Garrett’s improvement has been key in wins

Craig Brackins, Marquis Gilstrap and Lucca Staiger are certainly the headline grabbers on this years 4-0 Iowa State men’s basketball team. There’s no doubt about that.

But to me, here’s the stat that shows why the team has been as dominating as they have been so far in 2009.

Through the first four games of last season, Iowa State point guard Diante Garrett’s stat line look liked this.

He was 16-for-41 from the field with a 22-8 assist to turnover ratio.

Through the first four games of this season, Garrett is 7-for-14 with 31 assists and eight turnovers.

Now tell me that he hasn’t matured as a point guard after breaking those numbers down. Part of the reason his numbers look better is because he doesn’t need to shoot the basketball 12 times per game. The other fact is that if you’ve watch Garrett closely, it’s easy to see that he is passing on shots that he used to fire immediately in previous seasons.

I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again. In March, the Cyclones will go as far as Garrett’s game will allow them to go. Garrett can be one of the Big 12’s best point guards this year. Look for him to challenge the league’s best for the season assist title.