Only 2 games in but here is a look at how KenPom sees us so far, no surprise here but clearly turnovers are our biggest opportunity.
*** Official Oregon State vs IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
That wasn't a pretty game to watch but it sure was an enjoyable game to watch. I can get behind this team and enjoy watching them grow.
Go Cyclones!
Go Cyclones!
I haven’t seen a transformation this dramatic ever. The only thing close was Fred’s first team. They busted their asses too, and you could easily see the light at the end of the tunnel because it was sitting courtside in the form of Chris Babb, Chris Allen, Royce White etc.
It's weird to watch an Iowa State team close out games by getting stops and not having to match bucket for bucket. It has been engrained that we will give up a wide open layup or 3 within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock every possession after the 4 min timeout if we have the lead.
So far TJ looks to have done a nice job of getting buy in for the work but also for very good team chemistry.
Since his recruiting record is good I'd guess he's got a knack for the relationship piece.
Yeah, don't think I ever saw Morris do a wicked crossover move to take it down the lane for a tomahawk dunk his freshman year like Hunter did early in the game.
The only bad thing about Hunter is he's so good as a freshman that I'm afraid we won't be able to keep him more than a couple of years.
What a turnaround this game for Enaruna and Kunc. Offense still needs to come from them but they were great defensively. If Enaruna buys in and plays defense like he did last night he'll end up getting a lot of burn which should in turn give him more confidence on the offensive end. He's sort of an X-factor to me. If TJ can unlock his potential, even just a bit, we could surprise a lot of teams.
That's a lot of green numbers on the defense side. If that becomes a trend, we're gonna be in nearly every game we play.
That step back transition Enaruna 3 was the highlight of the game for me. He got subbed out not too much later, and I was surprised he wasn't brought back in. I thought he was flying around on D and doing some good work.
If the trajectory is good enough and next year has some nice players coming in (I don't keep track) he would at least likely leave behind an NCAA tourney appearance.
Maybe. Right now they are playing 9. Usually 7-8 is a good rotation. I know Walker has talent, so unless he is injured, in the doghouse or going to transfer that is 10. They are only lacking inside depth. And if Kunc and Enaruna can take up some of the slack from Jones and Conditt.....I don't see how they will be gassed anymore than anyone else.
Lots of good things from last night but this morning, thinking back, it's really impressive how we hung in with Oregon st physically. They are really long and athletic, we were able to counter that by playing hard but it's also nice to see us have a roster that passes the eye test. We have so many more big, athletic guys this year, it's a legit p6 roster.
Oregon St felt our guys on the boards and on defense for 40 minutes, every shot that went up, on both ends, we had a guy at least putting a body on someone. We didn't get every rebound but we made sure every time, we had a guy with a hand in there, making an effort. It's simple and really only takes effort but we made them earn every rebound last night.
It's only been two games and its a long season but in just two games, we are seeing improvements over things that were issues for years, even during Prohm's good seasons, honestly, even during some of Freds. It doesn't mean TJ will eclipse the successes those two had but it's really refreshing to see this staff understand why we've struggled in the past, even when we were good and make efforts to change those things.
I also couldn't help but get a bit of a UNI vibe from how we won last night, we neutralized a team with superior size and athleticism and make them play out of sorts all night, They just never looked comfortable, I've seen our good teams look similar against UNI. Last night had Kyle Green's fingerprints all over it.
Oregon St felt our guys on the boards and on defense for 40 minutes, every shot that went up, on both ends, we had a guy at least putting a body on someone. We didn't get every rebound but we made sure every time, we had a guy with a hand in there, making an effort. It's simple and really only takes effort but we made them earn every rebound last night.
It's only been two games and its a long season but in just two games, we are seeing improvements over things that were issues for years, even during Prohm's good seasons, honestly, even during some of Freds. It doesn't mean TJ will eclipse the successes those two had but it's really refreshing to see this staff understand why we've struggled in the past, even when we were good and make efforts to change those things.
I also couldn't help but get a bit of a UNI vibe from how we won last night, we neutralized a team with superior size and athleticism and make them play out of sorts all night, They just never looked comfortable, I've seen our good teams look similar against UNI. Last night had Kyle Green's fingerprints all over it.
Tre Jackson returning to form is a tremendous bonus for this team. I love watching that kid hitting some shots.
Yeah, it’s wasn’t as issue last year since our offense was one guy drive and 4 guys play statue man.
- Mar 27, 2006
- 42,737
- 33,751
- 113
I dig Jackson out there with the man-beard, looking like Baron Davis. It's been great to see him contribute. That dribble pull up three he hit was gorgeous.
I won't blame Lindell for anything. His coach was a ****-show.
I'm really impressed with Tre so far this year. I didn't think he could play at this level but turns out he's good with better coaching.
I don't think you understand the grind of a CBB season.
Among numerous, random observations so far - trying not to duplicate too many comments already posted.
Grill looks night-and-day better than 2 seasons ago. Part of that could be simply experience and maturity, but no doubt fits the system better. I was skeptical about bringing him back. Happy to be wrong, so far.
I like being able to bring Tre off the bench. Seems comfortable and effective in that role.
Taking into account level of competition to this point ... The tenacity on defense is refreshing, vs. higher-level opponents we could get burned more often on kick-out 3's and might get schooled inside - BUT - so far we haven't given up a ton of open shots and have done well to swarm the paint if someone is getting beat to the hoop.
There have been stretches in first two games when ISU had a decent lead, but was in a mini-funk on one or both ends -- I've grown accustomed to thinking, along the lines of, "Uh oh, we're going to let them back into it within about 2 minutes." ISU has been able to get a key basket or key stop (or multiple) and stretch the lead again. Love that.
Grill looks night-and-day better than 2 seasons ago. Part of that could be simply experience and maturity, but no doubt fits the system better. I was skeptical about bringing him back. Happy to be wrong, so far.
I like being able to bring Tre off the bench. Seems comfortable and effective in that role.
Taking into account level of competition to this point ... The tenacity on defense is refreshing, vs. higher-level opponents we could get burned more often on kick-out 3's and might get schooled inside - BUT - so far we haven't given up a ton of open shots and have done well to swarm the paint if someone is getting beat to the hoop.
There have been stretches in first two games when ISU had a decent lead, but was in a mini-funk on one or both ends -- I've grown accustomed to thinking, along the lines of, "Uh oh, we're going to let them back into it within about 2 minutes." ISU has been able to get a key basket or key stop (or multiple) and stretch the lead again. Love that.
