Greg McDermott: Cyclone Club Luncheon

**Cardinal&Gold11** · 12-04-2008, 01:30 PM

I just got back from the luncheon and the key speaker was Greg McDermott. He talked about Lucca, and said that he was no where close to his top level, and that he he quite frustrated that he isn't back to his old self yet. He said that Wes was educated well beyond his years, basketball wise. Coach said that the alley-oop to Craig was Wes's idea. Coach said it was surprising for someone so young can be so aware of what his going on around him on the floor. He said the reason that DB didn't play last night was because there was really no reason to put him in. Coach said the Diante basically never gets tired. He could run up and down the court all game and doesn't get tired. Coach also had a lot to say about Craig. He said he played his best all around game as a Cyclone by far. He said is still way too passive down low but reminded us that he is only 6 games into his sophomore year. The way Coach was talking about Craig and Diante got me very excited for the rest of this year and hopefully 2 more years after that.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, just thought i would share with the rest you fanatics what Greg had to say.

**TheHelgo** · 12-04-2008, 01:33 PM

Thanks for the info!

**Ciclone** · 12-04-2008, 01:37 PM

Thanks for posting that!

About Wes, I noticed last night that he was signaling out a play one time as DG was bringing the ball up the court. Seemed quite heady for a freshman that otherwise might be still trying to understand schemes and what not.

**stormchaser** · 12-04-2008, 01:43 PM

Good info. Starting to see some real potential for this team.

**JJ4ISU** · 12-04-2008, 01:49 PM

To me, not much better than a "smart" basketball player. That is basically what Mac was saying about Wes. He was schooled well in Basketball 101, and we haven't seen that in a lot of our guys the past few years.

**Cyclones01** · 12-04-2008, 01:52 PM

Sorry... wrong forum

**Cyclones01** · 12-04-2008, 01:53 PM

nice

good to hear lucca will get better

**Cardinal&Gold11** · 12-04-2008, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by JJ4ISU

To me, not much better than a "smart" basketball player. That is basically what Mac was saying about Wes. He was schooled well in Basketball 101, and we haven't seen that in a lot of our guys the past few years.

It seems to me that a lot of younger kids really aren't taught anything about the game of basketball. It's all about offense nowadays. We need more players with basketball smarts

**ISUFan22** · 12-04-2008, 01:55 PM

Many thanks - I agree with Greg's assessments. Wes has been a bright spot in most games.

CB has certainly been way too timid - but finally last night - we saw the "monster" in him come out. We need to continue seeing that and I think his huge game last night will help him see what he needs to build on.

**markshir** · 12-04-2008, 01:55 PM

Wes is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

I love his shooting obviously, but he hustles and plays solid enough defense to stay on the court in most situations.

Maybe the best thing is that he expects to score points and win. He has a fearless look with his shot, and I would feel very confident with him taking a big shot or on the line in a big game. Debate all you want about playing in Nebraska versus playing elsewhere, but I think contending for state championships and playing as the underdog versus bigger schools has prepared him fairly well, at least from a mental standpoint.

Did Greg mention anything about Justin Hamilton? He is another player that I have really enjoyed watching when he plays. His off-season dedication and growth into a role on the team is impressive.

Both of those should be great players as they continue to develop. Maybe they won't be superstars, but they definitely have a role and seem willing to improve to fill it.

**Cardinal&Gold11** · 12-04-2008, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by markshir

Wes is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

I love his shooting obviously, but he hustles and plays solid enough defense to stay on the court in most situations.

Maybe the best thing is that he expects to score points and win. He has a fearless look with his shot, and I would feel very confident with him taking a big shot or on the line in a big game. Debate all you want about playing in Nebraska versus playing elsewhere, but I think contending for state championships and playing as the underdog versus bigger schools has prepared him fairly well, at least from a mental standpoint.

Did Greg mention anything about Justin Hamilton? He is another player that I have really enjoyed watching when he plays. His off-season dedication and growth into a role on the team is impressive.

Both of those should be great players as they continue to develop. Maybe they won't be superstars, but they definitely have a role and seem willing to improve to fill it.

He said that Justin will be a very good player in the next few years. You have to remember that he is still fairly new to the whole basketball thing. Greg said the game is moving way to fast for him right now, but as things start to slow down for him he could be special. Coach also said that he absolutely works his tail off in practice to get better, probably one of the hardest, if not hardest workers.

**markshir** · 12-04-2008, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Cardinal&Gold11

He said that Justin will be a very good player in the next few years. You have to remember that he is still fairly new to the whole basketball thing. Greg said the game is moving way to fast for him right now, but as things start to slow down for him he could be special. Coach also said that he absolutely works his tail off in practice to get better and is learning pretty fast.

Thanks! You can tell when you watch him that he has potential - he moves pretty well for how big he is. It's amazing that he's been playing for as short a time as he has but can still play D1 basketball. I agree that over the next few years he will become a force for us.

**IsUaClone2** · 12-04-2008, 02:05 PM

I really like the standout plays from JVB. Those two shot-blocks and the tip-dunk are trully intimidating. I don't know enough about basketball to know whether JVB's mistakes more than off-set the standout plays but I do know that those blocks and dunk sure fired me up. Hopefully we'll see more of those from JVB and, more importantly, see Craig start being more intimidating.

**Knownothing** · 12-04-2008, 02:06 PM

Did he mention Ross Marsdens progress as a baseball player?

**JRE1975** · 12-04-2008, 02:09 PM

I was at the game last night and there were several times that Wes was the one giving out instructions on the floor for an inbounds play, or telling someone where to be on the floor. Pretty impressive for a freshman.

What was probably hard to see on TV was that UNI took one defender the whole time Wes was in the game and just stayed in his face to keep him from shooting so it opened up everything else. Wes did not force shots like some shooters we have had in the past. Wes played a lot of minutes and I thought played very good defense while he was in there.