It's on Fred

[cyclonesherm]

Not if your losing as 4 in the first round every time.

 

[ISUCubswin]

I agree with a couple of those. I'm really baffled at how awful we were at just getting around screens. Seems like that's something that in D1 shouldn't take more than 30 minutes of practice the entire season.

Yet somehow, every single time we ran into a screen, ALL YEAR we got lost.

 

[JJ4ISU]

Totally agree with #3. Slapping on some press worked late in the season to speed up tempo, and get us back in games. I think it would have been worth a shot with 10 minutes or so left in the game. We might have been able to rattle them a little bit and cause some turnovers, and get some easy buckets. I thought we looked tight the entire game, and a little press might have eased our nerves a bit, too.

 

[ISUCubswin]

I disagree that the team wasn't ready to play. They put up points and played pretty good defense the first 5 minutes. They were definitely ready. They just didn't do anything after the first 5 minutes.

 

[Beyerball]

OP is exactly right. I'm glad the OP said it because if I had Cyclone78 would have called the NSA to find my address. Look..the OP prefaced everything with saying he thinks CFH is a good coach....it's ok to offer constructive criticism on a message board..it's his opinion it's why this board is here. If you disagree with him then offer a legit argument against his points. UAB was a terrible team, worse than TT, they got in the toruney by winning their conf tourney.

 

[tigerclone924]

I've now watched the game twice and read almost every single post about the UAB loss. I'm a longtime ISU fan going back to Barry Stevens. I don't live in Iowa anymore but a major metro city, so here is a little detached perspective. I love Fred and think he is a really good coach and could be great one day. I watched every single minute of every all but three games early in the season. However, this loss falls on him. I think the following points need to get made:

1. The team wasn't ready to play. This is on the coach. He has to make sure they are ready to go for the biggest stage of their careers.

2. Their problem was defense the entire year, especially the inability to get over screens. This never got fixed and cost them on the last UAB OB play. This is a coaching deficiency if it occurs over and over. Defense matters especially in the tournament.

3. Fred did nothing to adjust the tempo. You can press for steals and/or tempo. Fred never tried to push the pace with a deeper bench against a 19 win team.

4. They were getting killed on the boards and Edozie never got off the bench. 5-10 minutes of him knocking some people around might have helped. It's not enough to stay close against a UAB, he should have been upset they weren't destroying them making a statement.

5. At no time during the year did Fred ever really get on anyone. Last year he had Ejim and a 25 year old Kane to do it on the floor but not this year. He needs to know when to fill that hole. Calipari has multiple coddled McD AA and he said in an interview before halftime when they weren't playing well that either you perform or you sit. Players want to be challenged. Calm is great but everyone once in while you need to get in someone's grill.

6. Matt Thomas was playing well and sat in the 2nd half. If Long isn't hitting shots then he is liability on the floor because he can't cover anyone. Why not make a substitution? It's one and done. If your Thomas and you play when you aren't performing but sit when you are: what is the message?

7. It was a good season, but the tournament is what matters. If we want a nationally prominent program then you have to perform in the tourney.

If were an 8 seed and this happened, fine. We were a four against a team that had to win its conference tourney to even get into the dance. Fred had nearly a week to prepare. Jared Haase seemed to figure out. He called timeouts before TV timeouts, so ISU could never get into a rhythm. Nice coaching and I'm not saying he is better.

Go ahead lose your minds.

Some of what you say has validity I believe. Saying it the way you did as if you were here to set us all straight and then not even know what seed we were makes this post, as others have said, an epic fail.

 

[AMarner32]

If there was ever a year to flame out, this was probably the year to do it. Everyone is playing for 2nd place this year behind Kentucky. IMO, it was better for it to happen this year to serve as a wake up call for next year, when the team will be truly loaded.

True, but we were blessed with a pretty mediocre region and we were on the opposite side of Kentucky. I'd have happily taken a final four trip and a loss to Kentucky in the championship.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Next year, with a (likely) 9 man rotation, I'd hope Fred presses a little more.

The reason, I'm assuming, he doesn't press much is because this is the first year he's had more than two reliable guys off the bench. And I'm using the term reliable loosely, as RARELY did all three bench players show up ready to kick ***.

 

[AMarner32]

Which one of you created an account to post that? Confess!

Uh oh... BDK is back...

 

[cyclonesherm]

I agree with you that Thomas should have been in the game near the end and that's about the only thing I really agree with. Our defense was absolutely not the problem. We only gave up 60 points and we held UAB to under 35% shooting and 3-18 on threes. We also forced more turnovers than UAB did. The only areas their offense was better than ours was on the offensive glass and at the free throw line.

We lost because our guys missed shots and couldn't keep UAB off the boards. Fairly simple.

UAB shot 42% for the season and won 19 games. It was also us getting destroyed on the boards.

 

[Gunnerclone]

The Edozie stuff never ceases to amaze me, it's how I can tell who knows something about basketball vs. someone that knows nothing and also how I can tell who didn't watch any games this season.

 

[ILiftWithRoyce]

I've now watched the game twice and read almost every single post about the UAB loss. I'm a longtime ISU fan going back to Barry Stevens. I don't live in Iowa anymore but a major metro city, so here is a little detached perspective. I love Fred and think he is a really good coach and could be great one day. I watched every single minute of every all but three games early in the season. However, this loss falls on him. I think the following points need to get made:

1. The team wasn't ready to play. This is on the coach. He has to make sure they are ready to go for the biggest stage of their careers.

2. Their problem was defense the entire year, especially the inability to get over screens. This never got fixed and cost them on the last UAB OB play. This is a coaching deficiency if it occurs over and over. Defense matters especially in the tournament.

3. Fred did nothing to adjust the tempo. You can press for steals and/or tempo. Fred never tried to push the pace with a deeper bench against a 19 win team.

4. They were getting killed on the boards and Edozie never got off the bench. 5-10 minutes of him knocking some people around might have helped. It's not enough to stay close against a UAB, he should have been upset they weren't destroying them making a statement.

5. At no time during the year did Fred ever really get on anyone. Last year he had Ejim and a 25 year old Kane to do it on the floor but not this year. He needs to know when to fill that hole. Calipari has multiple coddled McD AA and he said in an interview before halftime when they weren't playing well that either you perform or you sit. Players want to be challenged. Calm is great but everyone once in while you need to get in someone's grill.

6. Matt Thomas was playing well and sat in the 2nd half. If Long isn't hitting shots then he is liability on the floor because he can't cover anyone. Why not make a substitution? It's one and done. If your Thomas and you play when you aren't performing but sit when you are: what is the message?

7. It was a good season, but the tournament is what matters. If we want a nationally prominent program then you have to perform in the tourney.

If were an 8 seed and this happened, fine. We were a four against a team that had to win its conference tourney to even get into the dance. Fred had nearly a week to prepare. Jared Haase seemed to figure out. He called timeouts before TV timeouts, so ISU could never get into a rhythm. Nice coaching and I'm not saying he is better.

Go ahead lose your minds.

dude just get over it already

 

[CyArob]

Fred also missed all those open 3's and layups.

 

[cyclonesherm]

Some of what you say has validity I believe. Saying it the way you did as if you were here to set us all straight and then not even know what seed we were makes this post, as others have said, and epic fail.

Barely any of these points were made in other posts. Point taken

 

[ISUCubswin]

Bash away, but I really have no clue why everyone is so high on Edozie. CFH knows him a hell of a lot better than we do. He started the NCAA tournament last year because we needed a post to start. He dominated the boards against St. Mary's School for the Blind. We never saw what he'd do against legit competition. We never saw what Ellerman would do against legit competition. Yet no one was ever (seriously) upset Ellerman wasn't playing. Edozie had two scholarship offers out of JUCO. He wasn't going to come in here and be a world beater. He was going to come in here and be a grade A scout player.

 

[CycloneVet]

Fred also missed all those open 3's and layups.

Exactly this, I agreed with every shot Naz took. Dumb luck he didn't drop a couple more.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Bash away, but I really have no clue why everyone is so high on Edozie. CFH knows him a hell of a lot better than we do. He started the NCAA tournament last year because we needed a post to start. He dominated the boards against St. Mary's School for the Blind. We never saw what he'd do against legit competition. We never saw what Ellerman would do against legit competition. Yet no one was ever (seriously) upset Ellerman wasn't playing. Edozie had two scholarship offers out of JUCO. He wasn't going to come in here and be a world beater. He was going to come in here and be a grade A scout player.

A+

 

[mattyice]

I've now watched the game twice and read almost every single post about the UAB loss. I'm a longtime ISU fan going back to Barry Stevens. I don't live in Iowa anymore but a major metro city, so here is a little detached perspective. I love Fred and think he is a really good coach and could be great one day. I watched every single minute of every all but three games early in the season. However, this loss falls on him. I think the following points need to get made:

1. The team wasn't ready to play. This is on the coach. He has to make sure they are ready to go for the biggest stage of their careers.

2. Their problem was defense the entire year, especially the inability to get over screens. This never got fixed and cost them on the last UAB OB play. This is a coaching deficiency if it occurs over and over. Defense matters especially in the tournament.

3. Fred did nothing to adjust the tempo. You can press for steals and/or tempo. Fred never tried to push the pace with a deeper bench against a 19 win team.

4. They were getting killed on the boards and Edozie never got off the bench. 5-10 minutes of him knocking some people around might have helped. It's not enough to stay close against a UAB, he should have been upset they weren't destroying them making a statement.

5. At no time during the year did Fred ever really get on anyone. Last year he had Ejim and a 25 year old Kane to do it on the floor but not this year. He needs to know when to fill that hole. Calipari has multiple coddled McD AA and he said in an interview before halftime when they weren't playing well that either you perform or you sit. Players want to be challenged. Calm is great but everyone once in while you need to get in someone's grill.

6. Matt Thomas was playing well and sat in the 2nd half. If Long isn't hitting shots then he is liability on the floor because he can't cover anyone. Why not make a substitution? It's one and done. If your Thomas and you play when you aren't performing but sit when you are: what is the message?

7. It was a good season, but the tournament is what matters. If we want a nationally prominent program then you have to perform in the tourney.

If were an 8 seed and this happened, fine. We were a four against a team that had to win its conference tourney to even get into the dance. Fred had nearly a week to prepare. Jared Haase seemed to figure out. He called timeouts before TV timeouts, so ISU could never get into a rhythm. Nice coaching and I'm not saying he is better.

Go ahead lose your minds.

If people are being realistic....there is not one false thing on this post. But yes....you'll get killed for the post anyway. This isn't really the forum for honesty....and a lot of folks here like it that way.

im not going to blast Hoiberg over one game, while part of me feels like he got out coached, IMO I think we had a lot going on with this roster at the end of the year that made winning very difficult vs even UAB. I think our warts of possible malcontents, possible injuries, guys not knowing their roles, laziness, and just poor bench play decided to all bite us in one 40 minute game.

What I'll hold CFH accountable for is kids not fully understanding their roles (even though I think it should have been painfully obvious what they were), and kids saying they overlooked or took a team for granted.

Had a nice conversation with Terry Woods yesterday and asked him, "What would coach Orr have done if you verbally said you overlooked Nebreaska or Colorado and lost?" He said (paraphrasing) "oh my god...he'd have killed us".

 

[CyFan61]

Not if your losing as 4 in the first round every time.

(1) We were a 3 seed

(2) Have you been a Cyclone fan for less than a year, or does "every time" not go back as far as one year ago?

 

[Cycl1]

Of course it is on fred. It's always on the leader of the program.