Yes and no. I think We will still look to push the ball and get out and run. But I think there is a going to be a stronger emphasis on being stingy defensively which, if successful, can help ISU take a solid step in the right direction.
Lindell Wigginton
- Thread starter Rio4CY
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We've been to (3) sweet 16's and 1 elite 8 in past 15 years..not to mention 7 NCAA appearances in that time and coupke conf titles..we've also been ranked like 38 weeks straight. While that's not elite...it's pretty darn good..I mean LW has ASU in final 3..they are nowhere near our success.
Would really suck to lose out on Wigginton since they went all in on him and this coming off the Feazell news. It went from everything being great with recruiting to things just being kind of meh. If they lose out on him they still have potentially 5 more spots to fill (not counting on Lard). I think they are going to need to get a big time grad transfer to get back to the tournament next year or guys to get better really quickly.
Says every fan, every year, with absolutely nothing but canned coaches responses that are "what do you think they are going to say" quotes. Who's this defensive coach that they've brought in to provide this emphasis? This is still pretty much Hoiball: Monte, MT, Naz, Babb, DJ, Burton are all pretty much carry overs from the Fred/TJ school.
And even after the team is fully Prohmified there won't be much difference because Prohm isn't a defensive coach that plays a defensive-centric system. It's just not who we are. I don't know why so many people want to be something we're not.
This class will be very "meh" if we only sign two in November with a minimum of 6 scholarships to fill.
That number could easily go to 7 if we lose someone or Lard doesn't make it in December.
Oh, ok. Got it. Just thought the fact that they are doing something, of defensive emphasis, that they have never done before ( http://cyclonefanatic.com/2016/10/c...ressure-on-to-improve-defensively-in-2016-17/ ) . But Iowa State is Iowa State and they can't ever change.
What I have read - while not the Detroit Pistons of old - certainly seems to be a bit more than just lip service to defense this year. And that is coming up unsolicited from both coaches and players.
That's fantastic and I think we've done well enough in Prohm's two classes so far to continue on with what we've built. Now we're going for another level and we're getting pegged back a little but that's how recruiting goes. Another big season this year and it just makes it all that much easier for late signing 17's and JUCO's and certainly for '18. It's a long process.
And we don't hear this Every. Single. Year?
But you need a Royce White, Deandre Kane, Monte Morris or Georges Niang to go along with those guys.
Hopefully Small can land Stokes.
So far through 16 months in position, he's brought in Lard.... maybe
So far through 16 months in position, he's brought in Lard.... maybe
Oh forsure, not saying you don't. But what is to say that those guys arent the guys we have recruited here the past couple of years? I mean, we have been so upperclassmen laden that we can't say definitively one way or the other. 2018 is huge for our success, if Wigginton is forsure out. Which is funny because we were all saying the same thing about this 6-spot 2017 class. Recruitment is so fluid that we can speculate and theorize, but until the deed is done, nothing is certain.
Yes, you hear that mostly offensive minded team say that they are going to focus on stepping up on defense, but have we ever actually seen any proof of them doing that? Last year I don't think Prohm could have changed the identity all that much, even if he did focus on it in practice more (don't know if they did or not). But that team had been playing together for 3 years, basically. The difference this year is that Prohm is getting to truly run the team he wants. Will there still be get-up-and-go offense and solid spacing? Of course, Prohm wouldn't be a good coach if he didn't realize the positives of that style of play, especially with the success it had at times last year. But Prohm stated when he first got here, and throughout the year last year, that he was used to having a bit more defense on his teams, even though he does press on having efficient offenses, but he realizes that we aren't going to have the blue-bloods to just outscore teams constantly. If this year the defense is just as terrible as the last three years, I will gladly eat crow.
I'm not sure how what Fred said and did has anything to do with Prohm. Last year the guy had little time to affect a change in the program because he came in so late. This year we are hearing about specifics on how they are working to change the defensive culture.
As far as Prohm goes, as we all know you don't have to be a defensive coach or run a defensive-centric system to improve the half-hearted defense we have seen in the past. Two additional stops a game can mean a swing of 4 to 6 points or even more if you get fast break opportunities off of them. That can be the difference in a lot of games.
By the way, you included Matt in your list of Fred holdovers. I think everyone can agree that he improved his defense significantly last year - under Prohm. No one else on the roster is capable of doing that?
It seems positive. Naz and Thomas are good defenders. We suspect Holden & Babb should be good. Burton, though not a great man defender, jumps the passing lanes better than anybody ISU's had in a long time. Morris has had some great games defensively, too.
I'll see you all in the game threads posting "I thought we were going to be more focused on defense this year!" "Why aren't we pressing I thought we were going to press?!?!?!" every time we give up a late shot clock basket or leave a guy wide open for three or we get behind by 5 points. Can't wait.
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I didn't come on here saying matter-of-factly that ISU would be better on defense. On the other hand you came on and said that they say that every year and there is no way it will be better. You even went so far as to say Prohm will never make the ISU team better at defense. I was arguing your total dismissal of the possibility. I haven't seen anyone suggesting that the team will become a defensive juggernaut, but marginal defensive improvement could make a big difference and wouldn't be miraculous to attain.
