ISU out of NIT with 92-88 loss at Stanford

[tornado]

I stayed up late to watch this game and I found it entertaining in several respects...
ISU looked way different than they looked in the last game they played against us in Peoria where they attempted only 14 3-pointers and made just 6 and only scored 54 points total.....
They were a completely different team - as if Jank decided in the interval to revamp the offense and defense.


-Now -- ISU has gone from a team that couldn't score (averaged only 61 ppg last year and scoring only 54-55 points against BU, WSU, UNI down the stretch)
...to a team that puts up 80-90 points per game

-they launch 30 or so 3-pointers in each of the last 3 games - going 12-29, 17-23, and 15-30 for a combined 44-82 (54%) in the last 3 games

-but they also forgot somewhere along the line to play much defense...
giving up 83 pts to Creighton on 48.4% shooting, 93 points to Ole Miss on 48.6% shooting, and last night - 92 points to Stanford on 52.3% shooting and also 12-20 (60%) on 3-pointers...

-they also got away from passing the ball and had only 11 assists last night to go with 17 turnovers.

-Stanford's bench outscored ISU's 53-3 which of course led to the fatigue that caused them to start missing their 3-pointers late in the game -
Their double digit lead over Stanford late in the game evaporated as they went 1-9 in the final few minutes of regulation plus gobs of turnovers and quickly launched 3-pointers that missed.

-In the OT they also couldn't hit their 3's and it cost them...
In fact - from the play-by-play you see that in the first 35 minutes of the game they hit 15-23 3-pt shots in building an 11 point lead - then in the final 10 minutes (regulation & OT) they hit NONE of their final 7 attempts!!
Over the final 3 games of the season they morphed into a predictable 3-pt-dependent team - and if you live by the three you die by the three.

-but it was a good battle to watch between the two Stanford guards (CHasson Randle and Aaron Bright - who scored 19 & 29 points - and ISU's two guards (Tyler Brown & Nic Moore) who scored 23 & 25...
Between the four of them - they took 58 shots and were 20-28 from behind the arc...
for a while it was a very entertaining shootout...

but the late shooting woes and ISU's non-existent beanch really hurt them.
ISU ends the season 21-14.

[cpacmel]

Our starters outscored their starters 85 to 39 though.

We also played the last 5 games without Threloff (Broken thumb).

No seniors on the team. Pretty good recruits (Simpson and Beane) coming in. Future looks pretty good at ISU.

[tornado]

and I have said that -- the pressure will be on for Jank to compete with Creighton in 2012-2013, it should be their year if you can contain opponents under 90 -
-- but then losing Carmichael, Brown, Wilkins, Cousins will be big losses for 2013...

[peoriaspitfire]

Live by the three, die by the three??¦ At BU, we did an awful lot of dying. I want some shooters!!!!...and a PG to get them the rock!

The ISU games have certainly been pretty entertaining as of late and they do certainly look quite a bit different than their last game in Peoria. I can??™t exactly see them winning the Valley next year, but they should be considered a top 3 team to start the season.

[tornado]

The kid who killed ISU was Aaron Bright -- a 5-10 guard out of Bellevue, Washington...who was overlooked by virtually EVERYONE --
None of his own favorite instate schools offered him a scholarship and the only other two schools who did were Eastern Washington & San Diego...
but he still was never offered a scholarship by Stanford until he was admitted under a full academic scholarship....

He was viewed as being behind Andrew Bock - who went to Creighton and flopped...and because of his size - almost everyone passed on him.
There were also wide criticisms that not only was he UNDERSIZED to play at this level - but he also was too slow and would never be able to play defense.
(is this sounding familliar??)

Then after a modest freshman year where he got to play a fair amount but produced only 5 ppg, 2 apg, and 34% shooting from 3-pt -- some thought he would drop further on the bench when Stanford brought in 5-Star Chasson Randle...and some predicted he wouldn't even have a spot on the floor and that he should go elsewhere (sound even more familiar??)

But the kid has improved a bunch by his sophomore season - averaging this year 12 ppg, 4 apg, and 43% on 3-pointers....and has become arguably the team's MVP...

NOT too shabby for a kid that virtually NOBODY thought would play at this level -- and who almost everyone thought was undersized, weak, too slow, and couldn't play defense....
A kid who throughout his high school career "had a million chances ..to show something...he didn't..." so barely anyone D-I school cared except EWU and USD....
And you gotta remember - the people who said all those things saw Aaron Bright MANY, MANY times in practice, AAU, and in games....so you saying they always know their business and they never miss??
I'd say Aaron Bright is just another example that even the best in the business miss more than some are willing to admit...

[peoriaspitfire]

There is no doubt that Aaron Bright was a star in that game. He and Nic put on quite the show and I think I would take either on my team.

I sure wish DS had gotten a legitimate chance to try and run the team this past year. I get the whole play-in-practice thing, but with the season we just had, I don??™t quite understand why he didn??™t get more of a shot to prove himself in the lights. DS seems like a great kid and seems to have handled himself well throughout this difficult season. It really stinks to see someone who wanted to go to BU, now has to leave and that players like him have to sit out another year. I wish him the best and will try to follow him once he resumes his career at SIUE.

[Chico]

There is no doubt that Aaron Bright was a star in that game. He and Nic put on quite the show and I think I would take either on my team.

I sure wish DS had gotten a legitimate chance to try and run the team this past year. I get the whole play-in-practice thing, but with the season we just had, I don??™t quite understand why he didn??™t get more of a shot to prove himself in the lights. DS seems like a great kid and seems to have handled himself well throughout this difficult season. It really stinks to see someone who wanted to go to BU, now has to leave and that players like him have to sit out another year. I wish him the best and will try to follow him once he resumes his career at SIUE.

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