What a game...
Lots of things I really liked:
1. Craig Brackins has now taken this team and made it HIS team. He was much more vocal and was not afraid to state his opinion to his teammates. I think he showed everyone who the LEADER is on this team. This might be why he handled the double teams so much better and took it strong to the hole. Prior to last night he was not handling the double and triple teams very well at all. He also was settling for fade aways and staying out on the perimeter. (Which might have been the advice he was given to improve his draft stock?)
2. Coach Mac was much more energized and not as timid with players, refs, and other coaches. He wasn't afraid to get on guys and really had a good game. (Believe it or not coaches have good games and not so good games too!)
3. Bench play was unbelievable and I dont know if you can get much better than what they did last night. 14pts, 4 of 6 Fg's, 6 of 10 Ft's, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 1 turnover, 1 stl, 5 blks. WOW!!! Outside of Dendy's 3pt attempt and Boozer getting hurt not too many negatives. If you told me Dendy would shoot 6 of 10 from the line before the game I would have taken that in heart beat coming from a guy who has hit less than 50% coming into the game.
4. The crowd was awesome, loud, vocal and into the game from the tip. Granted its a lot easier when you play the #1 team and the game is close.
5. Justin Hamilton was great!!! He is the most improved player easily so far this season. We are getting a lot out of his 20ish minutes a game.
Things I believe still need work:
1. Playing every possession and not taking any possessions off. Making sure they get everything out of each time down on offense and defense. With all the injuries and lack of depth the Cyclones missed out on 5-10 possessions that they didn't give 100% effort. This can also be classified as mental errors.
2. Gilstrap needs to get his points on less shots. He still has a lot of JUCO in his game. Relying on athletic ability and taking breathers here and there doesn't work at this level. Playing Texas and Kansas out of the gate might help him more than anyone. He needs to get back to where he is getting a majority of his stats by "garbage" points and open court points.
3. More consistent point guard play. Garrett is still having trouble recognizing when he needs to distribute and when its time to take it to the hole. Sometimes checking the ball for air isn't the best choice (hence the 5 second call last night). In his defense it's not like there are that many PG's in the country that can score, distribute, and defend.
4. Is it me or does Lucca get a look in his eye and you know he is going to shoot it no matter what? I would love to know Lucca's shooting percentage off the dribble and his shooting percentage with less than one dribble. My guess off the dribble is less than 30% and greater than 50% when his feet are set.
5. The assistant coaches need to step up. I dont see the interaction between Mac his assistants as I do with other programs. They need to be up in his ear helping him out with game flow, subs, advice, suggestions, etc.
Performances like last night make you wonder what would have happened if it was UNI or Northwestern? I think the growth from Saturday to last night might have been more than Idaho St game to the Duke game. With a few minor adjustments this team can still be very special!!!
Just 2 cents.
Lots of things I really liked:
1. Craig Brackins has now taken this team and made it HIS team. He was much more vocal and was not afraid to state his opinion to his teammates. I think he showed everyone who the LEADER is on this team. This might be why he handled the double teams so much better and took it strong to the hole. Prior to last night he was not handling the double and triple teams very well at all. He also was settling for fade aways and staying out on the perimeter. (Which might have been the advice he was given to improve his draft stock?)
2. Coach Mac was much more energized and not as timid with players, refs, and other coaches. He wasn't afraid to get on guys and really had a good game. (Believe it or not coaches have good games and not so good games too!)
3. Bench play was unbelievable and I dont know if you can get much better than what they did last night. 14pts, 4 of 6 Fg's, 6 of 10 Ft's, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 1 turnover, 1 stl, 5 blks. WOW!!! Outside of Dendy's 3pt attempt and Boozer getting hurt not too many negatives. If you told me Dendy would shoot 6 of 10 from the line before the game I would have taken that in heart beat coming from a guy who has hit less than 50% coming into the game.
4. The crowd was awesome, loud, vocal and into the game from the tip. Granted its a lot easier when you play the #1 team and the game is close.
5. Justin Hamilton was great!!! He is the most improved player easily so far this season. We are getting a lot out of his 20ish minutes a game.
Things I believe still need work:
1. Playing every possession and not taking any possessions off. Making sure they get everything out of each time down on offense and defense. With all the injuries and lack of depth the Cyclones missed out on 5-10 possessions that they didn't give 100% effort. This can also be classified as mental errors.
2. Gilstrap needs to get his points on less shots. He still has a lot of JUCO in his game. Relying on athletic ability and taking breathers here and there doesn't work at this level. Playing Texas and Kansas out of the gate might help him more than anyone. He needs to get back to where he is getting a majority of his stats by "garbage" points and open court points.
3. More consistent point guard play. Garrett is still having trouble recognizing when he needs to distribute and when its time to take it to the hole. Sometimes checking the ball for air isn't the best choice (hence the 5 second call last night). In his defense it's not like there are that many PG's in the country that can score, distribute, and defend.
4. Is it me or does Lucca get a look in his eye and you know he is going to shoot it no matter what? I would love to know Lucca's shooting percentage off the dribble and his shooting percentage with less than one dribble. My guess off the dribble is less than 30% and greater than 50% when his feet are set.
5. The assistant coaches need to step up. I dont see the interaction between Mac his assistants as I do with other programs. They need to be up in his ear helping him out with game flow, subs, advice, suggestions, etc.
Performances like last night make you wonder what would have happened if it was UNI or Northwestern? I think the growth from Saturday to last night might have been more than Idaho St game to the Duke game. With a few minor adjustments this team can still be very special!!!
Just 2 cents.
