Is Next Year’s Team Honestly Going To Be Any Good?

[Doc]

Don't really feel like reading 100+ posts but I've been doing some thinking on this as well.

With a healthy Babb our starting 5 can compete with anyone in this league. It's the lack of production off the bench that is hurting us. Talley is our best bench player but was dealing with a stress fracture for most of the season so wasn't really ready to contribute until Babb's injury. With Babb out Talley is a starter leaving even less production from the bench. Lewis and Long just haven't developed enough to contribute. Beverly has his moments but struggles at times on defending the post.

My concern about next year's team is 3 point shooting. This year's team lacks 3pt shooting and with Jackson an elite 3pt shooter, gone it's not going to be better. Next year we replace Jackson with Shayock. Who has more parts to his game than Jackson but I doubt he's on par from 3.

With that being said I think next year's starting 5 will be better due to the development of Wigs and Lard. Wigs is getting trial by fire running the point and I expect by next season will be capable of running this team. Babb has shown he's more than capable of of being the PG when needed. It can be argued that even though Wiggs is having a great freshman season, Lard is our best player. Another year of seasoning and the sky's the limit for him.

What is really going to determine next year's success is the bench. Which will have THT and Zion. Unless Lewis or Long make unprecedented strides THT and Zion are going to be the main contributors off the bench. Add in Jacobson who has gotten praise from the staff and Talley next year is going to be the team that will challenge KU for the B12 champs.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to upgrade the depth at G this offseason. Probably
depends on whether they think Lewis or Long is ready to be a contributor on a high-level team.

 

[hoopitup]

I’m not going to read this whole thing, but yeah we will be better. More depth on the front line. Another scorer on the perimeter. We lose Beverly, Brase and Jackson. We will need a little more depth in back court but I think some on here will be surprised by how Prohm molds that team.

 

[Sigmapolis]

It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to upgrade the depth at G this offseason. Probably
depends on whether they think Lewis or Long is ready to be a contributor on a high-level team.

I think Prohm likes having a lot of long and rangy wings more than a lot of traditional sorts of combo or shooting guards. We are going to have...

Shayok
Weiler-Babb
Talley
Horton-Tucker
Griffin
Lewis
Long

...who all fit into that mode between a 2 and a small ball 4.

I am pretty confident in those first four.

If Prohm wants another, particularly a shooter, then by all means, though.

I always played in high school as point-wing-wing-post-post or p-w-w-w-p. I think we are going to be doing something similar next year, with NWB able to do both.

 

[tobya8]

This team has done good things. You get an upgrade with Shayok. You get a big upgrade with Jacobson. Hopefully two of the Freshmen will be an upgrade. Young has got better as this season has gone on. Wigginton will better, Lard will be better, and Babb will be healthy. This current team isn't that far off. Things are just very limited now with the injuries.

I totally agree! Jackson is killing us this year! Yeah his no arch lazer 3-pointers are nice from time to time but he is such a defensive liability it's not even funny . Shayok will be such an upgrade!

 

[Dingus]

Almost every year someone surprises with their 3 pt Shooting- Kane, Hogue, NAz, Nader, Wigginton. It’s a clear need for next year - hopefully someone will put the shots in and step up.

 

[deadeyededric]

I think we will be around 18-20 wins next year and be a borderline tourney team. If someone transfers and we add a good JUCO guard I think we are an NCAA lock.

 

[cyfan92]

 

[CloneGuy8]

You also have to realize that the odds are Wigginton, Lard, and Babb are all going to be better next year. Takings our lumps this year sucks, but it will hopefully pay dividends for next year.

 

[rochclone]

What I can't get over is that WE KNEW this was going to be a rebuilding year. Add that to the Big 12 being an absolute meat grinder this year, but we've still been competitive in most of our games with a young and disjointed team. One of our best recruiting classes ever on the way. And yet we still get posts like the OP that say Prohm is incompetent and we're ******. Fantastic.

I think some people were realistic about this being a rebuilding year but you could go back to posts in the pre-season where people said it was insane that we would be picked 9th or 10th. Many posters saying we should finish 5th or 6th and be a bubble team.

We have 8 losses by more than 14+ points this year. The premise that we are close is flawed and based upon two overtime losses to Texas & Oklahoma State. But we haven't been close in the final two minutes in over 33% of the games we have played.

We get a tremendous upgrade in talent next year and that's good because we will need it. However, if a player unexpectedly transfers, declares for the draft or gets injured then quite frankly we will find ourselves in a similar predicament next year.

 

[LarryISU]

How about this take on Rivals discussing seven teams that will get a big boost from their new recruits:

The Cyclones are not a bad ball club, but unfortunately someone has to finish toward the bottom of the Big 12, which is the best league in America. There is a lot to like about the future at Iowa State, including the current talent of former five-star guard Lindell Wigginton and Cameron Lard, who provides an interior presence.


However, what could really change the fortunes of the program is enrolling its signed 2018 class tomorrow. While it remains in a fierce battle for four-star guard Tyler Harris this winter, ISU has a group that will bring versatility, toughness and the potential to become one of the best groups in school history.
Talen Horton-Tucker is one of the top movers in the recently updated Rivals150, and the multidimensional wing is on the fringe of earning five-star status. Zion Griffi, Tyrese Haliburton and George Conditt will join the top 35 senior at ISU, creating a group that should bolster the Cyclones' chances for a return to the NCAA Tournament.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Nice rim protection, George.

 

[83Clone]

For those who aren’t old enough to remember, the 1998-99 team was 15-15 and 6-10 in the conference. They added one very special piece (Tinsley) and the next year was unforgettable. Is THT that special piece? Maybe and I think Wiggi+Lard is a better base than Fizer Nurse Shirley Rancik. Plus we add way more than THT

 

[FinalFourCy]

For those who aren’t old enough to remember, the 1998-99 team was 15-15 and 6-10 in the conference. They added one very special piece (Tinsley) and the next year was unforgettable. Is THT that special piece? Maybe and I think Wiggi+Lard is a better base than Fizer Nurse Shirley Rancik. Plus we add way more than THT

Are Wigginton and Lard a better base than Fizer, Nurse, Rancik, and Shirley, not to mention Johnson? Plus don’t forget we also added Horton.

 

[Lineup]

new players, same coach

 

[CyBobby]

Teams only need one?

He is, but I’d consider going into a season with NWB the only primary ball handler as not conducive towards making a big step forward.

Due to better depth and seasoning we should be improved. We’ll still have some of the same weaknesses though, unless we have a better spring than the past few years. Will we ever have a good defense again?

I see your point final four and NWB will probably be fine until his knee starts hurting again and then we will be in trouble again.............CSP needs to recruit a true point guard who can play at the power 5 level.....

 

[Cyclonepride]

Excited for next year's roster improvements through both experience and talent upgrades, but as I look at projected lineups I wonder where improved outside shooting will come from. As people have stated among other things, inconsistent outside shooting has been an issue this season.

We can assume some personal improvements out of Wigginton and Babb, but can't imagine Shayok is an improvement over Jackson (strictly 3pt shooting). So if anything, on the surface it seems like a possible decline in outside shooting just when looking at 1-3. It seems THT is a capable outside shooter, so some added depth there, but like this yr there doesn't seem to be the obvious knockdown outside shooter to come in for quick offense that we've become accustomed to. I know that was expected out of Lewis, so hopefully his confidence and defense will improve exponentially next yr.

Like I said, excited for next yr's roster specifically the added interior depth. However, it seems like the outside shooting issue will still be there. Not many people are discussing that, so maybe I'm totally missing something.

Thoughts??

We may not improve the outside shooting ability over Jackson on a player for player basis, but he has been incredibly streaky this year, going from on fire to almost not scoring, which has amplified how streaky we are as a team.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I think some people were realistic about this being a rebuilding year but you could go back to posts in the pre-season where people said it was insane that we would be picked 9th or 10th. Many posters saying we should finish 5th or 6th and be a bubble team.

We have 8 losses by more than 14+ points this year. The premise that we are close is flawed and based upon two overtime losses to Texas & Oklahoma State. But we haven't been close in the final two minutes in over 33% of the games we have played.

We get a tremendous upgrade in talent next year and that's good because we will need it. However, if a player unexpectedly transfers, declares for the draft or gets injured then quite frankly we will find ourselves in a similar predicament next year.

This is total emo ********. Go put more black eyeliner on. It’s just you being whiny. I could go through and make the exact opposite claims point by point and it would have the same validity as your hot **** takes. The reality is somewhere in the middle like it always is.

 

[SCyclone]

While true that the Clones have suffered several double-digit defeats, it is also true that they have dealt both WVA and TTech their only double-digit losses of the season. You can shape numbers almost any way you want.

I see improvement, and experience gained. I for one am very upbeat about next year's team (and this year's, too).

 

[Gunnerclone]

While true that the Clones have suffered several double-digit defeats, it is also true that they have dealt both WVA and TTech their only double-digit losses of the season. You can shape numbers almost any way you want.

I see improvement, and experience gained. I for one am very upbeat about next year's team (and this year's, too).

But we’ve lost 6 games where we’ve had the lead at some point in the first 3 minutes of the game <puts more black eyeliner on>

 

[pdxclone]

I totally agree! Jackson is killing us this year! Yeah his no arch lazer 3-pointers are nice from time to time but he is such a defensive liability it's not even funny . Shayok will be such an upgrade!

Not to mention Jackson always trying to drive/finish with his right hand. 0-5 with his right hand in the last game. Heft on radio thought his finish rate with his right hand was about 26% about a month ago. It seems like the rate has dropped since. The scouting report is out.