Blog: Rick Barnes says these Cyclones are better than last year's

**HFCS** · 01-13-2013, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by CYUL8R

Or you could just wait until we win the conference?

All kidding aside - when you have top-level coaches singing your praises (instead of dragging their own efforts down) it speaks volumes. Says "ISU beat us" and not "We gave the game to ISU".

Major difference.

Or you have an arrogant dbag like Roy Williams who thinks ISU sucks no matter how many conference titles or wins over his team in a row they have (was it five?). So glad we don't have to listen to that guy anymore after games.

**jdoggivjc** · 01-13-2013, 12:48 PM

I guess I would agree that we have a better (overall) team than we did last year. Last year this team was so reliant and dependent on Royce White - virtually everything offensive went through him because it had to. Sure, Christopherson, Babb, and others made shots, but it was dependent on White opening it. While it worked for us last year, I think overall we're a better TEAM because we don't have to play that way.

**mitten1975** · 01-13-2013, 01:17 PM

I definitely think we have a good chance to be better, and even contend for the conference. I don't know how far we can go, but I couldn't be any happier to be a Cyclone fan right now. We are right in the hunt!

**cycophagus** · 01-13-2013, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by psychlone99

Definitely a hot start, and I think we're clearly playing very well as a team right now. We share the ball well and we've shown tremendous balance in our scoring, which makes it difficult for opponents to defend us. In that sense, perhaps we're a better team.

My biggest fear is what will happen when a team with talented big men decides they're going to make a concerted effort to take it at us inside. I'm not quite sure how we'll defend that, but I'm anxious to see it.

I think your take is astute. The Iowa Hawks essentially owned the paint versus ISU. I think it was more about their length and their energy than it was about brawn, but I think they recognized the same thing you are pointing out. I don't know firs hand, but have heard that West Virginia is very physical inside, so maybe this Wednesday game will provid a benchmark to gauge progress since the game in IC last month.

**NATEizKING** · 01-13-2013, 02:44 PM

Ejim is a 7 footer in a 6'6 body. His defense on Withey was pretty solid. As for the offensive side, we keep shooting draino from 3 and we are golden. We have so many good shooters that it would take 4-5 guys having an off night for us to be dominated.

**MJ271** · 01-13-2013, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by NATEizKING

Ejim is a 7 footer in a 6'6 body. His defense on Withey was pretty solid. As for the offensive side, we keep shooting draino from 3 and we are golden. We have so many good shooters that it would take 4-5 guys having an off night for us to be dominated.

I wonder how many rebounds Ejim would average per game if he was 7 feet tall. Or even 6'9". I would guess somewhere between 13-17

**BallSoHard4Cy** · 01-13-2013, 04:03 PM

We "replaced" Scotty and Allen with Tyrus and Babb, who got better, Korie who is coming into his own lately, and sometimes Will and Georges on the 3 ball. The spacing appears to better in these last 2 games, which is crazy considering we thought that would never happen with Royce gone. This team overall has had more of a turnover problem throughout the season. Except for these 2 games. Let's say this team is meshed, 12-13 did more before they meshed than 11-12 did.

Impossible to compare right now. We have to wait until the season is over to truly compare.

**SpokaneCY** · 01-13-2013, 04:16 PM

Why can't we as fans just take the compliment at face value? It means nothing at this point in the season. We will only know we're a better team when the final tally is posted. Barnes or Self saying we're a better team does NOT mean squat in the W/L column.

Just take the compliment!

**TurbulentEddie** · 01-13-2013, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by SpokaneCY

Why can't we as fans just take the compliment at face value? It means nothing at this point in the season. We will only know we're a better team when the final tally is posted. Barnes or Self saying we're a better team does NOT mean squat in the W/L column.

Just take the compliment!

The W/L column doesn't really tell whether or not the team is better (because of SOS and such), but otherwise I agree. It's a great compliment for this year's team!

Now, for the sake of argument and because these comparisons can be fun (whether or not Barnes sparked it), I would point out that this year's team doesn't have a bad loss yet and played KU at home tighter than last year's team. I still wouldn't take this year's team as it is right now against last year's team as it was in the NCAA tournament, though. And that's why I think for a real comparison, you have to look at the resume at the end of the year.

Oh, can't resist offering up some more food for thought... KenPom rankings:
2012-2013 ISU team today: 30
2011-2012 ISU team after two Big 12 games: 51
2011-2012 ISU team end of year: 27
Conclusion: We don't know yet!

**Cyclonepride** · 01-13-2013, 05:38 PM

Last year we had one unstoppable player and a bunch of complimentary players. This year we are fairly balanced with threats all over the floor. Not sure which is harder to guard, but I'd give a slight edge to this year on offense and a slight edge to this year on defense too.

**CycloneErik** · 01-13-2013, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclonepride

Last year we had one unstoppable player and a bunch of complimentary players. This year we are fairly balanced with threats all over the floor. Not sure which is harder to guard, but I'd give a slight edge to this year on offense and a slight edge to this year on defense too.

I think this year. You just don't know where the shot is coming from. I would hate to defend this nightmare of a team.

**cycloneworld** · 01-14-2013, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by CycloneErik

I think this year. You just don't know where the shot is coming from. I would hate to defend this nightmare of a team.

This. Instead of one superstar, we have 6 guys who can carry the load in a given night.

I think Valvano said it best during the game broadcast. He said something like "they take so many 3s but when you go back and review the tape, rarely do you ever say "That was a bad shot".

**CycloneErik** · 01-14-2013, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by cycloneworld

This. Instead of one superstar, we have 6 guys who can carry the load in a given night.

I think Valvano said it best during the game broadcast. He said something like "they take so many 3s but when you go back and review the tape, rarely do you ever say "That was a bad shot".

I think back to the big debates when the 3 point shot entered college basketball. Freddieball is essentially Denny Crum's nightmare come to life. He was not a fan. He really didn't like Pitino's offense at Providence, which lived and died by the three. He really would hate this "everyone is a threat to shoot and make it" offense.

**Cydkar** · 01-14-2013, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by SpokaneCY

Why can't we as fans just take the compliment at face value? It means nothing at this point in the season. We will only know we're a better team when the final tally is posted. Barnes or Self saying we're a better team does NOT mean squat in the W/L column.

Just take the compliment!

No, silly, we need a thread!

**Wesley** · 01-14-2013, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

I guess I would agree that we have a better (overall) team than we did last year. Last year this team was so reliant and dependent on Royce White - virtually everything offensive went through him because it had to. Sure, Christopherson, Babb, and others made shots, but it was dependent on White opening it. While it worked for us last year, I think overall we're a better TEAM because we don't have to play that way.

Basically Rolls Royce carried the team in the UK game. The supporting cast did not support that well.