*** Official West Virginia Vs IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***

[Cycl1]

My point to all of that was not that we should feel bad for him. He's getting paid a lot of money here. My point was that he knows this business and how cut-throat it is and how quickly perceptions can change in the span of months. He knows that this bad year is going to shine brighter than the good one he had last year, and that he has to figure it out next year or he may get fired.

And his steps to figure it out for next year have been good so far. He's bringing in a very good recruiting class, he has a transfer sitting out that people are high on, and he's going to have a great opportunity to grab an immediately illegible guy. There are holes on this team in a couple of spots and so far he's filled every single one for next year besides Halliburton's.

If you don't think next year's team is going to be any good and you don't trust Prohm, then fine, you're entitled to your opinion. But don't be one of those fans then that hops back onto the wagon when / if we look promising, because you'll be the first one off of that wagon once adversity hits.

I think the team will likely be a year or 2 away from being good.

If literally everyone takes a step forward (large step for some of them) we might be decent.

Conditt has shown flashes, but big 12 big men is a man's game, and he is still young.

Young has shown he can be really good against at times, but also isn't consistent.

Bolton has been great this year. Maybe our only really consistent player we likely have coming back.

Grill has been getting major minutes for his defensive efforts, but still needs to make major steps forward to be a consistent contributed.

Tre has been been getting better, but needs to improve if we are going to be a good team. He averages less than 5 points per game

As for the freshmen coming in, it's a crapshoot. Our best recruit is a big man, and it is very hard to be a great big as a freshman. Also a lot to ask of a freshman to run point guard.

So while not impossible, we need players who have never stepped on the floor at ISU to be big 12 quality starters, or need 4 players who don't average 10 points a game currently to all improve. Solo and conditt don't currently combine for 10 rebounds a game this year.

Our transfer who has sat out i can't speak to how his game will transfer to big 12 play, but that certainly is helpful to have a little more experience on this team.

It is possible prohm could get a grad transfer stud pg to help us out, but grad transfers have not been a strong point of his. I would love to be wrong and that next year we return to the NCAA.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

I think the team will likely be a year or 2 away from being good.

If literally everyone takes a step forward (large step for some of them) we might be decent.

Conditt has shown flashes, but big 12 big men is a man's game, and he is still young.

Young has shown he can be really good against at times, but also isn't consistent.

Bolton has been great this year. Maybe our only really consistent player we likely have coming back.

Grill has been getting major minutes for his defensive efforts, but still needs to make major steps forward to be a consistent contributed.

Tre has been been getting better, but needs to improve if we are going to be a good team. He averages less than 5 points per game

As for the freshmen coming in, it's a crapshoot. Our best recruit is a big man, and it is very hard to be a great big as a freshman. Also a lot to ask of a freshman to run point guard.

So while not impossible, we need players who have never stepped on the floor at ISU to be big 12 quality starters, or need 4 players who don't average 10 points a game currently to all improve. Solo and conditt don't currently combine for 10 rebounds a game this year.

Our transfer who has sat out i can't speak to how his game will transfer to big 12 play, but that certainly is helpful to have a little more experience on this team.

It is possible prohm could get a grad transfer stud pg to help us out, but grad transfers have not been a strong point of his. I would love to be wrong and that next year we return to the NCAA.

I like your takes, and I agree it will take a fairly massive group effort in the development category this offseason if the program is going to take even a half step forward next year. Everyone holds everyone accountable.

Conditt is young now, but he won't be next year. He needs to get stronger and play smarter. High potential for a breakout campaign next year.

Grill and Tre, while each averaging 4 points or fewer, have been vital pieces down the final stretch of the season. One can only hope they are gaining valuable experience and are learning, not just running around like headless chickens. For now, I'll choose to be optimistic about it, although Terrence Lewis also got minutes down the stretch his freshman year, and we have witnessed the aftermath (or lack of).

Tons of what ifs for 2020-21, but it will be exciting to watch play out. Hopefully we get a guy like Chris Clarke to come in and be kind of a floor general/steady veteran presence for us. But like you said, Prohm has yet to prove he can land a big immediately eligible fish.

What can Prohm do next year to satisfy the fan base and his boss? Is it NCAA or bust? Or is NIT acceptable? I'm in the give him one more year camp now, but what does he need to accomplish in that year?

 

[heitclone]

I think the team will likely be a year or 2 away from being good.

If literally everyone takes a step forward (large step for some of them) we might be decent.

Conditt has shown flashes, but big 12 big men is a man's game, and he is still young.

Young has shown he can be really good against at times, but also isn't consistent.

Bolton has been great this year. Maybe our only really consistent player we likely have coming back.

Grill has been getting major minutes for his defensive efforts, but still needs to make major steps forward to be a consistent contributed.

Tre has been been getting better, but needs to improve if we are going to be a good team. He averages less than 5 points per game

As for the freshmen coming in, it's a crapshoot. Our best recruit is a big man, and it is very hard to be a great big as a freshman. Also a lot to ask of a freshman to run point guard.

So while not impossible, we need players who have never stepped on the floor at ISU to be big 12 quality starters, or need 4 players who don't average 10 points a game currently to all improve. Solo and conditt don't currently combine for 10 rebounds a game this year.

Our transfer who has sat out i can't speak to how his game will transfer to big 12 play, but that certainly is helpful to have a little more experience on this team.

It is possible prohm could get a grad transfer stud pg to help us out, but grad transfers have not been a strong point of his. I would love to be wrong and that next year we return to the NCAA.

Agree with all of this, my only comment would be that now, it doesn't really need to be a GT, it's a lot easier to get a waiver these days so he just needs another immediately eligible starting caliber player. He brought in Bolton last year, it'd be nice to get a player like that but maybe a year or two older, we need a veteran guy. Maybe two.

 

[Statefan10]

I think the team will likely be a year or 2 away from being good.

If literally everyone takes a step forward (large step for some of them) we might be decent.

Conditt has shown flashes, but big 12 big men is a man's game, and he is still young.

Young has shown he can be really good against at times, but also isn't consistent.

Bolton has been great this year. Maybe our only really consistent player we likely have coming back.

Grill has been getting major minutes for his defensive efforts, but still needs to make major steps forward to be a consistent contributed.

Tre has been been getting better, but needs to improve if we are going to be a good team. He averages less than 5 points per game

As for the freshmen coming in, it's a crapshoot. Our best recruit is a big man, and it is very hard to be a great big as a freshman. Also a lot to ask of a freshman to run point guard.

So while not impossible, we need players who have never stepped on the floor at ISU to be big 12 quality starters, or need 4 players who don't average 10 points a game currently to all improve. Solo and conditt don't currently combine for 10 rebounds a game this year.

Our transfer who has sat out i can't speak to how his game will transfer to big 12 play, but that certainly is helpful to have a little more experience on this team.

It is possible prohm could get a grad transfer stud pg to help us out, but grad transfers have not been a strong point of his. I would love to be wrong and that next year we return to the NCAA.

I would agree with most of this. I too think we will be better in two years than we will be next year. I do think that Solomon is a solid player and has actually been consistent the back half of the year. From his break out game against Oklahoma State until now, he's averaging 12.5 points, and that's with 2 games where he scored two points combined (vs. Baylor, @ WVU). If that's his production next year I'd be very happy.

I think Bolton is just going to get better as he keeps getting more confident in his game. He has all-big 12 talent if he continues to progress.

Jackson is starting to get a rhythm and think less while out there, which is a very good sign. I think Tre's going to be a great 3 and D guy next year.

Grill needs a full off-season to shoot. He has confidence in his shot. You can see it. It's also a nice looking one and a lot of his misses are in and out. His defense is what excites me the most about him.

Conditt needs to put on some more muscle/weight, and spend all summer working on his low post game. He has the potential to be a great player but he has to put the work in.

From what I heard, Johnson is really talented. His game replicates Clyburn and even has some NBA potential. We'll see if that's true or not.

As far as our freshman go, we need two of them to produce. Blackwell and Foster would be my heavy favorites to do that.

That brings us to the JUCO or grad transfer guy.. This is going to be the most critical piece in my opinion. If Prohm can land someone who can be an immediate factor, I think we could be very solid again. If he can't, I think we are looking at a team scratching and clawing to get into the tournament.

 

[Cat Stevens]

I like your takes, and I agree it will take a fairly massive group effort in the development category this offseason if the program is going to take even a half step forward next year. Everyone holds everyone accountable.

Conditt is young now, but he won't be next year. He needs to get stronger and play smarter. High potential for a breakout campaign next year.

Grill and Tre, while each averaging 4 points or fewer, have been vital pieces down the final stretch of the season. One can only hope they are gaining valuable experience and are learning, not just running around like headless chickens. For now, I'll choose to be optimistic about it, although Terrence Lewis also got minutes down the stretch his freshman year, and we have witnessed the aftermath (or lack of).

Tons of what ifs for 2020-21, but it will be exciting to watch play out. Hopefully we get a guy like Chris Clarke to come in and be kind of a floor general/steady veteran presence for us. But like you said, Prohm has yet to prove he can land a big immediately eligible fish.

What can Prohm do next year to satisfy the fan base and his boss? Is it NCAA or bust? Or is NIT acceptable? I'm in the give him one more year camp now, but what does he need to accomplish in that year?

He will be here next year. What he needs to show is any reason for optimism going forward.

making the NCAA next year and having another cellar dweller year is not going to do that.

plus, need to see the effort from the Bahamas and the West Virginia game every night. Wins and losses take care of themselves. But effort is the one thing that can be controlled.

I don’t think he will be the coach at Iowa State after next season. I hope I’m wrong. I hope he figures it all out, and continues to love the school and the community.

That is the best long term scenario for Iowa State basketball going forward.

plus the knowledge that the crewe will sit and be all pissed off because they hate for reasons beyond basketball, makes it even better.

although I’m sure the impending nebraska final four run will keep them warm during the winter.