ISU and Its Place in Big 12 Basketball the Next 2-4 Seasons

[kingcy]

I am going to start by saying I am a Cyclone homer, drink too much Cy-Aid, and usually see the glass half full. I hate to look this far ahead but I think some of you are ready to give up on the program already.
Turning a program around doesn’t happen over night. It takes time to get everything just right. I have had two jobs since I graduated college and in both of them I have been a part of a turnaround. From that I know it takes time to get things just right. There are days you wonder why you are working your butt off but all of a sudden you see the fruits of you labor and it makes it worth while. I think building a Basketball program is like a business, once you get everything in place, hard work will pay off.

This team will be better next year. Yes they are losing 2 of the best players on the team but this is college sports you lose seniors every year. You just hope your underclassmen get better, step up, and are provide you equal or better performance on the court.

If all the players stay and there are no new players joining the team here is how I think will look next year.

PG-1. Garrett-his biggest problem is not being strong enough and I think that will improve in the off-season, so his shots will be stronger, he will be stronger when he has the ball, and his passes will be better. He will also be a smarter player since he will be a year older and have experience in the system.
2. Buckley-Granted we don’t know much about him but he one of the best players in Michigan, and there are some good players in Michigan.

SG. 1. Wes J- We know what he can do at 100%, and another year under his belt he should have a special year.
2. Sean H- If he keeps hitting his 3s he will help out better than he has this year
2b. Wes E.-if he is as good of a shooter as people say he is can you keep him off the court?

Other G. Peterson-he will get a lot of minutes as both PG and SG, he knows the system and is a good player but the other PGs will have more natural ability.
Boozer-Lets hope he surprises us and improves a whole bunch.

JUCO- If they get a good JUCO that can play right away look for them to move Wes back to PF. McD said it could happen anyway.

SF. 1- Lucca-if he is as good as everyone says he is look for him to get a lot of minuets. With him being on the floor will allow the inside to open up a lot. Having 3 guys on the court that can hit open 3s will change the way teams defend ISU.
2. Mann- don’t know much about him but I do know the coaches like what he has to offer
2b. Any of the SGs as listed above

PF- 1.Thompson-We see that he can defend he just needs to get some shots to fall. He has some good moves and will benefit from having 3 point shooters. If his offence can match what Brackins has been doing as of late that will be great.
C.-Brackins- He will get better, he just needs to work on his strength so he can go to the basket and play with the big boys of the Big 12. We know he has the talent and skills. Hopefully he can score like Jiri has been.

PF-C Back up-CJ- Look for him to improve and have something to prove next season.
Hamilton-Most say he needs work and is raw as of yet so a RS maybe?


Ranking the Big 12 coaches
1. Scott Drew- what he has done at Baylor is short of amazing
2. Bill Self-Gets the talent can he get the team to win it all?
3. Rick Barnes-Again gets the talent; he just needs to go farther in the toury.
4. Greg McD-Call me a homer but he has done a lot with very little this far
5. Mark Turgeon-Good coach, took over a good program, lets see what he can do
with it, I think McD has a winning record against him
6. Jeff Bzdelik-doing some nice things at a place that is hard to win at
7. Doc Sadler- again doing nice things at a school it is hard to win at
8. Frank Martin-time will tell if he can keep it going at KSU hard to tell what he can do since he has hasn’t even coached 30 NCAA games
9. Jeff Capel-took over a good program and hasn’t done much with it
10. Mike Anderson-has some off the court issues with his team. Not sure if he is the guy to get it done or not.
11. Sean Sutton- Thanks for the job daddy
12. Pat Knight- Don’t know much about him as of now, will it turn out like Keno Davis or like Sean Sutton?

There are some good coaches in this conference

Where the programs are going
Standings as of now. (Where I think the program is going in the next 2 to4 yrs)

1. Kansas-Here for the long haul( =)
2. KSU-Who knows what will happen here but my guess is they better enjoy the good times in KSU land, and the good times are right now. (↓↓↓)
3. Texas-As long as they keep getting the talent they will be good. (=)
4. Texas A&M- Lets see what happens after BGs touch wears off. (=)
5. Baylor-Good team now but they have a lot of upperclassmen. (=↓)
6. Nebraska-Up and down this year Lincoln is a tough place to win (=)
7. Oklahoma- Jeff Capel isn’t doing much to improve the program he took over (↓)
8. Texas Tech-Time will tell what happens here (=)
9. Iowa State-Things look good for them, once everything gets in place, we hope (↑↑↑↑↑)
10. Missouri- Off the court problems may hurt this program again (=)
11. OSU- Can you fire a guy whose dad’s name is on the court? (↓)
12. Colorado-Tough place to win, they have a good coach though (↑)

As you can tell I think its not as tough of a task as many think to move up in this conference. Since the Big 12 was formed KU has been the best team, and no other team has been able to stay in the top 3 or 4 for more than a few years. Texas is that team now, but it is up for grabs and whatever team gets there, avoids coaching changes, and BS off the court can stay there for a long time. I feel ISU has a good, if not better chance than any other team to do that. We know they can get there (2 Conference Titles) , we dont know if they can stay there.

Am I crazy for thinking this way?
Go ahead rip me and this apart. I may be busy for the next few days so I wont be able to reply to your comments right away, but will when I get a chance to.

[isuno1fan]

Have some time on your hands?...

[kingcy]

Originally Posted by isuno1fan

Have some time on your hands?...

It didnt take too long, to write up.

[Cystheman]

i dont know if i have enough time on my hands to read this thing

[BryceC]

Hey, I could see it. If I could forcast the sports future I'd be in Vegas and not Ankeny though. I have to admit I'm not all that optimistic about next year but I do think better times are on the way for the program.

[CycloneErik]

I like the work you put in here.

Looking at the list, we have more history and more of a fan base, which would indicate to me that it's easier for us to rebuild than some of these teams to build up.Seems like Hilton should be a great recruiting tool, as well (especially after taking a trip to Lincoln).

Looking at the team as it stands so far, I think the next couple of years look awfully promising! I also think the glass is more full than not.

[cyclonemaniac7]

I think our front court is the only thing that concerns me for next year. I really don't think we can rely on Thompson very much. We'll really be lacking the experience down low for the next year or two. Unless of course Brackins makes a huge leap.

[TJ2004]

Originally Posted by Cystheman

i dont know if i have enough time on my hands to read this thing

That's no kidding.

[cstrunk]

Anything less than a solid NIT bid next year with an outside shot at the NCAA's will be a huge disappointment IMO, unless something drastic changes. We *should* have depth next year and some experience for once. I agree with others that our big men may be our biggest weakness next year, but that has yet to be seen with a couple of new guys on their way and a more experienced Brackins/Thompson.

I like your outlook for the most part.

[Jeremy]

I really think some people are going to get their hopes too high for next year. We're still going to be lacking for having both experience and scoring ability on the floor at the same time. Wesley, Brackins and Garrett will be our returning scorers with Garrett and Brackins having the most to do in the off season. We have Lucca and Wes the should be good for newbies next year, although Lucca will have a year of being in the system.

I guess I just don't see why we should expect anything more than 15-18 wins next year. I do however see us being much, much better the following year. There just isn't a quick fix for the problems that ISU has faced and next year we'll upset a team or two but lose a couple that would normally be solid expectations. In the end I think we're still two years from being a solid team.

[cyismydog]

I think we have a shot at 20 wins here, but I'm being optimistic. The Big 12 is turning into a great basketball conference, and there are lots of good teams.

[isuno1fan]

I agree with Jeremy.

This team will have to overachieve next year to reach NIT IMO. I see 15-19 wins total.

[EggMcClone]

Good post. I think it's tough to rank the coaches when a whopping 9 of the 12 have less than 2 full seasons in the conference though. Most of the schools felt good about the hires when they made them but a lot of them will probably be gone within a few years just because not everybody can win. I hope ISU and GMac can take advantage of the opportunity.

IMO Mizzou and OSU have some of the biggest issues facing them. A lot of Mizzou fans have turned on Anderson already and Sutton hasn't done anything to inspire confidence. I thought Nebraska would be better than they are this year but they're trying to build as well. Tough task.

Tech is the biggest question mark and could go either way. Colorado will face an uphill battle but I think they've got a great coach. We've been saying next year for the last several years. Will it finally get here? In terms of NCAA tournament I say no but I think we will be improved. We need to get to the level where we're winning most of our home games and getting a few on the road.

With the fan support we have I think we've underperformed over the last several years (obviously). Our facilities really need an upgrade though and the Hilton renovations will help. What happened to the basketball practice facility? Is that still planned for sometime soon? That is desperately needed.

[isucy86]

The key for ISU next season is Garrett & Brackins. Both have shown potential, but they need to work hard in the weight room & become more consistent with their basketball skills.

Garrett needs strength- he needs to watch some tape of some bigger PG's over the past few years and see how they were successful. There were maybe a half dozen times where Garrett beat his man off the dribble against the Longhorns and didn't have the strength or agressiveness to get the defender on his hip and take it to the basket. Garrett had a good game against the Longhorns- IMO an experienced Garrett should have had a MONSTER game.

Brackins needs strength and work on his shot. It seems to me he shoots the ball in the palm of his hand- especially on his short jumpers. Also a kid with his height & athleticism should average 6+ rpg.

Lucca needs to be a big time player also. He's needs to be a 10 ppg kid & shoot a high % from 3pt range.

IMO a starting lineup of the following is pretty solid:

PG Garrett (10 ppg & 4 apg)
WG Staiger (10 ppg & 4 rpg)
WF Johnson (17 ppg & 6 rpg)
PF Brackins (12 ppg & 6 rpg)
C Thompson (7 ppg & 6 rpg)

If this team is going to compete for an NCAA berth, then either Boozer or Eikmeier needs to be a deadly 3 point shot off the bench and score 6-8 ppg. Also C. Johnson and/or Mann needs to play 15-20 mpg of solid ball. Don't need to score many points, but need to rebound and play tough defense.

I'd love for Buckley to be a stud, but I have grown to like Petersen. For the most part he gets the Clones in the half court set and seems to settle down the team. If the kids around him get better, I think Petersen could be a solid Big 12 PG in the Jacy Holloway mode.

[Jeremy]

In my opinion Peterson knows the game as well as anybody we've had in a while. He isn't the most talented player on the court but most of the time he's going to be the smartest. I think he'll be a great coach some where some day.

Garrett could get 15ppg if he could learn to finish with more accuracy and handle the ball better in traffic. I think he's in between Stinson and Tinsley - has great tenacity and determination to drive like Tinsley but at this point can't finish with a good enough percentage, i.e. Stinson. I think he has the attitude to improve where Stinson didn't and therefore I think Garrett will end his career in a better position. He might not be starting with that wow factor that Stinson did but he also doesn't have as well balanced of a team and he really could have benefited from a year on the bench where Stinson came in ready, more or less. Just my opinion on the matter and not meant as a put-down on anybody - just a comparison of styles of play where I think Garrett has the advantage over Stinson.

Thompson is probably a 3-5ppg player. He's not the kind of player who is going to make a big impact on the offensive end, nor should he need to be. I think his place on the team is on defense.

Brackins will get much better - he has to get a little meaner when going to the rim and needs to learn to play more as a center for the time being. He'll get there though and he'll go to the NBA some day.

Wesley should be a 20ppg player next year if he stays healthy. He'll be a solid 1st rounder after his senior year.

Lucca could potentially be anywhere from 8-15ppg depending on how well the rest of the team develops. If others don't step up on a consistent basis, he won't be able to get open enough to score in high numbers every night.