***OFFICIAL I AM PROUD OF THIS TEAM THREAD***

[DRCHIRO]

This team sorta reminds me of LE's first year. Not very talented overall, short bench but they played their *** off every night.

It was fun to watch DG blossom this year. You always knew he had the ability but playing in McDermott's "offense" is enough to make a lot of people look bad.

Larry went 15-15 his first year here with a 6-10 conference record.

He picked up some nice transfers the following year and if I remember correctly, had a pretty good year.

I'm by no means expecting a repeat of that, but some similarities do exist.

Screw it, Final 4 or bust......we deserve it.

[Cyclonestate78]

People seem to forget quickly that just a year ago this program was in a nuclear winter of epic proportions. We had guys that quit, got booted for attitude problems, we had kids that went home for funerals and just decided not to come back for an extra week or so and miss some games, transfers galore, etc....

The roster was decimated and somehow we still managed to be competitive all season long to the bitter end. The fact we finished with a 16-16 record is pretty amazing actually. Based on what our roster looked like after last season and the mass exodus we dealt with I thought we would be lucky to finish our non-conference schedule at .500 this year.

[snowcraig2.0]

I will miss Jake, done with DG and JVB.

You are a flat out, ******* idiot. DG played 40 minutes a game, played all 40 minutes with the ball in his hand, and usually guarded one of if not the other teams best player. He averaged 18 points and 6 assists. And you are 'done' with him? Go away, ISU does not need fans like you.

[Cyclonepride]

If you can't play in the last 2 minutes what good are you.

People who come into a thread like this, and make idiotic posts like this, should be banned. Not only do you add nothing to the conversation, you detract from it.

Great thread. I love the effort and spirit of this team, and they have set the tone for the Fred Hoiberg era at Iowa State.

Very proud of DG. Absolutely tireless. Great attitude. I'll miss the heck out of him.

Wish we had Jake for another year. He added a lot to this team with his leadership and toughness.

JVB gave us some great moments too.

Can't wait until next year!

[weisr2002]

Without DG we would be down by 15 instead of being in close games and we would maybe have 10 wins.

A loss is a loss. I respect what this team did, loved watching them, but we need better players to win games. Time for some fresh blood.

[weisr2002]

You are a flat out, ******* idiot. DG played 40 minutes a game, played all 40 minutes with the ball in his hand, and usually guarded one of if not the other teams best player. He averaged 18 points and 6 assists. And you are 'done' with him? Go away, ISU does not need fans like you.

Sorry, wording was maybe too harsh. I liked watching them, loved their heart, but we need winners on this team. I just don't think these guys had that killer instinct. Diante has been doing this for the last 3 years, this is not just isolated to this year. I am ready for some new players to get in there and see what they can do.

[RotatingColumn]

I looked forward to every single game. Haven't been able to say that for some time now. This program is on the right track thanks to this team. I think a few years from now we'll look back and recognize these guys for what they started.

[Aclone]

Sorry, wording was maybe too harsh. I liked watching them, loved their heart, but we need winners on this team. I just don't think these guys had that killer instinct. Diante has been doing this for the last 3 years, this is not just isolated to this year. I am ready for some new players to get in there and see what they can do.

All seven of them?

[CtownCyclone]

I looked forward to every single game. Haven't been able to say that for some time now. This program is on the right track thanks to this team. I think a few years from now we'll look back and recognize these guys for what they started.

I agree with this. Last year, I missed quite a few games because I simply did not care to watch us. This year, I've followed as many as I could. Good season out of our seniors. Good experience for our young guys. This experience will definitely help out next year.

[Cylax51]

This season was very interesting. When we were 0-0 going into things everyone was talking 2011-2012. This group found a way to take a season pre-determined as hopeless and by December turn quite a few heads. By the end we just didnt have the ponies to hang with the rest of the league. How many of you can honestly say that in October and November you would have put this team at 16-16. Jake may not be remembered by everyone, but his contributions were huge. DG showed what he could do without Wes, Craig or a coach planning his every move. 8 losses by 6 or less. That says a lot. I look forward to next year's potential, but 2010-11 was a success. Thank you to our players and coaches.

[joefrog]

Great season considering how shorthanded they were. Everybody worked hard. No excuses. Played their tail off, and the style of basketball was quite entertaining to watch.

Also give FH an A+. To be in the position where we are taking a supposed NCAA tourney team to the wire in KC with so few players returning, and so many new faces, that is special.

I truly believe that FH is going to do what it takes to bring Hilton Magic back, and then some. To be disappointed with this season, and how we had trouble closing, wow. We were usually playing over our heads just to be in the games! We had a thin bench, and not to mention, the stench of losing still lingered from the McD era.

Don't forget the plan to rebuilding:

Year 1: Keep games close.
Year 2: Win close games.
Year 3: Win.
Year 4: Reload and repeat.

FH has us on the right path. I hate losing as much as the next guy, but you have to realize what hand he was dealing with. Kudos to all the coaches and the players. Thanks for giving us your all and representing our university well. Go State!

[Cyclones9712]

This is a reason why I'm very proud to be a Cyclone fan. Although this team didn't have all the talent, we won a few B12 games and did more with what we had than McD would have done. I am also very proud of Fred Hoiberg. He most definitely has this program moving in the right direction. If you put last years team with Freddie, they would have gone to the NCAA tourney. Can't wait for years to come as a cyclone fan!

[Cyched]

I've been to every home game the past two years (Mac's last and Fred's first) and there's a big difference. Last February when the wheels were all but off, I still went to the games, but always had the feeling that we were going to lose again, that we wouldn't play well enough to win. This year, even in conference play, I was excited to go to the games, because I knew we were gonna play tough and have a legitimate shot at winning. And it was; our largest margin of defeat at home was 9 points to Tech. This team never gave up, and had more heart than any of McDermott's teams. Fred has laid the foundation for the future, and we are in for some exciting times as Cyclone basketball fans.

[IsUaClone2]

I appreciate this team from top-to-bottom and side-to-side. I thought they fought like a team that had a chance and never looked like they shouldn't be on the same court as the competition. If we have more depth plus only a small upgrade of talent next year, we should be putting a little fear into the rest of the league. Next year's team had better not let this year's team down.

[kkise]

I'm proud of the effort this team played with this year. I really hope that effort is there next season as well. Combine that effort with the talent and we'll really make some noise.