The point of a press, generally, is to change the tempo of the game. ISU doesn’t run their 1-2-2 with the intent of forcing turnovers. It’s designed to make the opponent use 8-12 seconds of their possession getting into their action. That’s a lot of time especially when most teams get a shot off in the first 15-20 seconds of a possession.
Early Thoughts On Next Season?
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The point of a press, generally, is to change the tempo of the game. ISU doesn’t run their 1-2-2 with the intent of forcing turnovers. It’s designed to make the opponent use 8-12 seconds of their possession getting into their action. That’s a lot of time especially when most teams get a shot off in the first 15-20 seconds of a possession.
I thought pressing would've been a great thing this year: run out Halliburton, Lewis, Talley, Lard, and Conditt for 4-5 minutes at a time mid-first/early-second half.
Matt Thomas, while he was making shots at a mediocre clip as a freshman (33.6%) and as a sophomore (33.0%), he always had a really pretty stroke. I cannot think of a Cyclone who had a prettier shooting stroke than Matty Ice. You knew it was there.
Matt started 15 games (as a freshman) on a very good team, played in 36 (763 minutes and 198 points), and then played in 32 (488 minutes and 158 points) on another very good team. You could see the flashes there. He must have been killing it in practice, otherwise Hoiberg would not have started him to begin that first season and kept coming back to him so much, even if he was a marginal or inconsistent Big 12 player as an underclassmen.
So even if Matt had a nice leap between his junior and senior year, he was really becoming what he should have been, and I think we knew he could be. Plus, Matt was a 97.82% out of high school, which is almost in Wigginton or Horton-Tucker range.
He was not a very good defender as an underclassman, but he was not totally lost. And while he was better as an upperclassman, we should not talk about him like he turned into Jamaal Tinsley or Chris Babb or something. He was good, a plus, but not incredible.
Matt had a lot of signs he could be much more and much more experience by the time he was a rising junior. Lewis, I do hate to say, has not shown much of anything. If he was not good enough to dent the rotation as a freshman, considering how bad that team was and how desperate for guard talent, then I doubt he ever does. A new home might be the right thing.
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People think that a press and a zone are just things any basketball team can just jump in to whenever they feel like it and be successful at it. I don’t know why that is.
Because they played high school basketball! And their dad coached their 4th grade team! And they've watched basketball for 75 years!
Likewise with playing two bigs.
It’s as though they expect this staff to be prepared for supplemental, situational basketball, even though we struggled to get this group to execute basics like ball screen defense and double teams.
If ISU has
Halliburton
Nixon
Tucker
Wiggington
Young
Jacobson
Conditt
Lewis
Griffin
add in new guys...
Pretty good roster. Should be a top 25 team easy IMO.
I think even if one of LW/THT are back, this is a pretty solid team. Maybe not top 25 but IMO a tourney team for sure, assuming Nixon proves himself a solid big 12 player (I think he does). In that case, it gets a bit more tricky as to who would start but if one of them leaves, that gives an open schollie for a potential grad transfer to come in and start.
Wait, you didn't like the undersized, unathletic big man as an immediately-eligible transfer?
MT as a freshman... played 36, started 15, 763 minutes, scored 198, 33.6% from three
MT as a sophomore... played 32, started zero, 488 minutes, scored 158, 33.0% from three
TL as a freshman... played 27, started 1, 297 minutes, scored 93, 28.8% from three
TL as a sophomore... played 21, started zero, 202 minutes, scored 91, 30.8% from three
Plus, Matt played 640 minutes in the Big 12 as an underclassman (and many of them in competitive games, not in "garbage" time). TL played in 178, and most of it in mop-up duty.
I am not giving up on Lewis, but there is an order of magnitude difference in their levels of productivity and experience at this point. Additionally, Matt was doing that on two teams that earned #3 seeds, while TL did not make a mark on teams that either completely missed the tournament or ended up as a #6 seed. Playing 1,000+ minutes on two very good teams versus <500 on a bad team and another good team is quite the difference.
none of what you posted is wrong. Call it a soft spot for Lewis but I see a guy with a lot of potential who could have a nice junior year for ISU. I think with a little more run his 3 pts shot will come around. I hope he stays.
I agree with this. I do not want him gone.
I never want a young man or woman gone who has represented the university well, even if their performance on the field or court has not been too exciting.
I am just not sure if Matt is the right analogy.
TL might still come around. Whatever he and the staff decides, I would support. Even if he never plays more than spot minutes, it is still great that he was a Cyclone.
I can only state the semi obvious. Depending on who comes and goes I can make a case for anywhere between 3-10 in the league. With the loss of Shyok, and if we lose Wigg and THT, I see almost zero scoring ability. 10th place. WV and OSU will be a lot better.
Halliburton had some great runs where he was hitting everything. He is probably my fav player at the moment. That said, when you shoot what appears to be very close to a set shot, that is going to limit your opportunities.
Easier said than done. Haliburton currently has an extremely limited offensive game. Deadly three point shot, but due to his mechanics he must be wide open. No mid range game, and have not seen him create of the bounce. He has a tremendous amount to work on to become a primary offensive option. Really hoping Nixon can create off the bounce and get himself or teammates some good looks. Like it or not, THT and Wigg are our only shot creators. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
Without Wigginton or Horton-Tucker, your hopes come down to...
(1.) Haliburton significantly improves his ability to create for himself and others.
(2.) Nixon was a volume scorer (in an inferior league at Colorado State, so maybe he can do it).
(3.) Jacobson (or one of the other bigs) becomes troublesome enough on the block for opposing defenses have to double him, which opens up opportunities.
(4.) You bring in a late transfer, freshman, or JUCO who can break people down.
I agree that none of those opens feels as good as having either LW or THT back.
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