Trends from the last 5 games

[4dyceclone]

After watching every Clones game this year, it is becoming apparent that this team is building toward a strong season. When one of the guys is "off" someone else seems to step up. Depth may be a concern but this years team seems to hit the shots when it matters.

The start of the season for Naz from the 3 point line was crazy. He was well over 50%. Over the last 5 games he is at roughly 28%. Do you think Fred will continue to use him as the 6th man (mostly) or do you think he moves down the line if his shooting continues to trend down?

Also, it seems Monte is averaging roughly 18 minutes per game over the last 5 and Thomas is just over 20. They are shooting about the same % from the 3 pt line. Does Monte crack the starting 5?

Lastly, the Clones have gotten away without a true big man for years, and it seems like a popular subject for the announcers of the game, but does it really matter? What team in the NCAA dominates because of their big man?

 

[Luth4Cy]

I think Fred keeps the same starting 5, but I think Monte's minutes increase throughout the season. Not sure who he takes minutes away from though.

 

[AllInForISU]

I think Fred keeps the same starting 5, but I think Monte's minutes increase throughout the season. Not sure who he takes minutes away from though.

I would guess a combo of Thomas and Naz. Not a ton from either but one or two mpg.

 

[Frak]

Seems to me that Morris is really starting to settle in and improve. Thomas may be getting out of his slump and playing a little more aggressive offensively. I think that his defense is improving and his rebounding has always been there. Naz is struggling somewhat.

My opinion is that the team is wearing down a little. The threes aren't going in as easily. Hogue and Ejim aren't rebounding like they were. The team is depending almost solely on Kane and Niang making plays. And Niang looks tired. Hate to say it, but I see some losses coming our way soon. To actually compete for the conference title, they're going to need Naz and Thomas to hit their shots more consistently. And Morris is going to keep improving on his current trajectory. I also think that Edozie is going to need to start earning more minutes.

 

[Doc]

I don't see Monte's PT going down at all because of his PG skills, but I think SDW, Long, and Thomas minutes could fluctuate a lot over the course of the season if Matt doesn't take them.

 

[4dyceclone]

My opinion is that the team is wearing down a little. The threes aren't going in as easily. Hogue and Ejim aren't rebounding like they were. The team is depending almost solely on Kane and Niang making plays. And Niang looks tired. Hate to say it, but I see some losses coming our way soon. To actually compete for the conference title, they're going to need Naz and Thomas to hit their shots more consistently. And Morris is going to keep improving on his current trajectory. I also think that Edozie is going to need to start earning more minutes.[/QUOTE]


I agree. Niang looked toasted at the 6 min mark if the second half at Tech.

 

[Cyientist]

I don't see Monte starting, but he will definitely keep earning more minutes. Naz has been struggling on the road, but I think he will start knocking shots down away from Hilton. I think this team will having staying power in the top 10 if we could trust a big off of the bench for 6 - 10 minutes. We definitely looked gassed out there at times against Tech.

 

[NorthCyd]

After watching every Clones game this year, it is becoming apparent that this team is building toward a strong season.

So you are just now coming to the conclusion we are building to a strong season?

 

[Cyclonepride]

Niang had been nails late, so if he's tired, it isn't affecting his offense.

 

[Cycsk]

My opinion is that the team is wearing down a little. The threes aren't going in as easily. Hogue and Ejim aren't rebounding like they were. The team is depending almost solely on Kane and Niang making plays. And Niang looks tired. Hate to say it, but I see some losses coming our way soon. To actually compete for the conference title, they're going to need Naz and Thomas to hit their shots more consistently. And Morris is going to keep improving on his current trajectory. I also think that Edozie is going to need to start earning more minutes.

Really? Haven't you learned by now that you can't trust the way Niang "looks?" How many great moves, clutch shots, big rebounds, and incredible passes does he have to make before we stop worrying about his conditioning? He is in great shape.

 

[4dyceclone]

Really? Haven't you learned by now that you can't trust the way Niang "looks?" How many great moves, clutch shots, big rebounds, and incredible passes does he have to make before we stop worrying about his conditioning? He is in great shape.

Not worried about his conditioning at all. Just hoping as the above comment stated that we can get some quality minutes out of a big or two. Game on the line I'm going to Niang everytime regardless.

 

[Ry4Cy]

I love that Thomas and Morris have gotten more aggressive with their shots. Hope it builds some confidence in them because they will be much needed now. I wish Edozie could get a few minutes a game. He plays good defense and those minutes could really help give players a quick breather.

 

[4dyceclone]

So you are just now coming to the conclusion we are building to a strong season?

Meaning I expected to make the tourney but not a top 3 seed. Lots of questions before the year and I was stating that enough games have passed to expect more out of this team than before the season.

 

[ajk4st8]

How many of the last 5 games have been played in Hilton..... 1. Not worried about shooting percentage over the last 5 games.

 

[Wesley]

After watching every Clones game this year, it is becoming apparent that this team is building toward a strong season. When one of the guys is "off" someone else seems to step up. Depth may be a concern but this years team seems to hit the shots when it matters.

The start of the season for Naz from the 3 point line was crazy. He was well over 50%. Over the last 5 games he is at roughly 28%. Do you think Fred will continue to use him as the 6th man (mostly) or do you think he moves down the line if his shooting continues to trend down?

Also, it seems Monte is averaging roughly 18 minutes per game over the last 5 and Thomas is just over 20. They are shooting about the same % from the 3 pt line. Does Monte crack the starting 5?

Lastly, the Clones have gotten away without a true big man for years, and it seems like a popular subject for the announcers of the game, but does it really matter? What team in the NCAA dominates because of their big man?

We have two tiers of players.

The Four Horsemen average a fantasy point a minute.

The rest of the players are in the next tier are about 0.50-0.65 fantasy point per minute. Not much difference between MT, MM, SDW, Percy, Naz, Edozie as far as production goes.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I don't think depth is the issue. Fred has never played a rotation deeper than 6-7 men, and even the best teams in the country don't rely on a rotation much deeper than that. So far, this year, it's been...

Iowa State Cyclones 2013-14 Statistics - Team and Player Stats - Men's College Basketball - ESPN

"Big Four" = 28-30 minutes/game
Naz, Thomas, Morris = 20-22 minutes/game

How about we pick a team that should be representative of the fact massive depth isn't really needed:

Louisville Cardinals 2012-13 Statistics - Team and Player Stats - Men's College Basketball - ESPN

I see three guys at 30+.
Three more at 20-25.
Two at 16.

Almost a six-man rotation with 1/2 and 1/2 at times, and they won a national title.

We have plenty of depth and nobody is really playing too much. These guys are 19-23 years old, at the peak conditions of their lives. Playing 20/20 like that is not too much of a stress, and they have a few nights between games and long breaks within the games themselves to catch their breath. Sure, are they probably as sprightly at they were at the beginning of the season? No. But they're not about to fall apart, and every other team in the country is in the exact same position.

If anything we've been lucky. No real injury issues with this team besides Melvin's knee, which seems to have been short and is fine now. Losing one of the four chieftains to anything now would be disastrous (and Hogue seemed to have some bug this weekend, didn't play much, probably contributed to TTU getting back in that game, but hopefully that is over quickly given how much we're going to need him), but there aren't many teams in the NCAA that could lose a 30+/night guy and not suffer immensely for it.

Are we going to lose some games soon? Sure. But not on this issue. I'm sure Fred has these horses ready to run. We're going to lose games because we'll have a bad night shooting/somebody will shoot it lights out on us, it's really hard to win on the road in the Big XII, the level of competition is about to take a big step up, teams are going to key on using big men to get Melvin and Georges in foul trouble, inexperience in our back court, a lack of size in our front court, and we (for some reason) like to play in close games, and we play disciplined and tend to make free throws, but eventually we'll lose some of those.

(Yes, I just listed every little problem with a very fine roster this year, but, hey, nobody is perfect.)

Every team is getting "worn down." We'll lose some, but I'll bet it is going to be due to the above, not being in any worse physical condition than any team we're playing.