I was at my folks place and stumbled across a highlight tape of the 99-00 men and women's teams. I was at all of those games, but thought I'd watch to see what made those teams the best ISU have offered.
1. Angie Welle was everything we remember her to be. She often led the team running the court and her left handed shots were something unusual at that time. She moved like no center I've seen in a long time. Time and time again she was down court for a long feed and a layup.
2. This team had depth. Wow...starters were Frese, Welle, Taylor, Francis, and Gahan. Then add in Wilson, Cipinyte, Haugan, Junod, Cizek, Mo and others. The staff had lots of options to go to without drop-off.
3. There were several really good teams this team had to beat at that time. Iowa. Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas (who beat the Clones twice!) etc.
4. The current staff could do well by watching tape from this period. The offense was always attacking. It wasn't a stand and pass around the perimeter. The guards were always slashing and looking for either the shot or a teammate to pass to. I didn't see anyone standing and waiting. This was impressive.
5. To follow up #4...constant motion. Everyone is moving on offense. Rotation. Drives. Crashing boards.
6. Shooting - combination of being able to hit layups, short to mid range and the three. No weaknesses here.
How does that compare to the game and team now? First, we rarely have this type of quality depth available anymore. Part of that is players choosing to go where they can play, part the emergence of other good teams (choices), and part recruiting. Next year would have been a bit unprecedented if Donarski and Fritz had chosen to stay. Second, the game has evolved. There are better athletes across the board now. Could the 99-00 team still thrive today? No doubt. They were superb. The biggest take for me is re-evaluating how the offense flows. Other teams are playing better defense today, but there are still some good takeaways. Something many have clamored for is more movement on offense. Is that a by-product of limited depth? Perhaps. But watching the 99-00 team attack was a thing of beauty. I'd love to see our team become more aggressive, but it will depend on giving players needed breaks. I was trying to research the minutes per game stats, but the historical data isn't coming up right now.
Final thought...if you have access to this video. Watch it. Both teams were amazing and represent the pinnacle of Iowa State basketball.
1. Angie Welle was everything we remember her to be. She often led the team running the court and her left handed shots were something unusual at that time. She moved like no center I've seen in a long time. Time and time again she was down court for a long feed and a layup.
2. This team had depth. Wow...starters were Frese, Welle, Taylor, Francis, and Gahan. Then add in Wilson, Cipinyte, Haugan, Junod, Cizek, Mo and others. The staff had lots of options to go to without drop-off.
3. There were several really good teams this team had to beat at that time. Iowa. Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas (who beat the Clones twice!) etc.
4. The current staff could do well by watching tape from this period. The offense was always attacking. It wasn't a stand and pass around the perimeter. The guards were always slashing and looking for either the shot or a teammate to pass to. I didn't see anyone standing and waiting. This was impressive.
5. To follow up #4...constant motion. Everyone is moving on offense. Rotation. Drives. Crashing boards.
6. Shooting - combination of being able to hit layups, short to mid range and the three. No weaknesses here.
How does that compare to the game and team now? First, we rarely have this type of quality depth available anymore. Part of that is players choosing to go where they can play, part the emergence of other good teams (choices), and part recruiting. Next year would have been a bit unprecedented if Donarski and Fritz had chosen to stay. Second, the game has evolved. There are better athletes across the board now. Could the 99-00 team still thrive today? No doubt. They were superb. The biggest take for me is re-evaluating how the offense flows. Other teams are playing better defense today, but there are still some good takeaways. Something many have clamored for is more movement on offense. Is that a by-product of limited depth? Perhaps. But watching the 99-00 team attack was a thing of beauty. I'd love to see our team become more aggressive, but it will depend on giving players needed breaks. I was trying to research the minutes per game stats, but the historical data isn't coming up right now.
Final thought...if you have access to this video. Watch it. Both teams were amazing and represent the pinnacle of Iowa State basketball.
