W....T....F.....
That's really the ONLY way you can sum up the ISU basketball season at this point. One day, we're blowing out SIU-E. Another day, we're losing at HOME to SDSU!
In conference play, we can play close to Texas on the road, look HORRIBLE against a bad Nebraska team, and get blown out by Mizzou on the road!
Remember how we were supposed to be a perimeter team? So many were like "yeah, we're SO good... we hit 15 3s against UW-Milwaukee"... Many actually thought we'd shoot that well all season.
To sum our team, we're a perimeter team that has no perimeter ability. We get pushed around in the post against better opponents and our shooting isn't that great.... At all.... We're shooting 35.8% from 3, and only 44.9% overall. Yes we play good zone defense, but in some cases it's more that our opponents play bad offense. Missouri is one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, and they put up 77 against us.... Good teams know how to break zones (or in Mizzou's case, know how to pressure to force TOs) and find ways to score.
So what does this all mean? Who really knows. It's been frustrating to say the least. I've been a huge McDermott supporter, but in a lot of ways, I liked last year's team much better than this years. Last year's team didn't have a ton of talent, but I felt like they worked hard and they battled injuries. This year's team is healthy, but there are times when they aren't working hard.
I have been a fan of McDermott up until a couple weeks ago. If the players stop responding, then I put it on the coaching. I think he's a good coach, but I'm not sure if he's built to coach at this kind of level.
Now some are against McDermott and want him to do badly. I certainley do not though, so don't get me wrong! If we won the rest of the games this season, I'd have a grin from ear-to-ear!
I just want to be excited about ISU basketball again! I love college basketball! I want to get pumped when we play big games (instead of thinking in the back of my mind we'll lose), I want to talk about traveling to NCAA games. Heck, I'd take NIT games at this point!
The Big XII is down this year compared to last. There's some parity, but it isn't as thrilling. Oklahoma is good, but I am not sold on them being a Final Four team. Texas I am always so-so on anyways. The middle of the pack is mediocre and inconsistent. The good news for ISU fans is that we're probably the 8th or 9th best team instead of the 11th or 12th.
I have had so much frustration with this team as I'm sure many of you have as well. It's just so hard to get excited when your team isn't doing well AND the league is down. I know the Big XII will be back. I'm sure if you look at recruiting rankings, most of the Big XII teams are in the top 25. I just hope ISU can make a comeback!
I am going to think positivley and hope for the best. I hope all of you can too!
Stay tuned for a preview against the upcoming game against Kansas!