Next year will be great!

cycook · 02-10-2007, 04:51 PM

There was a thread earlier in the week that said the team would continue to struggle next season, but I have reason to doubt that statement.
1. Rahshon Clark- senior, great leader, excellent defender, strong rebounder. I also think he will work over the off-season to improve his scoring.
2. Mike Taylor- the guy can shoot lights out. Yes he tends to turn the ball over, but he has improved in that area. Plus, I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but the guy plays with great energy for the entire game. Without him, we may not have scored over 40 this whole season as he comes up with 20 pts. every game.
3. Wesley Johnson- enough said.
4. Dodie Dunson- A ton of potential and has proven that he can play great D and make big shots. Off-season will benefit this guy.
5. Jiri Hubalek- Complete turnaround this year. He has shown, especially in today's game that he can score down low. An entire off-season with McD could elevate this guys post game to an even higher level that we've seen late in this season. Also, his free throws look automatic these days.
6. Alex Thompson- I see Alex being an excellent addition to this team next year. He adds size, experience, and takes pressure off of Jiri. I think everybody should be excited about this guy coming to play for the Clones.
7. Don't forget that we've got Diante Garrett and Craig Brackins coming in next year. Sure, nobody knows how good they will be immediately, but I'm sure nobody thought Wesley Johnson would come in and be as big a stud as he is. These guys will be a huge addition next year.

I don't think we'll be big 12 champs next year, but this team will be extremely competitive. I'm still buying an NCAA berth and look for some big upsets next year.

gocubs2118 · 02-10-2007, 04:54 PM

We have a chance for ALOT of upsets and big wins next year. We play Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma state all at Hilton.

9seven · 02-10-2007, 05:15 PM

You know what guys, I agree, we might not be dominate next year but we will be improved!! We only lost Gray and bring in a TRUE pg!!

Michael Lastuvka · 02-10-2007, 05:23 PM

Another thing we'll get out of it that programs get when they're trying to establish themselves is giving more experience to newer players like Garrett and Brackins, which makes the future of the program that much brighter! The learning curve won't last so long.

dbronco7sc · 02-10-2007, 05:24 PM

The way I see it... next year we won't lose to Drake, I think we'll have 3 more wins next year than this year.

darts180 · 02-10-2007, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by 9seven

You know what guys, I agree, we might not be dominate next year but we will be improved!! We only lost Gray and bring in a TRUE pg!!

I am not on this kool-aid roller coaster, but you will see improvements next year, the record may not reflect it too much. I think that we will get better guard play as well, however, I think the guy who will have as big of an impact as anybody will be Alex Thompson. He is 6'9, and he will be at least 230-240, and he will have a whole year of practice, plus strength and conditioning under his belt

cycfan1 · 02-10-2007, 05:28 PM

do you see any freshman starting next year, then which seniors will come off the bench

9seven · 02-10-2007, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by darts180

I am not on this kool-aid roller coaster, but you will see improvements next year, the record may not reflect it too much. I think that we will get better guard play as well, however, I think the guy who will have as big of an impact as anybody will be Alex Thompson. He is 6'9, and he will be at least 230-240, and he will have a whole year of practice, plus strength and conditioning under his belt

I am not drinking any Kool-aid, i would be shocked if we made the NCAA tourny! Theres just no way we can't be improved though, we return almost everyone and bring some players in who will immediately make us deeper and better. Having a PG will be just awesome! I guess i have high expectations for Garett!

sdsmith4 · 02-10-2007, 05:56 PM

Starters
PG Garrett
SG Taylor
SF Clark
PF Johnson
C Hubalek
Bench
6.PF Brackins
7.C Thompson
8.SG Dunson
9.PG McIntosh
10. SF Johnson

sdsmith4 · 02-10-2007, 05:57 PM

Brackins might start at the 4 with Clark off the bench, he won't start over Hubalek though, he is playing too well to say he will be off the bench, plus Brackins will only be a freshman!

cycook · 02-10-2007, 06:04 PM

With next year's team, I'm positive that we will win the games we're supposed to (Drake, UNI, the Squawks, Colorado!) and some of the other middle of the road Big 12 teams (Kansas State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas Tech).

edenclone · 02-10-2007, 06:08 PM

Agree for the most part, except about Clark. I am not sure he will get the same amount of minutes next year as this year. If Thompson can rebound...but SCORE, Thompson will get more PT over Clark.

BUT, if we have a solid PG that can run GMac's system, maybe that will allow Clark to get more shots that get him to score more.

edenclone · 02-10-2007, 06:09 PM

But Brackins is a FIVE STAR recruit. He will start.

Hubalek
Brackins
W. Johnson
Taylor
Garrett

Those will be the starters by the time conference play starts.

darts180 · 02-10-2007, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by 9seven

I am not drinking any Kool-aid, i would be shocked if we made the NCAA tourny! Theres just no way we can't be improved though, we return almost everyone and bring some players in who will immediately make us deeper and better. Having a PG will be just awesome! I guess i have high expectations for Garett!

I wasn't talking about you per se. I am talking about the people that have continually talked themselves out of being objective. The football season was a perfect example, I told people that we would go 4-8, and I was a bad fan. I picked 5-11 for basketball, and we will see if we can get there. After the Mizzou game in Columbia, we had a lot of people saying that we could go to the postseason, and I am all for optimism. Then we struggle, and we are the worst team in the conference.

I understand the meaning of being a fan, and Iowa State sports has broken my heart over and over again. But I can already see where this is going, we played a good second half at Texas, and people are trying to convince themselves that we will be good next year, what happens if we play poorly against OU, will we see everyone over on the BB=Disappointment thread again???

Fatsow · 02-10-2007, 06:24 PM

Clark is a great defender, but will never be an offensive threat. I have high hopes for Brackins but will be surprised if he is even close to as good as WJ this year. Our whole season next year will be on the shoulders of Garrett. I still believe we are 2 years out from a NCAA birth, but I hope I am wrong.