I agree with what you said but I really think Wigginton is our only guy who can get in the lane effectively. And when he is struggling it really hurts our drive and kick.
Official KU postgame thread
- Thread starter Cyclonepride
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I agree with what you said but I really think Wigginton is our only guy who can get in the lane effectively. And when he is struggling it really hurts our drive and kick.
Absolutely the team thought they would win. Prohm talked about that on the post game show.
That particular post was a fan saying they expected it, when told it was going to be tough
I agree that Wigginton is our best player at getting to the rim consistently off the dribble. Shayok is OK, but about a third of the time he charges! Horton-Tucker is OK but he's a bull in a china shop. He gets in deep and then gets stuck- usually forcing up a wild shot. Babb and Haliburton aren't much for dribble penetration.
That is why it has to come from offensive sets. We need motion or cutters to the basket. Guys need to set good screens. In a 1-4 offense, there should be a lot of room to cut to the basket, back doors, hit the Jacobson/Lard in the high post and hit a cutter or reverse the ball.
Agree, in general. When ball movement has been brisk, the offense looks well-oiled. First half vs. KU, it seemed effective, second half, it looked more liked forced penetration, I'm sure KU's defensive adjustment had an effect --- I assume our team didn't just come out of locker room and forget what worked. I hope not, anyway.
Ironically, one of the sharpest cuts to the hoop in 2nd half was the feed into Jacobson, who promptly traveled.
(Was that when game was tied, too?) (In NBA, that wouldn't have been called, of course ...).
To clarify my previous post, wasn't trying to dis Jake for the travel, he just got caught in awkward stride. Just a bummer to have a good play that becomes a turnover.
And I an see their reason for optimism. Deepest roster ever is a stretch but Grimes and Dotson are both Top 30 players, Moore was great his freshman year at Cal, Lawsons were highly touted and you return Doke, Garrett and Vick. That would seem to be a pretty good team. However, Grimes has played well once, Moore has done nothing, Dotson can't shoot, the other Lawson doesn't give you much and Doke is hurt. Just imagine if Vick hadn't suddenly turned into Ray Allen.
Wigginton is our best at getting in the lane and setting up for easy shots. THT is the second best and probably best passer. NWB can get to the rim when he decides to but just doesn't seem to keen on forcing it, He has gotten some clutch buckets to stop runs this year but more often settles for the 3 or long 2. Shayok can get to the rim but really is best on one on one especially late in the clock.
When Wigginton moves to the starting lineup (which will happen) he should be the primary ball handler over NWB. Even vs KU LW got in the land and dished some dimes just didn't finish. Over the past 5-6 games I feel he has shown a lot of progress at PG and raises the potential of the starters there. Especially if NWB is comfortable on the perimeter shooting from outside it would make the switch pretty seamless.
I also think that either THT or Wigginton need to be on the floor at all times to add the slashing threat, and part of the reason Prohm stayed with Lindell late vs KU with Talen in foul trouble.
Grimes did some good things for them in Hilton but I literally had to check the box score to see if he played Monday night. Huge disappointment.
Agbaji has impressed me relative to expectations. Some things are still moving too fast for him but he's very athletic and his shot looks pretty solid. Seems like he will be a breakout candidate next year with some NBA potential down the road.
Dotson's speed is impressive. Makes him good in the open court and on ball pressure (though I agree with some who mentioned he got away with a lot of bumping and hand on man guarding NWB Monday).
Imo Garrett's hot streak is really saving them right now. Also, Dedric Lawson being a stud obviously. He kept them in that game Monday until everybody else on his team figured it out.
I've heard/read people saying that the crowd at The Phog didn't really get into the game until the second half. Was that what they said on TV? I was there and was very impressed with how "into the game" the crowd was from the outset. The moment the flags appeared from the corner, the students ramped it up loud. Of course, it got even louder in the second half when KU made their run. But it is crazy to say that they "weren't into it" until the second half.
This was my first trip to The Phog. And to be honest, I was hoping that it wasn't going to be as great as KU fans say. I really wanted to be able to say that our fans are better. Unfortunately, I have to admit the the KU experience is better. Like I said above, the students are "on" from the moment the flags appear. I don't know how much credit to give to the fans and how much to give to the production people. For instance, they play music loud. And at times I wondered if they were actually amplifying (or enhancing) the student cheering too. Overall, the "production" was much simpler than ours. No cutesy, fun things on the court or on the video board. They don't even give anything other than the most basic stats (fouls, points per player on the court). No ribbon board with individual stats. I didn't sense any "competition" between the band, pump-up songs, or student chants. All in all, it seemed like a well-oiled loud machine. It may have gone to another level in the second half, but it certainly wasn't bad at all in the first half. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I would have to give them the nod over us, even for the first half.
The Hilton experience is much more fun and better for a family. There is nothing "family-friendly" about The Phog in-game experience. Hilton has comfortable seats, even in the top row of the balcony. The Phog has almost all benches. It is all about creating an environment that intimidates opponents and refs. And they delivered.
There was one other really interesting feature about The Phog that I've never heard about. The teams enter the court by crossing through the lower concourse right next to clothing and concession stands. The ushers stop traffic and put up ropes to create a channel (not unlike when our football team goes in/out of Bergstrom). KU fans line up early to able to high five players as they enter.
Lastly, kudos to our fans who showed up. There were tons of Iowa State fans there. Not enough to make much of an impression on TV, but just about everywhere you looked in the stadium, except the student sections, you could see Cyclone fans. It would have been awesome to win the game and see all of us being the only ones standing and cheering. Alas. We got "Phog-ed" again.
This was my first trip to The Phog. And to be honest, I was hoping that it wasn't going to be as great as KU fans say. I really wanted to be able to say that our fans are better. Unfortunately, I have to admit the the KU experience is better. Like I said above, the students are "on" from the moment the flags appear. I don't know how much credit to give to the fans and how much to give to the production people. For instance, they play music loud. And at times I wondered if they were actually amplifying (or enhancing) the student cheering too. Overall, the "production" was much simpler than ours. No cutesy, fun things on the court or on the video board. They don't even give anything other than the most basic stats (fouls, points per player on the court). No ribbon board with individual stats. I didn't sense any "competition" between the band, pump-up songs, or student chants. All in all, it seemed like a well-oiled loud machine. It may have gone to another level in the second half, but it certainly wasn't bad at all in the first half. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I would have to give them the nod over us, even for the first half.
The Hilton experience is much more fun and better for a family. There is nothing "family-friendly" about The Phog in-game experience. Hilton has comfortable seats, even in the top row of the balcony. The Phog has almost all benches. It is all about creating an environment that intimidates opponents and refs. And they delivered.
There was one other really interesting feature about The Phog that I've never heard about. The teams enter the court by crossing through the lower concourse right next to clothing and concession stands. The ushers stop traffic and put up ropes to create a channel (not unlike when our football team goes in/out of Bergstrom). KU fans line up early to able to high five players as they enter.
Lastly, kudos to our fans who showed up. There were tons of Iowa State fans there. Not enough to make much of an impression on TV, but just about everywhere you looked in the stadium, except the student sections, you could see Cyclone fans. It would have been awesome to win the game and see all of us being the only ones standing and cheering. Alas. We got "Phog-ed" again.
The team that won it all. One of the best teams in to win it in the last 20 years.
I've been to the Phog many times and was there Monday night. It was pretty standard compared to any other time I've been there. That place is nuts
My daughter said that on TV it sounded much louder in the second half and some of the newspaper guys said that the crowd didn't get into it until the second half (which made me wonder if there were even there or just watching it on TV).
The KU fans turned it up to 11 during the run in the second half, but they were on 10 from the start of the game. The Phog is a tightly run intimidation machine. Very impressive.
Really think so?
They were a one seed and ranked 4th entering the tourney (according to Wiki) and lost three conference games.
Not arguing...this was during the McD era so I really think I lost interest in college basketball in general during this time. The 96-97 team was I'm pretty sure the unanimous No. 1 entering the tournament and it was insane when Bibby and Co. beat them.
I am basing my statement off of KenPom. In the Ken Pom era I think the 2008 KU team is the second best team ever behind the Kentucky team that went undefeated until they lost in the Final Four.
Yeah that team with Lafrentz, Vaughn, Pierce, Pollard and Haase was pretty ridiculous. If I remember correctly, Haase was injured late that year and couldn't shoot the same. That Zona team though was stacked with talent. I can't remember if they just underachieved that year or if they had injuries but I have this feeling they had at least one starter out for a period of time during the regular season. I also remember that Zona beat 3 #1 seeds that year, KU, UNC and Kentucky. I think that was the first time that every happened. Can't remember if it has happened since.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
They set the standard for home court noise and intensity.
We're really good, but KU is off the charts for the climate they've created.
Interesting on the Kenpom thing.
Yeah that Zona team I think just took some time to gel and were young and once they got rolling they were a really tough matchup.
I was surprised how simple the production was. And how almost everything was focused on their winning tradition. Very little "fun" stuff. Lots of highlights and self-references to being champions. Never sensed any tension in transitions, such as our awkward switches to the pep band right after the cheerleaders start a Cyclone Power chant. And it was almost like everyone knew what was coming next so they were "full on" with every next thing.
