*** Official #8 Kansas vs #13 IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***

[t-noah]

Just messing around on Bracket Matrix and found this:

Bracket Big Board: Purdue rubber stamps No. 1 seed with Ohio State win

Bally Sports' Brad Evans projects the men's NCAA tournament bracket if the regular season ended today

www.ballysports.com

They have:

1 seed: KU
2 seed: Texas
3 seed: Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor
4 seed: TCU
11 seed: Oklahoma State, West Virginia

It would be nice if someone could beat KU. Oh yeah, we just did. So did TN, KSU, TCU, Baylor.

This is hard for me to say, but I kinda hope KU beats TX at AFH. They still have some tough games left.

I just don't want Texa$ to be the ones to dethrone KU in the Big 12 race. No, %^#* @($&!

 

[nfrine]

Bill Walton's "Conference of Champions" is really tearing it up this year. I laugh every time he uses that line.

 

[madguy30]

It would be nice if someone could beat KU. Oh yeah, we just did. So did TN, KSU, TCU, Baylor.

This is hard for me to say, but I kinda hope KU beats TX at AFH. They still have some tough games left.

I just don't want Texa$ to be the ones to dethrone KU in the Big 12 race. No, %^#* @($&!

The last month of the conference season might be the most bonkers yet with the thick irony of it being the last of the round robin schedule that's so much more interesting.

 

[t-noah]

The last month of the conference season might be the most bonkers yet with the thick irony of it being the last of the round robin schedule that's so much more interesting.

And the question can be asked, "Who do I dislike the most? Choices are: Texas, OU, KU." No, you can only choose two.

Close call, but it's OuT every time.

 

[Pharmacy99]

One thing I give BRE credit for are his post moves. Yes, he shoots and misses too much down low. And yes, he now needs to know his place and dish more. But it has opened our offense some when he is in there. Think of what he could be like if he could make most of those, or had better hands? But the defense must still react and defend him.

In contrast, last year you couldn't force Conditt to drive or take a shot. I think TJ really wanted some improvement in post moves and utilization this year.

Jones has good post moves. He just needs to finish better

 

[Clyde4cy]

Bob plays more minutes than Grill and Gabe? I did not know that.

Usage rate is not playing time. It is the % of team plays used by a player when they are on the floor.

 

[swiacy]

That was an issue earlier in the year but has rarely been an issue in conference play. He had 4 fouls yesterday but most came in the 2nd half and likely didn't impact (much) of his minutes.

In fact, there have been several conference games where he ended the game with 1 or 2 fouls. When he's being effective and if he's not in foul trouble, his minutes should be stretched. I've literally never seen an upper classman have minutes this limited that wasn't overly big/large. Not sure why we havent been able to stretch him to 30 mins a game, when fouls allow.

But yes, if he is in foul trouble we need to make sure BRE isn't in the game in a must foul situation. In theory the return of Kunc and a willingness to put King at the 5 should alleviate that, but that strategy has yet to be seen.

Your first paragraph nails confirmation. The staff took notes of his propensity to get in early foul trouble and dialed his PT back to keep him in the game. Same issue with Bob Jones btw. Which is all good. Last years team lacked any semblance of an inside threat so they ran a high post at the top of the free throw line with their back to the basket. Osuni & Bob’s attacking the basket are the biggest change and most important improvement from last year in my view. People rip on Bob in here for his lack of scoring skill but the staff still wants that threat to open up the rest of the perimeter offense. Bob may actually have softer hands than Osuni on the entry pass. If those two can stay in the game, this team can be a threat in the tournament.

 

[CycloneErik]

And the question can be asked, "Who do I dislike the most? Choices are: Texas, OU, KU." No, you can only choose two.

Close call, but it's OuT every time.

Kansas and Kansas.

 

[NoCreativity]

Bill Walton's "Conference of Champions" is really tearing it up this year. I laugh every time he uses that line.

3 bid league.

 

[ISUTex]

Gabe had another game full of big shots. I can't figure out if he reminds me more of Justice Thigpen or Dedric Willougby. Maybe a combination of the two. Fun player to watch.

 

[ZRF]

It wasn't only BRE that TT & Mizzou blew by. They blew by Osun and other Clones as well. Overall, Rob is a solid perimeter defender and better on ball defender in the post and perimeter than Osun. It's pretty tough for any 6'11" player to guard another team's 1-3's out front.

When ISU switches automatically at the 1-5, the other teams coach is smart enough to get their play making guards/wings matched up against Rob & Osun. We did a much better job yesterday of our guards fighting through screens at the top of the key and not automatically switching.

Agree on the last paragraph.

The difference with Osun is that he is infinitely better on closeouts

Your first paragraph nails confirmation. The staff took notes of his propensity to get in early foul trouble and dialed his PT back to keep him in the game. Same issue with Bob Jones btw. Which is all good. Last years team lacked any semblance of an inside threat so they ran a high post at the top of the free throw line with their back to the basket. Osuni & Bob’s attacking the basket are the biggest change and most important improvement from last year in my view. People rip on Bob in here for his lack of scoring skill but the staff still wants that threat to open up the rest of the perimeter offense. Bob may actually have softer hands than Osuni on the entry pass. If those two can stay in the game, this team can be a threat in the tournament.

The difference between Osun and Bob is that one is wildly effective (Osun) while the other is wildly ineffective. While I agree Osun can get sloppy when tired, we have seemed to adopt a static strategy of 'preventative medicine' rather than aim toward a player making adjustments to stay on the court longer. If you strictly adhere to a strategy then you eliminate the ability to be working toward something. Osun is often one of our biggest mismatches as he's someone opponents have a hard time guarding. I've been adamant our NCAA prospects dramatically increase if Osun plays closer to 30 minutes a game. But if we take him out on schedule, and don't teach him to play through some fatigue, he's never going to get there.

I don't agree with this strategy as I think it is a wasted opportunity. That's further compounded in Bob getting Osun's minutes when he's on the bench. It's literally game changing.

 

[VeloClone]

The whole point is that if Tamin refuses to shoot from the perimeter, his man sags in and there are no paths to the rim. And if Rob doesn't shoot down in the post, there's no help defense which prevents open looks from the perimeter.

All 5 players have to be at least a threat to score or you end up with 5 gaurding 3 or 4.

There are other ways to combat this other than having a player take a bad shot (for him). If they aren't guarding Tamin he can set an occasional screen after initiating the offense. When he sets a screen at the arc there isn't a help defender to switch if they aren't guarding him. This could get open looks for Gabe and Caleb.

 

[VeloClone]

Like signifies that it's strictly a personal opinion o one with bias. Statistically, against Big 12 competition, Jones is terrible. I only repeat once the Defenders come to Bob's rescue, without supporting claims of productivity or that Bob is a useful player.

Maybe you should take issue with them instead.

Or maybe you could just shut up for a while. The horse is dead and mostly decomposed.

 

[Pope]

There are other ways to combat this other than having a player take a bad shot (for him). If they aren't guarding Tamin he can set an occasional screen after initiating the offense. When he sets a screen at the arc there isn't a help defender if they aren't guarding him. This could get open looks for Gabe and Caleb.

Even if Tamin is the screener, I don't think the open looks will be there for others when it's essentially 5 guarding 4. Just my opinion.

I'm certainly not saying Tamin should be hunting 3 point shots, but when he's intentionally left wide open, he's got to take an occasional shot or the defense will lose ALL respect for him as an outside scoring threat, which means open looks will be even more difficult to find for the other 4 players.

Tamin's perimeter challenges are not gonna be solved in mid-season. It will need to be a point of emphasis in the off season. In the meantime, if he doesn't take an occasional shot, it's going to become mental and the problem will only be exacerbated. Again, just my opinion.

 

[VeloClone]

Even if Tamin is the screener, I don't think the open looks will be there for others when it's essentially 5 guarding 4. Just my opinion.

I'm certainly not saying Tamin should be hunting 3 point shots, but when he's intentionally left wide open, he's got to take an occasional shot or the defense will lose ALL respect for him as an outside scoring threat, which means open looks will be even more difficult to find for the other 4 players.

Tamin's perimeter challenges are not gonna be solved in mid-season. It will need to be a point of emphasis in the off season. In the meantime, if he doesn't take an occasional shot, it's going to become mental and the problem will only be exacerbated. Again, just my opinion.

I know this strategy works because I have seen it used by Bill when faced with a dominant shot blocker big that just camped out in the lane because our big was not an outside shot threat. He had our unguarded big screen and rescreen until one of our guards got a wide open look from 3.

If Tamin's man is clogging the lane, then he isn't much help on a wide open Gabe or Caleb outside the arc. They may be 4 on 3 for our big and other two guards but Tamin and whomever he is screening will be 2 on 1.

 

[CyLyte2]

Agree on the last paragraph.

The difference with Osun is that he is infinitely better on closeouts

The difference between Osun and Bob is that one is wildly effective (Osun) while the other is wildly ineffective. While I agree Osun can get sloppy when tired, we have seemed to adopt a static strategy of 'preventative medicine' rather than aim toward a player making adjustments to stay on the court longer. If you strictly adhere to a strategy then you eliminate the ability to be working toward something. Osun is often one of our biggest mismatches as he's someone opponents have a hard time guarding. I've been adamant our NCAA prospects dramatically increase if Osun plays closer to 30 minutes a game. But if we take him out on schedule, and don't teach him to play through some fatigue, he's never going to get there.

I don't agree with this strategy as I think it is a wasted opportunity. That's further compounded in Bob getting Osun's minutes when he's on the bench. It's literally game changing.

You don’t agree with the strategy that has is second in the conference and ranked 11 nationally? LOL.

 

[3TrueFans]

You don’t agree with the strategy that has is second in the conference and ranked 11 nationally? LOL.

If I were coach we'd be 1st in the conference and 10th nationally.

 

[madguy30]

You don’t agree with the strategy that has is second in the conference and ranked 11 nationally? LOL.

*In year 2 of a rebuild after two 20 loss seasons.

ISU winning is a real struggle for people.

 

[CycloneErik]

If I were coach we'd be 1st in the conference and 10th nationally.

If I were the coach, we'd be 10th in the conference and 1st nationally.

 

[isufbcurt]

You don’t agree with the strategy that has is second in the conference and ranked 11 nationally? LOL.

Who ZRF thinks he is: