Why Isn't Cooke Playing

CYKOFAN

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This is absolutely preposterous to say. He was Honorable Mention All Freshman in the Pac-12 while shooting 45% from 3. He is by no means not any good.

As far as next year goes, yeah we won't be as elite. But to say we wont be good is also dumb. We have two juco guys coming in who can play. Also get a 4 star recruit who I'm sure can provide some minutes. As well as having Burton, Thomas, Naz, Babb, and Cooke (possibly Monte). Lets not jump to conclusions about this team next year just yet and enjoy what we have going this year.

Agree on Cooke. There is no reason he should have regressed so much since his freshman year and with so little playing time, it's not fair to evaluate him yet. He had a beautiful assist and has shot well his last few games, even though getting very few minutes, and he gives us a ball handler that can play point and give Monte a badly needed break once in awhile. Maybe he's still having hip issues or attitude problems (though it doesn't show on game day), but it's hard to explain why he's become the forgotten man on this team. We badly need bench help and while Ashton does well in spot duty, he adds very little in substantial minutes where we need some production.
 

CYKOFAN

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Can Ashton and Cooke drive the lane?

Ashton usually takes a couple of dribbles and gives it up or hangs out in the corner, but the players seldom throw it to him. Against Texas Cooke did the ball handling while Monte was out and had a beautiful drive and dish for an assist. I'm pretty sure we increased our lead the few minutes he was in there. Somebody said he picked up 2-3 quick fouls and I remember a foul on a 3 (the replay showed he didn't touch him), but I don't remember any others. Like I said, it's a mystery why he sees so few minutes unless there's something we don't know.
 

Gunnerclone

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Agree on Cooke. There is no reason he should have regressed so much since his freshman year and with so little playing time, it's not fair to evaluate him yet. He had a beautiful assist and has shot well his last few games, even though getting very few minutes, and he gives us a ball handler that can play point and give Monte a badly needed break once in awhile. Maybe he's still having hip issues or attitude problems (though it doesn't show on game day), but it's hard to explain why he's become the forgotten man on this team. We badly need bench help and while Ashton does well in spot duty, he adds very little in substantial minutes where we need some production.

Except the whole double hip surgery thing...but I thought that was a cover for something bigger going on behind the scenes all along and I've been proven right on that over the course of the season.
 

CYKOFAN

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I'd say the difference is that Monte hasn't been suspended and the game was over at that point, its no coincidence the 2 guys who have gotten in trouble are the ones that seem indifferent. Because of their situation these 2 should be the most dialed in guys in the huddle. No really any relevance to Morris.

I agree to a point but McKay had fouled out and Hallice probably wasn't expecting to play, especially down the stretch, and it's very crowded around the starters in the huddle. Not saying that those two may not be feeling completely satisfied, but they do show a lot of enthusiasm during game time and recently I've seen very little if any evidence of a bad attitude from either of them during games and almost every time out. Both of their actions look very supportive of the players coming off the court for a time-out.
 

CYKOFAN

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Except the whole double hip surgery thing...but I thought that was a cover for something bigger going on behind the scenes all along and I've been proven right on that over the course of the season.

I've said before there may be something going on like a hip issue or attitude problem. It there's still an attitude problem as you insinuate that's a very sad situation as we badly need somebody off the bench that can handle the ball and shoot 3's. If there's still an attitude problem he should probably be suspended again as he's doing no good sitting on the bench almost all game every game. Hallice is still only a sophomore and we needed him badly this year, and will only need him more the next two.
 

isu26

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My current feeling is because Prohm sucks as a coach....
I wouldn't say prohm sucks but he clearly doesn't understand the big 12 grind and he needs to get the guys some rest. He still thinks what made him successful @ m state translates to success in the big 12. I'm starting to think his ego is getting in the way of our success. I hope i'm wrong.
 

ISUTex

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We've seen enough from both of them to know they aren't good enough to play at this level.


at what level? Losing close road games because the starters are tired or in foul trouble? They're good enough for 4-5 minutes a game. Maybe even a little more if required.
 

Tre4ISU

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I wouldn't say prohm sucks but he clearly doesn't understand the big 12 grind and he needs to get the guys some rest. He still thinks what made him successful @ m state translates to success in the big 12. I'm starting to think his ego is getting in the way of our success. I hope i'm wrong.

Let me preface this by saying that I like Prohm and I think he is a good coach. There are, however, a few things I just don't get. Cooke is one of them. He's probably our second best perimeter defender and he didn't forget how to shoot. There's no reason Monte is running over 37 minutes a game. I just don't think you can do that to a guy over the course of a season. Against OU, WVU and KU here and there? Sure but not every game. That's not to mention Thomas. There has to be a way to make him useful on the court during periods of the game especially when you have a pseudo PG out there in Niang. I really don't get his infatuation with playing Nader so much either. Burton is better in almost every statistical category and he creates big defensive plays at a much higher rate. I get that he's not great defensively either but at least he gives something.

All that said, I think Prohm's a figurehead this year. His offense is better than it's ever been here and defense is not quite as good right now but KenPom has had it about the same most of the year. I would have guessed those would be reversed but I think it's a good sign the offense is better. I really don't think the defense is even a function of Prohm. You aren't just going to change all of these guys over night.
 

ISUTex

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So you want Prohm to play four on five earlier in the game? Until those two get aggressive on offense, they will not help much. I just do not see what they cannot play at a higher pace when they come in the game.


We don't play at a high pace the whole time. We get tired and the other team goes on a 9-0 run or something like that. Cooke has shot the three really well lately and hasn't hurt ISU at all. Far far far far from 4-5. What is it when McKay is in the game dogging it? Or when George and Nader quite playing defense because they're tired? Cooke and Ashton have done just fine when they've played. When ISU blew the 9 point lead in Lubbock, Cooke,Ashton and Carter had nothing to do with it. Heck, Carter looked pretty decent at Tech. Haven't seen him since though. I don't think anybody thinks they should get 10-15 minutes. 4-5 would be fine, and it would probably help more than it would hurt.
 

iamntx

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De-jean Jones? Are you serious? , we aren't missing a stud player, we are missing guys who want to defend and rebound. This has to be the worst rebounding Iowa State team I've ever seen.

And the worst interior defense ever. How does a guy go from consensus DPOY to a non-factor in a year? It's not like he forgot how to play D and block shots.

The only player who consistently acts like he cares on the D end and gives effort is Matty Ice. And that's not meant to indict MM, because he's been by FAR our most consistent player all year. Not the loquacious All-American....
 

Wesley

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McKay leaves his feet and they shove him out of bounds. His problem is that he does not find the best position before the shot where if shoved the foul on the other team may be called. He is usually out of position for the rebound. How many times is his body removing away from the ball and not towards the ball.
 

CYKOFAN

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And the worst interior defense ever. How does a guy go from consensus DPOY to a non-factor in a year? It's not like he forgot how to play D and block shots.

The only player who consistently acts like he cares on the D end and gives effort is Matty Ice. And that's not meant to indict MM, because he's been by FAR our most consistent player all year. Not the loquacious All-American....

In fairness to Monte it's pretty tough to have to do almost all of the ball handling, creating, and a good chunk of the scoring for 37 plus minutes a game and still be able to play the kind of non-stop intense defense necessary in Big 12 competition.
 

Rick

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Not even going to read through this. The simple answer is Prohm doesn't think he can outplay Ashton. Unless you are at practice you have no idea what goes on. Time to give this one a rest.
 

CYKOFAN

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Not even going to read through this. The simple answer is Prohm doesn't think he can outplay Ashton. Unless you are at practice you have no idea what goes on. Time to give this one a rest.

Fair point. But fans are still going to wonder what's going on when Cooke has played well his last few outings and Ashton still gets way more minutes with almost no production. Add in the fact that Cooke can play point to give Monte some rest and fans are going to ask questions, it's what fans do, especially after some losses. But you're right, we aren't at practice and don't know everything that's going on.
 

Wesley

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In fairness to Monte it's pretty tough to have to do almost all of the ball handling, creating, and a good chunk of the scoring for 37 plus minutes a game and still be able to play the kind of non-stop intense defense necessary in Big 12 competition.
Whoa. Monte during the game defers the ball play to Nader and Georges many times. He is not totally hands on the whole game. In fact, I wish he would take the ball more early in the game to set a tone. He may do more when tourney starts.
 

ISUCY23

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Not even going to read through this. The simple answer is Prohm doesn't think he can outplay Ashton. Unless you are at practice you have no idea what goes on. Time to give this one a rest.

We have seen enough from both in games to form an opinion. Cooke has outperformed Ashton when it counts. Simple as that.
 

Dingus

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Not even going to read through this. The simple answer is Prohm doesn't think he can outplay Ashton. Unless you are at practice you have no idea what goes on. Time to give this one a rest.

Burton was getting oddly low minutes for a long time as well. He has his weaknesses (i.e. defense), but the reason for his limited PT still seems like a valid question considering his strong play.

There may be a legitimate reason for Cooke's limited minutes, but the question is certainly valid considering the limited value Ashton seems to bring.
 

SolarGarlic

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Prohm likes Ashton's defense at the top of the zone. I think that's pretty much it because Cooke clearly has more talent. Cooke has played well in his short time since the suspension. He needs to be a part of the lineup going forward.
 

JM4CY

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The entire bench sucks and the starters are all spotty. This team has done a lot of amazing things through the years, but we are sorely missing a key player like Royce, Kane, Dejean-Jones, etc.

like Georges?