We can't sleep on Iowa though. I feel like we should be able to handle them but they will be much improved.
Can we make a big run this year?
- Thread starter ISUbaseball
- Start date
To OP...if by run you mean similar to last year I say "yes" contingent on
- Clyburn being a star and playing at 1st team All Big 12 level.
- Korie playing at 2nd or 3rd team All Big 12 level.
- Babb locking down opponents on D like he did last year.
If those three do that I think we can afford to have next two players be role players and provide us with solid PT and be successful.
- Clyburn being a star and playing at 1st team All Big 12 level.
- Korie playing at 2nd or 3rd team All Big 12 level.
- Babb locking down opponents on D like he did last year.
If those three do that I think we can afford to have next two players be role players and provide us with solid PT and be successful.
Quit with the Iowa love-fest/fear. They are going to struggle badly early on with their 2 starting Freshman. Woodbury will pick up fouls at an alarming rate against and athletic big man with a pulse and Gessel (who will be a good) will struggle against good defenders. We play them in the first few weeks of the season with a veteran team and 3 5th year senior starters including Babb who will guard Marble.
We aren't losing in Iowa City. I will concede that they should be a decent by seasons end but they aren't dancing.
We aren't losing in Iowa City. I will concede that they should be a decent by seasons end but they aren't dancing.
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I think our non-conference record will be improved because we have a more traditional team. It took us a long time to figure out Royce was our best pg/point forward. If we would have figured that out before our first game I think we win the Mich. game and all the others.
-This season we won't have to rely on Babb's defense AS MUCH. He will still play a huge role and should be guarding the opponents best player, but we should have the personnel to be a much improved team defense, even in the post. Royce was great but he was a liability down there.
-I think it really comes down to how well we mesh offensively. Can we figure out how to score. We are going to need Babb to be a knock down 3pt shooter like he was in the 1st part of last season.
-I trust Freddy when he says Will Clyburn is as good as advertised, so I'm not concerned about that. From what I saw/herd from the CCL was Lucious has really improved his outside shot. That will be a huge thing for us as it will space the floor and make his defender guard him out there and not sag down.
-If things mesh, we could very well be in for a great year, however, playing Kentucky in the 2nd (Technically 3rd) round really killed us last year. We had a special team and dug our own grave at the B12 turny. I think that team had the potential to be a final four, or even in the championship game ( we should have beat KU both times last year). So nothing will make last season look mediocre. We need to win at least a couple b12 turny games to ensure a good seed. But I'm expecting a NCAA turny appearance.
-MadcityCy: Did you really say Baylor, yea they have a lot of talent... They have for the last 5ish years. By the time we play them Scott Drew will have screwed them up. No matter how much talent you have, you still have to have a coach... I'm not counting Baylor out, but until Drew proves me wrong (they had enough talent to win the b12 the last two years), I'll always assume their a middle of the pack b12 team
-This season we won't have to rely on Babb's defense AS MUCH. He will still play a huge role and should be guarding the opponents best player, but we should have the personnel to be a much improved team defense, even in the post. Royce was great but he was a liability down there.
-I think it really comes down to how well we mesh offensively. Can we figure out how to score. We are going to need Babb to be a knock down 3pt shooter like he was in the 1st part of last season.
-I trust Freddy when he says Will Clyburn is as good as advertised, so I'm not concerned about that. From what I saw/herd from the CCL was Lucious has really improved his outside shot. That will be a huge thing for us as it will space the floor and make his defender guard him out there and not sag down.
-If things mesh, we could very well be in for a great year, however, playing Kentucky in the 2nd (Technically 3rd) round really killed us last year. We had a special team and dug our own grave at the B12 turny. I think that team had the potential to be a final four, or even in the championship game ( we should have beat KU both times last year). So nothing will make last season look mediocre. We need to win at least a couple b12 turny games to ensure a good seed. But I'm expecting a NCAA turny appearance.
-MadcityCy: Did you really say Baylor, yea they have a lot of talent... They have for the last 5ish years. By the time we play them Scott Drew will have screwed them up. No matter how much talent you have, you still have to have a coach... I'm not counting Baylor out, but until Drew proves me wrong (they had enough talent to win the b12 the last two years), I'll always assume their a middle of the pack b12 team
I think it just comes down to how fast this team gels. It took time last year beacause ISU had to experiment with Allen/Christopherson at the point and letting them run the offense until finally settling in with just running it through Royce.
This year, ISU has a couple of true point guards, so that problem should not exist.
The non-conference is tougher than last year I think. Cincinnati, UNLV and BYU will not be pushovers by any means. UNLV is ranked in most preseason polls, and Cincinnati is receiving votes in some of them. Plus, we all know what Campbell did to Iowa last year. On top of that, Drake (the giant ISU killer) is on a neutral court this year, and Iowa is an away game. It is not going to be easy to get a better non-conference start than what ISU had last year......which was not an over-whelming start by any means.
The Big 12 I think is pretty wide open. There is potential for 3 teams to probably battle it out for the top......Kansas, of course, and Baylor and Texas. The good news there is that 2 of the 3 are Baylor and Texas. Lots of talent as always, but the coaching may still drag them down. I really think that the Big 12 from 2-8 is wide open. I see ISU capable of finishing anywhere in that group. It all depends on how fast this team comes together, and how good Clyburn and Korie really are, plus how fast and what the freshmen can contribute.
I look forward to seeing this team play I think as much as I have looked forward to any MBB team at ISU play, with the possible exceptions of the '99-'00 team (which also lost to Drake and Cincinnati by the way) and last year's team. I think it is going to be a much different team from last year. Faster. Even more athletic. More scoring options. I think we will see a team that starts playing the half-court offense as soon as they get the ball in the backcourt. I really look forward to seeing the freshmen play. I think a lot of us are going to be saying.."Man.....we might have these guys for 3 more years after this". It is going to be a fun team to watch and see develop.
This year, ISU has a couple of true point guards, so that problem should not exist.
The non-conference is tougher than last year I think. Cincinnati, UNLV and BYU will not be pushovers by any means. UNLV is ranked in most preseason polls, and Cincinnati is receiving votes in some of them. Plus, we all know what Campbell did to Iowa last year. On top of that, Drake (the giant ISU killer) is on a neutral court this year, and Iowa is an away game. It is not going to be easy to get a better non-conference start than what ISU had last year......which was not an over-whelming start by any means.
The Big 12 I think is pretty wide open. There is potential for 3 teams to probably battle it out for the top......Kansas, of course, and Baylor and Texas. The good news there is that 2 of the 3 are Baylor and Texas. Lots of talent as always, but the coaching may still drag them down. I really think that the Big 12 from 2-8 is wide open. I see ISU capable of finishing anywhere in that group. It all depends on how fast this team comes together, and how good Clyburn and Korie really are, plus how fast and what the freshmen can contribute.
I look forward to seeing this team play I think as much as I have looked forward to any MBB team at ISU play, with the possible exceptions of the '99-'00 team (which also lost to Drake and Cincinnati by the way) and last year's team. I think it is going to be a much different team from last year. Faster. Even more athletic. More scoring options. I think we will see a team that starts playing the half-court offense as soon as they get the ball in the backcourt. I really look forward to seeing the freshmen play. I think a lot of us are going to be saying.."Man.....we might have these guys for 3 more years after this". It is going to be a fun team to watch and see develop.
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In the time it took you to type that post Scott Drew called his first two timeouts of the season.
The talent seems to be there, but it all depends on how long it takes for the team to gel. I wouldn't be stunned to see ISU drop a couple non con games as they establish an identity and the coaching staff settles on a rotation.
Thanks for typing this all out before I had to. Could we lose at Iowa? Of course, it's a road game. Should we be thinking the game will be "tough" because Iowa is "up and coming"? No. They are getting Obama-type hype from media around the state and I'm about ready to puke from it.
After watching last years team and the new guys this year I think ISU will have a really good year. I really When you have a guy who plays defense like he does he can shut down the other teams best player and control the pace of the game. Good luck Cyclones!
I think the OP's question should have begun with "Will" rather than "Can". of course we can, with this talent and CFH as our coach!
I don't believe that this years team is going to take a lot of time to gel. Last years was almost entirely new besides scotty and ejim. Not counting Bubu cause he barely played. We are bringing a large core back full of seniors this year. I think we'll start off hot and finally beat UNI and end nonconference with a better record.
Iowa is going to have a pretty good team this year. I dont know why you are bashing them. Marble isn't the only returning player they have coming back who is good. Aaron White was pretty damn impressive late in the season for them and Basabe is a good player. They match up pretty well with us in those three. The only true advantage that we will have is Korie. A senior like him going against Gessell should hopefully result in us dominating them. But to think Iowa is a not a good team who can beat us is just dumb. At least thats my realistic view.
we consistently hit the three. we will win alot of games. the games we lost last year we shot the 3 poorly if i remember correctly
Interesting you think UNI will make the NCAA tourney too, since that will be the only way we play them this year.
They also lost the guy that won them a lot of game in Gatens. Them losing Gatens is bigger to them than us losing White IMO.
Will they be tough at home, ya maybe. But I still think they are at least a year away from going to the tourney, and we by far have the better team than them this year. I'd rather have Percy than Aaron White, rather have Clyburn than Basabe, rather have Korie than Gessel. Rather have Babb than Marble and I'd rather have Ejim than what ever other goofy white guy they throw out there for a starter. Then we got Niang I'd rather have as a young bigman than Woodbury, Magee as a 6th man, Booker, who am I forgetting. I'm failing to see anywhere where they are better than us.
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Yeah definitely earlier the better they are stacked I think we might miss Khem Birch (Pittsburghs top 5 recruit from last year who left after 7 or 8 games) but I think he'll be playing by then. UNLV are all about Mike Moser anyways Stanback was a good player but thy have plenty there to replace him and Moser is as good as anyone in the college game. Ex KU Quintrelle Thomas and Roscoe Smith from UConns NC team are going to be better than anyone they lost. Not to mention 5 top 100 recruits one of them Anthony Bennett is a future lottery pick.
UNLV is back to their Tarkanian days in terms of talent and depth. MWC should be a pretty nice conference with Larry at CSU and a good NEvada Reno team and Boise as newcomers.