It's on Fred
- Thread starter cyclonesherm
- Start date
I can also say if even one of Niang or Naz's open looks drops in, we win, or if BDJ doesn't pout, we win, or if the fans and media hadn't celebrated after the ku win in KC so much and declared this a final 4 team, the players don't get overconfident and we win. Fact is you dont' know if Edozie plays we win, he is very limited on offense and defense, and that may have negated any rebounds he might have got, or the ball may have bounced away from him too. All this 2nd guessing is easy to do after the game is played, but the bottom line is that we had way too many good shots that just didn't drop, and the ball bounced their way too many times. That's sports and it can happen to anybody.
Tough to be the second team to lose after the playin round robin games. Tough to lose to a very young team. Tough to lose to a team with one double digit average scorer. Tough to watch our rebounders stand around and watch the other team go get the ball with poor spacing. Tough to play good defense and lose by poor shooting. Tough to see Naz, Georges, BDJ, Dustin, and McKay miss all those shots. Tough to know you loss to a 135 rpi team again.
Not thinking that losing Kane and Ejim is a big deal is an interesting statement to make.
But except for a loss in the NCAA tournament, this team was AS SUCCESSFUL as that team was.
Too many posts on here over the past 6 days make it sound like this season was an unmitigated disaster. It wasn't.
That did suck. But the season didn't suck and the season was fun. If people can't get that, I pity them because you will spend almost all of your life unhappy about sports.
Yes, its better to just demean someone's character than to respond to his criticisms. Way to add to the conversation.
Actually they played better than George, Naz and Dustin. Maybe they should have died their hair too.
the year after losing 2 elite bball players the team won more games on the road, won more conference games, finished 3(?) spots higher, was ranked in the top 20 all season, and matched their big 12 tourney performance. All while competing in a better conference.
Ejim and Kane were amazing players but this years team was better by most measures. The team came together just fine and Fred did a hell of a coaching job. They had a bad game at the worst time, but using that to discredit everything else they did is selling this team short.
Ejim and Kane were amazing players but this years team was better by most measures. The team came together just fine and Fred did a hell of a coaching job. They had a bad game at the worst time, but using that to discredit everything else they did is selling this team short.
**dyed. It's cool. My original post was just a sarcastic post. I figured a pirate wasn't necessary, but we all know what assumptions do.
One game... yeah... the most important game they played all season.
Where did ISU struggle this year? Defense and rebounding. Offense is fun... throwing down dunks and flashing their 3-goggles as they rained 3's down on their opponent. Defense and rebounding well that isn't nearly as much fun... that is work. That takes commitment to get in there and put the hammer on people.
Look at the teams still in the tournament... Gonzaga... great D, Michigan State... toughness, Oklahoma... great D, Kentucky... great D, Utah... great D, Arizona... great D, Louisville... great D, Wichita State... great D, Wisconsin... great D, West Virginia... toughness, etc....
I rarely post anything negative about Iowa State basketball. It has been a passion of mine since I was a kid (32 years old). I am not really even searching for blame as to why we lost to UAB. Sometimes, Iowa State giveths and sometimes Iowa State punches you square in the sack so hard it takes you 13 years to ever have ISU advancing past the opening round because you have visions of Hampton dancing in your head (now UAB).
This loss hurts for a variety of reasons:
1) It's the first time we pulled a "classic Iowa State" in the opening round under Fred.
2) We just won our last 5 games (despite being down a mile in each of those games).
3) Expectations were high (even to the point where some ISU fans felt entitled).
This loss sucks. I get it. The problems this team had were apparent and quite frankly ISU was lucky to finish where they did. ISU stopped passing the ball consistently and the offense really struggled at times (something we haven't seen in awhile with Fred). Sloppy turnovers were common this year. Failed lobs, forced drives and stepping out of bounds. Rebounding was difficult at times as well as getting stops at critical times. We all kept seeing these mistakes over and over again. This team just didn't seem to learn. The last 5 games were great, but were also very stressful. Iowa State didn't typically just blow a team out. I'm not a coach, just a fan. I think Fred is doing a great job. I just think Iowa State was a team that thought they had already won something, yet hadn't accomplished anything. I will still be a fan, but this was actually one of my most hated Iowa State teams of all time because of the borderline stupid basketball at times. It was so frustrating to watch at times. So much talent, yet so many head scratching moments. Fun was not exactly the word I would use to describe this season. I enjoyed parts of it, but on the whole would say it wasn't a resounding success based on what the team set as expectations. It was a good season, and UAB outplayed ISU plain and simple, but I would hardly call this season a "success".
This loss hurts for a variety of reasons:
1) It's the first time we pulled a "classic Iowa State" in the opening round under Fred.
2) We just won our last 5 games (despite being down a mile in each of those games).
3) Expectations were high (even to the point where some ISU fans felt entitled).
This loss sucks. I get it. The problems this team had were apparent and quite frankly ISU was lucky to finish where they did. ISU stopped passing the ball consistently and the offense really struggled at times (something we haven't seen in awhile with Fred). Sloppy turnovers were common this year. Failed lobs, forced drives and stepping out of bounds. Rebounding was difficult at times as well as getting stops at critical times. We all kept seeing these mistakes over and over again. This team just didn't seem to learn. The last 5 games were great, but were also very stressful. Iowa State didn't typically just blow a team out. I'm not a coach, just a fan. I think Fred is doing a great job. I just think Iowa State was a team that thought they had already won something, yet hadn't accomplished anything. I will still be a fan, but this was actually one of my most hated Iowa State teams of all time because of the borderline stupid basketball at times. It was so frustrating to watch at times. So much talent, yet so many head scratching moments. Fun was not exactly the word I would use to describe this season. I enjoyed parts of it, but on the whole would say it wasn't a resounding success based on what the team set as expectations. It was a good season, and UAB outplayed ISU plain and simple, but I would hardly call this season a "success".
Last edited:
Lol. Dyed makes more sense. No problem and I'm sure you've heard what happens when we assume, at least according to one of my old high school teachers.
I enjoyed this season and this team did accomplish a lot of great things. It was a fun ride. With that being said I can also see with my own 2 eyes that this team had some glaring weaknesses. When the shots weren't falling they lost because they didn't defend very well and they weren't tough enough on the boards. Being ranked 256th in offensive rebounds allowed is not a good thing. In ISU's last 3 games there were only 15 teams in the entire country that allowed more offensive boards on average then ISU did.
I never said losing Kane and Ejim wasn't a big deal, I just said they were replaceable with the guys we had.
And yes, I fully understand when looking at records we were essentially as successful as last season but that doesn't mean Fred's coaching job this year was as good as last season.
In fact, by the fact that a guy who was once listed on draft boards was coming off the bench shows this team had a potential it did not reach. For example, how many other teams in college basketball had guys coming off the bench who were listed on mock drafts?
And I did enjoy the regular season, btw. I just thought it could have been better and Hoiberg did a better job with his other teams on getting them to reach their potential.
We clearly define "success" differently.
Did they accomplish ALL of their goals? Well, no...we won't be unfurling a NC banner at Hilton next fall.
But - they improved their road record, they improved their overall conference record, they finished 2nd in the conference, and picked up the second Big 12 tournament title in a row (a first for this university). They finished the season in the top ten of the polls, and made it to the NCAA's for the fourth year in a row.
Sounds pretty damn successful to me.
I think BDJ had a BDJ problem. I have no inside information...just a fan that saw something was wrong with this guy.
Great post.
To fairly measure whether or not the season was a success I think you have to look inside the program. What do the players and coaches think about it? Maybe you didn't accomplish everything you realistically wanted to, but how far short of your goals did you end up? Was it a step in the right direction?
I watched the video of the locker room after the B12 Tourney Championship win and at the end when Fred is talking to the players he asked them "Is anyone satisfied?". The resounding answer was a clear no. They can't be happy with the way their season ended. They can't be happy with a first round loss to a bad team. I think it's pretty dumb for any fan to claim the season was a success when no one in or around the program actually believes that. That loss tarnishes the entire season. It's unfortunate but it is the truth.
I understand what you are saying. I was probably a little harsh in saying it was "hardly successful". The regular season and Big 12 tourney accomplishments were great. I should have been more clear and said I can see why some might not call this season a success due to the loss to UAB. Despite each game being stressful this year, it was fun at times highlighted with a really bad loss at the end of the year. Still trying to make heads or tails out of it.
