Inside Cyclone Basketball: CW Sitdown with T.J. Oztelberger

Aiden Wyatt

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Fun one here for you guys. CW sat down with T.J. Otzelberger ahead of what should be a fun season. Talking returners, new guys, new Big 12, all of it.

Enjoy!

 

CyberJJJ

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CW, what a fun interview! Your last comments were on the mark that the hype hasn’t built as much as it might have for basketball due to football success. As TJ said, it’s a great time to be a Cyclone!
 

JP4CY

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Testifying
Getting Muscle Milk to sponsor ISU basketball could really elevate our brand.
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Letterkenny

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I listened, but didn't catch anything on Fish. Did I miss something?
No, he's not going to play other than in blowouts. He's a 6'-6" below the rim post player. For playing time at the 4/5 spot, I'd guess he's behind, Jackson, Chatfield, Momcilovic, Rock, Jefferson and Watson.
 
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KCy

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We have had players like that contribute. Stevie Johnson and Kenny Pratt come to mind. Not saying he should or will play, but height isn't everything. I'm rooting for him as he came from our local highschool here in KC. He and his brother are great kids.
 

Cyientist

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The only weakness I see on this roster is that we don't have a true backup PG. Jones and Gilbert are more than capable at spot minutes at PG but it isn't their natural position. Adding Heise and hopefully Nojus as talented guard depth likely outweighs not having a natural backup PG.

I absolutely loved that Watson stayed. I really hope he takes that next step.
 

1UNI2ISU

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We have had players like that contribute. Stevie Johnson and Kenny Pratt come to mind. Not saying he should or will play, but height isn't everything. I'm rooting for him as he came from our local highschool here in KC. He and his brother are great kids.
He should have transferred to UNI (he was close). He's got All Valley potential with a chance to transfer back up in a couple years if all goes well. Not getting game minutes isn't helping his development at all.
 
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Statefan10

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The only weakness I see on this roster is that we don't have a true backup PG. Jones and Gilbert are more than capable at spot minutes at PG but it isn't their natural position. Adding Heise and hopefully Nojus as talented guard depth likely outweighs not having a natural backup PG.

I absolutely loved that Watson stayed. I really hope he takes that next step.
It not being Jones or Gilbert's natural position doesn't really matter that much. As you said they are more than capable of playing that position and both did a very good job of that last year. Being able to have someone like Heise out there instead of Pav is going to be huge for this team as we're going to have a slew of guards to play those two spots.

I wouldn't call Milan a great ball handler but last year he showed great poise with the ball in his hands and was trusted a lot to bring the ball up the court against pesky teams. That gives you 5 guys that can handle the ball and that's so important. Our offense is also set up where the 1 and 2 are basically interchangeable.
 

bosco

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The only weakness I see on this roster is that we don't have a true backup PG. Jones and Gilbert are more than capable at spot minutes at PG but it isn't their natural position. Adding Heise and hopefully Nojus as talented guard depth likely outweighs not having a natural backup PG.

I absolutely loved that Watson stayed. I really hope he takes that next step.
I liked the job Jiggy did last season.
 

FinalFourCy

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We have had players like that contribute. Stevie Johnson and Kenny Pratt come to mind. Not saying he should or will play, but height isn't everything. I'm rooting for him as he came from our local highschool here in KC. He and his brother are great kids.
Stevie was short for a post, but he wasn’t a “below the rim” athlete
 

I-stateTheTruth

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The only weakness I see on this roster is that we don't have a true backup PG. Jones and Gilbert are more than capable at spot minutes at PG but it isn't their natural position. Adding Heise and hopefully Nojus as talented guard depth likely outweighs not having a natural backup PG.

I absolutely loved that Watson stayed. I really hope he takes that next step.
I hope Watson has taken a leap in hitting corner 3s like Lipsey did last season with his 3s.

This is a deep squad - it'll be hard to get minutes for some good players.
 
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