ISU Basketball: What are we missing?

ISUFan22 · 02-20-2007, 01:47 PM

Today I was listening to Dan Patrick on my way back to work from lunch and he was interviewing Coach K. Now I can't stand Duke yet I've always had high respect for Coach K. So I listened closely.

Dan asked Coach K. what he said to the team after the 4 game losing streak. Coach mentioned he talked to his team about the 4 biggest ways to lose a basketball game...

- Talent (lack of it)
- Attitude (poor)
- Work ethic (lacking)
- Defense (bad)

He said his team was doing well in those areas, just wasn't able to produce offense when they needed to, etc. That's beside the point though.

I immediately thought of our team and considered in which of those areas we were lacking.

So, vote for one or more of these that you think is contributing to ISU losing basketball games. Please discuss as well.

bostinelosd · 02-20-2007, 01:50 PM

Turnovers. Inexperience. Consistency.

As far as defense goes, I think they do pretty well, just not a full game of it. Work ethic is second to none, the bust it hard. Talent Im still unsure of. I dont want to say they dont have it because I have seen some great things. They have a good attitude. If they didnt, they would give up and be blown out every game.

mjones34 · 02-20-2007, 01:52 PM

It all comes down to our inefficiency to move the ball around and move to get open.

Knownothing · 02-20-2007, 01:52 PM

Talent, Talent, and more talent. No point guard play. Rashon can't take anyone off the dribble. Wes is running on empty due to being a freshman. Jiri finally has it figured out. Taylor is out of control. Nobody knows where the weight room is either.

Not dogging the team here. Just pointing out what I think some of the problems are right now.

Drive4cy · 02-20-2007, 01:53 PM

Well, we seem to play good defense, we seem to have a good attitude most of the time, the work ethic is there most of the time. That leaves talent. Except for Mike Taylor, I'm not sure we have another Big 12 caliber guard on the roster. Jiri and Wesley are fine players, Rahshon is a Big 12 player but outside of that, what do we have? Cory Johnson will get there, but he's not ready to play yet. Marsden is a stiff, but only a sophomore and battled illness so he's not ready to play. I like Dodie, but he's undersized, doesn't have good handles and can't really get his own shot. McIntosh is improving, but he's a midmajor player.

sodakjoe · 02-20-2007, 01:53 PM

I'd say that a lack of being able to put the ball in the basket is our chief problem right now. I'd say that our Defense is far from lock-down, but is much better than it used to be, and I can see improvement from game to game, which indicates to me that the players have a good work ethic. The talent that we have isn't Top 10 caliber, but the players we have are for the most part Big XII caliber players. I suppose attitude would be the closest thing I can think of, although it seems like every day the kids are buying into McDermott more and more. If anything is holding us back, it's bad decision making on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the half-court sets.

AirWalke · 02-20-2007, 01:54 PM

I don't think there's anything wrong with a bad attitude -- there may have been an episode of it after they took Kansas to OT, but I believe that's gone.

Right now the lack of talent is catching up to them. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but winning is a lot different than losing. Lose often, and your confidence starts to dwindle. Win often, and your confidence builds. A season is built on these swings, and the level of talent more-or-less dictates how easy it is to win or lose games.

mjones34 · 02-20-2007, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Knownothing

Talent, Talent, and more talent. No point guard play. Rashon can't take anyone off the dribble. Wes is running on empty due to being a freshman. Jiri finally has it figured out. Taylor is out of control. Nobody knows where the weight room is either.

Not dogging the team here. Just pointing out what I think some of the problems are right now.

I agree with everything but the weightroom comment. These guys barely had anytime with ISU before the season. The focus is the court right now, not the weightroom. You don't bulk up during playing season.

ISUKyro · 02-20-2007, 01:57 PM

It's not on the list, but I want some BIG players.

rd4isu · 02-20-2007, 01:58 PM

No question we're missing a true run-the-show point guard. The turnover statistics for the season are a direct reflection of this shortcoming. Next on the list would have to be consistent shooting. There are stretches where we can't throw the ball in the ocean. Our effort, defense and rebounding are adequate enough to be winning games. Our turnovers and shooting percentage flat out stink this year. Good news though, help is on the way!

cyclonekj · 02-20-2007, 01:59 PM

I hated picking 'talent (lack of it)', because we've been very demanding of the newcomers and I've seen good things from them. Some have played very well for their first season in the Big 12 and they all seem to be working hard. Also, we have a history at ISU of doing more with less.

I think the lack of size has been a big factor, as well as poor fundamentals at times. The disparity in turnovers, rebounds, and points in the paint has been our downfall this year.

travman23 · 02-20-2007, 02:06 PM

Talent, we have no depth and little expirience now but help is on the way. Look at our bench:

Dodie: streaky
Marsden: doesn't contribute much
Gray: a little soft, has had some injuries
C. Johnson: erratic playing time, has to play out of position usually
Ceaser: just got put into the rotation, doesn't score much
Brock: has not hit a 3 since the first game of Big 12 play
Currie: limited offensively

If one of our main guys (Wesley, Jiri, and Taylor) have an off night or are in foul trouble we have no one on the bench we can count on to come in and provide even half of what these guys do. We also lack size and teams with bigger and more physical players like KSU will not be scared to draw a little contact.

Help is on the way though, Brackins and Thompson should really help the post depth and Diante will hopefully give us a big PG that can allow Taylor to play more as a SG.
Currie: limited offensively

dbronco7sc · 02-20-2007, 04:45 PM

I would most like to pick "Experience" because we're just inconsistent at bringing good defense, attitude, and displaying our talent. Experience would help us so that we can do everything at once and not have to work on each thing individually

darts180 · 02-20-2007, 05:11 PM

Must be a slow day, or someone has way too much time on their hands. The answer is pretty obvious, so much so that I didn't even vote, ummmmmmm......what is lack of talent alex???
We are the least talented team, physically, in the Big 12. That is what happens when you have a short time to put together a team, at the end of the recruiting season.

Help is on the way folks, in a couple years we should be closer to equal, but it will take 3-5 years for us to have a team full of Big 12 caliber players.