Loss to the Hawks but I feel....

**Balls** · 12-08-2006, 10:43 PM

I am not throwing GMac under the bus and agree that he is trying to do his best in a very difficult situation. But I think the lack of fundamentals shouldn't be this bad at even this early point in the season and even with these players. I hope it's due to an easy schedule where GMac didn't know he had a major problem on his hands until just the last week or two.

It was basically 3 pointers mixed in with bad passes, turnovers, and one guy trying to run around and dribble as much as he can to create a shot all on his own, only to put up a 3 pointer, make a bad pass, turn the ball over, or pass to someone else for a 3 point shot.

Some other players consistently seem to show promise and the odds of good things happening increase when the ball is in there hands (W. Johnson & Dunson) but there is little effort or change in game plan design to increase their touches, just more of the same.

My expectation is to see improvement through out the year and even next year. Not concerned about wins, just improvement in play. Tonights game was nowhere close to meeting these basic expectations, but does set the stage for the next game, as we can only improve on the basics.

I will give GMac a free pass for at least this year and most of next, but a spade is a spade.

What brings me comfort is knowing GMac has a history of correcting the exact concerns that I have with this team. That brings hope and thus I can easily look past this game.

Plus it's the last time I will ever see Hulaska play (I don't watch Iowa games). That almost makes it a great night in itself.

**Logic Police** · 12-08-2006, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by JCloned

strangely good. Wow times have changed. It use to be when we lost to Iowa I was not a very pleasant person to be around for a day or two. Tonight we got beat soundly and I am relaxed. Don't get me wrong I still don't like losing to anyone yet alone the Hawks. I realized after the game that I expect that we will win most of the games in the coming years as GMac gets things rolling and really tonight is an aberation in the GMac era at ISU. Funny thing is I am feeling the same way about football. I don't really expect to beat Iowa next year, but I don't feel like we have to win or we will miss our chance. We will have more than our share of wins over the coming years as our two new coaches get things rolling.

I kind of like this new perspective. (I think my wife likes me better too...could be some benefits in that

)

The Cyclones lost ugly. They missed layups, they didn't play defense, they didn't drive, the squandered fast breaks, and they still kept playing Hubalek. I've seen some poor Cyclone basketball in my days, but this was right up there with some of the worst. You feeling "strangely good" about the loss may be just the realization that despite you being an awful person, people will still bump your reputation a bunch because your a moderator. There was nothing to be happy about in this loss, not even strangely.

**Cyclonepride** · 12-09-2006, 12:49 AM

As horrible as the Clones played, they could have been right in the game with just a little discipline and by playing under control. Anyone see the points off turnovers for the first half? 17 to 2. I'm not sure what it was for the game, but I'm sure it wasn't much better. You can't play good defense when you are turning the ball over so that you can't even set your defense.

I'm really excited about our freshman class this year. It will be a learning experience this season, but if next year pans out as expected, the core of our team for the future will be awesome.

**Cyphor** · 12-09-2006, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by isucyfan

Running the risk of being blasphemous...I thought LE was a good, not great, coach. I am much more of a Tim Floyd guy. I think McD will be a very solid coach that succeeds if he gets the type of players that fit his system. He had to cobble together this team, and that is now showing.

Blaspemy!

LE won back to back Big XII championships against stiff competition. How is that not a great coach?

**JCloned** · 12-09-2006, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by Logic Police

The Cyclones lost ugly. They missed layups, they didn't play defense, they didn't drive, the squandered fast breaks, and they still kept playing Hubalek. I've seen some poor Cyclone basketball in my days, but this was right up there with some of the worst. You feeling "strangely good" about the loss may be just the realization that despite you being an awful person, people will still bump your reputation a bunch because your a moderator. There was nothing to be happy about in this loss, not even strangely.

Yeah we lost ugly. But consider the way this team is playing is not how GMac teams have played in the past. That tells me that it is either a player issue or a transition issue so it doesn't impact my view of the future. You don't teach fundamentals and on court habits overnight when kids have spent their lives developing how they play. If you don't play Hubalek, who are you going to play???Marsden can't go, CJ isn't ready, Grey isn't a center....so sometimes you have to run the fastest of the slow ponies that you own.

Oh and I will ignore the comment about me being an awful person....I didn't know I knew you

**JCloned** · 12-09-2006, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by Balls

My expectation is to see improvement through out the year and even next year. Not concerned about wins, just improvement in play. Tonights game was nowhere close to meeting these basic expectations, but does set the stage for the next game, as we can only improve on the basics.

....

What brings me comfort is knowing GMac has a history of correcting the exact concerns that I have with this team. That brings hope and thus I can easily look past this game.

Balls, well said I think that is why I am not concerned about the things you mention. It is just not how GMac teams have a history of playing so I have no doubt it will change either through Gmac getting the players to do what he needs or by replacing them.

**cyclonenum1** · 12-09-2006, 08:27 AM

I think we should all be wary of accepting losses for all of the various excuses that are listed in this thread.

I know McDermott can coach...I want to see if he can recruit. If he can, then we will see dramatic improvement next year. Look around the country, most of the top teams have at least one and usually 2 or 3 freshmen contributing. With all of the AAU ball and the growing phenomenon of "prep schools" a good player is able to have immediate impact.

The reality is that the new guys we have on this year's team are the "leftovers" that no one else wanted since McDermott came in so late. That is why you see the kind a "rec ball" flavor to our game...poor defense and sloppy offense.

**JCloned** · 12-09-2006, 10:27 AM

Not accepting...just more confident in future than I have been before

**Wesley** · 12-09-2006, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by Balls

Ball security was the worst that I have seen in a long time. This saddens me. Jokingly... I wonder if Morgan watches the games and thinks "Why did they fire me?"

I don't think lack of ball security and basic fundamentals like passing should be acceptable at this point in the season. All these guys have played basketball for many, many years. Coaching has some responsibility here in either offering scholarships to players who lack the very basic fundamentals or the inability to teach and enforce the very basic fundamentals to players who they recruited who lacked them.

I still think GMac will turn the ship around, but I think he is behind schedule, not by losing, but by the way his club is losing. Losing is expected, this type of play is not.

GMac needs to pull out Rocky 3 in practice this week and start over from scratch. Start with basic running and dribbling techniques and then get into explaining the different positions... guard, forward, center.

This goes down as one of the worst executed games that I have seen in the last 3-4 years. This one would rival Morgan's worst coached and executed game.

Could you imagine if Bobby Knight was our coach tonight. We would have seen not a chair, but probably a player thrown across the floor.

This is devastating to say - you are totally right. I thought we would lose but be able to dribble and pass the ball. Now, it may be the players and coaching is for maught. Telegraph City is alive and in Ames Iowa in both football and basketball.

**Cloned4Life** · 12-09-2006, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by cyclone#1

I think we should all be wary of accepting losses for all of the various excuses that are listed in this thread.

I know McDermott can coach...I want to see if he can recruit. If he can, then we will see dramatic improvement next year. Look around the country, most of the top teams have at least one and usually 2 or 3 freshmen contributing. With all of the AAU ball and the growing phenomenon of "prep schools" a good player is able to have immediate impact.

The reality is that the new guys we have on this year's team are the "leftovers" that no one else wanted since McDermott came in so late. That is why you see the kind a "rec ball" flavor to our game...poor defense and sloppy offense.

Even though you're mostly right, the new guys pretty much were "leftovers," I'd say (even though we're playing like crap right now) that we did get some pretty good leftovers, for the most part. Wesley will be great, he really will. He really could have been a 4 star recruit. No idea how he didn't get picked up sooner. Dodie has shown a lot of promise. I think he's much better than your average 'leftover." Mike... well, I like Mike, but man he's frustrating. Very talented, obviously, but the more I watch him, the more I tend to believe that there's NO way Gmac would recruit a guy like him under normal recruiting circumstances. And by that I mean a guy that's so crazy and jumpy and probably would fit better in a free-wheeling system. To Gmac's credit though, he saw talent in him and I think he (Gmac) has what it takes to turn Taylor in a Gmac player... hopefully that happens sooner rather than later :-)
As for Cmac, well, we might have whiffed on him, but hey, Gmac didn't have much to choose from and had to get a PG. Too bad the one we picked might not pan out, but it's STILL EARLY in the season, so you never know.
Cory Johnson, well he signed early, so he's not a "leftover," and I think in a couple of years he'll be a very good player for us.

Anyway, Gmac's first real recruiting class should be very good but I only have one complaint... I think we should have kept the offer to Melvin Goins instead of waiting and settling on Boozer. I realize that would make 2 PG's in the class with him and Garrett, but I think Garrett can play 1 or 2 and well, if Cmac doesn't improve... depth at PG is a HUGE need, especially in Gmac's system.