He took it to the hole aggressively through traffic against Ole Miss. It was an athletic glide double pump to for a layup. I didn't think he had that in his game, he does. If he plays with confidence and aggression, he will be a good scorer for us next year
Blake Buchanan commits
- Thread starter ClonerJams
- Start date
Some truth to that for sure, but I think an important aspect is that our system requires that we look for proven commodities on defense who have some offensive skill and potential on that end. I don't think we're going to grab many players who are the opposite as one weak link will ruin our scheme, and we simply cannot afford the players who are proven commodities on both ends. This strategy makes all the sense in the world to me given our resources.
Heise seemed like he had more confidence later in the year. We need that Heise. That said, he seems to know his limits as well, and that's also important. Bottom line: the Heise we had at the end of the year was great. Hitting big shots at a good percentage, and being a little more aggressive. I hope he can go even slightly more aggressive next year and stay confident. If we don't snag a bigger combo guard / scorer like we're all hoping, Heise may be incredibly important.
Back on topic: glad to see this pick-up. Buchanan looks like he'll be able to contribute and has some athleticism to him.
I think Heise likely understands that there will be higher expectations for him this coming year as far as scoring. He will respond positively. Plus he is up to speed now with the competition level. I think that took a little while this last year.
Fair enough but how does the talk of a Final Four mean it should happen?
Are you looking for an Elite Eight as the floor?
Just want to point out that Sampson at Houston has said he does the complete opposite of this - recruits 100% for shooting and offense, and then spends all of practice time making them great defenders
It is unfortunate, but I don't think it's all directed at him necessarily even though it's in a thread with his name...a lot of ricochet shots.
I think the timing of his commitment just got lumped in with thinking we had Cluff, to then seemingly missing on him, and Buchanan being the answer. Independently I think he'll be a fine player, but the drop-off from what Cluff could provide production wise is a pretty wide margin. Buchanan is getting caught up in the aftermath of that frustration imho.
I wish we could land a multi-year big like Buchanan every year!
BRE and Ward took BIG steps in their second season, Blake has better stats and analytics than both of those two, prior to coming to Ames.
BRE and Ward took BIG steps in their second season, Blake has better stats and analytics than both of those two, prior to coming to Ames.
I don't think that means it should happen, but when all you hear is your team is a final four contender, and you're ranked top 10 all season - naturally as fans you adjust your expectations accordingly.
So, when we fall well short of those expectations...it's easy to start seeing holes in the plan. I think TJ will still put together a good team next year, and likely finish in a similar spot in conference. I also think it's fair to want to see some continued growth. Which at least for me, is where the questions are coming from with this current portal class.
Elite 8 as the floor would be crazy to expect given the program history. Elite 8 as a ceiling is a good place to start though. Sweet 16 should be the goal each season imo, then we all know anything can happen from there.
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
We definitely saw that he has potential to be a good player. I think he gained some confidence late in the year and expect big things next year.
The expectations of this program have clearly risen, which is a good thing, but logic and memory have disappeared. I bet we go back and find many who were disappointed in signing CJ etc, but then fail to realize the breakout or potential lies with these guys training under TJ, Green and Co. Or the forgetful past of how Shayok coming from a limited offense in Virginia could break open a players offense under a better system.
TJ has won my trust. If he wants them, I'm good with it. I'm just ready to get over these what if seasons and actually get to an elite 8 or better.
The "holes" in the plan were key injuries.
Outside of Milan, and he can be hot and cold, where will the outside shooting come from next season?
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
Milan, Lipsey, Heise, Williams... Hopefully a couple of these guys can hit 40%+ from 3. I think Batemon will probably shoot well and have a good year.
I'm not opposed to this strategy either. If defense is all we can afford then all we can afford is good enough.
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I'll also be interested to see if the staff has Jefferson take a couple more per game this year. If he shoot low to mid 30% it should space the floor a bit for dribble drives/back cuts. Especially if we go with a small lineup
Assuming Rohdes becomes a Cyclone he'll be expected to good spot up shooter. Bateman is being set up to play a major role right away.. Williams should be able to shoot/slash. We also saw improvement from Jefferson and Heise the last 1/3rd of the season.
Thing is the offense efficiency improved after Gilbert was out with injury and Cujo was limited by his bout with pneumonia. Obviously losing Gilbert and Jones is huge but the staff already showed they make an effective offense with out them. Maybe I'm naive but I'm not too worried about the shooting.
