Monday Musings: A Brutal Week of Cyclone Basketball

[JakeBrend]

After one of the worst weeks in recent memory of Cyclone basketball, where do both teams go from here?

Andrew Harrington gives his opinion in this week's Monday Musings.
https://cyclonefanatic.com/2026/01/monday-musings-a-brutal-week-of-cyclone-basketball/

 

[Cycsk]

I need to get to know more about this Andrew Harrington. Is there an interview with him that I missed that tells us about him and his role for CF?

I like his attitude that there is always a fix. And if not a guaranteed fix, there are always things that make sense to try. For instance, other teams are trying things against us that are working for them. So, in the spirit of Andrew's article, here is what I'm hoping for in terms of fixes:

For WBB: 1) More shooting from Paulk. I have a feeling that she can be effectively defended because of her unusual shot, but until someone does, I want her to take any open shot. 2) Cutting. We have to do something to unclog the middle. We need folks cutting with and without the ball. It will disrupt the comfortable double-teaming on Audi. 3) Driving to the basket. Even though we have had trouble finishing shots, I still want us to try to take it to the hoop, both for scoring and drawing fouls. 4) More outside screens. We have two players who almost entirely just post up in the corners. I would like to see us do more to engage them in the action. Maybe even have Audi come out sometimes to help them get open for shots.

For MBB, 1) Start games with good ball movement. Pass it around the exterior with good ball reversals. Don't force it inside until we get our engines warmed up. 2) I want JJeff to take a few outside shots before he drives. 3) I want Milan to take more shots in the first 4 minutes. 4) Stop making hard passes to Pleta when he drives. Let him use his cuts for rebounding position. 5) More cutting. Once we get past the first few minutes, I want us to be driving and cutting a lot. Like with Audi, it will disrupt the doubleteaming on JJeff.

Easy, peasy.

 

[AndrewH_67]

This is Andrew Harrington. Thanks so much for the kind words! I don’t have any interviews or anything like that, but I grew up in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, cheese curd capital of the world. Graduated from Iowa State in 2024 and returned to my hometown paper to do sports and news coverage. Made a lot of great friends at CF and they brought me on for Monday Musings.

100% agree on your analysis, especially the ball movement.