Next Season

State43

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Nov 22, 2010
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Shame it has come to an end so early this year but let's put our optimistic hats on and evaluate next years team.
Morris - should be a top 5 point guard in the nation next season. With more options than ever, no worries here
Backup: Custer - Hard to gauge him with such little playing time. No doubt guarding Morris all season and a year in the system, he will see the floor more next season.

Long: I don't imaging we will see much change to his overall game. Hoping he becomes more accurate in the offseason
Backup: Thomas - Started to come into his own at the close of the year. Hoping for more improvement with getting open looks and becoming more aggressive similar to Naz on getting quick threes.

Nader: jeckle/hyde of the clones. Some games, he was instrumental to the win and other times he was just a body out there. My biggest concern next year is his ability to shoot the 3. If he wants to shoot 3-4+ threes a game, he better get in the gym and start shooting. There is a reason he got open looks all year and he didn't make them pay for it enough.

Niang: what can be said about this guy. My only suggestion for GN would be to work on being smarter with the ball. He turned the ball over quite a bit trying to force passes that were not there.

McKay: the Predator, will need to work on his offensive game. Would be great to see him develop a mid range jumper. Love this guy.
I don't see the Greek getting much time next season imo.

New guys coming in
Williams: a versatile PF with a ton of potential. Will compete for Hogues spot

Burton: another possible player to take the 3 spot at semester. Probably come off the bench next season but look forward to the toughness we lacked in the guard section this year.

Cook: I am stoked to have him next season. I am betting he will push Naz for the starting SG position but will play regardless. Great shooter and good size for a wing.


Thoughts on next years depth chart?
 

CarlHungus

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Feb 19, 2012
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I've already built Cooke up in my mind to be a Tyrus McGee type of shooter. I hope that's realistic
 

ISUTex

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Need to bring in a coach, or coaches, who know someting about the following...

boxing out
pump faking
moving feet on defense
knowing when and when not to take a quick shot
catching no look passes (McKay needs to quit jer@@ng off greased pigs before games)
team leadership
free throws


if ISU improves just a little in those categories, the sky's the limit.
 

Cyientist

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Aug 18, 2013
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Let me preface with I love our guy's game, but these are just the needs I see.

Niang's biggest improvement can definitely come from reducing turnovers.

Not sure McKay needs a midrange game (he might for the NBA) but improved hands and on ball defense would be huge.

Naz needs to be more consistent, avoid foul trouble, and make better decisions when he drives.

Morris can improve on ball defense, tough order w: Big 12 pg's. Continue his 3 pt shot improvements.

Nader needs to not settle for the 3 or improve the shot.

Thomas needs to limit silly mistakes. When his game is good he makes it look easy though.

Hoigberg can improve on the defensive side of things. Sometimes it looks way to easy for the opponents and our guys can't be that bad of defenders can they?
 

State43

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Need to bring in a coach, or coaches, who know someting about the following...

boxing out
pump faking
moving feet on defense
knowing when and when not to take a quick shot
catching no look passes (McKay needs to quit jer@@ng off greased pigs before games)
team leadership
free throws


if ISU improves just a little in those categories, the sky's the limit.

This is a bit of a silly post.
 

Go2Guy

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Mar 18, 2006
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I have very little / low expectations for the two guys who are coming off surgery. It's hard enough sitting out a year, then put surgery on top of that, I'm not expecting much production and I hope I'm surprised.
 

ISUCubswin

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I truly think we have a top 10 PG in Morris, top 10 PF in Niang, and top 10 C in McKay for next years team. Add Diallo and a good chance we have 4 of the best 50 players in the entire nation.

I truly believe that.

However, I do worry about the grit and determination this team will have. I hope yesterdays loss forces them to realize that not everything is just given to them. Clearly the K-State give away and Tech embarrassment weren't enough.

As for Long, as I've stated all year, the dude is not a great starter for us. I'd like to use him like we used Tyrus McGee. When we're in an offensive slump, throw in Naz. Defensively, teams just go out him all day.

I'm still high on Thomas. I think he's just as good as Long, just wasn't consistent enough. I think he puts too much pressure on himself. I think he does a great job at driving and getting good looks, he just doesn't finish. If he gets that finisher ability, I think he'll be better than Long next year.

Williams is said to be the next Prince of Baylor. I'm not going to put that expectation on him, but I do think his ceiling is extremely high. I think there's a very good chance, should Diallo come here and Williams reaches just half his potential, that he ends up the best post (well...6'8" forward) off the bench Hoiberg has had in his time here. Which has been a desperate need, IMO.

Cooke put up the exact same defensive stats his freshman year at Oregon State as Long did this year, and I think defense is going to be the deciding factor between Long and Cooke. I think if he were healthy and had a year to practice on the scout team, he'd be in the running to start next year since he's (considered) the best three point shooter on this team and would likely be a better defender than Naz and Thomas. But with a year off, who knows if he will have improved on defense or not.

Burton
is the athletic bad *** mother ****** we were missing this year. I can't wait to watch him play, even if it's for 5 minutes a game, because I know he'll be high flying during those 5 minutes.

If all goes as I hope, Nader is considered our "8th" man, but plays just as much as anyone else on the bench. I really don't give a **** about him missing the open threes. That happens to guys who aren't sharp shooters. But he is a great slasher and forces his way to the rim. And his block yesterday was my favorite part of the **** show yesterday.

I could definitely see 10 guys getting 15+ minutes a game.
 

ISUTex

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This is a bit of a silly post.


how so? ISU struggled in all of those categories this year. We freaking lost to UAB for crying out loud. What was the rebound margin again?? how many passes did McKay mishandle this year? how many times did our defense look like crap? how many times did Jones sit on the bench and pout? how many times did we have shots rejected down low (UAB was rejecting our sh@@ all day yesterday)? How many free throws did we miss ?????? Yes, it's a serious post, and ISU needs to improve on these or else Hoiberg's dream of getting to the final four will never happen.

Oh, and I'm not talking about Hoiberg. I'm talking about assistants who get in there at practice and grind these things out. Every coach needs a staff that teaches the little nitty gritty things. Not sure if ISU has a coach who can bring this kind of toughness out in these guys.
 
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Luth4Cy

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I don't know if Burton can play the 2, but he may very well be asked too.

Toughness in all phases of the game is something that could be improved. I think a guy like Burton can help that.
 

ISUCubswin

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All in all, it'll be nice next year to have a Cooke/Thomas/Long (not necessarily in that order) rotation.

Fred has this "just keep shooting" mentality that players love (and I love as well) but if Cooke were eligible yesterday, I think he gets a lot more playing time than Naz. Fred was just waiting for Naz to go off, but he didn't. You could tell he was off on most of his shots just by his release.

To be clear, I'm not bashing anyone. We lose to Kansas a few years ago if Babb, who had been cold all day, didn't make that three to win it. The "shoot your way out of a slump" is great if you don't have the depth. But if Long goes 2-9 next year and is the same defensively as a Cooke or Thomas, no reason to keep him in the game. Just not his day, and hopefully he'll be better the next time out. Same with the other two.
 

CyFan61

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Oct 25, 2010
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I truly think we have a top 10 PG in Morris, top 10 PF in Niang, and top 10 C in McKay for next years team. Add Diallo and a good chance we have 4 of the best 50 players in the entire nation.

I truly believe that.

However, I do worry about the grit and determination this team will have. I hope yesterdays loss forces them to realize that not everything is just given to them. Clearly the K-State give away and Tech embarrassment weren't enough.

As for Long, as I've stated all year, the dude is not a great starter for us. I'd like to use him like we used Tyrus McGee. When we're in an offensive slump, throw in Naz. Defensively, teams just go out him all day.

I'm still high on Thomas. I think he's just as good as Long, just wasn't consistent enough. I think he puts too much pressure on himself. I think he does a great job at driving and getting good looks, he just doesn't finish. If he gets that finisher ability, I think he'll be better than Long next year.

Williams is said to be the next Prince of Baylor. I'm not going to put that expectation on him, but I do think his ceiling is extremely high. I think there's a very good chance, should Diallo come here and Williams reaches just half his potential, that he ends up the best post (well...6'8" forward) off the bench Hoiberg has had in his time here. Which has been a desperate need, IMO.

Cooke put up the exact same defensive stats his freshman year at Oregon State as Long did this year, and I think defense is going to be the deciding factor between Long and Cooke. I think if he were healthy and had a year to practice on the scout team, he'd be in the running to start next year since he's (considered) the best three point shooter on this team and would likely be a better defender than Naz and Thomas. But with a year off, who knows if he will have improved on defense or not.

Burton
is the athletic bad *** mother ****** we were missing this year. I can't wait to watch him play, even if it's for 5 minutes a game, because I know he'll be high flying during those 5 minutes.

If all goes as I hope, Nader is considered our "8th" man, but plays just as much as anyone else on the bench. I really don't give a **** about him missing the open threes. That happens to guys who aren't sharp shooters. But he is a great slasher and forces his way to the rim. And his block yesterday was my favorite part of the **** show yesterday.

I could definitely see 10 guys getting 15+ minutes a game.

Pretty good post although I question your criticism of Naz relative to your support of Thomas. What I mean by that is Naz is pretty clearly the better player out of the two in my opinion. And your criticisms of Naz center on his defensive play while you don't mention MT's defense, which, well, I'll just leave it alone because I'm a Cyclone fan after all.

Cooke is kind of the wild card here. Outstanding shooting numbers and people think he could spell Monte as well. If I had to guess now (which is way too early) I'd think Cooke would be a 6th man that could come in and play off the ball (Naz's role) or spell Monte so he doesn't have to play 38 minutes a night consistently again.

It will be fun to see. Going into this year, I thought all along that we were really building up to '15-'16. I have to be honest - if we lose in the round of 64 next year, I'll be far more devastated as a fan than I was this year. Every team goes through peaks and valleys, and all indications are that the Hoiberg Era will reach its peak next year. So the team needs to capitalize.
 

TheAntiHawk

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Pretty good post although I question your criticism of Naz relative to your support of Thomas. What I mean by that is Naz is pretty clearly the better player out of the two in my opinion. And your criticisms of Naz center on his defensive play while you don't mention MT's defense, which, well, I'll just leave it alone because I'm a Cyclone fan after all.

Cooke is kind of the wild card here. Outstanding shooting numbers and people think he could spell Monte as well. If I had to guess now (which is way too early) I'd think Cooke would be a 6th man that could come in and play off the ball (Naz's role) or spell Monte so he doesn't have to play 38 minutes a night consistently again.

It will be fun to see. Going into this year, I thought all along that we were really building up to '15-'16. I have to be honest - if we lose in the round of 64 next year, I'll be far more devastated as a fan than I was this year. Every team goes through peaks and valleys, and all indications are that the Hoiberg Era will reach its peak next year. So the team needs to capitalize.

Well said.
 

JHUNSY

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Aug 31, 2013
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Call me crazy, but I get the impression that Thomas would have the starting position next year and Naz would come off of the bench as a 6 if the season started tomorrow. Everyone has work to do. Biggest needs are obviously working on our defense and rebounding. We can't expect deep runs without a fully rounded game. Looking at what we have coming in plus a potential in Diallo and I am not worried in having the talent there, it just needs honed. Would love for Giorgos, Custer, and co. on the bench to work hard this off season in providing a true two line up team. Hoiberg obviously doesn't reach beyond an 8 man rotation typically, it would be nice to be able to expand that for when we have cold hands or lethargic players not getting things done on the floor. Too many times we rode with stagnant production and didn't adapt.
 

swarthmoreCY

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Aug 9, 2008
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Here nor there
Williams is said to be the next Prince of Baylor?

Thomas starting over Naz? I am not sure what that is based on from the past two years, but we saw several such posts last offseason.
 
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Luth4Cy

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Williams is said to be the next Prince of Baylor?

Thomas starting over Naz? I am not sure what that is based on from the past two years, but we saw several such posts last offseason.

Thomas probably has more offensive potential than Naz, so that's where that would come from.
 

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