The first "Why we lost Harrison Barnes" thread

[Cyclonesrule91]

Who would want to be a legend for bringing a program out of the dumps? Why would you want the chance of getting your jersey hung from the rafters? Why would you want to be the focus every time a TV crew comes to town or talks about your team?

Who wouldn't want to be part of a program that is an elite program and play with a bunch of elite players who have a legitimate chance at a Championship trophy every year instead of being in a program where he will be the one the fanbase expects to take them to same status as team in the first part of this paragraph. Wouldn't you rather work at a place where your fellow employees are as good or better then you so all the pressure isn't on you to make sure the employer is happy or successfull? Answer that one honestly.

Who wouldn't want to be part of a down program right now that when he arrives and doesn't take them to top 10 rankings would have the fickle fanbase(as proven on this site) that would crucify him as worthless and overrated because he didn't take us there.

Who wouldn't want to be a constant national TV game player over a team that plays every once in a while on TV that has worthless picture quality and is regional at best coverage.

Who wouldn't want to drive a older restored Camaro when they had the chance to drive a brand new Ferrari?

Keep in mind that we have a 17 yr old kid making these decisions.

I hope like heck he decides to come to ISU, but I will not have a major meltdown and demand the firing of anyone with ISU clothing on within 30 miles of Barnes house if he decides to go to Duke.

It's not Gmac's fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not Pollards fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not the walk on guards that are worthless in the eyes of some of you armchair BB coach's making ridiculous accusations fault.
Oh, and did I say it wasn't Gmac's fault despite some of your thoughts above?

Harrison Barnes has played basketball in a way that he has set himself up to make a HUGE decision on his future. That is a HUGE blessing just as much as it is a HUGE amount of pressure to put on someone his age. Let him make up his mind and wish him luck wherever he goes.......and if he goes, then drop it and support OUR BB team.

[KMAC_ATTACK]

A couple of things...

1. Part of Harrison's development is entirely based around ISU and his ability to go to the Rec and play with or against current Div 1 basketball players. This without question raises your level of play. Now, not to say solely but, playing against bigger, stronger guys that have experience but maybe not the raw athleticism has improved his level of play.
2. Any one of us sitting in front of our computers if put into a similar position would probably bolt as well. The opportunity to be on a national stage so many times a year is understandable - not that i like it....

Devils Advocate:
1. I have heard from a very good source that his choice comes down to this....HB is very close to his mother, and she absolutely loves Ames and has no desire to move. If HB chooses to go to Duke, she may be forced to do just that, and she wants to stay in ames.
2. HB truly seems like a humble kid with his head on his shoulders and feet on the ground. His comments about having a chance to win a national championship and a school with a great business school. Well if he's in fact intending on staying all 4 years, well he could go to about any school because the talent will follow him to ames with a solid nucleus being there when he gets there. He gets there in 2010 which by the way would be Brackins Senior year should he decide to stay, he would have the talent in place to make a very legitimate run at success in the tourney. He said he only wanted a chance to win that championship, thats entirely possible with the right circumstances at ISU in 2010.

NO i'm not drinking the koolaid this morning!!!!

[isuno1fan]

I'm on record saying he will be a Cyclone.

[cyco2000]

Who wouldn't want to be part of a program that is an elite program and play with a bunch of elite players who have a legitimate chance at a Championship trophy every year instead of being in a program where he will be the one the fanbase expects to take them to same status as team in the first part of this paragraph. Wouldn't you rather work at a place where your fellow employees are as good or better then you so all the pressure isn't on you to make sure the employer is happy or successfull? Answer that one honestly.

Who wouldn't want to be part of a down program right now that when he arrives and doesn't take them to top 10 rankings would have the fickle fanbase(as proven on this site) that would crucify him as worthless and overrated because he didn't take us there.

Who wouldn't want to be a constant national TV game player over a team that plays every once in a while on TV that has worthless picture quality and is regional at best coverage.

Who wouldn't want to drive a older restored Camaro when they had the chance to drive a brand new Ferrari?

Keep in mind that we have a 17 yr old kid making these decisions.

I hope like heck he decides to come to ISU, but I will not have a major meltdown and demand the firing of anyone with ISU clothing on within 30 miles of Barnes house if he decides to go to Duke.

It's not Gmac's fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not Pollards fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not the walk on guards that are worthless in the eyes of some of you armchair BB coach's making ridiculous accusations fault.
Oh, and did I say it wasn't Gmac's fault despite some of your thoughts above?

Harrison Barnes has played basketball in a way that he has set himself up to make a HUGE decision on his future. That is a HUGE blessing just as much as it is a HUGE amount of pressure to put on someone his age. Let him make up his mind and wish him luck wherever he goes.......and if he goes, then drop it and support OUR BB team.

I'm not going to disagree with most of what you said. I just didn't want to completely close the door on him coming here. I still hold out some hope, and I guess that's not a good thing to have around here.

So, it's OK to talk about how crappy our team is when Harrison is making his choice. But, it's not OK to talk about how crappy our team is when it corresponds to Coach McD. I just want to make sure I know when it's okay to diss the program, and when it is OK not to.

[Gonzo]

A lot of my fellow Iowa fans had similar reactions when we lost Adrian Arrington to Michigan. They felt like since he's local, he somehow owes something to the University of Iowa and its fans. Makes zero sense. If his goal is to someday play professionally, how can you blame him for going to an elite program that will better position him for the NBA?

[cyco2000]

A lot of my fellow Iowa fans had similar reactions when we lost Adrian Arrington to Michigan. They felt like since he's local, he somehow owes something to the University of Iowa and its fans. Makes zero sense. If his goal is to someday play professionally, how can you blame him for going to an elite program that will better position him for the NBA?

I see what you're saying, but ISU hasn't done too bad in placing NBA talent. Even McD has put one of his recruits in the NBA.

[CycloneErik]

Who wouldn't want to be part of a program that is an elite program and play with a bunch of elite players who have a legitimate chance at a Championship trophy every year instead of being in a program where he will be the one the fanbase expects to take them to same status as team in the first part of this paragraph. Wouldn't you rather work at a place where your fellow employees are as good or better then you so all the pressure isn't on you to make sure the employer is happy or successfull? Answer that one honestly.

Who wouldn't want to be part of a down program right now that when he arrives and doesn't take them to top 10 rankings would have the fickle fanbase(as proven on this site) that would crucify him as worthless and overrated because he didn't take us there.

Who wouldn't want to be a constant national TV game player over a team that plays every once in a while on TV that has worthless picture quality and is regional at best coverage.

Who wouldn't want to drive a older restored Camaro when they had the chance to drive a brand new Ferrari?

Keep in mind that we have a 17 yr old kid making these decisions.

I hope like heck he decides to come to ISU, but I will not have a major meltdown and demand the firing of anyone with ISU clothing on within 30 miles of Barnes house if he decides to go to Duke.

It's not Gmac's fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not Pollards fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
It's not the walk on guards that are worthless in the eyes of some of you armchair BB coach's making ridiculous accusations fault.
Oh, and did I say it wasn't Gmac's fault despite some of your thoughts above?

Harrison Barnes has played basketball in a way that he has set himself up to make a HUGE decision on his future. That is a HUGE blessing just as much as it is a HUGE amount of pressure to put on someone his age. Let him make up his mind and wish him luck wherever he goes.......and if he goes, then drop it and support OUR BB team.

So if he goes somewhere else, I'm not supposed to call foul on Bryan Petersen? The refs can't, aren't I supposed to?

[jbhtexas]

It's not Gmac's fault despite some of the ridiculous accusations.
[...]
Oh, and did I say it wasn't Gmac's fault despite some of your thoughts above?

The only possible way that McDermott has no "fault" in this matter is if he has absolutely no responsibility for ISU's descent to the bottom of the Big 12. If you are making that case, there is no further point in discussing the matter, because you have lost touch with reality.

Do you seriously think that ISU finishing towards the bottom of the Big 12 for the past three years plays no part in whether a recruit with many options considers playing at ISU?

Do you seriously think that an offensivley talented recruit doesn't consider the fact that a team finishes towards the bottom in nearly all offesnive categories in conference when he is making his decision where to play?

A team can't finish poorly for three straight years in the Big 12 without consequences, one of those being the inability to land good recruits.

[Cyclonesrule91]

I'm not going to disagree with most of what you said. I just didn't want to completely close the door on him coming here. I still hold out some hope, and I guess that's not a good thing to have around here.

So, it's OK to talk about how crappy our team is when Harrison is making his choice. But, it's not OK to talk about how crappy our team is when it corresponds to Coach McD. I just want to make sure I know when it's okay to diss the program, and when it is OK not to.

Number 1, I was not calling you out at all by quoting your post. I was just using it to build an argument. I am also holding out hope he chooses ISU, but if you were him and reading some of the pitiful crap on this message board, how would that affect your decision. Most of us have already built him up to be the next Michael Jordan, that puts no pressure on him does it? He blends in at a Duke or NC so not as much pressure and better chance to win the championship versus coming here poised to be Michael Jordan #2 and look out if he's not!!!

As far as when it's OK to diss the program. Part of ISU's sales pitch, whether most think so or not, is the message boards. If he were to read the crap on this board this last season, it isn't adding bonus points for ISU I guaranasstee you that. And I don't spend time on any other teams message boards so I have no idea what goes on there, and I really don't care. We ISU fans are better then the that......!

[CycloneErik]

The only possible way that McDermott has no "fault" in this matter is if he has absolutely no responsibility for ISU's descent to the bottom of the Big 12.

Do you seriously think that ISU finishing towards the bottom of the Big 12 for the past three years plays no part in whether a recruit with many options considers playing at ISU?

Do you seriously think that an offensivley talented recruit doesn't consider the fact that a team finishes towards the bottom in nearly all offesnive categories in conference when he is making his decision where to play?

A team can't finish poorly for three straight years in the Big 12 without consequences, one of those being the inability to land good recruits.

Poor teams are what attracted Tinsley. He said that he saw they needed a floor leader, a guy just like him. That brought him aboard.

If you've got a guy that says, "I could turn that around," you can attract top players. Those are the kind of guys that you go for.

[cyco2000]

Number 1, I was not calling you out at all by quoting your post. I was just using it to build an argument. I am also holding out hope he chooses ISU, but if you were him and reading some of the pitiful crap on this message board, how would that affect your decision. Most of us have already built him up to be the next Michael Jordan, that puts no pressure on him does it? He blends in at a Duke or NC so not as much pressure and better chance to win the championship versus coming here poised to be Michael Jordan #2 and look out if he's not!!!

As far as when it's OK to diss the program. Part of ISU's sales pitch, whether most think so or not, is the message boards. If he were to read the crap on this board this last season, it isn't adding bonus points for ISU I guaranasstee you that. And I don't spend time on any other teams message boards so I have no idea what goes on there, and I really don't care. We ISU fans are better then the that......!

Greg McD is selling ISU based on its message board community??? Holy crap! You'd think playing time, campus environment, great attendance, etc. would be used. Wow.

Well, I guess it's better than pointing out our record to recruits.

[Cyclonesrule91]

The only possible way that McDermott has no "fault" in this matter is if he has absolutely no responsibility for ISU's descent to the bottom of the Big 12.

Do you seriously think that ISU finishing towards the bottom of the Big 12 for the past three years plays no part in whether a recruit with many options considers playing at ISU?

Do you seriously think that an offensivley talented recruit doesn't consider the fact that a team finishes towards the bottom in nearly all offesnive categories in conference when he is making his decision where to play?

A team can't finish poorly for three straight years in the Big 12 without consequences, one of those being the inability to land good recruits.

We could have finished the top half of the Big12 and made it to the second game in the NCAA tourney and my argument still stands as far as comparing ISU to Duke, KU, and North Carolina. Yes I seriously think that.

[SC Cy]

I would actually argue that if you go to Duke and are a McDonald's All-American you probably have less odds of making an impact in the NBA as opposed to going to a "lesser" school (i.e. Iowa State). Really, have many Duke players enjoyed success in the NBA? Boozer, Laettner, Reddick...I know I'm forgetting some. Jason Williams had potential but had his career cut short by a motorcycle accident.

The number of McD's All-American's that go to Duke compared to the number that are successful in the NBA has to be fairly small. Michael Jordan even made fun of it in the HBO special on the Duke/UNC rivalry.

[IcSyU]

I think another thing people are forgetting is that he isn't "just" another recruit. He's a top 5 recruit in the United States of America, with an opportunity to do whatever he wants.

[IcSyU]

I would actually argue that if you go to Duke and are a McDonald's All-American you probably have less odds of making an impact in the NBA as opposed to going to a "lesser" school (i.e. Iowa State). Really, have many Duke players enjoyed success in the NBA? Boozer, Laettner, Reddick...I know I'm forgetting some. Jason Williams had potential but had his career cut short by a motorcycle accident.

The number of McD's All-American's that go to Duke compared to the number that are successful in the NBA has to be fairly small. Michael Jordan even made fun of it in the HBO special on the Duke/UNC rivalry.

How many players period make an impact in the NBA? Think of how many are drafted, and how many players are on each team. The reality is, most that go into the NBA don't make a big impact.