The mailbag. It is here.
https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/05/...oy-bands-and-building-a-marvel-starting-five/
https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/05/...oy-bands-and-building-a-marvel-starting-five/
MID-WEEK MAILBAG: Winning big in football, boy bands, and building a Marvel starting five
- Thread starter Fitzy
- Start date
@Fitzy
Pretty similar to mine. I had...
Morris
Kane
Shayok
Niang
Ejim
---
Mitrou-Long
Clyburn
White
Morris obviously starts at PG. Kane was an All-American, so as much as I love Naz, I think you have to start Kane at the 2. Naz would "fall back" into his role as a bench energy guy and as some instant offense, which I think he would do extremely well.
For big men, you obviously need Georges out there. I went back and forth between Royce and Melvin for the other spot, but it came down to (1.) Royce needs the ball in his hands as a point-center, and I do not want to take the ball away from Monté, (2.) Royce was not much on defense, and Ejim, while undersized, knew how to work around it, and (3.) Melvin was Big 12 player of the year on basically garbage points alone... the team needs that.
Royce can come into the game and bully second units and weaker defenders with his passing. Surround him with a lineup of shooters like the above would have, and you would probably have a pretty good scoring lineup in bursts around Royce.
Shayok was just a beast in his one season playing in Ames. He would fit perfectly into the above lineup as a 3&D wing -- the fact he made the starting lineup for both of us for the above is a testament to just how good he was during his one year.
I struggled with the last man. The word "versatility" came to mind for me because the roster is not really lacking anything after the first seven. I considered everybody from Chris Babb and Matt Thomas for their shooting and defense, Deonte Burton and Abdel Nader for their size and scoring abilities, and eventually settled on Will Clyburn as the versatile one.
Any one of those guys have a good case. I decided to go with an athletic, "do everything" wing, which Clyburn has a strong case for. I could have also seen Diante Garrett, Thug Life or Tyrus as shooters, NWB, Dustin Hogue, or McKay as a rim protector.
I found it interesting that 4/5 of my starters were from the 2013-2014 starting lineup.
Pretty similar to mine. I had...
Morris
Kane
Shayok
Niang
Ejim
---
Mitrou-Long
Clyburn
White
Morris obviously starts at PG. Kane was an All-American, so as much as I love Naz, I think you have to start Kane at the 2. Naz would "fall back" into his role as a bench energy guy and as some instant offense, which I think he would do extremely well.
For big men, you obviously need Georges out there. I went back and forth between Royce and Melvin for the other spot, but it came down to (1.) Royce needs the ball in his hands as a point-center, and I do not want to take the ball away from Monté, (2.) Royce was not much on defense, and Ejim, while undersized, knew how to work around it, and (3.) Melvin was Big 12 player of the year on basically garbage points alone... the team needs that.
Royce can come into the game and bully second units and weaker defenders with his passing. Surround him with a lineup of shooters like the above would have, and you would probably have a pretty good scoring lineup in bursts around Royce.
Shayok was just a beast in his one season playing in Ames. He would fit perfectly into the above lineup as a 3&D wing -- the fact he made the starting lineup for both of us for the above is a testament to just how good he was during his one year.
I struggled with the last man. The word "versatility" came to mind for me because the roster is not really lacking anything after the first seven. I considered everybody from Chris Babb and Matt Thomas for their shooting and defense, Deonte Burton and Abdel Nader for their size and scoring abilities, and eventually settled on Will Clyburn as the versatile one.
Any one of those guys have a good case. I decided to go with an athletic, "do everything" wing, which Clyburn has a strong case for. I could have also seen Diante Garrett, Thug Life or Tyrus as shooters, NWB, Dustin Hogue, or McKay as a rim protector.
I found it interesting that 4/5 of my starters were from the 2013-2014 starting lineup.
Last edited:
Don't avoid the question. You wrote, "The first year under Campbell that the Iowa State O-line starts pushing opposing defensive linemen 2-3 yards down the field on every run play will be the first year in school history that results in double-digit wins."
Is this the year? Don't wait until December to report it as if you predicted it (which you didn't). Seems like the preseason rankings in the teens would presume 9+ wins. So, it isn't much of a stretch to double-digit wins.
Sorry. Reading it back, I did kinda skip over the 2019 specific part. I got caught in a train of thought.
My official guess is that this will not be the year of amazing O-line play. If they were under-average last year (when looking at the season as a whole), I could see them taking a step up to average this year, but don't foresee a massive turnaround from mostly bad to good. 2020 is much more likely since that will be the year that Campbell's first class enters their redshirt senior season (that extra season means a lot for guys on the O-line, especially).
The correct 8 man roster is
Starting:
Morris
Kane
Burton
Niang
White
Bench:
Ejim
Shayok
Thomas
I'd start Ejim but I want somebody that can play inside on the bench so I started Burton
I think you're remembering Babb a little too fondly because he was sexy. Yes he could play D and could shoot from long range but was otherwise pretty limited offensively. I'm replacing him with Thomas who's nearly his equal on D, is more well-rounded offensively and is even sexier.
Also, save the asparagus for when you get snip snipped. I never fully appreciated frozen veggies until I got snip snipped.
Starting:
Morris
Kane
Burton
Niang
White
Bench:
Ejim
Shayok
Thomas
I'd start Ejim but I want somebody that can play inside on the bench so I started Burton
I think you're remembering Babb a little too fondly because he was sexy. Yes he could play D and could shoot from long range but was otherwise pretty limited offensively. I'm replacing him with Thomas who's nearly his equal on D, is more well-rounded offensively and is even sexier.
Also, save the asparagus for when you get snip snipped. I never fully appreciated frozen veggies until I got snip snipped.
What? How dare you not think this is the year for 10+ wins? Haven't you read the preseason polls? Typical negative Cyclone fan!
Baited you into that one!
