*** Official West Virginia Vs IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***

[Clonefan32]

Yeah the Nixon thing is definitely a head scratcher, but let's go back a little bit. Nixon has played poorly all year long there's no doubt about that, but what was the answer to this problem? Jackson and Grill were both freshman and were in over their heads at the beginning of the year, Griffin is terrible on both ends of the floor, and Lewis can't guard his shadow. There was not an immediate fix for Steve because he had no other viable options, which again is still Steve's fault.

When Tre Jackson finally looked like he was getting the hang of things, Steve was going to place him in the starting 5, but Tre broke his nose so.. back to Nixon. That was the Auburn game. Tre came back wearing a mask and took a step back from how he'd been playing the previous games before his broken nose, which makes sense. 3 games later, Halliburton breaks his wrist. So again, back to Prentiss.

Prohm's hands have been tied this year because of the roster he assembled. He's had to live with Prentiss doing Prentiss things at times but he's the best of the worse in my opinion. If this were any other year that type of stuff wouldn't be able to fly but there was truly no other option.

Nixon's struggles and Jacobson's regression are pretty well documented. To me, one of the biggest issues this year is Zion being a complete non-factor. Between being a solid recruit and having some hype coming into this season, I fully expected him to be in the 8-10 ppg range. He's just not been able to give us anything.

 

[Statefan10]

Nixon's struggles and Jacobson's regression are pretty well documented. To me, one of the biggest issues this year is Zion being a complete non-factor. Between being a solid recruit and having some hype coming into this season, I fully expected him to be in the 8-10 ppg range. He's just not been able to give us anything.

And that's exactly the position that's been absolutely killing us all year long. That 3-4 position. It's essentially been a black hole on both ends of the court.

 

[Clonefan32]

And that's exactly the position that's been absolutely killing us all year long. That 3-4 position. It's essentially been a black hole on both ends of the court.

They really seemed pretty high on him coming into this year and I just can't figure it out. That jump shot needs serious work. Front iron every single time.

 

[Cat Stevens]

It was encouraging to see their effort and heart, although I think giving effort of the level they showed tonight should be expected all season, which I'm sure the coaches would agree.i think if they showed this kind of effort on more than just senior night they would have a few more wins, or at the very least a few less blow out losses. This is the toughness Prohm has been talking about all year. Hopefully it will rub off to next years team.

unless prohms offense is based on running down and jacking up a contested shot without any passing, the players aren't above criticism. I think none of the prohm defenders on here would say that prohm has designed an offense so terrible it boils down to Sprint down floor and jack up first shot within 30 feet of basket. However, prohm never corrected Nixon's offense issues, so I guess it is on him also. Maybe this game is how he envisioned all of Nixon's games going.

nixon came to Iowa State with the idea that he’d be the third guard with Tyrese and Talen.

Think about the quality of human being it takes to sit here and **** all over these kids effort their last home game, because you’re so anti coach that you can’t bring yourselves to be positive about anything with the basketball program.

That is not passion about Iowa State athletics that drives those behaviors.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Not really. Only person I’ve probably been a jerk to is cat but idgaf. He’s a douche.

But thanks for your concern, bud.

Projection is a pretty learned trait. Good to see you have followed the lead

 

[Statefan10]

Our margin of error is just razor thin. I think it was the most locked in I've seen them for some time. The effort was there. What was most disappointing to me is after we made our run and got our lead our shot selection went straight downhill. We didn't get out in transition and didn't look to play inside out.

The problem all year is the other team gets way better shots than we do. Occasionally we hit some tough shots and stay in the game, but it's just not sustainable.

There were a few great looks that we missed that would've changed the game, I believe Jackson had two of them. One of them, we actually got an offensive rebound and Solomon completely botched the baby hook. We also were down 3 at one point I believe, threw the ball down low to Solo, and he ended up turning it over.

I think we were actually okay down the stretch. Not perfect by any means, but if one of those threes by Jackson goes in when we were up 2, it's a completely different outcome imo.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Yeah the Nixon thing is definitely a head scratcher, but let's go back a little bit. Nixon has played poorly all year long there's no doubt about that, but what was the answer to this problem? Jackson and Grill were both freshman and were in over their heads at the beginning of the year, Griffin is terrible on both ends of the floor, and Lewis can't guard his shadow. There was not an immediate fix for Steve because he had no other viable options, which again is still Steve's fault.

When Tre Jackson finally looked like he was getting the hang of things, Steve was going to place him in the starting 5, but Tre broke his nose so.. back to Nixon. That was the Auburn game. Tre came back wearing a mask and took a step back from how he'd been playing the previous games before his broken nose, which makes sense. 3 games later, Halliburton breaks his wrist. So again, back to Prentiss.

Prohm's hands have been tied this year because of the roster he assembled. He's had to live with Prentiss doing Prentiss things at times but he's the best of the worse in my opinion. If this were any other year that type of stuff wouldn't be able to fly but there was truly no other option.

When did Prentiss sign his financial aid agreement?


What was the original concept of the roster?

he was going to be a third guard with two nba players.

 

[IP Guy]

I wouldn't call Jacobson a regression; rather, a different position. He still made good post moves, back down moves and mid-range jumpers this year, but that was not his primary role given his 4 spot position.

He wasn't ever going to shoot a great 3P%, which was much more necessary at the 4 in today's offenses.

As stated above, the issue is that Zion couldn't step up and play the 4, and TLew was too inconsistent in his effort (presumably in practice too), such that Jacobson had to play the 4.

If your 4 can't hit enough 3's to keep the defense honest, then the defense can sag (or favor the spot of the 3P shooter) daring the 4 to shoot 3's. This clogs up the driving lanes, which both prevents level 1 penetration and results in more level 2 charges when you get past the first level.

As a side note, if we actually have 4 legitimate shooters on the floor next year, I think Bolton will be even more effective. I sure he works his tail off this summer and the team gets a Niang, Naz, Thomas competition mindset where they compete every day to see he gets more 3P practice shots in.

 

[IP Guy]

I wouldn't call Jacobson a regression; rather, a different position. He still made good post moves, back down moves and mid-range jumpers this year, but that was not his primary role given his 4 spot position.

He wasn't ever going to shoot a great 3P%, which was much more necessary at the 4 in today's offenses.

As stated above, the issue is that Zion couldn't step up and play the 4, and TLew was too inconsistent in his effort (presumably in practice too), such that Jacobson had to play the 4.

If your 4 can't hit enough 3's to keep the defense honest, then the defense can sag (or favor the spot of the 3P shooter) daring the 4 to shoot 3's. This clogs up the driving lanes, which both prevents level 1 penetration and results in more level 2 charges when you get past the first level.

As a side note, if we actually have 4 legitimate shooters on the floor next year, I think Bolton will be even more effective. I sure he works his tail off this summer and the team gets a Niang, Naz, Thomas competition mindset where they compete every day to see he gets more 3P practice shots in.

 

[Statefan10]

I wouldn't call Jacobson a regression; rather, a different position. He still made good post moves, back down moves and mid-range jumpers this year, but that was not his primary role given his 4 spot position.

He wasn't ever going to shoot a great 3P%, which was much more necessary at the 4 in today's offenses.

As stated above, the issue is that Zion couldn't step up and play the 4, and TLew was too inconsistent in his effort (presumably in practice too), such that Jacobson had to play the 4.

If your 4 can't hit enough 3's to keep the defense honest, then the defense can sag (or favor the spot of the 3P shooter) daring the 4 to shoot 3's. This clogs up the driving lanes, which both prevents level 1 penetration and results in more level 2 charges when you get past the first level.

As a side note, if we actually have 4 legitimate shooters on the floor next year, I think Bolton will be even more effective. I sure he works his tail off this summer and the team gets a Niang, Naz, Thomas competition mindset where they compete every day to see he gets more 3P practice shots in.

Mike was a fine player last year in the position he was in, with the talent he had around him. He's probably the same exact player he was last year, but the position and role he was asked to fill was just not cut out for him. He'd be a perfect 4 / 5 man coming off the bench when we wanted to go big or give the 5 a break, but he's just been asked to do too much this year.

 

[Statefan10]

When did Prentiss sign his financial aid agreement?


What was the original concept of the roster?

he was going to be a third guard with two nba players.

April 24, 2018. About a month and a half after we had lost to Texas in the Big 12 tournament with Lard and Wigginton at the realm. Also about a month and a half before THT, Tyrese, Conditt, and Griffin got to Iowa State's campus to begin summer workouts their freshman year.

 

[Cycl1]

Yeah the Nixon thing is definitely a head scratcher, but let's go back a little bit. Nixon has played poorly all year long there's no doubt about that, but what was the answer to this problem? Jackson and Grill were both freshman and were in over their heads at the beginning of the year, Griffin is terrible on both ends of the floor, and Lewis can't guard his shadow. There was not an immediate fix for Steve because he had no other viable options, which again is still Steve's fault.

When Tre Jackson finally looked like he was getting the hang of things, Steve was going to place him in the starting 5, but Tre broke his nose so.. back to Nixon. That was the Auburn game. Tre came back wearing a mask and took a step back from how he'd been playing the previous games before his broken nose, which makes sense. 3 games later, Halliburton breaks his wrist. So again, back to Prentiss.

Prohm's hands have been tied this year because of the roster he assembled. He's had to live with Prentiss doing Prentiss things at times but he's the best of the worse in my opinion. If this were any other year that type of stuff wouldn't be able to fly but there was truly no other option.

So the argument is prohm did such a poor job assembling the roster and is such a poor coach he isn't able to stop Nixon from sending up 5 3s a game at a now improved 26 percent clip? prohm failed to reel Nixon in when it came to shooting, and Nixon failed to have literally any self awareness. They have to watch film. He has to have seen countless replays of him missing shots no one should take. If prohm told him to keep shooting then I won't blame Nixon, but Nixon getting hot one game a season that we lost anyway surely can't have been the plan. It just means prohm has no control.

 

[Cat Stevens]

So the argument is prohm did such a poor job assembling the roster and is such a poor coach he isn't able to stop Nixon from sending up 5 3s a game at a now improved 26 percent clip? prohm failed to reel Nixon in when it came to shooting, and Nixon failed to have literally any self awareness. They have to watch film. He has to have seen countless replays of him missing shots no one should take. If prohm told him to keep shooting then I won't blame Nixon, but Nixon getting hot one game a season that we lost anyway surely can't have been the plan. It just means prohm has no control.

Imagine not being able to say “good game Prentiss. You left it all out there. Thank you for representing my school.”

Good job

 

[Cycl1]

nixon came to Iowa State with the idea that he’d be the third guard with Tyrese and Talen.

Think about the quality of human being it takes to sit here and **** all over these kids effort their last home game, because you’re so anti coach that you can’t bring yourselves to be positive about anything with the basketball program.

That is not passion about Iowa State athletics that drives those behaviors.

We spent 2 years of scholarship on a 1 year of play 3rd guard? I was complimentary of Nixon in the game thread during the game. He had a great game. He shot lights outs, and him shooting lights out, along with our effort and wvu being in a horrible offensive funk for basically the entire year made it so it was a close game instead of a blowout loss. You do remember we lost for the 18th time this year, and that prohm will have yet another year worse than McDermott? Sorry, I'm not going to parade around moral victories of our senior guard we spent 2 years of scholarships on finally having a good shooting game in another loss and the team finally showing grit and effort in the last home game of the season as some rosy thing to be super excited about.

Things to be excited about:

Bolton and Young have put together a decent season. If they take the next step they could have really good years next year. Jackson is starting to become a solid player. Could be due for a break out sophomore year.

Time will tell for conditt and grill. Both have shown good effort and flashes, but they also combined for 3 rebounds, 0 assists, and 0 points last night, so they still might be a year away.

 

[Cycl1]

Imagine not being able to say “good game Prentiss. You left it all out there. Thank you for representing my school.”

Good job

What? I said good for Nixon earlier in the game thread when he was going off from 3, said I was hard on him this year and that he was having a good game.

He played hard today. Thanks for choosing Iowa State and representing our school.

 

[Statefan10]

So the argument is prohm did such a poor job assembling the roster and is such a poor coach he isn't able to stop Nixon from sending up 5 3s a game at a now improved 26 percent clip? prohm failed to reel Nixon in when it came to shooting, and Nixon failed to have literally any self awareness. They have to watch film. He has to have seen countless replays of him missing shots no one should take. If prohm told him to keep shooting then I won't blame Nixon, but Nixon getting hot one game a season that we lost anyway surely can't have been the plan. It just means prohm has no control.

Prentiss Nixon is not the reason this team is not good. And yes, I'm sure they watch film, and I doubt Coach Prohm is in love with Nixon's shot selection as a whole, but I go back to again, what is your alternative to this situation? Griffin, another 26% shooter who can't dribble or play defense? Grill, a 23% shooter? Lewis, a pretty good shooter, but doesn't know what he's doing on offense or defense at all? Those 3 guys are your only options, unless of course you would've liked Prohm to dip into the walk-ons.

Nixon has not been terrible every single game, rather it's about every other game. He's had some very nice games and he's had some absolutely terrible ones as well. I'm extremely happy he had a nice game last night. He played his ass off and was probably the main reason we were in the game at the end last night.

 

[Statefan10]

We're the cupcake now.

Were we a cupcake last year?

 

[Statefan10]

They really seemed pretty high on him coming into this year and I just can't figure it out. That jump shot needs serious work. Front iron every single time.

Yeah it's not good. It's something that can't be fixed during the season. At the beginning of the year he actually had more arc on his shot but as the season has gone on, it's just gotten progressively worse. It's common to revert back to original ways.

It's not a bad looking shot.. It's usually on target, he just needs to spend endless hours this off season to correct the arc. His shot isn't what's keeping him off the floor though. He's athletic and tall enough to get minutes, but his footwork, decision making, ball handling, and defensive ability are what's causing him to not see the floor. He's a bit uncoordinated and that becomes apparent when the competition rises.

He's not a lost cause. He'll have another full off season of work to put in which he can try and get better in all of those areas. His length and athleticism is tough to teach and he'd be so nice to have if he were polished. The problem with all of that is the fact that next year we're going to have 3 other guys that are similar in body type, length, and athleticism. They are all going to be battling it out for playing time / the starting position, so we'll just have to see if he takes that next step.

 

[BryceC]

I was so happy for Nixon during the game. The guy wanted it so bad this year but just didn't have it. At times in Hilton yesterday it got genuinely exciting. I can handle losing honestly, what I can't handle is being bored. and yesterday was not boring.

Nixon's emotional farewell really shows just how much these guys invest too. To make it to to this level you really have to pour your whole life into it. And for a guy like him, it's over. I wish him all the best and he and Mike are well set up for their futures on and off the court.

 

[BryceC]

Quick note on Bolton - the late free throw he missed was the first free throw he missed in the last 5 games. Over the last 9 games he is 35-38. If he can continue to get to the line like this that is a dimension we have not had in this program for a while. Continue to develop his left hand and honestly he could be an inch or two shorter Dwayne Wade. Yeah, pass me the kool aid.