ISU - KU postgame. We won the 2nd half!

[Wesley]

We look much better on offense when Diante tries to go inside and flirt with the defense than we do parking outside on the 30 ft lot. LOL when he does that. Our guards routinely fail to get the entry pass to Jiri right away when he actually is open. That ios when they have their head buried in the sand. That is what some of the thread people are talking about. The gaurds are so worried to get the ball successfully up court that they are not even planning to take advantage of the early openings. This needs to improve.
Homework for guards: Watch Eaton of Okie. Watch Cookie Miller of NE. Emulate walkon Emmenecher of Drake. Aspire to penetrate (not necessarily shoot) like Josh Young of Drake. This is an area that really needs immediate improvement. It now looks like we are happy just to get the ball past the midcourt line that we then rest on our laurels.

 

[Cloner97]

Al in all a pretty good effort. I think that would have beat a lot of other Big XII teams last night. Don't forget we should have beat Texas too. We need quality minutes from reserves and we need to be more efficient on offense. I really look at next year being a make or break year for McD.

 

[cycloneG]

I didn't say we had a lot of these opportunities...but we had some. Certainly no three on one or two on one breakaways but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about 2 on 2 situations ahead of the pack where we can get something going to the rim or we can get something off a secondary break (which, it appears to me, we never do). Watch UNC play...they always push it whether they have "numbers" or not.

Ultimately, we are totally a half court set team...most of our offense is passing outside the three with maybe a post entry or two ultimately being kicked out...usually we end with a desperation three late in the clock. I am not a fan of the "live by the three / die by the three" approach.

UNC? You think we have UNC type talent on this team? Our players don't match up well enough to run a secondary break because of the talent gap. The only way this team is going to score against a superior team like Kansas is playing team basketball. We aren't going to out talent anyone. A secondary break relies on playmakers which we are sorely lacking right now. Hopefully that changes in the next couple of seasons.

 

[CycloneErik]

If ISU could get to 75 they would have been in most every game. That is why another player that can score 10-12 pts would be huge for this team.

Maybe we could scout some club teams in Germany? I hear they have some shooters.
:biggrin:

 

[cybsball20]

One thing I really liked was just watching Kansas run their offense. They always have great spacing and are always moving. This is what opens them up for such open shots. To see all the movement on one end and everyone standing around on the other is pretty depressing...

 

[mwitt]

We didn't get the ball inside to Jiri much at all this game. The reason he had more points in the first half than the second half was because he hit a couple jump shots and had an offensive putback.

 

[MJAnderson]

I really had no "dog in the hunt" but I did opine at the time that I wished they would go after someone like Steve Lavin (now of ESPN).


I'm so glad we didn't hire Steve Lavin. I can't stand that guy. Just the other night he stated that DJ White should be the National player of the year. There is a reason he isn't coaching anymore.

 

[CycloneErik]

There are usually a lot of visitors in 208 (I'm in 207) - there were these two annoying guys who stood up and gave freaking high-5's all through the first half. They didn't do it at all the second. :biglaugh:

I go to work after the game, so I'm never in a hurry!:no:

 

[CycloneErik]

I have been enjoying my copy of "100 years of ISU Basketball" DVD, and when I watch, it is apparent that there are many things missing from this year's team. The one that's most pronounced it what the announcer of the KU game brought up:

There is virtually nothing offensively going to the basket. Watching teams of the past, I was struck by the number of direct passes leading right to an easy bucket. It made me wonder for a second if defenses have evolved and gotten better since 2000! That's not it...we need to have guards strong and athletic enough to create space between them and their defender, and big men strong enough to get position and keep it.

These things equal easy baskets...can you think of a handful of our baskets in any games this year that could be deemed "easy"? I really can't. They usually are long threes or highly contested jumpers, many times quick and rushed.

We'll get there. The DVD gave me goosebumps on many occasions, and I can't wait to get them in future games as well again.

I teared up a lot on the DVD. Just remembering how special ISU basketball really has been (and soon will be again!) was really remarkable. Then, I go to work around some Hawkeyes, and have so much ammunition:smile:

Can't wait to see the addition for the McDermott Era........

 

[Steve]

But when you look at the results to date...WM's were better than GM's are.

Fans who know something about basketball realize that something as basic as talent on the roster should be the primary factor in such a comparison - not the coaching impact.

Let's see - Morgan was on the previous staff and inherited a group including Homan, Vroman, Sullivan, Jefferson, and Barnes along with incoming recruits from the previous staff including Stinson, Blalock, Staple, and George. Barnes was lost to academics after LE departed. Before anyone tries to negate LE's contributions to landing the recruits, Morgan didn't ever top this group when he was on his own.

GMac was left with Clark and one usable post from the Hubalek, Gray, Mardsen trio as well as one recruit in CJ. I am one who chooses to implicate Morgan for the player exodus when he left. He may not have directly encouraged guys to leave, but his actions appeared to drive a wedge between the players and the school. He certainly didn't take the same high road that McCarney did when he was let go.

 

[Oldgeezer]

Quote,"I guess you are intimating that it was superior coaching? Is that correct?"
Wrong again, Cyclone#1. I was merely asking why? It didn't start with the KU game, and getting within 10 and/or winning the second half counts for nothing. I am wondering why we can't play basketball at the start of the game. Any why Hubalek can only score in the first half. And if you were as smart as you seem to think, I thought you could surely give me an answer.

 

[Wesley]

Looks like we have poor shooting before we begin to lose our legs.

Last night the threes were close misses and the free throws sucked. We lost 10 points in those areas compared to the opponent.

Shooting. Shooting. Shooting.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

Wes clearly did a better job on Aurthur than CB. At least when Wes was guarding him, Aurthur had a hand in his face. When Craig was guarding him he ended up with uncontested lay-ups. I think Craig has the potential to be a great defender, but it's not there right now.

 

[BryceC]

Note: This is not a bash on any former coach

Has anyone compared strength of schedule since McD has been here to others in the past tenures? It seems that McD is trying to get tougher opponents pre-conf.

This year we're second to last in the Big 12 with an SOS of 137 (224 noncon).
Last year we were third to last in the Big 12 with an SOS of 135 (203 noncon).

In 2006 it was 93, (71 noncon)
in 2005, it was 73, (201 noncon)
in 2004, it was 41, (157 noncon)
in 2003, it was 76, (296 noncon)

You get the idea. While it might seem like the schedule has been upgraded, it really hasn't.

 

[necromancy]

This year we're second to last in the Big 12 with an SOS of 137 (224 noncon).
Last year we were third to last in the Big 12 with an SOS of 135 (203 noncon).

In 2006 it was 93, (71 noncon)
in 2005, it was 73, (201 noncon)
in 2004, it was 41, (157 noncon)
in 2003, it was 76, (296 noncon)

You get the idea. While it might seem like the schedule has been upgraded, it really hasn't.

Seems like it was higher at the end of the non-conference season (around 40th). Looks like it dipped quite a bit--maybe those Valley teams ended up with much lower SOS, which dragged ours down. Just speculating.

 

[cyclonenum1]

#1 - Hard to believe? You seem to question his every move and his qualifications.

#2 - Maybe we should give him some.

#3 - If measured just in wins and losses ok, but if you want measure the success of a complete program and it's ability to follow rules as far as APR, scheduling, recruiting and character.

#4 - Maybe some positive comments about "your team" would be nice.

Once again I say Mac has a office at the Hilton, you have a problem understanding what he is trying to do, or how he is trying to do it, stop by and ask, he is very approachable.

Until I see some positive results...I will continue to question his "moves"...we have beaten no one that "we shouldn't have" under his tenure...nearly 2 full years.

Everyone is more than willing to give him some time. I bet Wayne Morgan wishes he would have been the benefactor of some of this Cyclone Patience.

I agree it is more than just W/L...but they are pretty damned important. The APR is really a pretty new advent. I don't see any upgrade in our scheduling under GM. Frankly, the GM recruiting is quite questionable...both of his classes have had multiple guys turnover...some not even getting out of semester one. Ah yes, character...is that what Mike Taylor has?

Maybe some decent play by my team would be "nice"!

 

[cyclonenum1]

UNC? You think we have UNC type talent on this team? Our players don't match up well enough to run a secondary break because of the talent gap. The only way this team is going to score against a superior team like Kansas is playing team basketball. We aren't going to out talent anyone. A secondary break relies on playmakers which we are sorely lacking right now. Hopefully that changes in the next couple of seasons.

Any decently coached team can run a secondary break...my son's HS team did and had great success against many more talented teams.

 

[cycloneworld]

we have beaten no one that "we shouldn't have" under his tenure...nearly 2 full years.

Like Purdue?

Missouri, Oklahoma State, Nebraska are all ahead of us in the standings so we probably "shouldn't have" won those either.

 

[cyclonenum1]

Quote,"I guess you are intimating that it was superior coaching? Is that correct?"
Wrong again, Cyclone#1. I was merely asking why? It didn't start with the KU game, and getting within 10 and/or winning the second half counts for nothing. I am wondering why we can't play basketball at the start of the game. Any why Hubalek can only score in the first half. And if you were as smart as you seem to think, I thought you could surely give me an answer.

How can I be wrong when I was just asking a question?

 

[cycloneG]

Until I see some positive results...I will continue to question his "moves"...we have beaten no one that "we shouldn't have" under his tenure...nearly 2 full years.

Purdue, this year?