Just what if

[WastedTalent]

My best guess is-
Prohm stays
Lindell stays
Lard stays
THT leaves (this will be very interesting to monitor as scouts are able to see him more, especially his recent games)
Lewis leaves
Griffin leaves

This leaves a rotation of-
Wigginton
Halliburton
Jacobsen
Lard
Young
Nixon
Conditt

The key with this group would be Jacobsen's ability to space the floor and shoot a few threes each game and make around 35%. Nixon and Halliburton would also need to be able to break down defenses off the dribble so Wigginton doesn't have to do that all himself. A grad transfer bigger guard would be ideal so we can still toggle between 4 guards and 2 bigs more effectively.

And this has no mention of the incoming freshman. Other than Prohm's first season, there has been a freshman making significant contributions every year for awhile. This year's class doesn't have the rankings as some in the past, but there's still been guys like Solo and Haliburton that are big contributors.

 

[megamanxzero35]

And this has no mention of the incoming freshman. Other than Prohm's first season, there has been a freshman making significant contributions every year for awhile. This year's class doesn't have the rankings as some in the past, but there's still been guys like Solo and Haliburton that are big contributors.

Leech or Tre Jones are both canidates for that spot. I think I read Tre Jones can be quite the shooter and Leech we all know was a Top 20 kid before injury. If he can get back to that level, he can earn some minutes.

 

[Clone5]

If we get back most of the guys from this year, all I want us to be able to is play two lineups, one that plays 4 guards and takes advantage of mismatches and one that can go big and make teams pay who can ONLY play small.

I'm not sure why that was so tough this year but my guess is, Prohm felt like he was totally retooling the rotation multiple times when players were returning from injuries/suspension. The reality is, everyone in our league, most teams in the tourney play small, many are better suited to play it than we are, especially with a 4 playing as your only big.

It is confusing as to why we couldn't play with two bigs OR 4 guards and it always had to be guards regardless of how the game was going. Other teams manage to switch their lineups pretty easily in this way but we never did. Maybe it was because Prohm didn't think Conditt was ready to play more than spot minutes. Hopefully we will see more of this flexibility next year.

 

[Clone5]

Agree. Not going to turn this thread into a Prohm debate, we've got plenty of those, but there's no doubt in my mind that Prohm is going to evaluate this season, and even question himself if he handled the lineup correctly.

Sometimes I think some fans fail to realize that coaches can, and do, improve just as much as players in the off-season. I really think Prohm wanted to use Jacobsen, Lard, and Young equally, and even together, but the early suspensions and injuries made it impossible.

Prohm isn't dumb, despite some posters' thoughts here, he knows he can't get abused on the boards like they did some games this season.

His fault this season was not having a 'plan b' when it came to the lineup. People ***** about his in- game coaching, but there really wasn't much he could do, because they never worked any other lineups or sets in practice. I think he'll learn from this, and hopefully have better options next season.

Maybe he could have used some practice time for preparing a Plan B?

 

[Jdk]

We need solo real bad

 

[stateofmind]

Until this Big XII tourney I never thought LW was a Cyclone at heart. But I think he finally got what this fan base is about seeing us turnout this year. He didn't get to experience it fully last year. If he goes I wish him all the best, but if he returns I would guess we have a POTY candidate.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Until this Big XII tourney I never thought LW was a Cyclone at heart. But I think he finally got what this fan base is about seeing us turnout this year. He didn't get to experience it fully last year. If he goes I wish him all the best, but if he returns I would guess we have a POTY candidate.

CW described three guys as "inconsolable" and "broken up" after the game in Tulsa --

Haliburton (as you might expect)
Horton-Tucker
Wigginton

The upside? Glad to see the latter two really care and care about being Cyclones. The downside? Maybe part of their emotions was the knowledge that there was at least a chance they had played their last college game, and they never won in the NCAA tournament. Either way, the fact those two have caught feelings for the program and college ball helps.

 

[WastedTalent]

Maybe he could have used some practice time for preparing a Plan B?

Hindsight is 20/20. I think if he was honest, he would absolutely agree with you. I can see where he may have been coming from though. The injuries, and suspensions, didn't allow him to in the non con, and thru the month of January, his 4 guards and one big appeared to be working. Big 12 coaches exploited this, add in some locker room issues (Prohm may deserve some blame for this as well) and you get a team that goes into a slide.

By then it was just too late to throw in a new offense. When the chemistry was an issue, you just want the team to play to their ability, and buy into each other. They were able to do that for 3 games in Kansas City. The NCAA tournament is one game, and you just gotta hope one of three things happen: the players show up, you are matched up with an opponent you can exploit, or your game plan is so good that you can't be beat, no matter how stagnant your offense is. Iowa St didn't get any of those.

 

[GTO]

Some Solomon Young highlights against KSU:

 

[GTO]

 

[IASTATE07]

Some Solomon Young highlights against KSU:

I forgot about the oop that I'm not sure was intended for him.

 

[ForeverIowan]

1.) If everyone returns, you only grab a grad transfer if he is one of the best on the market and becomes an instant starter.

2.) With all of the post depth those guys need to play with their hair on fire and own the glass. No excuse for playing tired or with poor effort. Competition will be great for the frontcourt next year.

 

[CloneFan4]

If all this happens, there will still be people on here ******** about something. And I agree with you, it gets old hearing it.

Its a ******* message board. This isn't unique or new. Its like this with every single school's message board. I'm tired of people ******** about people ********. Get over it.

 

[WastedTalent]

Hindsight is 20/20. I think if he was honest, he would absolutely agree with you. I can see where he may have been coming from though. The injuries, and suspensions, didn't allow him to in the non con, and thru the month of January, his 4 guards and one big appeared to be working. Big 12 coaches exploited this, add in some locker room issues (Prohm may deserve some blame for this as well) and you get a team that goes into a slide.

By then it was just too late to throw in a new offense. When the chemistry was an issue, you just want the team to play to their ability, and buy into each other. They were able to do that for 3 games in Kansas City. The NCAA tournament is one game, and you just gotta hope one of three things happen: the players show up, you are matched up with an opponent you can exploit, or your game plan is so good that you can't be beat, no matter how stagnant your offense is. Iowa St didn't get any of those.

All that said, personally I think there's times when a coach can just throw out a lineup and say "go play basketball." Like when Baylor was abusing them on the boards, or when no one showed any fire against TCU, or when WVU was mauling them at halftime.

Easy for me to say as a fan watching on tv, as opposed to the coach who is around the kids almost 24/7.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Returning minutes is going be huge for next year. This year, we had Weiler-Babb and eventually Wigginton and Lard, but that was about it. Shayok would have had practice time, but game minutes is different. The talent was there, but as the year went on, there were scenarios where they didn't play as cohesive as they could.

Haliburton, THT and Conditt are freshmen that gave us significant minutes. While it's clear they were inconsistent at times, most of us can see how high their ceilings are. I'm ready to see how they come out of the gates next year. I can see Conditt being an absolute handful for other teams by the time the Big XII season rolls around.

I'm also hoping everyone sticks around. Griffin got buried behind experience this year, but his size makes him an encouraging option going forward. We're going to need people that can match up to other tall guards/wings. I'm also pulling for Lewis to make it tough to keep him on the bench. He's versatile and I still think he can turn into a good 3-point option for us. He made some great cuts to the basket early in the year and seemed fluid doing so.

 

[RRRunotEntertained]

I know tht is in the mock drafts but his mom is really big on him getting his schooling and would strongly prefer he stay in school for now.

 

[MartyFine]

 

[IASTATE07]

I think some of the elite Prohm haters are going to get what they wanted.

 

[GTO]

I think some of the elite Prohm haters are going to get what they wanted.

I would have to think Leech would follow Prohm if he goes to Bama. What other players would leave the program in that situation?

 

[NorthCyd]

Que?