Steve Prohm

[BryceC]

Fair, but the worm has to turn one of these games. Why not now? Why not shock the Cyclone faithful and get a W.

Because this team isn't good and it's a road game?

 

[BryceC]

We may be a favorite in, what, two of those games (home vs. Oklahoma and Okie State)? I'm just worried that the wheels could fall off this thing quickly.

One actually. Okie State is favored.

 

[atlantacyclone]

If we win only a game or two in conference than Pollard needs to do some soul searching. Hopefully this turd of a loss will soon be a distant memory...

 

[Beyerball]

The main problem I have with Prohm is he allows to much freedom and doesn’t hold players accountable in game..or heck prob out of game..

I say this bc last year we had chemistry issues and look at Bolton.. He transfered from PSU bc he didn’t like the HC yelling and in his grill.. PSU btw is a top 20 team rn and man they play tough.

this team isn’t tough.. last years team wasn’t tough... I’m not advocating our HC throw chairs but certain teams need a coach who will send a msg.. daily. Prohm isn’t that HC and it’s becoming a big problem

 

[Bader]

Because this team isn't good and it's a road game?

Mostly that Prohm is 2-5 against Dixon and 0-3 in Fort Worth. I expect Dixon to pick and roll them to death as he's done repeatedly.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Hali
Bolton
Lewis
Young
Conditt

That should be the line up. Let Nixon, Grill and Jackson come off the bench, and Jacobsen and Griffin come in for the bigs. At least then Lewis can be a spacer for 3's. Defense I'm not sure we have a good line to defend the 4.

 

[awd4cy]

four years of McDermott -- each worse than anything we have seen from Prohm, and then one semester of Hoiball.

This is what I don’t get. In what world was the 2017-18 season any better than any McDermott team? We finished 13-18 and 4-14 which the overall record was worse than any McDermott team and got blown out by a Horizon league team at home. I guess you are putting a lot of stock in beating Tech and WVU (where half the team was injured) that year.

So far this year is looking like it will be another year that is just as bad or worse than any McDermott era team again.

 

[Sigmapolis]

This is what I don’t get. In what world was the 2017-18 season any better than any McDermott team? We finished 13-18 and 4-14 which the overall record was worse than any McDermott team and got blown out by a Horizon league team at home. So far this year is looking like it will be another year that is just as bad or worse than any McDermott era team.

Key differences --

-- the 2017-2018 year was an expected rebuild year given our roster construction
-- 2017-2018 never wasted a talent on par with Craig Brackins or Wesley Johnson, and even guys like Gilstrap, Hamilton, and Garrett deserved much better
-- we had recent success in 2018 (and would have some again the next year)... McD was just worse every year, and the era before him was frustrating as well, so there was some cumulative frustration about some really bad basketball for a decade
-- McD's style was boring... even compared to Prohm's
-- the recruiting class during the 2017-2018 year came together well, while McDermott's recruiting was just bad and going to worse before he went to Creighton

Many things were wrong about the 2018 season, but you could point to a few mitigating factors and green shoots for the program for the next season.

McDermott was just a plane crashing over and over again in a recurring nightmare. Imagine we had the 2018 season... then Wigginton transferred and we did not land THT or Haliburton. Then Shayok and Jacobson both got arrested for practicing law without a license and thrown off the team. That would have been the McDermott version of that season.

 

[Dandy]

Agree, which is why an extension because he feared Prohm would leave for Ala ******* Bama is inexcusable.

JP is GREAT, but that was a terrible decision.

I think JP's problem with the basketball program is he values the Big 12 Tournament in KC way too much. Dude is trying to recreate a Power and Light District in Ames!

If Prohm doesn't win the Big 12 Tournament last year does he still get an extension? Probably not.

 

[awd4cy]

Key differences --

-- the 2017-2018 year was an expected rebuild year given our roster construction
-- 2017-2018 never wasted a talent on par with Craig Brackins or Wesley Johnson, and even guys like Gilstrap, Hamilton, and Garrett deserved much better
-- we had recent success in 2018 (and would have some again the next year)... McD was just worse every year, and the era before him was frustrating as well, so there was some cumulative frustration about some really bad basketball for a decade
-- McD's style was boring... even compared to Prohm's
-- the recruiting class during the 2017-2018 year came together well, while McDermott's recruiting was just bad and going to worse before he went to Creighton

Many things were wrong about the 2018 season, but you could point to a few mitigating factors and green shoots for the program for the next season.

McDermott was just a plane crashing over and over again in a recurring nightmare. Imagine we had the 2018 season... then Wigginton transferred and we did not land THT or Haliburton. Then Shayok and Jacobson both got arrested for practicing law without a license and thrown off the team. That would have been the McDermott version of that season.

Getting blown out by 20 to mid majors and putting up 45 points at home is pretty boring too.

No need to sugar coat it. 2017-18 was really bad and that was on Prohm. The record speaks for itself. Also, you say there was no hope during McDermott for the next year, but honestly what hope is there for us next year with Prohm? I’d love to hear it cause I’m not seeing anything

 

[BryceC]

I was born in Ames and grew up in Boone.

I have been watching Iowa State (mostly lose, especially in football though less so in basketball from time to time) since as long as I can remember.

I spent literally thousands of hours in Iowa State's athletic bands during my 5.5 years on campus, including during graduate school when I should have known better, with very little compensation for the time and effort doing it other than a few cold pizzas, some travel to road games and postseason tournaments (stuffed into an overcrowded bus along the way), and what amounted to nice seats at games.

Why did I do it? Because it was fun, and I was there to support our teams. I was there to live and die with them, and I did then and sometimes do now. I have actually worn the uniform of Iowa State University, which not many here have.

I have paid into being a Cyclone fan about as much as one can.

My tenure in Ames equaled the last two years of the decline and fall of the McCarney era, two years of the Gene Chizik experience, and one breakthrough with Rhoads ending in Tempe before a disappointing follow-up the next year. For basketball, I got to see the inglorious end of the Morgan era, four years of McDermott -- each worse than anything we have seen from Prohm, and then one semester of Hoiball.

At least the women's team and volleyball team were good while I was there.

I saw about as much ****** football and basketball as one can see and at direct cost to me (e.g., no bowl or NCAA tournament trips for free when I was in college).

Despite that, some of the righteousness about Prohm's struggles right now is wearing on me. I do not like to lose either, despite having seen plenty of it, but there are really no good ways out of this situation. I have seen about as much bad as one can and have stuck with these teams and this fan base, but the negativity -- even about genuine accomplishments, like winning the Big 12 tournament last year -- is getting old.

Campbell is the best coach we have ever had with maybe the exception of Earle Bruce, and other teams are poaching his staff. Despite that, there are several threads on here calling for their jobs and/or that Campbell has peaked. Prohm is getting drawn and quartered on here right now. I was on the sidelines for the Chizik experience and courtside for McDermott. Trust me, as bad as ND and FAMU were in the past week, imagine having that weekly for football and twice a week for basketball for years on end. It can be way worse, and it just might be. Either Prohm will suck the next 1.5 or 2.5 years and get fired and we will try to rebuild or he will right the ship and life is going to go on either way.

I will be here either way. I just do not find it that fun to whine about everything. I like the pageantry, tradition, and passion of college sports (which is completing missing watching millionaires play for billionaires in the professional leagues), staying connected to the central Iowa community through this site, and analyzing the strategic and statistical aspects of the game. My posting history would reflect these as my priorities.

Way too many on here have "this sucks" as their obvious priority.

I don't want to address most of your points here. Suffice it to say that I'm with you 90% of the way. I lived through a lot of those same times. You also know I've defended Steve pretty regularly here especially after he proved me wrong with the KU road win a few years ago.

What I will say is, even though last year was a success by any measure in my opinion, it was still a frustrating season. Maybe that means we've gotten spoiled at that might be part of it. But that team wasn't particularly fun to watch at many points, especially at home, and a lot of people on here make that long, cold walk across the Hilton parking lot families in tow. And those home losses leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

 

[BryceC]

I think JP's problem with the basketball program is he values the Big 12 Tournament in KC way too much. Dude is trying to recreate a Power and Light District in Ames!

If Prohm doesn't win the Big 12 Tournament last year does he still get an extension? Probably not.

Our fans value it, especially the donors, because it's a lot of fun.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Getting blown out by 20 to mid majors and putting up 45 points at home is pretty boring too.

No need to sugar coat it. 2017-18 was really bad and that was on Prohm. The record speaks for itself.

It was not a good season -- but the context around the programs was different. You should recognize that. McDermott was a continuous train wreck.

The 2018 team beat three ranked teams at home -- TTU, WVU, and OU.

McDermott beat one all-time (@ #5 KSU on March 6, 2010) in four years.

Want to imagine not defeating a ranked team for three seasons? It happened. If you think our record in Hilton is pitiful recently, imagine going roughly 25% at home.

 

[cycloneworld]

Jamie Dixon kind of owns Prohm though, so I wouldnt hold my breath on it.

Anyone with an in-game coaching pulse owns Prohm. There are things that Prohm does well (recruits, some game plans) but actual in-game adjustments are a disaster. Or just don't happen.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I don't want to address most of your points here. Suffice it to say that I'm with you 90% of the way. I lived through a lot of those same times. You also know I've defended Steve pretty regularly here especially after he proved me wrong with the KU road win a few years ago.

What I will say is, even though last year was a success by any measure in my opinion, it was still a frustrating season. Maybe that means we've gotten spoiled at that might be part of it. But that team wasn't particularly fun to watch at many points, especially at home, and a lot of people on here make that long, cold walk across the Hilton parking lot families in tow. And those home losses leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

Fran sunshine pumping the "Iowa State might be the most talented team in the Big 12" and "ISU should be a favorite to end Kansas' streak of Big 12 regular season championships, they're playing great right now" definitely went to our collective heads. I was frustrated by last year, too, but I am not going to throw out the good things that team did -- which are good for Iowa State looking at our history -- because they did not make my wildest dreams coming off an LSD trip of a "sure national title" actually come true.

I am a "TV fan" given I do not live in Iowa, so maybe I miss that particular frustration. Then again, I took a lot of those long, cold walks through the parking lot, too (to the very back with the free parking, carrying a trumpet case in a very cold hand) back in the day, too, so I know what it is like. I know we love Hilton and it is part of our brand.

 

[cycloneworld]

I would make a large bet that most fans on here are capable of 1) rooting for Iowa State to win every game, 2) hoping that Steve Prohm is the guy, but yet 3) still wondering based on past results and future outlook if Prohm is best solution to lead ISU basketball.

Doing all 3 of those concurrently doesn't make you a bad fan. Quite the opposite.

 

[CycloneErik]

Anyone with an in-game coaching pulse owns Prohm. There are things that Prohm does well (recruits, some game plans) but actual in-game adjustments are a disaster. Or just don't happen.

We can question the recruiting some, too.
He's good at getting some talented players, but he's not good at assembling a team with complementary parts.

 

[heitclone]

Fran sunshine pumping the "Iowa State might be the most talented team in the Big 12" and "ISU should be a favorite to end Kansas' streak of Big 12 regular season championships, they're playing great right now" definitely went to our collective heads. I was frustrated by last year, too, but I am not going to throw out the good things that team did -- which are good for Iowa State looking at our history -- because they did not make my wildest dreams coming off an LSD trip of a "sure national title" actually come true.

I am a "TV fan" given I do not live in Iowa, so maybe I miss that particular frustration. Then again, I took a lot of those long, cold walks through the parking lot, too (to the very back with the free parking, carrying a trumpet case in a very cold hand) back in the day, too, so I know what it is like. I know we love Hilton and it is part of our brand.

It went to our heads because it was true, we were loaded. Not a leap to say the most talented team in the league. It's pretty obvious what set Tech and K State apart from us.

 

[Cyched]

It's pretty obvious what set Tech and K State apart from us.

Veteran teams?

 

[Sigmapolis]

It went to our heads because it was true, we were loaded. Not a leap to say the most talented team in the league. It's pretty obvious what set Tech and K State apart from us.

Culver, Moretti, Owens, and Mooney almost won a national title.

A lottery pick plus a pack of grown men = a good team.

Wade and Barry Brown were some baddddd dudes, too.

Kansas still had Lawson, Doston, and (briefly) Azubuike, too.

One of the most talented teams in the conference? Sure.

Unquestionable the most? Probably not.