Really nice game from Heise

[Cloned4Life]

Ok. I’ll give you some but not all! Since big 12 play has started he is shooting 15% from 3. Has made 3 of 19, two of those tonight. Yes, he gets some boards and his defense is above average most the time. Again, I want him to contribute and succeed because the team will succeed! No need for the cussing overreaction.

Yep that is the offensive production we need from him. He needs to be shooting 3-5 threes per game, and consistently driving and playmaking. He is absolutely capable of doing it consistently (and the staff expects him to), which is what makes his tentativeness lately so frustrating.

The comment about “above average defense” is really disingenuous. I’m guessing you saw him “get beat off the dribble” a few times and that somehow makes his overall defensive contributions overrated. Fact is, he is consistently one of our best (and most consistent) defensive players - which accounts for rotations (both at the top and off-ball), communication, backside defense, on-ball defense, the ability to switch and guard multiple positions, steal %, etc. Just a really good overall player and for the team’s sake he needs to play with that level of confidence going forward.

 

[Tailg8er]

Glad he contributed, hope it’s not a one off. Never wish for a kid to fail, just want to win!!

Ok. I’ll give you some but not all! Since big 12 play has started he is shooting 15% from 3. Has made 3 of 19, two of those tonight. Yes, he gets some boards and his defense is above average most the time. Again, I want him to contribute and succeed because the team will succeed! No need for the cussing overreaction.

I’m glad Heise did well yesterday and hope he keeps it up. He has been pretty frustrating to watch, especially offensively, most of the season. If he can just knock down 25-30 percent of his 3s the rest of the year, that will unlock this team even more.

There have been multiple posts/threads about how Heise has been a disappointment this season. Someone starts one praising him for a really good all around game. You'd think everyone could share in the praise, yet we still have critical people who HAVE to point out that he's been frustrating to date.

Never change, CF, never change!

 

[Dgilbertson]

There have been multiple posts/threads about how Heise has been a disappointment this season. Someone starts one praising him for a really good all around game. You'd think everyone could share in the praise, yet we still have critical people who HAVE to point out that he's been frustrating to date.

Never change, CF, never change!

I hope he plays more games like last night than the rest of Big 12 conference games

 

[Frak]

I 100% believe that Heise can be the difference between sweet 16 and the final 4. Easily our best wing defender and also a good secondary ball handler. But if he’s not taking and making outside shot, the defense can sag off of him which can kill everyone else’s game. If he hits enough that the defense has to respect him, that kind of unlocks the offense IMO.

 

[CyNews]

Ok. I’ll give you some but not all! Since big 12 play has started he is shooting 15% from 3. Has made 3 of 19, two of those tonight. Yes, he gets some boards and his defense is above average most the time. Again, I want him to contribute and succeed because the team will succeed! No need for the cussing overreaction.

He plays D. end of story.

 

[Cloned4Life]

There have been multiple posts/threads about how Heise has been a disappointment this season. Someone starts one praising him for a really good all around game. You'd think everyone could share in the praise, yet we still have critical people who HAVE to point out that he's been frustrating to date.

Never change, CF, never change!

I would add too:

I have heard @ChrisMWilliams several times mention on podcasts that Heise "wasn't ready for an increased role", maybe subtly hinting at what is is and isn't "capable of" at this level or the moment was too big for him.

Complete disagree.

Heise's role was impacted by Milan's absence in the same way it impacted Keshon; it prevented him from playmaking and he did not navigate the spacing well at all. And whereas Keshon kept trying to force things into a packed lane and started turning it over more and getting frustrated, Heise did the opposite, and got extremely tentative. It's not like he started doing brand new things (when Milan went out) that we saw and said "dang, maybe he's just not good enough to do those things in the Big 12". No, instead, he literally just stopped shooting, stopped looking for drives, stopped looking to score. Stopped cutting. The one exception being the home UCF game, where - like the last 2 games - he was aggressive with the ball offensively.

--Against UCF Home, within the first 20 seconds he entered the game, he took a fast break down the lane aggressively and finished with an athletic move and smooth left-handed layup.
--Against TCU Home, he had 4 consecutive drives to the hoop in the first portion of the second half, getting into the paint against different defenders and dishing off to a big man. 1 of those 4 was a poor play by him, but 3 of those passes should have been catches/finishes by our post players.
--Against UCF last night, he was good on the break (as expected) a confident catch-and-shooter. He needs to be shooting 2 - 5 three pointers per game, and he needs to do what he did last night - no hesitation, catch, and shoot with confidence. He's tall enough with a quick enough release that he should have no trouble getting off shots in these situations, even with a hand in his face.

When Heise is playing well, he's moving the ball offensively through passing, he's cutting, he's finding space, he's looking for driving lanes when he has the ball, he's a ready shooter. He is absolutely skilled enough, talented enough, and athletic enough to be a very consistent ~20mpg player in the Big 12. He's scored 1,000 points in his career because he is a good offensive player. The staff has high expectations of him and will continue to challenge him to play with confidence. That starts with being much more aggressive offensively, and this is not "too big" for him or asking too much of him.

 

[Statefan10]

I 100% believe that Heise can be the difference between sweet 16 and the final 4. Easily our best wing defender and also a good secondary ball handler. But if he’s not taking and making outside shot, the defense can sag off of him which can kill everyone else’s game. If he hits enough that the defense has to respect him, that kind of unlocks the offense IMO.

Him and Chatfield literally just have to play "okay" for us to reach our potential. Last night as a whole we didn't play tremendous, but those two had good games and we handled them. Probably win by 16+ if we don't get careless down the stretch.

Heise needs to shoot the ball 5+ times a game. Preferably 3+ threes and then a couple of finishes at the rim. A big difference in last night's game was just confidence though. On every single one of his shots he was ready to shoot. Teams also left him because they were overhelping with the drive but that's the game within the game. Are you going to let Keshon and Curtis get all the way or are you going to help? If Heise continues to shoot with confidence, it opens up so much for us.

For Chatfield, he just needs to be the garbage man. A few rebounds, a bucket here and there, and don't turn the ball over.

 

[CyNews]

I would add too:

I have heard @ChrisMWilliams several times mention on podcasts that Heise "wasn't ready for an increased role", maybe subtly hinting at what is is and isn't "capable of" at this level or the moment was too big for him.

Complete disagree.

Heise's role was impacted by Milan's absence in the same way it impacted Keshon; it prevented him from playmaking and he did not navigate the spacing well at all. And whereas Keshon kept trying to force things into a packed lane and started turning it over more and getting frustrated, Heise did the opposite, and got extremely tentative. It's not like he started doing brand new things (when Milan went out) that we saw and said "dang, maybe he's just not good enough to do those things in the Big 12". No, instead, he literally just stopped shooting, stopped looking for drives, stopped looking to score. Stopped cutting. The one exception being the home UCF game, where - like the last 2 games - he was aggressive with the ball offensively.

--Against UCF Home, within the first 20 seconds he entered the game, he took a fast break down the lane aggressively and finished with an athletic move and smooth left-handed layup.
--Against TCU Home, he had 4 consecutive drives to the hoop in the first portion of the second half, getting into the paint against different defenders and dishing off to a big man. 1 of those 4 was a poor play by him, but 3 of those passes should have been catches/finishes by our post players.
--Against UCF last night, he was good on the break (as expected) a confident catch-and-shooter. He needs to be shooting 2 - 5 three pointers per game, and he needs to do what he did last night - no hesitation, catch, and shoot with confidence. He's tall enough with a quick enough release that he should have no trouble getting off shots in these situations, even with a hand in his face.

When Heise is playing well, he's moving the ball offensively through passing, he's cutting, he's finding space, he's looking for driving lanes when he has the ball, he's a ready shooter. He is absolutely skilled enough, talented enough, and athletic enough to be a very consistent ~20mpg player in the Big 12. He's scored 1,000 points in his career because he is a good offensive player. The staff has high expectations of him and will continue to challenge him to play with confidence. That starts with being much more aggressive offensively, and this is not "too big" for him or asking too much of him.

Williams is not the definitive word on Cyclone basketball. But he can be fun to listen to.

 

[NWICY]

Which game or two do you think will be harder?

@Houston
Arizona
@KSU

1,3,2

 

[NoCreativity]

Ok, hes growing on me. Just need to knock down a couple shots every once in awhile when the opportunity arises.

 

[Thomasrickj]

22 vs TCU
21 tonight
thats all we need from him

Heise made some big shots tonight.

That was probably our 2nd or 3rd hardest game left, pretty impressive win, I was shocked a little because of how tough UCF has played down in Orlando.

We have @Houston, @K-State and home against Arizona. That was our fourth toughest remaining game.

 

[Cyched]

He plays D. end of story.

 

[clone37]

Him and Chatfield literally just have to play "okay" for us to reach our potential. Last night as a whole we didn't play tremendous, but those two had good games and we handled them. Probably win by 16+ if we don't get careless down the stretch.

Heise needs to shoot the ball 5+ times a game. Preferably 3+ threes and then a couple of finishes at the rim. A big difference in last night's game was just confidence though. On every single one of his shots he was ready to shoot. Teams also left him because they were overhelping with the drive but that's the game within the game. Are you going to let Keshon and Curtis get all the way or are you going to help? If Heise continues to shoot with confidence, it opens up so much for us.

For Chatfield, he just needs to be the garbage man. A few rebounds, a bucket here and there, and don't turn the ball over.

Another thing that was very noticeable when Milan was in the game was how the floor spacing opened up so many offensive rebounds for our bigs. He takes an extra defender away from the hoop.

 

[Statefan10]

Another thing that was very noticeable when Milan was in the game was how the floor spacing opened up so many offensive rebounds for our bigs. He takes an extra defender away from the hoop.

Oh yes. Big time. Our spacing, subbing, which gets into minute distribution, etc. And he’s still so versatile. The one possession where he went one on one and the ball went in and out was a great shot and one he hasn’t used much this year due to Jefferson and Jackson being more prominent offensively.

Milan being back and having Curtis come off the bench makes our games flow better.

 

[Cyclad]

Yep that is the offensive production we need from him. He needs to be shooting 3-5 threes per game, and consistently driving and playmaking. He is absolutely capable of doing it consistently (and the staff expects him to), which is what makes his tentativeness lately so frustrating.

The comment about “above average defense” is really disingenuous. I’m guessing you saw him “get beat off the dribble” a few times and that somehow makes his overall defensive contributions overrated. Fact is, he is consistently one of our best (and most consistent) defensive players - which accounts for rotations (both at the top and off-ball), communication, backside defense, on-ball defense, the ability to switch and guard multiple positions, steal %, etc. Just a really good overall player and for the team’s sake he needs to play with that level of confidence going forward.

TJ said in the postgame, “ we are a better defensive team with Heise on the floor.”
I agree and that’s good enough for me.
Also said he can guard the 4 in small ball - if I remember correctly.
That said - it is difficult when he is a zero on offense. We don’t need much, just some threat. Very happy with his play at UCF.

 

[rosshm16]

1,3,2

This is the only reasonable answer.

Houston is one of the better teams in the country and are allowed to play with a level of "physical defense" that most teams don't get away with.

KSU is clearly not as good as Houston but are playing out of their minds and every road game is tough.

I'm not scared of Arizona at all, we essentially beat them already on the road without a key player.

 

[Kettes]

Which game or two do you think will be harder?

@Houston
Arizona
@KSU

@Houston

 

[VeloClone]

This is the only reasonable answer.

Houston is one of the better teams in the country and are allowed to play with a level of "physical defense" that most teams don't get away with.

KSU is clearly not as good as Houston but are playing out of their minds and every road game is tough.

I'm not scared of Arizona at all, we essentially beat them already on the road without a key player.

Whether Arizona is a cakewalk or a slobberknocker in Hilton really comes down to which Caleb Love shows up. If the guy who is out of his mind hitting everything he throws in the general direction of the basket that we saw in OT, it will be a battle. If they guy who was pedestrian for the majority of that game plays ISU should be able to win relatively comfortably.

 

[JP4CY]

Nate Heise outplayed Caleb Love tonight.

 

[madguy30]

Heise showing that it's a long season and things can develop as it goes along.