I'm sorry....losing to Texas Tech is on a WHOLE different level than almost losing to Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Texas Tech is much worse than either of those teams. That is why fans were pretty ticked.
BLUM: Always a spectacle
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
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I'm sorry....losing to Texas Tech is on a WHOLE different level than almost losing to Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Texas Tech is much worse than either of those teams. That is why fans were pretty ticked.
Many had too lofty of expectations for a team replacing two AA level players in the toughest conference. We were a few shots away from 9-9 a year ago with a better team.
Not big deal though, as that team still was in position to make a FF at the end of the year. Not having multiple lead guards will hurt our chances, but maybe we get better luck this year.
Not big deal though, as that team still was in position to make a FF at the end of the year. Not having multiple lead guards will hurt our chances, but maybe we get better luck this year.
Blum did you take inspiration for this article from my comment in the "more players out the door" thread in the football section. We made a lot of the same points, but mine were expressed 24 hours earlier, did you plagiarize me??? 
I think in general the expectations were fine to start with, but now the expectation is that no games should be lost. Ever. And to go along with that the "we only beat ourselves" attitude that is beginning to permeate the psyche is disturbing and very Hok-like.
I guess I agree that runs back and forth are a function of our style, but I do think that the team can control the runs to be more in our favor by working really hard consistently on defense (I think the team proved this in the first 30 minutes against Texas, and have started to really buy into it).
I don't know that this is necessarily true. There are fringes to be sure. But most people I believe are being reasonable and have valid points. Somehow, saying anything remotely negative, or can even be perceived as negative, gets translated and stretched out to the equivalent of fire the coach, boot the player and lock up hilton. For cripes sake - we have articles and threads about what the opposing coach claims he overheard two clowns say at a pregame meal that could've been two busboys at the local Burger King. And people make it as if it's epidemic int the fanbase.
Tech and probably South Carolina shouldn't have happened. Period. They're simply not good. Maryland was tough to swallow given what we thought they were at the time, and the fact the game was essentially in our backyard. But most realize they're better than thought and come to terms with it. Baylor was a heartbreaker given how it ended, and the fact it was a golden opportunity to get a precious, precious road conference win. But nobody can call it a bad loss. Texas is troubling because of how it ended on our home court - and concerns people for our future road games.
I for one and not really upset at 15-4 knowing what I know today. Well - a bit. Still wretching a bit over the SC loss. Would've been very happy at 16-3 actually. One thing being that we gave up a very good win @WVU with a bad loss @Tech. But it nets out. Still hard to get over.
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True, but they do happen, and to highly ranked teams that go on to be successful year after year, in every conference, in equally odd fashion; so to isolate this like it's a "2014-15 ISU basketball problem" is where it goes off the rails for me. All of those games you described could be summed up by Kurt Ferentz if he were a basketball coach, "That's basketball". You win games in weird ways and lose games in weird ways. Don't drive yourself insane saying ridiculous things like, "if we would have shot so and so & from the FT line or made our average from 3 we would have won" that is Hok talk.
Go ahead, have a bad feeling about it, but when we go out of the tournament in the Elite 8 what is going to give me a bad feeling will be seeing all of the "I knew this team didn't have it when they lost to TTU" or "We should have seen this coming after SC loss" threads that are going to pop up.
Or it could be that Texas is a team loaded with talent that caught fire the last 7 minutes. I don't get why some people find it hard to understand that because the other team catches fire or gets some momentum, that means we're not playing hard. Hot streaks are part of every game and they can even happen when you are busting your butt on defense. And yes, even bad games can happen when you're cold and the other team is hot, and you get beat by somebody you shouldn't. Sure we all talk about the details of the games but the criteria to judge a team is the body of work for the year, and especially at the end of the year.
I think I'm getting your tone in this, and I agree. At the same time - that's why this site exists. It's why we're fans. It's how CW is paying his bills. Nothing about what was highlighted there is in fact wrong. We would've won if x and y, in every game. Same time - we would've lost if a and b as well. It's easy to read people the wrong way, just as it's too easy to go off the rails as you said.
As for your last para, I agree. Hindsight is always 20/20 and it's easy to play that card. Kinda drives me nuts as well. We're in the Elite 8 - I'm euphoric (blarge notwithstanding)
I'd say very early on the expectations became so unreasonably high that any normal variance in quality of play resulted in many flatout hating the team rather than normal disappointment/complaints. Seriously, a thread asking for Georges to be removed from lists..WTF?
Honestly, it is a credit to how far Fred has moved the program. The die-hard, lifelong Cyclone fans now believe Iowa State can be/is elite, and next to them are a growing portion of "T-shirt" fans that have never thought anything other than that. It is clear that we, not the players, need to learn how to deal with success.
People are different. Some people on here are happy with us just getting to the NCAA tourney because "remember the McD years" or are just happy because "it's hoiball and fun to watch so win or lose let's enjoy it". That's not the makeup of some other people on here. Some people hate losing more than they love winning. That's what makes this forum fun, we get to see so many different perspectives. We all love the cyclones, even the Negative Nancy or the Positive Peggy.
There's things like quickly shooting a low percentage shot with a small lead late that I'll continue to criticize because I don't think it's smart basketball. No, that doesn't mean play keep away to milk the clock--just simply work the ball, let something develop for a high percentage shot. Hoiberg seems to get ticked when it happens too, so when I yell at the TV from my couch, it feels validated. 
15-4 is great-- with a couple of breaks it's maybe 17-2--and I can see something like 22-23 wins prior to tournament time, maybe a Sweet 16 if things fall in their favor. That's historically a really nice year at ISU, so no complaints on that end.
15-4 is great-- with a couple of breaks it's maybe 17-2--and I can see something like 22-23 wins prior to tournament time, maybe a Sweet 16 if things fall in their favor. That's historically a really nice year at ISU, so no complaints on that end.
Agreed. We are a fan base not used to the level of hype we've seen this year and IMO it shows. I bought in too much in the beginning as much as the next fan, but in the end, these are young adults trying to find their way in a very public fashion. For me, I have the expectation that the team plays with intensity and effort and from that point on, whatever may be is whatever may be. Disappointment and vitriol (cruel and bitter criticism) are two different things.
I'm not sure there was ever been an ISU team with better wins in a month than this ISU team just had. WV, KU, UT all top 20 teams, Okie St had been ranked, K State was very close to being ranked yet all some people want to focus on is the Tech game. You can argue no team in the country had 5 better wins than ISU.
Which is more the result of playing in an awful conference.TCU handled Ole Miss @ Oxford. It'd be interesting to see what teams like Tech and TCU would do in any other conference.
Like the article, but.
I'm guessing the Negative Nancies represent an extremely, extremely, teeny tiny, small portion of the entire ISU fan base. The internet just makes it seem worse than it really is.
I'm guessing the Negative Nancies represent an extremely, extremely, teeny tiny, small portion of the entire ISU fan base. The internet just makes it seem worse than it really is.
After the Tech bball game I was reminded of something the OKState coach said after our biggest football win ever. (loosely quoted) "I remember when people would beat us and then didn't even care. At least now they are rushing the field". When is the last time a team beat ISU and then rushed the court??? I honestly don't even know the last time it happened. I totally agree with Blum as well as Ridley Scott, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?" We have the most watchable and intimate basketball experience in the history of the program. ND and UCONN had to copy us to compete. And duh we will probably make the tourney 4 years in a row FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! It's called the big picture and it's the one that really matters.
Don't they make a pill for that now?
Used to be you could just think about baseball. All the more reason to bring it back!
