Much like the Creighton win, I feel like this win will hold up really well over the course of the season. Looked like 2 good basketball teams out there today and I think Iowa St. will have a good year in the Big 12. Lots to be encouraged about
-Prohm can coach, but Juwan was right there with him. Had some great adjustments and sets. Really liked the sequence at the end where you could see how involved Martelli was. As much as the team needs to settle into their roles so does the staff and that struck me very favorably.
-Like Dylan noted, fouls may have messed with the rotations, but you can see the roles starting to settle in. DDJ as bench microwave, Nunez as bench gunner, easing Franz in, Davis encouraging as a 3rd big, etc.
-Turnovers have to get figured out in a hurry. Watching UNC now and I think we can give them a game but if we give them too many live ball turnovers, it could get ugly.
-I thought we were being underrated all off-season, but given the struggles of the B1G (including MSU relatively speaking) I would have to think at minimum we should be aiming for a top 4/double bye seed.
Excellent recap DB, but no “rum” for Davis.
Although his game is different, Brooks is beginning to feel like MAAR, being the steady, cerebral, and reliable player on the floor providing auxilliary support when things get tough.
Whoops 
Fixed. Rim run 
Dylan were you involved in getting the O/U to jump from 132 to 137 between 11:15 to tip off? 
Cyclones’ take:
The drop coverage probably suits Austin Davis better. He never seemed to have the quickness to hard hedge.
Two nice showings from Davis in a row. Seems like he’s really benefitting from Juwan as his head coach in a late career resurgence!
So right now it looks like there are 7 super-solid rotation pieces, and then Nunez and Johns, who could play their way in or out of the rotation. I’m also encouraged that Davis looked decent in taking a shift against a decent team. Very hard not to be excited about coming through with wins with the team still finding its way and getting comfortable with new stuff.
Great game, huge win.
I’m excited about Franz… 2/3 from the arc for his first game back from a shooting wrist injury is very impressive, he’s long and clever and exactly what we expected. Looked a bit tired as the game went on.
Livers, Wagner, Dejulious, Brooks may be our best shooting group ever.
Speaking of… brooks is the big surprise of this year. He seems confident like he was to start his freshman year.
Upcoming schedule 
:
- 6 North Carolina
- 8/11/13 Gonzaga/Oregon/Seton
- 2 (1) Louisville
- 38 Iowa
- 56 Illinois
- 11 Oregon (maybe again)
the 16/17 group was pretty fantastic from deep as well.
If we can rebound decently on the defensive side of the floor, we will have a shot to beat this NC team. They man handled Alabama today, and that’s the biggest reason they won imo.
Looks like much of the preview from last year’s Carolina game can be recycled - still crashing the offensive glass, running on every single opportunity, relying on a hotshot freshman point guard - no Cameron Johnson knocking down threes, though. I guess I’m hoping for a similar result…
Once the rust comes off, Franz is going to be a stud.
Showed flashed, didn’t he, rust and all?
So was not able to watch the game, thoughts on Wagner? Did he start? Looking to get an idea how it went/ today…
I thought he looked good. I was surprised that he took and MADE that first three pointer after a fractured wrist and the resulting layoff and rehab. He’s definitely going to be an upgrade on both ends of the floor! And we must remember, he was playing his first collegiate game against a legitimate opponent, and he didn’t have the benefit of five early season games and an exhibition game as the others have. I thought Juwan said he had one and a half practices to prepare! One and a half. I thought he acquitted himself very well.
Great start for him. Seemed a bit coltishly awkward in a few spots, but he’s young. But the shooting stroke sure did look quick and smooth, as advertised, and he does seem to have his brother’s fire. It won’t be very difficult to win me over. Michigan’s gonna have two very long sharpshooters on the wing, and that’s really exciting.
Great article as usual from you guys. I’m still confident X will get the to issue fixed. As Franz goes as everyone else is saying he is as advertised. I’m sure all the games he played this summer helped and with the help of Jon Sanderson and co during rehab was a big positive with how he is playing after the 4 1/2 week layoff.
My thoughts on Franz:
- Shooting looked as good as advertised
- His length on D is a major asset. He was getting deflections that surprised the other team
- He needs to learn to defend at the rim in a way that the refs don’t perceive as fouling. He’s close, but he hasn’t learned the nuances yet
- He looks like he belongs. Confidence is not a problem for him