Mitrou-Long Out Rest of Season
- Thread starter TXCyclones
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Nothing has changed for me. This team can make the Final Four with or without Naz. I think a lot of people are having a hard time sussing out that we aren't losing 100% Naz. We were never going to have 100% Naz this year.
Before Naz being done:
11-1 non-con, 13-5 Big 12 (2nd)
After Naz being done:
10-2 non-con, 11-7 Big 12 (3rd)
Even without Naz,
I believe.
Even with his shooting, I believe that the most important qualities that Naz provides for this team are his fire and his leadership. He can still provide those things. I believe that he will still provide those things.
I believe.
Even with his shooting, I believe that the most important qualities that Naz provides for this team are his fire and his leadership. He can still provide those things. I believe that he will still provide those things.
Well any team that makes the tournament "can" make the Final Four so that really isn't an answer. The question was expectation of win/losses before Naz and the expectation of win/losses now.
This feels about right. Every year there's a couple games we win because of Naz, so it seems right to have the record reflect that. But that doesn't mean Thomas or Burton can't be the difference in winning two games, everything else being equal.
You watch, he'll get his medical redshirt, come back, score like 28 pts with 7 threes against Iowa, and their fans will flip ****. They'll claim we cheated by having him eligible for 5 games against them.
I so want to think higher than 11-7 but until we see the next few games, plus how Hallice and Burton do, I think I'd take 11-7 right now. Having said that, do you really think an 11-7 record gets 3rd place in the Big12? That might be 4 or 5th.
This.
Everyone is still thinking of the Naz ISU had available the last couple of years. He was not available this year so far, and likely would not have been before the season ended. It sucks that he didn't recover from the injury as fast as expected, but he was not the same player this year that we have seen in the past. He has one good shooting game this year....against Chattanooga. He just wasn't himself, and obviously he did not believe that he was going to get back to his old form this season. Hallice and Matt (and Georges and Monte) can certainly fill in the shooting that will be missing. Naz can still provide leadership, just in a different way.
My expectations have not changed, and won't change as long as McKay, Niang, and Monte are still on the floor. Now if one of those goes out too.....
Then was the expectation of a Final Four despite not having 100% Naz realistic?
So saying a team "can" make the final four is the same as an expectation to you?
I don't think any of us realized how severe the injury was. We all thought that we'd get 100% Naz at some point in the season.
If Thomas continues his impressive play, we are a better team with Thomas and Cooke. Naz was not playing well this season, and it wasn't just his shooting. He will continue to be a leader off the court and on the bench. The only thing we will miss on the court is his ability to get extremely hot in a couple of games. Thomas and Cooke haven't shown that type of explosiveness from beyond the arc. But we will benefit from more secure ball handling, improved defense and more touches for our more efficient players. I love Naz and hope he can fully recover for next season. He would be a huge addition to that roster.
Any team in the tourney "CAN" make the Final Four. I believe that most people here expect ISU to have a better chance of it than a random team that makes the tourney field.
Then I will call it an "expectation that ISU will be one of the favorites to make the Final Four".
I expect to lose every game. Losses hurt less and when we win Im surprised. Life-changing.
Ya there couldn't possibly be any gray area between "NCAA random tourney field" and having an "expectation".
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