Without Jefferson I think Tennessee is a better team. They have a surefire NBA guy and Iowa State was missing its All American, that was the difference to me. Were they more athletic? I say no, they just have very different kinds of athletes. Toure, Batemon, Lipsey, and Heise are P4 athletes, but they’re not football players. Should Otz recruit a different kind of athlete? First of all, there aren’t many Aments, Maras, and Krivases to go around. And either way I say no. Iowa State had enough size to compete with the best of the best, but they didn’t have two Jeffersons. Even Duke and Michigan, who have plenty of money to go eight or nine deep with great athletes, only have one guy who stands out among a bunch of other great and athletic P4 players. Iowa State had one too, but he sprained his ankle. Gilbert was more the guy you’re describing and, of course, he was also hurt going into the tournament. I still believe one of these years Iowa State will finally be the team with a good matchup in the second weekend, potentially even playing a team with a major injury. There are still athletic guys coming into the program
Why? Just why?
- Thread starter Thomasrickj
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Without Jefferson I think Tennessee is a better team. They have a surefire NBA guy and Iowa State was missing its All American, that was the difference to me. Were they more athletic? I say no, they just have very different kinds of athletes. Toure, Batemon, Lipsey, and Heise are P4 athletes, but they’re not football players. Should Otz recruit a different kind of athlete? First of all, there aren’t many Aments, Maras, and Krivases to go around. And either way I say no. Iowa State had enough size to compete with the best of the best, but they didn’t have two Jeffersons. Even Duke and Michigan, who have plenty of money to go eight or nine deep with great athletes, only have one guy who stands out among a bunch of other great and athletic P4 players. Iowa State had one too, but he sprained his ankle. Gilbert was more the guy you’re describing and, of course, he was also hurt going into the tournament. I still believe one of these years Iowa State will finally be the team with a good matchup in the second weekend, potentially even playing a team with a major injury. There are still athletic guys coming into the program
That would have likely helped, but I feel the best when we have an athletic, strong, killer guy that's like 260-270+ like Royce or Fizer. As long as they don't foul out lol.
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Some of you guys are so negative it's not even funny. Wipe your tears and build back better. It's incredible that we were able to win anything without JJ. We were too dependent on his size and skillset and we can't let that happen going forward. TJ will fill the gaps and the reality is new ones will arise but TJ will build on his success.
I'm sure it'd be just as gut-wrenching to lose these tournament-elimination games at the buzzer, overtime, or near the wire (2013 being an example of that), but four of the past five season-enders weren't even close (and Illinois loss didn't really seem "close" other than final score). It's one dud after the other.
Also, I'm sure it's retro-interpretation on my part, a lot of ISU tournament teams seem like they could have advanced one round further (in a few cases multiple) when you consider quality of opponent. Like a team you clearly *can* beat, then either have all the season-long weaknesses exposed and/or opponent is best version of itself.
I'm cope-rambling. Sorry.
Also, I'm sure it's retro-interpretation on my part, a lot of ISU tournament teams seem like they could have advanced one round further (in a few cases multiple) when you consider quality of opponent. Like a team you clearly *can* beat, then either have all the season-long weaknesses exposed and/or opponent is best version of itself.
I'm cope-rambling. Sorry.
TJ's teams improve year over year offensively. Scoring is the other huge component of winning basketball aside from defense. Retain Toure and Bateman, let them train like hell all off-season, and you have a two-headed monster no one in the country wants to face.
I've been at this Cyclones fan thing for 40 plus years. If you're ******** about ONLY making the Sweet yearly, you need to move your fandom elsewhere...cuz you're obviously not made of what it takes to be a Cyclones fan for the long haul. Life's hard enough, quit ******** about stupid **** like winning a lot, just not enough.
I am afraid not everyone has the programmed mind from that special water you are drinking.
It informs you that every defeat is because we are just completely outgunned from a talent/athletic ability perspective every single time.
So if we lost to TN State that would have been because they had superior athletes not because we didn’t play to our potential?
It's funny because 48 other schools in this tournament are having the same conversations... People need to realize everyone wants to make the elite 8 or better. It is hard to string together 6 wins in a row at a high level of competition. If we keep getting teams like this we will break that threshold.
The only thing we got is sharing our depression with each other. I will not watch basketball the rest of the weekend. If Iowa wins I won’t watch next weekend either. This one really hurt. I truly think if we beat Arizona we were national champions. I can’t decide if I want Iowa to get blown out or for them to think they got it in the bag then Illinois comes back late and crushes their soul with a buzzer beating three
I disagree. Maybe you're post is hyperbole, but a lot of teams, even a few still alive, that would not have been able to dominate the boards, block shots, and dunk like Tennessee did last night. At the end of the 1st half the Cyclones were alive, but it went south when they couldn't get live ball turnovers and started missing FTs. It snowballed.
I will admit it, I still had high hope watching the ball get dribbled and passed around the perimeter, one way and back the other very slowly, over and over and over again….sooner
or later something was going to open up!!
The last 10 years have been the best that ISU football has ever been. We have been very competitive
Just stop talking, you don’t know anything
Yea I’d take another sweet 16 next right now no matter what
In his case his 5.5 points per game was not really missed.
If listed 1-5 of the starters most important to least important you could not lose on that team he was 5.
Don't even care how it goes for them from here. They've been playing with house money since Clemson so just playing so ridiculously above their heads right now. Which is also incredibly annoying to watch when our own team can't catch a break.
