Talent on a new level

[cyclones12321]

Sure we don’t have Niang or Morris anymore and not trying to take away from everything they brought to Ames, but this team seems like the ceiling is higher for our young guys then from years past. Wiggington, Babb and lard seem to have possible nba talent. All freshman and sophomores and you can really see how Lewis can shoot off the bench. Really fun to watch these guys play. Morris and niang were all very good college players but now it feels we have more nba talent.

Yes I may be drinking a little too much kool aid

 

[kingcy]

Don't get too low when they drop a few. Yes this team has talent but they have some tough games coming up and conference is a grind and really can wear on young players.

 

[SoapyCy]

Sure we don’t have Niang or Morris anymore and not trying to take away from everything they brought to Ames, but this team seems like the ceiling is higher for our young guys then from years past. Wiggington, Babb and lard seem to have possible nba talent. All freshman and sophomores and you can really see how Lewis can shoot off the bench. Really fun to watch these guys play. Morris and niang were all very good college players but now it feels we have more nba talent.

Yes I may be drinking a little too much kool aid

Sir, no free refills here. You're cut off.

 

[ClonesFTW]

It’s been a good couple weeks but we need to wait until we get a few games into conference before any profound opinions.

 

[jmb]

Sure we don’t have Niang or Morris anymore and not trying to take away from everything they brought to Ames, but this team seems like the ceiling is higher for our young guys then from years past. Wiggington, Babb and lard seem to have possible nba talent. All freshman and sophomores and you can really see how Lewis can shoot off the bench. Really fun to watch these guys play. Morris and niang were all very good college players but now it feels we have more nba talent.

Yes I may be drinking a little too much kool aid

Just home from the game. The vibe for this team is fascinating. I concur with your post deeply. The selfless passes seem to be more mature than year 3 of our last coach(can’t type the H word wo tears) the fascinating thing is they look more mature and like a more complete team. Wigs is the real deal. Jackson was sick. Lard is not physically mature but does many of the right things. Sol looks solid. Babb plays very differently than manman but seems efficient. The one thing that seems to be unique is offensive efficiency and defensive intensity. Prohm is earning his paycheck this year. If he strings two more classes together we have legs to be a solid program. Don’t know if he will do what he did recruiting this year but I look forward to see what they do on the recruiting road. If chips fall right they could be a bubble team. If not lots of scars will make them stronger next year. I can’t figure if Wigs has an NBA body but the kid plays very cleanly. Lastly I think the maturity to play a tight first half, then kick the doors off couldn’t be a better prep game for Thursday. We very easily could lose but if that happens I am not sweating one game. We played ball in a way that the Bulls coach would appreciate with better defense. Lots of games but I am encouraged after seeing them play live.

Just one mans opinion.

 

[NATEizKING]

Going to live and die off Wiggi and DJ this year. I think Babb will be Babb but we're going to need solid games from those two to win in conference. We lost our 1st two games with DJ scoring a combined 10 points. Then he hit 76 the next 3 games in Myrtle Beach. Going to need lots of 20 point performances from DJ and/or Wiggi to pull off conference wins, there just isn't consistent (or much of any) offense outside of those 3. Maybe Lard will be a guy.

 

[kingcy]

Going to live and die off Wiggi and DJ this year. I think Babb will be Babb but we're going to need solid games from those two to win in conference. We lost our 1st two games with DJ scoring a combined 10 points. Then he hit 76 the next 3 games in Myrtle Beach. Going to need lots of 20 point performances from DJ and/or Wiggi to pull off conference wins, there just isn't consistent (or much of any) offense outside of those 3. Maybe Lard will be a guy.

Those seem to be 2 good guys to live off of. Wiggins is so athletic it is crazy. I have said a lot of bad things about Babb in the past but that is behind him. He was kind of a turnover machine before and seemed out of place on the court but now he seems to know where to be at all times and where the ball needs to go. His decision making and feel for the game has been unreal.

It also is a good thing that your best 3 players are also the guys that work the hardest on the court. Great things happen then.

 

[CyCal]

It is worth noting that not that long ago we were wondering if we would have anybody outside of DJ capable of scoring for us, so having Wigginton, Jackson and Babb as reliable options is a significant improvement.

I think Lard will also be a threat to score 10-20 points in any given game, and may end up averaging around 10-plus in the end. We may also see a few games here and there where Brase goes off for 20. Remember that he is still working back from basically two and a half years off. He is a shooter, and may well get hot on any given night. Until then he is a nice player to be able to bring off the bench, especially for a team that is so young.

At some point Young may also shake off his minor sophomore slump and put up a 10-15 point game here or there when the situation allows. We have already seen him do that in Big XII play so we know that he is capable.

I don't think scoring points will be that much of a problem for this team on most nights, and I think we have the talent to compete with pretty much every team that we face. The problem is that we have a ton of talented teams on our schedule come conference play. I expect a lot of games to be competitive into the final few minutes and the difference between a 5-13 Big XII season and an 13-5 season might only be a dozen key plays going one way or the other.

 

[BryceC]

I what we are seeing from this team but we just were down 2 to the KenPom #248 team. Let's slow the roll here.

 

[CyTwins]

Live by the "it's never as good or as bad as it seems" motto with this team

 

[OPButtrey]

I what we are seeing from this team but we just were down 2 to the KenPom #248 team. Let's slow the roll here.

At this time of year I try to focus more on individual player performance. Playing as team is still a work in progress so I don't worry as much about that as long as I see strides being made. Duke recently beat Lehigh by about the same score and Kentucky only beat Harvard by 7.

Lindell, Babb, Lard & DJ are all exceeding by expectations and CSP is a great coach so I really think we have a good shot at making the tournament.

 

[CycloneVet]

If CSP gets this team to the tourney we will need to open the checkbook again

 

[Bobber]

I what we are seeing from this team but we just were down 2 to the KenPom #248 team. Let's slow the roll here.

Yeah I agree. The only game I have watched this year was our second when we played really awful. It sounds like the team has gelled since then and we need some confidence boosting wins like we had last night.

I think the Iowa game will be a good test. They aren't showing it, but think Iowa has more talent and depth than they have had in a while. For a young team like we have it could go anyway depending on what team shows up to play.

Lot of games left to play and a lot of development and learning still needs to occur.

 

[Cyclonepride]

At this time of year I try to focus more on individual player performance. Playing as team is still a work in progress so I don't worry as much about that as long as I see strides being made. Duke recently beat Lehigh by about the same score and Kentucky only beat Harvard by 7.

Lindell, Babb, Lard & DJ are all exceeding by expectations and CSP is a great coach so I really think we have a good shot at making the tournament.

Yeah, and teams all over the country have lost games like this too. Seems like those pass by everyone's radar while any struggles that we have are amplified. Don't discount the fact that NIU has two pretty good players that were on their games last night too.

 

[State43]

This team will be lucky to go 500 in conference but the experience gained will be monumental for next season.

 

[cycloneG]

Yeah I agree. The only game I have watched this year was our second when we played really awful. It sounds like the team has gelled since then and we need some confidence boosting wins like we had last night.

I think the Iowa game will be a good test. They aren't showing it, but think Iowa has more talent and depth than they have had in a while. For a young team like we have it could go anyway depending on what team shows up to play.

Lot of games left to play and a lot of development and learning still needs to occur.

Media and fans keep saying this. Why? I don't see it.

 

[cyclonenation5]

Media and fans keep saying this. Why? I don't see it.

Fans say it because the media says it, and the media says it because the coaches say it, and the coaches say it because they're liars.

 

[Knownothing]

Iowa is a disaster. Bohanon is a good 6th or 7th man on a team. Him playing point would be like watching Scott Christorpherson playing point. Fran has missed so bad on point guards it reminds me of when Larry missed badly and had to have Jake Sullivan bring the ball up the court.

The talent on this team is going to have it's good nights and bad nights. That's what young guys do. The talent is there though. I am so excited for Wiggintons Junior season when the Freshman next year have one more year under them.

 

[CyTwins]

Yeah I agree. The only game I have watched this year was our second when we played really awful. It sounds like the team has gelled since then and we need some confidence boosting wins like we had last night.

I think the Iowa game will be a good test. They aren't showing it, but think Iowa has more talent and depth than they have had in a while. For a young team like we have it could go anyway depending on what team shows up to play.

Lot of games left to play and a lot of development and learning still needs to occur.

 

[herbicide]

Media and fans keep saying this. Why? I don't see it.

The local media has said it, but the B1G and national pundits most certainly did not. Outside of the state of Iowa, they were picked mid-pack at best in the Big 10, and mostly not to make the dance.