***OFFICIAL: Yale @ Iowa State Game(day) Thread***

[BallSoHard4Cy]

ISUonthemove nailed it: Last year we saw some emotion. Scotty brought the leadership and ejected it into everyone. Iowa this year, has the emotion. This year, we have no leader and no emotion. And really, who's gonna be that leader? Not knowing any of the players personally, I would say its Babb, Ejim, or McGee. Babb hasn't shown he can do it, Ejim seems to quiet, and McGee might be able to, BUT HE COMES OFF THE BENCH. I'd see what happens in conference and if Lucious plays bad, play Babb or McGee at the point, and Babb or McGee at the 2. We need an ejection of life, we don't have any.

[CYdTracked]

If we play as poorly as we did today we are going to get destroyed at Kansas.

I loved Niang's effort today. Him and McGee were the reason for the comeback. I was really impressed with Niang being the middle man on the full court press too. For a guy his size he really got to the traps and the back across when they threw out of the trap much more quickly than you would think for a guy his size and that length really gave Yale fits trying to get the ball across the half court. Gotta find minutes for him and McGee, when those 2 are on the floor at the same time we seem to play a lot better.

[Rural]

I wish this team played with more emotion and enthusiasm. I'm envious how hard the squawks are playing. I haven't caught a game where it looks like our players give a ****.

Aww, you arrive right back at the old quandary with that one.
I can chose lightly-talented ankle-biters or "entitled" talent. The choice is yours.

[Istater4life]

I'd like to see Niang starting. He seems to be the vocal leader we've been missing.

[Dryburn]

If there is no leadership on the floor this year with 4 5th year seniors and McGee....who is going to provide it next year?

[MJ271]

I disagree with those saying there is no leadership. Today, I thought that Babb and Niang both showed great leadership.

I thought that when Babb got the technical and Hoiberg sat him, he would just kind of sulk on the bench, but instead, he was standing up and yelling just as a good leader would

[acgclone]

If there is no leadership on the floor this year with 4 5th year seniors and McGee....who is going to provide it next year?

I think with a year under his belt Niang will become a primary leader. Jones will bring some experience to the team at semester.

Guys like Ejim and Percy don't seem to be super vocal leaders but can still perform and lead by example.

Clearly we'll need some huge things from our incoming class. MM and MT will probably have to contribute ala Iowa's young guys this year. That is proof that it can be done.

We have 4 3rd year players coming in but all with the exception of MJ are unproven. Hopefully between Hogue and the two bigs, we get one that really surprises us and the other two are solid role players

Hopefully between Naz, SDW and Okoro, we get a big surprise and one or more of them make big strides

I won't be real confident next year but sometimes ears like that can pleasantly surprise you

[gocubs2118]

I think Ejim is more of a leader than people give him credit for.

[CycloneVet]

If you like how Iowa is playing, go be a fan of them, I'm here for the long haul. They got beat yesterday. Did any of you expect the team to come out and play hard today against a 4-9 team? I didnt for one. I figured they would sleep walk to a win. Likely most of those guys were up a little late last night, they are college kids afterall.

We have zero bad losses this year, that should account for something. I dont know how this team will turn out but I saw Fred's post game presser and he is ******* ******, there will be a fire lit against KU, I bet they will play hard for 40 minutes and be focused win or lose.

Whats really funny is to go back and read some of last years post-game meltdowns, then compare them to post-game jubilation after a big win.

[samwise45]

Well, you guys certainly have a long time to prepare for KU.

[ISUChippewa]

If you like how Iowa is playing, go be a fan of them, I'm here for the long haul. They got beat yesterday. Did any of you expect the team to come out and play hard today against a 4-9 team? I didnt for one. I figured they would sleep walk to a win. Likely most of those guys were up a little late last night, they are college kids afterall.

We have zero bad losses this year, that should account for something. I dont know how this team will turn out but I saw Fred's post game presser and he is ******* ******, there will be a fire lit against KU, I bet they will play hard for 40 minutes and be focused win or lose.

Whats really funny is to go back and read some of last years post-game meltdowns, then compare them to post-game jubilation after a big win.

I really don't think it's too much to ask student-athletes who are on scholarship to play a sport they love to play it hard when they have thousands of fans showing up to watch them play on a holiday. If you do maybe you should become more of an NBA fan.

[CycloneErik]

I really don't think it's too much to ask student-athletes who are on scholarship to play a sport they love to play it hard when they have thousands of fans showing up to watch them play on a holiday. If you do maybe you should become more of an NBA fan.

Exactly. You owe it to the people that show up, and you owe it to the program paying your way through school. Make the most of the opportunity.

[SyracuseCyclone]

I really don't think it's too much to ask student-athletes who are on scholarship to play a sport they love to play it hard when they have thousands of fans showing up to watch them play on a holiday. If you do maybe you should become more of an NBA fan.

I don't think so. If you don't like your "free" entertainment meaning unpaid entertainers you go watch NBA. These kids have a 5 month schedule where they play big time basketball that is like the pros in every way shape and form minus the pay. These are the dark days of the season. They do not get a 5 week break to go home, eat their parents cooking, sleep late, and smoke and joke with friends. OTHER STUDENTS DO ARENT THEY "STUDENT" ATHLETES? But of course lining the Universities money is the main priority so they have to play games for you when they should be home taking a deserved and earned break. On New Years Day when everyone else is off they have to play a game to entertain YOU and they get no financial compensation for it.

Now yes, the opportunity and education for the most part makes it worth their while. I am not trying to argue the hard done by case of NCAA student athletes. But I sure as **** feel sorry for the kids who play CBB from Christmas to New YEars these poor kids have my sympathy during that time and I just hope they don't get tagged with an L by a crap team. It disgusts me to see internet people railing on them while they are home enjoying their day off. They should get to go home and take a break to charge their batteries but no they have to pay ESPN and the Universities bills. College Basketball players from say...December 22-January 2nd I feel are basically slaves let these kids go home and have a break and come back refreshed and get to be kids. They don't get a break. They have to play games for free. Its a long *** season. I don't blame a team for coming out flat New Years Day against a crappy opponent. Yale weren't celebrating last night they were in their hotels 1500 miles from home getting ready for a game while ISU players who are just human went out for NYE. And I applaud them for winning despite this.

[megamanxzero35]

I was at the game. The first half was bad. No hustle. Looked like zombies. It seemed appearant they thought they could sleep walk through the game. Percy's post defense was impossibly bad. Couple times he spun around to see another guy lay it in or had a guy work around him like he was standing still. I really don't understand his bad defense. He has a great frame for being a wall in the post but seems to just have bad footwork and doesn't react to where the ball is at.

2nd half was great. Niang and McGee really bolstered the energy on the floor and everyone reacted. Clyburn stepped up and so did Ejim.

I also think that bad 1st half was partly on the environment. Marshalltown High School band sat in and was incredibly quiet. I realize they aren't going to be the trash talking band we normally have but they didn't add that home court advantage they usually give us. Also, no students. Student sections were filled with families with scatterings of students. Yale took 90% of their free throws to peace and quiet. Speaking of peace and quiet, Hilton was deafening with the silence there today. Only during the big 2nd half run did it get loud. There was a solid crowd there but I think everyone was down from the bowl game loss and probably a little tired.

Thankfully there was enough Magic in Hilton today to get the win.

[im4cyclones]

I really don't think it's too much to ask student-athletes who are on scholarship to play a sport they love to play it hard when they have thousands of fans showing up to watch them play on a holiday. If you do maybe you should become more of an NBA fan.

Sometimes players come out flat. Just like sometimes crowds lack emotion. Today was pretty emotionless, all around. Several fans around me didn't even stand for introductions. Flat team + flat crowd = emotionless game.