Whar that bench Niang thread again...?Hahaha. It's a case of you don't know what you've got until it's gone! They weren't world beaters, but I'd take both of them defensively in a heartbeat now.
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Whar that bench Niang thread again...?Hahaha. It's a case of you don't know what you've got until it's gone! They weren't world beaters, but I'd take both of them defensively in a heartbeat now.
Last year's team had several crazy last second shots that dropped for ISU that make people feel like the season was magical and "meant to be." This year's team has simply won their games they've won by a comfortable margin, minus the "magic" so people don't have that underlying "what an awesome year" aura around this season even though it has actually been comparable from an overall performance and record level. Plus people didn't expect last year to go that well versus expecting this year to go better, whether that expectation was realistic or not.
Simply terrific post! Kane and Ejim were men among boys and it showed on the court.
And, I will add, so much has been written here lately about how much we miss their presence in late game situations, i.e. being able to take over a game. I submit that is MUCH less of a problem than how much tougher those two were defensively instead! Going through Kane was like trying to move a building; compare that to any of our current guards, or even our bigs for that matter.
Please. Last year everyone was saying the team was a soft team that couldn't win on the road. Last year everyone accused Kane of playing "heroball" (although the term hadn't been coined yet). Everything that has been said about this year's team was said about last year's team this time last year. Holy selective memory, batman.
Whar that bench Niang thread again...?
Simply terrific post! Kane and Ejim were men among boys and it showed on the court.
And, I will add, so much has been written here lately about how much we miss their presence in late game situations, i.e. being able to take over a game. I submit that is MUCH less of a problem than how much tougher those two were defensively instead! Going through Kane was like trying to move a building; compare that to any of our current guards, or even our bigs for that matter.
I wouldn't call either one of them stellar on defense. Maybe slighfly above avg, but nothing close to a guy like Babb.
ISU players have looked totally gassed in their recent road losses @KU and @OU. And you want them to press MORE?Agree. Seems like this year players fade in fade out. Sometimes everyone is shooting clunkers. Tied at halftime at OU, then we forget how to score for awhile. Press goes on with six minutes left just like the last two games we lost. Maybe we should press the whole second half to keep our heads in the game.
I just wrote this "They weren't world beaters, but I'd take both of them defensively in a heartbeat now." If you are giving me Babb, then of course, I'm in.
The original post was regarding last year's team/players, thus the comments about Kane and Ejim (and some revisionist history).
Yeah. What's frustrating *SoFar* this year, is that I know some of these guys could be so much better on defense. We've seen really good defense from Hogue, and great defense from Morris. We've even seen BDJ play really good defense at times, they just need to put it all together.
For all the talk about how much better or worse this team is than last year, the offense is almost exactly the same from Kenpom.
(All numbers points per 100 possessions)
Adjusted Offense
118.0, 6th in the country. Last year was 118.4, 6th in the country.
Adjusted Defense
99.2 PP last year, 119th. This year 99.9, 72nd.
Defense is better. But how much? Essentially if the teams played a 70 possession game (about the average both years) the expected score in 2014 would be 82.88 points scored and 69.44 points allowed.
This year it would be 82.6 points scored and 69.93 points allowed.
Essentially the difference in a random game both seasons would be less than 1 point. There are problems with this team, but it’s basically a statistical dead heat between the two and if we could match them up in an “on paper†sense it would probably be a pick ‘em.
My point isn’t that you shouldn’t be frustrated by losses. It’s just that comparison is the thief of joy. Last year’s team was one of the best in the history of the program, and it included some VERY unlikely wins and a lot of luck. There isn't a formula for replicating the things we saw last season.
That would screw up the tidal waves and helping to keep the earth rotating like it does.That might have caused climate change.That may be the single dumbest idea to come from this board yet. BTW, speaking of dumb ideas, does anyone else remember the ISU professor from the early '90's who postulated that it would be a great idea to blow up the moon? Maybe he's the ring leader in the "bench Georges" movement.
Can't argue with that. There's always room for improvement for sure. A couple of points —
* Maybe our style of offensive play wears them down defensively, or they are worried that going "balls out" defensively will slow them down offensively. Babb's offensive game often took a hit as he was imposing his defensive will if you remember. Exerting more defensively would require a more balanced approach and is doable.
* Maybe they really don't spend enough time on defensive fundamentals so games are a reflection of that omission. This is also correctable.
* Lastly, and this is not immediately fixable, we are simply outmanned on this end of the court. In other words, we are greatly undersized. Hogue is small comparatively, McKay is a stick, Georges is not huge. We can only be physical to the degree that we are built to be physical. For example, take a look at Rico Gathers from BU; he can literally get as deep as he wants in the post against us because he is such a physically imposing dude. Most of our conference competition have guys who can equally body us down low like this.
All of the above. Well said. And it takes a lot for players to buy in to playing tough defense, especially if it hasn't been a huge priority in the past. Hoiberg is a great coach and I will certainly give him credit for continually identifying areas of weakness and addressing them in the offseason, whether that's in personnel or in scheme. I have no doubt that defense and interior depth will be a focus of his to continue to proceed towards the next level. It's much easier to go from where ISU was prior to Hoiberg's arrival to where they are now than to go from where ISU is now to a consistent Final Four contender but no reason to think that it can't or won't be done.Can't argue with that. There's always room for improvement for sure. A couple of points — * Maybe our style of offensive play wears them down defensively, or they are worried that going "balls out" defensively will slow them down offensively. Babb's offensive game often took a hit as he was imposing his defensive will if you remember. Exerting more defensively would require a more balanced approach and is doable. * Maybe they really don't spend enough time on defensive fundamentals so games are a reflection of that omission. This is also correctable. * Lastly, and this is not immediately fixable, we are simply outmanned on this end of the court. In other words, we are greatly undersized. Hogue is small comparatively, McKay is a stick, Georges is not huge. We can only be physical to the degree that we are built to be physical. For example, take a look at Rico Gathers from BU; he can literally get as deep as he wants in the post against us because he is such a physically imposing dude. Most of our conference competition have guys who can equally body us down low like this.
Guys aren't in good enough shape to press that much. Fred could work through that by going deeper into the bench, but I doubt he will.
It's that NBA influence... it's like reading about Steve Nash and Mike D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns!Too often it looks like we're playing defense just to get the ball back on offense. Sounds dumb, but it seems they don't care what kind of look the other team gets, as long as we get the ball back, so they can be on offense. We're relying on the other team to make a mistake or miss a shot, and hopefully we get the rebound. Which last year worked decent because that team could rebound on the defensive end.
Which last year worked decent because that team could rebound on the defensive end.
Or leave them running on fumes with 14 minutes still left on the clock.Well, we've pressed on the road in the last two games to make up large deficits. If we're going to press near the end of the game anyway, why not start the second half by pressing (or even after a time out when the other team has gone on a run)? It would throw the other team off-balance and, more importantly, make our players more aggressive/confident, something the team appears to lack when facing adversity on the road.
Statistically we rebound at the EXACT same level we did last year (on both ends of the court). see my image upthread for the data.