Eisenberg: Why blaming Steve Prohm for Iowa State's shortcomings is unfair
- Thread starter isu_oak
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The coaching transition has hurt us as far as recruiting goes. We lost a top 100 freshman recruit in Nick Niskowiak, and if the Mayor is still here, we land Max Biefeldt, the Michigan transfer, who landed at Indiana. Both of these players would be getting minutes off the bench.
the coaching transition did not cost us nick n. Fred didn't recruit him before he knew he was on his way out and he was letting TJ do what he wanted.
Its likely that nick wouldn't have lasted here with Fred, TJ, or Prohm.
Max was s big loss. I think we might have had a shot at him even with prohm had Fred quit sooner/when he knew he was leaving.
We should have never went after Niskowiak in the first place, the kid had serious substance abuse issues which weren't exactly well hidden and were why a top 100 recruit was still available that late. Biefeldt almost certainly would be here if Fred had stayed and he would be great in a reserve role on this team.
To me, this team will never be good on defense or rebounding, so to hold Prohm accountable for that is not exactly fair. He didn't assemble this team and you can't make a team something it's not. I am concerned, however, about some things Prohm has shown (or rather not shown). Two games come to mind where teams changed things up on us late in the second half and we were unable to adjust properly on the offensive end. One was at home against Baylor when they went to the junk defense (triangle and two I believe). The other was Huggy Bear when West Virginia beat us in Hilton. Both teams went to a version of a zone late in the game and we acted like we had never seen it before. Both of those situations come down to preparation and execution. I'm sure Prohm knows how to attack a triangle and two and a 2-3 zone, but the team acted like they didn't know how to attack it, which was the concerning thing. An elite offensive team, which we are, should be able to execute against any type of defense.
It should be noted that we did attack Baylor's junk defense @ Baylor last week and got some easy buckets and our zone offense has been better since the first West Virginia game. We are improving in those areas, however, it just sucks that it seems like we're having to learn some of these things on the fly. I think Prohm will be a fine coach for us, but I think he's getting a taste of major conference basketball and the elite coaches he has to go against every night.
It should be noted that we did attack Baylor's junk defense @ Baylor last week and got some easy buckets and our zone offense has been better since the first West Virginia game. We are improving in those areas, however, it just sucks that it seems like we're having to learn some of these things on the fly. I think Prohm will be a fine coach for us, but I think he's getting a taste of major conference basketball and the elite coaches he has to go against every night.
Human decency and basic respect should be all the policing that Twitter needs. People have the right to be ********, just as people have the right to criticize those ********.
If you feel the need to go after someone personally for comments made on a message board or Twitter you should seriously reevaluate your own life.
Half of the "Twitter Heads" are KU and Hawk Trolls looking to bash our team. The other half (minority) are negative ISU slugs who probably never played the game, think they are a qualified arm chair coach, and sit there watching games sloshing down their 12 pack n pizza drooling on themselves posting bashes to get their cheep 5 minutes of mindless online fame.
They will also tell you that intensity, tenacity, hustle are equal too if not more important then technique. Currently by the mid second half, there is no energy, half effort and reliance on someone else to do it. Its almost as if their content with their position knowing they will not be the team that knocks off KU from the chopping block.
Oh how Cheick Diallo would have made a difference....I wonder if he's happy sitting for 38 of the 40 minutes behind Ellis and Lucas? If he was at ISU, i truly believe he would be starting with Burton and McKay coming off the bench.... or if not starting, he would be spelling McKay and Niang, thus getting significant minutes.
I think about 80% of our woes are on Fred, 15% on Prohm, and 5% on luck.
Fred's rumored leaving for the past two seasons certainly didn't help recruiting. And when a thin team loses a 3 year starter in Naz, that's hard to replace from the aforementioned thin bench.
Fred's rumored leaving for the past two seasons certainly didn't help recruiting. And when a thin team loses a 3 year starter in Naz, that's hard to replace from the aforementioned thin bench.
Rebounding involves techniques that can be taught. Some kids had to learn it high school, some were able to get by because they were just able to out-athlete the kids they played with. What got somebody by in high school might not be good enough in college. In addition rebounding involves a mindset about putting those techniques into action when a shot goes up. Those techniques and mindset can be practiced and improved. They can also be lost by not practicing them.
In my opinion, athletes playing basketball at the P5 level can develop the necessary skills through instruction and practice to become competent rebounders at their position. Some will become great rebounders. It doesn't take a McD AA to spread your arms out and back you butt into somebody to make it a harder for them to get to the hoop when a shot goes up.
Based on what has been reported here, rebounding and defense just weren't emphasized and practiced much by the previous coach; they just weren't a priority. It shouldn't be surprising that ISU struggles in these areas. And it's not something that can be fixed in a couple of months.
In these last few games, ISU has put up some nice late game defensive stands, only to surrender an offensive rebound late in the shot clock. The defense could be better, but rebounding seems to be the biggest problem, and it is a bad one. Others have pointed out issues with technique. But it is not solely a technique/mindset problem, ISU also lacks the bruiser type who can clean up the rebounds.
I'm hopeful that with some roster depth improvement (for practicing as well as keeping guys fresh during games) and instruction/practice, ISU can break this rebounding curse that has haunted them for the last few years. I hope Prohm can make it work.
In my opinion, athletes playing basketball at the P5 level can develop the necessary skills through instruction and practice to become competent rebounders at their position. Some will become great rebounders. It doesn't take a McD AA to spread your arms out and back you butt into somebody to make it a harder for them to get to the hoop when a shot goes up.
Based on what has been reported here, rebounding and defense just weren't emphasized and practiced much by the previous coach; they just weren't a priority. It shouldn't be surprising that ISU struggles in these areas. And it's not something that can be fixed in a couple of months.
In these last few games, ISU has put up some nice late game defensive stands, only to surrender an offensive rebound late in the shot clock. The defense could be better, but rebounding seems to be the biggest problem, and it is a bad one. Others have pointed out issues with technique. But it is not solely a technique/mindset problem, ISU also lacks the bruiser type who can clean up the rebounds.
I'm hopeful that with some roster depth improvement (for practicing as well as keeping guys fresh during games) and instruction/practice, ISU can break this rebounding curse that has haunted them for the last few years. I hope Prohm can make it work.
you are being a smart *** but of course some of our success this year is due to Fred. Hell when things are going well, prohm always talks about Fred.
But it no I don't think it has to be equal amounts of blame and praise.
It very well may be unfair to pin our shortcomings on Prohm - to a point. But I don't believe it's unfair to state that he has shown nothing to prove that he has an innovative or even sharp coaching mind, or will be able to out-maneuver the other coaches in this conference. His rotation, lack of defensive/rebounding principles, and inability to reign in issues and direct in the crunch time do not bode well.
Yes, I am aware of the roster's inefficiencies. I believe that a good coach doesn't need excuses made for him. And losing games in the last 3-5 minutes of each half is pretty d*mn convincing to me.
Yes, I am aware of the roster's inefficiencies. I believe that a good coach doesn't need excuses made for him. And losing games in the last 3-5 minutes of each half is pretty d*mn convincing to me.
I can't blame late game issues on Prohm. We play with a 6 man rotation. He has no depth to work with and that shows up in late in games with gassed legs.
This year is squarely on Fred and how he basically bailed on us two years ago and stopped recruiting.
This year is squarely on Fred and how he basically bailed on us two years ago and stopped recruiting.
I think I'm gonna stop reading the thread at this point, but this is my early vote for post of the year.
What makes Fred an elite coach over Prohm? Prohm is working with 5-6 players. Did Fred ever have to do that after his first year? The cupboard wasn't bare but it wasn't fully stocked either. If Prohm would have had more time and was able to pick up one more quality player where would we be. I think Cooke's hip still bothers him much like Naz. None of us know his physical capabilities right now.
Losing Naz has hurt as far as having any depth and another good shooter and defender. When Jameel is playing at a high level I'd put ISU's starting 5 up against anyone. Even with Burton starting I'd still say our starting 5 is as good as anyone's. But... when you start talking having a rotation with guys off the bench is where we get beat. It boggles my mind at the lack of depth which IMO isn't really Prohm's fault. I'm just pulling this number out of the air but when Jameel is playing well I'd say we eliminate at least 5 of the other teams offensive rebounds.
