How do you defend this team?

**Cyforce** · 10-13-2011, 11:10 AM

Well you got to hit as soon as they step off the team bus...oh sorry wrong coach.

**Cyforce** · 10-13-2011, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by IHavNoCyCash

very good point here...Ejim at the 4 minimizes alot of his strengths as a player...he's a good rebound and somewhat strong but he's a very good driver which we haven't seen him to a tremendous ammount of yet..think Ejim will be the 2nd best player for us this year behind White...gonna be a more skilled version of Rashon Clark

I don't see being a 4 in this system hurting ME at all. It's all about spacing and more shooters gives him more room to operate. Defensively he seems to match up better with someone bigger instead of quicker.

**NotJustMagic** · 10-13-2011, 01:23 PM

I think McGee will step into his own this year. I remember reading his stat line from last year, granted it was juco and not the XII, he lit it up from behind the arc as their point guard, also watched his highlight videos and he is very good at finishing around the rim and rotating his body in the air. I would expect to see him at the point a lot after the season gets rolling and he proves himself. Also Scotty has shown he can some how get to the rim and put up a floater. Allen is going to be our finisher at the end of the shot clock at first glance, but then again, there is 4 - 5 other guys that are more than capable of hitting the big shot. (scotty, babb, mcgee, & white)

I also am hoping to see a lot of full court press, we have a great looking bench, guys like sledge (who's known for his defense), Bubu would be great to up the pressure. Very excited about this year, no matter how realistic I try to be. Its like buying a powerball ticket the day you turn 21, chances are you'll be out 2 buks, but you can't stop thinking about that jackpot!

**ca4cy** · 10-13-2011, 09:24 PM

I'm as excited about this team as anybody, but we are NOT the dream team. We have holes. We'll need to figure out a way to work our way through foul trouble, bad shooting nights etc as has been mentioned. We've got weapons, but we've proved absolutely nothing. Scout team ball is not the same as putting 5 guys on the court and beating the KU's and Texas' of the world. I'm putting my trust in Fred that he'll find other teams weaknesses. Defense is what's going to win games. Johnny's teams were a blast to watch but we didn't win anything worth mentioning until LE taught us to play D. Two years ago we thought we'd be a NCAA tournament team and we finished below .500. Creighton took a big part of the problem off our hands, but let's not kill ourselves with fan expectations again.

**NATEizKING** · 10-13-2011, 09:52 PM

You can't! National Champions 2012!

**CycloneErik** · 10-13-2011, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by NATEizKING

You can't! National Champions 2012!

WE WILL NEVER LOSE AGAIN!!!

**NATEizKING** · 10-13-2011, 10:02 PM

EVER!!!!!!

**Lyon309Cy** · 10-13-2011, 10:29 PM

I would welcome teams to try to full-court press us. We don't have one player that can beat it off the dribble, but that's not how you beat a press anyways. We'll have at least 3 good ball handlers on the floor at all times, and Royce is an awfully nice, big outlet that will be able to see (and pass) over the top of any trap. We're built for a full-court wide open game. It's the half court offense that worries me. Play tight on the guards, keep White from getting easy touches inside, and let us try to hit contested 3 pointers. White isn't the type to try to force it, so let him take it outside, give him the mid-range shot. It's hard to say what our half court offense will look like, but if we can get rebounds and turnovers we should be able to get out and run with about anyone. Our D is absolutely the key to our O.

All this said before anyone's watched a minute of this team playing together in a game that counts.

**Ficklone02** · 10-13-2011, 11:13 PM

Teams really didn't stop us last year, so I have no doubt we will score alot of points. The only question is how effective will our defense be, and will our press get our team into too much foul trouble.

**Judoka** · 10-13-2011, 11:27 PM

Nobody on the team killed anybody or anything. Some poor decisions, sure. But nothing that would cause us to need to defend the team as a whole.

Now how would another team defend against this team? I guess we'll just have to find out.

**bostrem00** · 10-14-2011, 07:47 AM

Maybe the opposition scoring more points than Iowa State.....Usually in a game like basketball that's how wins are accumulated most times....Or in 2000, just have hometown refs hand the game to the local team on a silver platter....

**CycloneErik** · 10-14-2011, 07:51 AM

You defend this team by defending yourself and taking shelter, hoping to survive the storm.

**Senolcyc** · 10-26-2011, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by GoSTATE71

I think the best bet to beat us this year is to pressure our PG, even though I think chris allen has the potential to be one of the better guards in the conference, it seems to be the only area lacking in experience.

Teams can't really pressure Iowa State's point guard since it doesn't have one. But they can and will pressure whichever two guard is attempting to play the point. Chris Allen is not a point guard, but he'll probably be the best at faking it.

**acgclone** · 10-26-2011, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by Senolcyc

Teams can't really pressure Iowa State's point guard since it doesn't have one. But they can and will pressure whichever two guard is attempting to play the point. Chris Allen is not a point guard, but he'll probably be the best at faking it.

This is our glaring deficiency, and it sounds like it will prevent us from steamrolling the B12 as we all hoped.

**Peter** · 10-26-2011, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by acgclone

This is our glaring deficiency, and it sounds like it will prevent us from steamrolling the B12 as we all hoped.

The fact that Scotty is getting some time at PG in practice is telling me that we are already having some issues at this spot. We NEED someone to be efficient at this position, to take care of the ball and to distribute to the play-makers. Otherwise it's like having a football team loaded with skill guys but no QB to get them the ball.