POLL: Besides Monte, who is MVP of Iowa State basketball?

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Besides Monte Morris, who is the most important member of the ISU basketball team?

  • Matt Thomas

    Votes: 39 18.0%
  • Naz Mitrou-Long

    Votes: 91 41.9%
  • Deonte Burton

    Votes: 69 31.8%
  • The fifth-year posts, Merrill Holden & Darrell Bowie

    Votes: 14 6.5%
  • Nick Weiler-Babb & Donovan Jackson

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • Total voters
    217

ISU_Clone_28

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Mar 27, 2006
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I went with Naz for his overall leadership and ability but agree that depending on what your looking for that either Burton or Thomas could have been the choice as well. Thomas is going to be big to help draw defenses and spread the floor for shooters(especially when him and Naz are both on the floor). Thomas did a great job on defense last year as well so I think he could be huge to shut down opponents key players from a defensive standpoint. I agree with CyTwins that I think Burton is going to be the X factor in a lot of games and if he's playing well and staying out of foul trouble it gives us a lot of options.

Good question!
 

carvers4math

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Mar 15, 2012
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I went with Matt. Coach seems concerned about defense. Matt is the only proven commodity for defense. We have to stop somebody some time.
 

blutarsky

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Apr 22, 2010
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You've gotta go with Donovan Jackson, right? This question is more about who you can't play without.

ISU can play with out Naz. We've seen that. They have enough depth to cover for Matt Thomas and Burton. The one guy you can play without is Morris. That makes Donovan Jackson a Co-MVP. His ability to handle the ball and spell Morris will be huge down the stretch. Think what a fresh Monte can do in the BIG12 tourney and NCAAs.
 

AgronAlum

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Jul 12, 2014
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jbindm

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Dec 2, 2010
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Heart says Naz or Matt, head says Burton. I just think he's going to be the key to unlocking multiple looks and lineups for Prohm to use. But it all depends. It feels like the staff is expecting a lot from a guy who had a knack for drifting in and out of games last season.
 

LLCoolCY

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Apr 28, 2010
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The margin between the importance between Matt, Naz, and Burton. I decided to vote for Deonte.
Burton is the one of that group that can create his own shot due to his physicality and ability to score effectively inside and outside. He has the bet ability to save a broken possession with out having a play set for him.
 

NATEizKING

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Feb 18, 2011
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My first instinct was Naz, but after some thought I went with DB. We don't have another player like him on the roster and are already short frontcourt players. We have a lot of options at the 2/3. If we're forced to start Holden and Bowie, there's a huge drop off to who comes off the bench for them. I know we've heard Babb can defend the 1-4, but I'm not convinced that's true for all teams we'll face. Not sure on his experience level defending inside either. I'm also not convinced Solomon is ready for significant minutes in Big 12 play. The dropoff from Naz or Matt to Jackson or Babb is a lot smaller than trying to fill gaps on the inside.
 

NickTheGreat

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Jan 17, 2012
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NAZ easily. Burton looked pretty damn good, but I still think Naz is going to be more of a leader on and off the court.
 

VeloClone

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Gotcha. Yeah, that may be a bit much...although he was 41% last year, so not that far out there...
Actually Matt shot 43% from 3 last year (89 of 206) and if just three of those 206 shots from range had bounced up and fell in rather than falling out the commentators would be rounding his percentage from last year to 45%.

Forty-five percent is a big number but it isn't a ridiculous jump from what we saw out of him last year.
 

Cyclonepride

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Apr 11, 2006
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Heart says Naz or Matt, head says Burton. I just think he's going to be the key to unlocking multiple looks and lineups for Prohm to use. But it all depends. It feels like the staff is expecting a lot from a guy who had a knack for drifting in and out of games last season.

Never underestimate the power of the light coming on for a young person.
 

madguy30

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2011
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Actually Matt shot 43% from 3 last year (89 of 206) and if just three of those 206 shots from range had bounced up and fell in rather than falling out the commentators would be rounding his percentage from last year to 45%.

Forty-five percent is a big number but it isn't a ridiculous jump from what we saw out of him last year.

Where'd I see 41%? Hmmmm...either way last I checked, 40% is great and it's one reason I think MT gets a solid chance at an NBA gig.
 

discydisc

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Jan 14, 2014
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Voted Burton, if he can be consistent and engaged on both ends (especially without the ball in his hands) they are dancing deep into March. Long way to go obviously, but with the 5 seniors they have starting I think they have a great chance to play well above that 24th AP ranking.