I teach in a high school in South Carolina. We have perhaps one of the best athletes in the nation. He would be a star on any university in football, basketball or track. He signed his LOI on Wed to S. Carolina. No recruiting visits, said he is going to USC because they were the first to offer and believe in him. So much different than what I witnessed on tv in Ames on Friday. I got ESPN full court and really like our team this year. It is great that CB has a good group around him this year.
Disappointing
- Thread starter cyclonenum1
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The key difference I see is that most people who are from Ames, or fans of Ames are going to be more ok with his decision. I'm an Ames fan and a Harrison Barnes fan in addition to being an ISU fan. So while I'm disappointed he didn't come to ISU, I'm happy for him that he is going where he felt was best, so I guess my being a fan of Ames kind of tempers the disappointment of him not choosing ISU. People that have no connection to Ames or Ames High don't care about that, they only cared about him as a recruit and only watched the press conference as an ISU fan, so naturally they had a much different reaction. However, some of the comments on the board over the past few days were way over the top no matter what side of the fence you fall on.
This is Cyclone Fanatic...deal with it or stop coming to the site. It's not Little Cyclone Fanatic.com
Every Cyclone fan has the right to be upset/disappointed/angry at that kid choosing to go to UNC AND upset over how he delivered the announcement.
When did HB invite CYCLONE FANS to his announcement?
The only invitation I heard about was to the 'Ames public'.
HB doesn't owe anything to ISU. Yes he got the benefit of gym access, etc, but those benefits were not given to him as a special personal favor. They were given to him as a calculated business risk. The risk didn't pay off this time. Game over. No need for whining or taking offense.
Time to move on.
The only invitation I heard about was to the 'Ames public'.
HB doesn't owe anything to ISU. Yes he got the benefit of gym access, etc, but those benefits were not given to him as a special personal favor. They were given to him as a calculated business risk. The risk didn't pay off this time. Game over. No need for whining or taking offense.
Time to move on.
There may not be such a thing as sports etiquette, but if there was this embarrassing display of massive ego would rank near the top as a flagrant insensitive snub. HB has seemed very grounded and mature when I've heard him speak before, but I guess when everyone is always telling you how great you are, it eventually makes you lose sight of other people's feelings. His "press conference" was definitely all about him.
I truly realized how bad it was when my Hawk friends called not to offer sympathy or pity but were just staggered and depressed at what they had seen and heard.
I truly realized how bad it was when my Hawk friends called not to offer sympathy or pity but were just staggered and depressed at what they had seen and heard.
It is natural to want to vent our frustrations. But, why not call somebody and talk to them? Why do people feel it's necessary to vent their frustrations on a public forum under a private name? I think it's weak, and makes us all look like a bunch of cry-babies...
Seriously, if I had the talent of HB and had schools like North Carolina and Duke wanting me I'd probably have a hard time committing to Iowa State, but I wouldn't have strung a fan base along as HB did. 17 or not, it's a selfish thing to do. Roy should send all his potential recruits to Ames so they can use our facilities to further their development. Wish him luck at NC, but would be happy if I never had to here his name again. Iowa State will be just fine without him, because if his antics over the past few months are any indication of his character he would probably be cancer to the team anyway (Wesley Johnson is a great example).
All fan bases are similar to ours. However, on a relative scale, we don't eat our own as much as most fan bases. I belong to the Texas premium message board. They have successful programs, yet they are brutally critical of their own players. Let's not even talk about Hawkeye fans. Also, there is a lot of cheating college athletics. If you don't thing WJ wasn't tampered with then you are extremely naive. Also, FOR THE 100TH TIME!!!!!!, Cyclone fans are not angry HB chose another school. Cyclone fans are angry about the way it was done. What is so hard to get about that? People keep posting Cyclone fans are sour grapes because he chose somewhere else, and that is just not the case, it is the way he did it. Geez.
Wanderer hasn't gotten an answer to this yet so I'll repeat it: Which program is currently struggling!?!?!?!?!?!
Calm down there hot stuff. Did I say anyone doesn't have a right to be angry? Some people just need to put it in perspective and think about what they say before they say it.
....and fans critical of how he handled his announcement are also full of sour grapes. I have yet to see a neutral observer criticize HB for how he handled his announcement. The only ones being critical of the announcement are Clone fans who got their feelings hurt for whatever reason (they foolishly thought HB would surely pick ISU, they thought HB "owed" ISU, they thought HB "played" with ISU, they thought he "disrespected" ISU, etc.).
If his goal was to be the new "Mayor of Ames" or (as I suggested) "the people's president of ISU," then he blew it.
If his goal was to maximize attention with a view of a future in the NBA, then he was brilliant. I assess it by using the "Michael Jordan Test." Could I see Jordan doing this? Absolutely, yes. I lived in Chicago through his whole career and followed him closely. I even drove by his house on my way to Grad School and work for 13 years (Stalker Alert!). The bottom line is that Jordan does what Jordan wants, particularly when it positions him like he wants for the NBA. However, it would have even been a better move for HB if he was coming to ISU when the additional attention would have helped him from the start.
