11-30 McDermott Presser Notes

The Iowa State men’s basketball team will host Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Earlier today, Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott and forward Craig Brackins met with members of the media to discuss that match-up along with this weekend’s Chicago Invitational.

Here are some notes from the press conference.

– For injury information on LaRon Dendy, CLICK HERE.

– Brackins talked about the fact that after he watched tape from the weekend, he needs to be more aggressive. Brackins said that positive things have happened so far this year when he has attacked the basket.

– Brackins said that the mistakes his team made last weekend are correctable ones. He said that the simple defensive breakdowns were the problem.

– Brackins on Northern Iowa: “They were a good team last year and they didn’t even lose anybody.”

– McDermott began by explaining how Northwestern’s unorthodox basketball style is a tough thing to face when you have no time to prepare for it. McDermott agreed with Brackins that defensive breakdowns were critical in Saturday’s loss.

– McDermott talked about playing against his former team, Northern Iowa. He was even asked about possibly dropping that game in the future. “I liked the game a lot better when I was at Northern Iowa than I do today,” McDermott joked. “It is a positive for us to play them”

– McDermott on the Panthers: “Without question, it is the best team that we have played so far.”

– McDermott also added that as tough as it is to play the Panthers now, it will be a lot worse next year when his son Doug is wearing purple.