New Force in Big Twelve Basketball = Kansas State

[URBCLONE]

Check out their spring '06 recruiting:

Jason Bennet 7'2" Center Rivals 5 Star recruit
Luis Colon 6'10" PF Rivals 3 Star recruit
Blake Young 6'2" SG Rivals 4 Star recruit.

Given the rise of A&M, Baylor, and now KSU, the Big Twelve is getting exponentially better.

 

[kuney1]

Missouri will get also get better with Snyder gone.

 

[CyLyte]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
Check out their spring '06 recruiting:

Jason Bennet 7'2" Center Rivals 5 Star recruit
Luis Colon 6'10" PF Rivals 3 Star recruit
Blake Young 6'2" SG Rivals 4 Star recruit.

Given the rise of A&M, Baylor, and now KSU, the Big Twelve is getting exponentially better.
[/b][/quote]

Just think their number one choice for a coach was GMac.

 

[PharmCy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
Check out their spring '06 recruiting:

Jason Bennet 7'2" Center Rivals 5 Star recruit
Luis Colon 6'10" PF Rivals 3 Star recruit
Blake Young 6'2" SG Rivals 4 Star recruit.

Given the rise of A&M, Baylor, and now KSU, the Big Twelve is getting exponentially better.
[/b][/quote]

Have you seen video/pics of that Bennet. His father must be a giraffe. He has a neck at least 6-7 inches in length. His video is very unimpressive. I think he is your classic tall and over-rated player.

 

[URBCLONE]

'Just think their number one choice for a coach was GMac'

And notice, ISU did not sign any of these players.

 

[CyLyte]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
'Just think their number one choice for a coach was GMac'

And notice, ISU did not sign any of these players.
[/b][/quote]

No, we signed some other players. I agree with PharmaCy on Bennet. He's got about 8 inches of wasted height. The other two are JC players not drastically different than what we got.

 

[URBCLONE]

I'm not down on our recruits. I have huge reservations about going to battle next fall/winter with all of nine scholarship athletes.

Also, we did not plug the hole in the middle. We are counting on Marsden, Gray and Hubalek. So, we are actually going into battle in the middle with less than what we had last year. Johnson and Johnson are not posts, they are forwards. I was hoping Stiggers would sign to give a true post presence and that Smith would sign to give us depth in the backcourt.

 

[CyLyte]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
I'm not down on our recruits. I have huge reservations about going to battle next fall/winter with all of nine scholarship athletes.

Also, we did not plug the hole in the middle. We are counting on Marsden, Gray and Hubalek. So, we are actually going into battle in the middle with less than what we had last year. Johnson and Johnson are not posts, they are forwards. I was hoping Stiggers would sign to give a true post presence and that Smith would sign to give us depth in the backcourt.
[/b][/quote]

I wouldn't say less than last year. You couldn't get much less than what Taggart gave and the other guys will have an offseason of real coaching. We'll be better in the post than a year ago.

 

[Wesley]

The way we played we need at least 4 bigs. Injuries such as Ross M had on wrist, easrly season sickness like Tags, grades, misc disciplinary problems for swearing = we need at least 4 bigs. If I was the opponent, i would take it inside on every possession since we will be in a man to man. Does Ross or Juri front them this year? Can we get a rebound? Need a new one in mix besides Alex thompson who has to set out a year. One reason the bigs had all the 10 ft creampuff shots was because Will and Curtis could penetrate and then pass off. We will have to see how the new backcourt does. And do not forget how many rebounds Will and Curtis garnered - will we have that luxury this year?

One team that is getting worse by the day is Nebraska. The rumor mill says Marcus Walker, who won three games for the Huskers, now wants out as a sophomore. He was the all time leading high school scorer in Missouri history by 400 points (2857) over Anthony Peeler. He will soon be available.

 

[melkor]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
I'm not down on our recruits. I have huge reservations about going to battle next fall/winter with all of nine scholarship athletes.

Also, we did not plug the hole in the middle. We are counting on Marsden, Gray and Hubalek. So, we are actually going into battle in the middle with less than what we had last year. Johnson and Johnson are not posts, they are forwards. I was hoping Stiggers would sign to give a true post presence and that Smith would sign to give us depth in the backcourt.
[/b][/quote]

I wouldn't say less than last year. You couldn't get much less than what Taggart gave and the other guys will have an offseason of real coaching. We'll be better in the post than a year ago.
[/b][/quote]

I think we have serious problems in the post. Ross is still a year or two away from being an iside pressence (despite being a good player) and Jiri is also not an inside pressence and in my opinion is more than a summer of coaching away from being one. Jessan is more of a 3 than a 4 much less a 5. And as of now we are bringing in no one over 6'7". I would say that we have serious issues in the middle. Can the guys returning be better? Yes. Will that be enough? I kind of doubt it.

I think we are going to have depth/experience problems at 4 out of 5 positions. The only good position is SF with Rahshon, Cory Johnson, Wesley Johnson. But again the depth there has no experience.

 

[abcguyks]

K State will not be a force in 06-07. They will be improved, but they will still be a bottom half team.

That team has been bad for a long time and it will take awhile for the team to learn how to win. They have other big name recruits come through Manhattan recently and most transfer out before graduation. Cartier Martin is one of the few big recruits that has stayed. I would be very surprised to see more than one of the three listed KState recruits still in Manhattan in two more years as they will either transfer out or put their name in the draft.

For those of you that think Ames is a difficult place to get recruits to like, try Manhattan. It makes Ames look like Las Vegas.

 

[isucy86]

I Don't Think We Can Look at Last Year to Project Next Season

G-Mac & Wayne Morgan have 2 completely different systems.

On Defense:
G-Mac will run a tight man-to-man defense. We will stop dribble penetration. Our big men were a weakness last season, but our guards did a HORRIBLE job of stoppling dribble penetration. As good as Stinson & Blalock were on offense, they broke down way too much on defense. Same goes for Rashon. I'd bet that next season our perimeter players are much better fundamentally.

I also think we'll see a much better rebounding team in a man defense. I also think we'll see guys block out like demons.

On Offense:
We will run a more structured offense. Players will move and players will screen. Guys like Hubalek, Marsden & Gray will have open shots. Going back to the LE days, we have been a TERRIBLE screening team. That will change.

I think the key to next season is PG and Post depth. If we can find a PG to run the offense and break down defenses as a last resort we should be in good shape.

In the post Hubalek should be just fine. He became more consistent as the season rolled on and I think he'll be a 13ppg and 7rpg guy. Gray is athleteic for a post, but not for a wing. No way he could guard Rush, Tucker or Robey. G-Mac needs to get Gray to buy into that he's a post. If Gray does, he could be a very solid player. I also think that G-Mac has shown a knack for developing post players. I think we'll see great low post moves from Hubalek, Gray & Marsden next season.

 

[soccercy]

What makes you so sure K-State will be a bottom half team? They were right there this season and bring all the key players back, plus a decent recruiting class. Plus they bring in a new coach to replace their lame duck coach, I would think they will be better. And that is without addressing Baylor and A&M, plus OSU will be much better with a year of experience for their young talent.

 

[abcguyks]

KState BB has always underachieved against expectations. They return two nice players (Martin and Haskins) and have some name recruits coming in. However, It will be hard to name six teams in the conference that they will finish higher than. Missouri and Nebraska are almost guaranteed the bottom two spots, but from there on, it is hard to say.

We ISU fans know from experience that big name recruits often don't pan out as expected that is if they even make it on to the court at all (Theo Davis, etc).

 

[Wesley]

I will add Colorado. So Nebraska, Colorado, Kanas State, and Missouri are in disarray worse than Cyclones. We should definitely win 16 games or more. This is beginning to sound like the Big 12 North in football, only in basketball. By the way, with all the jucos, we may be one of the older teams in the league next year.

 

[BryceC]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>
I think we are going to have depth/experience problems at 4 out of 5 positions. The only good position is SF with Rahshon, Cory Johnson, Wesley Johnson. But again the depth there has no experience.
[/b][/quote]

McDermott has said several times that he will play Wesley Johnson at the 2 and 3, so he'll be in the mix in the backcourt. That means that we'll have McIntosh, Taylor, Dunson, and Johnson as guards, Rahshon and Cory Johnson at the three, and Marsden, Hubalek, and Gray rotating the post.

The only position I see drastically undermanned is the post players. We'll see Cory Johnson playing some 4 I'm sure, but I'd much prefer to have him in his natural position.

And I agree with Wesley that Nebraska, Colorado, and Mizzory will be downright god-awful next year. I could honestly see us having a comparable big 12 record this year with a worse team because you have to think we'll get at least 4 of those 6 and two more from somewhere else.

 

[EggMcClone]

Thuggy Bear!

From today's KC Star:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>“We’re going to get it done,†Huggins said. “We’re going to win.â€

Nearly everything that’s happened so far points to that conclusion. But some troubling news broke Thursday, when it was revealed the Wildcats are involved with a player, Tyree Evans of Richmond, Va., who faces a rape charge.

Senior associate athletic director Jim Epps said Kansas State wouldn’t pursue Evans until a verdict is reached, and the Wildcats shouldn’t. Huggins’ first two months on the job brought positive reviews from all sectors, and Huggins said Thursday that in his 16 years at Cincinnati he signed one player who had had trouble with the law.

It should stay that way. Two months into the job, Huggins shouldn’t be lobbying administrators for wayward players. If Evans is exonerated, no problem. And Evans is confident. He turned down a plea to a lesser charge in order to clear himself.[/b][/quote]
Win at all costs, the K-State motto.

Also, that's a hilarious quote that he only signed one player that had trouble with the law. I guess that might be true since they all waited until they were there to get arrested.