the staff with this years' roster has been a failure, and it's up to Prohm to change things to make it work. That's all. That's a reasonable request for a staff that has won plenty of games in the Big12 and makes $2M a year.
Yes, if he can land some more elite recruits for the staff.
It's really hard not to put insane pressure on CSP this off season. The guy could set men's basketball back a decade with another flop. Or he can return to the big dance next year and win back this fan base and the national respect we've gained since 2010
There are plenty of players that have either developed under Coach Prohm, or would've developed under Coach Prohm but left early. Do you know how many guys just flat out don't pan out? An absolute TON of them. It happens at KU, it happens at Kentucky, it happens at every single university. The messages and fundamentals coach's teach don't translate to every single player you recruit! They just don't. That's the reality of it. You have 13 scholarship players. Usually only 8-9 of them end up being playable guys that 100% absorb the information and fully buy into what the coaches are teaching and can play significant minutes. Or maybe they're able to absorb the information but their talent level has either diminished or they haven't put in the work outside of normal practice hours to enhance their abilities and therefore fall further behind.
Prohm was building his roster and his recruiting classes for last year's and this year's teams to be very good, however significant contributors left and he was forced to recruit and build a roster on the fly. Barring Halliburton leaving last year, we essentially had the worst possible case happen in all three of THT, Lindell and Lard leaving. Prohm decided to use a scholarship on a sit one-play two guy and used two other scholarships on guys that ended up not being the right fit. In the end, those guys leaving ended up giving Prohm the opportunity to bring in some of next year's class, a class that is built to fix the current problems we are seeing on a game in game out basis.
Will never forget the Tinsley comment when asked about pressure in the last few minutes of a game, to which he responded: "You've never been to one of our practices. Have you?"
