Cyclones Defeat Wayne State, 55-41

[professor]

I also like how McD got on Hubalek during a TO.
Hubalek can score but his D is pretty bad.

[shildreth]

At this point in the season it is painful to watch. No pure scorers, offense looks out of sorts unless it is after a stoppage in play so McD can draw a play up. This team seems to be settling for a lot of 3's instead of trying to work it around and find an open 15 footer etc. I would have been really excited to see Marsden get a little agressive on the offensive end during this pre-season. He has great touch, I've seen it both times he shot the ball last year. It almost looks like he is scared to make a mistake. Which normally would be a good thing...but this is exhibition. This is when you are supposed to make mistakes and learn. We need to do something with his confidence.

All that being said this is all to be expected. They are young, inexperienced and new to each other and the system. It is going to be a season of development each game and will probably be very trying at times. Hopefully we see Taylor on Friday.

It is very reassuring to see the plays that McD draws up and to have them be very successful.

[scubapohl1]

The defense is certinally coming along. Like GMAC said in the post game, the shooting will come. The only reason the first two games were close at all was because we shot 30%.

My biggest worry is our big men. Once we go against more talented 4 and 5 players, we are going to get schooled in the paint. Hopefully Cory Johnson can get better quick but at only 6'7", he'll never be the end-all in the paint. Juri-Marsden-Gray's play will dictate out season IMHO.

[benjay]

Originally Posted by professor

We need Aaron Agnew to eat up some space.

lol nice

[jay moe]

I also saw the butt chewing Jiri got during that time out and also noticed the time out that was called late in the game when Clark and C. Johnson took quick threes when the game was winding down. I'm sure they were the topic of conversation during that time out. I just like the way we hustle, play defense, and attack rebounds. It is going to pay off when the shooting percentage starts to climb.

[cygoat]

Originally Posted by gocubs2118

They need to spend a good amount of time in practice shooting free throws. At one time they missed 7 in a row. Not good.

But they did heat up toward the end, which is good. Also, on the post-game show, Cory Johnson came out after the game to practice free throws. McDermott sounded pleased.

[travman23]

Couple things I noticed:

- Corey Johnson seems to be our most physical post player from what I have seen. He took it right at the basket a few times last night, I hope he gets some more PT, especially with Jiri being out the first 6 games.
- Speaking of Jiri, anyone notice that when he sets a pick on offense it never does any good? If anything he gets in the way of our own player more than the defender does at times. He also still has a lot of work to do on defense but he definately has worked on his low-post moves on offense it looks like. He needs to stay close to the basket this year and cut back on the 3's.
- Was Jessan Gray really ready to play last night? He added nothing when he was in and looks like his wrist still had a lot of stuff wrapped on it. I'd like him to be ready to go with Jiri out but if he's not going to be able to contribute anything might as well let Smith or Streff eat a few minutes with 2 good hands.
- Our offense needs a lot of work. Hopefully getting Taylor back and a healty Gray will help that out some. Seems like we settle for a lot of 3's and have no cutters to the basket right now.

I like seeing the great defense but we better get some offense going by the time conference play comes around because these first 2 games we did not play well enough to beat a Big 12 team. Guess that is why you play these games too though.

[BryceC]

We also have to remember that conference play is 2 months away. We've got a long time to improve. I don't expect a whole lot out of these guys, but I think we'll see them gel and put us in a good position for the newcomers next year.

[threemuch]

Even freshmen 1A players should shoot better than 30% from the floor, and there is no excuse for missed free throws. Hopefully just some nervousness to get out. Big venue stuff.

If we shoot like that all season, the Big 12 will hand it to us as bad as they are in football. No amount of great D or slowdown will save us.

[Al_4_State]

Agreed threemuch. I thought our guys did a really good job on defense, and we did a good job CREATING scoring chances, as well as rebounding. However, the shooting was atrocious at times, and if we are going to compete, that has to improve. I thought C. Johnson played well in the post, on both ends, and that McIntosh showed real good defensive potential, and moved the ball well despite a seeming inability to hit anything away from the charity stripe. Jiri and Ross have both improved ALOT on defense, and they are bigger, to boot. If we can start shooting the ball, this team will finish higher than predicted, but if we can't, there will be a lot of losses, even with the dramatic defensive improvement.

[CloneFan65]

I like to see the ISU was finally getting to the line in the second half. It shows they're getting more aggressive on offense. During the EA Sports game and the first half last night they shot a TOTAL of 13 freethrows. In the second half alone last night they shot 21.