Williams Blog: That looked familiar

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

When you pick up your local Sunday paper tomorrow, here is what you are going to read concerning Iowa State’s 79-75 loss to Kansas State.

The Cyclones played very well in the first half and then, like we’ve seen time and time again this season, the opposition went on a fierce rally to start half number two. This time, it was a 17-4 run in the first five minutes of the second half by Frank Martin’s Kansas State Wildcats. During this span, the Kansas State reminded me of the old Nintendo game, NBA Jam, where tomahawk dunks were the norm.

Eventually, Iowa State was in yet another deep hole and here we are again, writing about the same thing that we have already handful of times since Big 12 play began.

“In the locker room, I didn’t even talk about minutes,” Greg McDermott said after the game. “I talked about seconds. That’s what it is. It is losing your focus for a second. If you lose your focus for a second, you get loose with the ball, they take it from you and they go the other way. If you lose your focus for a second in transition and you can’t find Denny Clemente and he hits a three, it’s not about minutes. It is about being locked in for every second.”

Coach McDermott mentioned Denis Clemente for good reason. In the first half, the Puerto Rico native went 4-for-11 from the field and 1-of-3 from 3-point range. In the second half, he went 5-for-5 from 3-point range to end the day with 30 points. Ball game.

Here are a few other important numbers from today’s game:

– Kansas State shot 30.6 percent from the field in the first half, while going 53.6 percent in half number two.

– Iowa State outrebounded the Wildcats 46-45. The Cyclones have outrebounded three out of their past four opponents in a row. That obviously wasn’t enough today.

– The Cyclones went 5-of-23 from the 3-point line. Amazingly, four of those threes came in the last two minutes of the game.

More box score notables

– Chris Colvin’s stat lines do him no justice. The freshman out of Chicago went 2-for-7, while scoring five points today but once again; he proved why he could very well be the face of the future in Ames. Colvin dished out four assists compared to his three turnovers, while grabbing a career-high four rebounds. He’s got a certain confidence to him that excites me for the future.

– Meanwhile, props need to be handed out to Diante Garrett. The junior scored 10 points, handed out five assists to only one turnover today. His 4-of-10 shot chart won’t blow people away, but the one turnover stat against Kansas State’s backcourt needs to be rewarded.

– LaRon Dendy must really be in the doghouse. Dendy only played eight minutes today. He went 1-for-4 and scored two points during that time. Dendy’s lack of playing time is even more of a surprise when considering that Marquis Gilstrap and Justin Hamilton both had four fouls in the contest.

Brackins is a pro

It’s been easy for fans to point fingers at Craig Brackins this season. Maybe it hasn’t been fair fair, but easy. Brackins scored a season-high 29 points today and reassured many that he’ll be a first-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.

If you doubt that, think about this. NBA scouts do not care about his rebounding statistics. Brackins is 6-foot-10 and he can shoot the three. That’s what they want to see. Period. End of story. The guy is a pro.

Brackins recorded his eighth double-double of the season today and the 26th of his Iowa State career.

That’s all I’ve got for tonight. Got a Super Bowl pick Fanatics?

I’ll take the Saints by 10.