Fisher

I

ISU FAN 1

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TBS_20 said:
Fisher would have no effect on the season record. if they finish 8-18 they would have finished 8-18 with Fisher.
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We were picked around last place with Fisher. That’s where we’ll finish w/o him. He was preseason 3rd team all MVC. That being our lone preseason honor, shows how far the program has fallen.
 
SgtHulka

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L

Loyl2u

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Redbird222 said:
Losing Fisher did hurt this team especially given the timing. Our front court is once again weak and Keith paired with Dusan would have been a step in the right direction. Not only did we lose his production we lost his experience and leadership.

The lack of front court presence the past few years has been devastating as far as I'm concerned. We often forced Malik to play out of position or didn't have that complimentary piece to Phil. Without Fisher, our bigs are slow, lacking offensive moves, and generally lost on defense. They constantly put our guards in piss poor situations both offensively and defensively. They can't flash on a pick and roll and get back to the opposing center or forward. Look at the Loyola game and watch how Dusan and Andrews defend the pick & role. Its pathetic. Rey use to do the same thing.

My opinion has been that Muller undervalues the front court players. Off the top of my head, Hawkins, Lynch, Phil, and Keith were all viable D1 Mid major front court players. Maybe throw Middlebrooks in there from a talent position but he played like 5 games for us. Perhaps Bruninga who was unfortunately hurt more than he played.

I consider Malik, Chastain and McIntosh more swing player than true front court players even though they were often forced to match up against from court players.

I look at players like David, Samuel, Ransom, Abdou, Baynard, Washington, Elvis, Rey, and Romine and they generally were one dimensional and/or were projects at best. Off the top of my head I can't think of any other front court players Muller recruited the first 8 years which is another issue. We need to invest more scholarships in the front court.

I look at our latest recruits and Kotov, Dusan, and Andrews they seriously lack foot speed. Dusan has upside but Loyola exposed his inability to play the pick n roll and quite frankly exploited us. Sy never plays so can't really apine here except perhaps a wasted scholarship.

This year we invested more in front court scholarships than ever but in prior years we we often settled for 3 front court players in total. Thats tough when one or two are a project and injuries or a Middlebrooks departure leaves you constantly short. How do you practice with just three front court players?

Our defensive rebounding is generally below average because of a lack of talent and us being in the wrong position due to poor rotations on pick n rolls.

If we had better bigs with an offensive presence we would have less turnovers and less droughts in my opinion. We put too much pressure on our guards. If all our big can do it set a pick it makes the defense so much easier. Sag back take away the drive. Force us to play perimeter ball. Looks at our bigs when they get the ball out front ... they struggle to take a dribble, they look awkward on passes and are good for at least 1 to 2 offensive fouls on screens a game. They don't use their body well to seal off their defender to create a proper passing lane for the guards. Remember how Hawkins could post low, command a ball, turn right and baby bank for two. The defenders knew what was coming but he knew how to use his body to get the advantage over the defender. Can we get 2 front line players in the same season beside 2017 when we had Hawkins and Phil? Please Please Please. Keith with Dusan may have been the closest to that so it is disappointing Keith left and in my opinion impactful. That said Muller and the coaches need to recruit better bigs and like this year use more scholarships on them. Period!!

I dont see theloss of Chastain and Bruninga the same way as Keith. Maybe in experience. Both if healthy could be good role players but that being said were not healthy most of their careers at ISU. Additionally, we knew one wasn't returning prior to the end of the season and one just after it ended. There was much more time to find an adequate replacement. Dusan maybe Kotov, Sy, and Andrews fit the same project or stretch mold. Andrews is a freshman and maybe I should back off here but he has a long way to go.

If we want to make out guards better recruit a better front court!!
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THIS! The entire thing👏
 
isuquinndog

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ricohill said:
With or without him, we aren’t an NCAA Tournament team. That’s the only thing that matters.

Fisher is certainly better than what we have, but there is no guarantee if he stays something doesn’t happen (injury, foul trouble etc...) and you are still left with a roster that doesn’t have a D1 ready forward or center.
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That’s a dumb way to think. Any player in any sport at any level can do out with injury or foul trouble. Might as well not cheer for anyone.
 
ricohill

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isuquinndog said:
That’s a dumb way to think. Any player in any sport at any level can do out with injury or foul trouble. Might as well not cheer for anyone.
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I don’t know what it has to do with cheering for someone. It was more about depth. He only averaged 24.5 minutes a game last year. My point was that even if he’s here, he’s not playing 40 minutes.

You still have to fill out the minutes at the forward and/or center spots. Right now, there really isn’t any experience at those positions.
 
Bird Friend

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All this talk about Fisher reminds me that we were also missing another inside presence against Loyola, Abdou Ndiaye. Would we have still lost with Abdou playing (and at full strength)? Yes. But a rim protector would’ve helped cut down a few of their easy scores. Add Fisher and the games become even more competitive. I still don’t think we’d win, but at least stayed relatively close.
 
R

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Bird Friend said:
All this talk about Fisher reminds me that we were also missing another inside presence against Loyola, Abdou Ndiaye. Would we have still lost with Abdou playing (and at full strength)? Yes. But a rim protector would’ve helped cut down a few of their easy scores. Add Fisher and the games become even more competitive. I still don’t think we’d win, but at least stayed relatively close.
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Agreed. I am thinking Abdou starts over Sissoko next game
 
CaliRdBrd

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if Sissoko can’t beat out Abdou, then we’re even worse off than I thought we are ...and right now, we’re barely better than the Chicago State women’s team.
 
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Remember the excitement when Abdou signed with us? Supposedly Wichita State also wanted him. Does anyone think he will be a game changer two years from now, in terms of consistent scoring and rebounding? I don’t see it happening.
 
CaliRdBrd

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WoodlandWarrior said:
Remember the excitement when Abdou signed with us? Supposedly Wichita State also wanted him. Does anyone think he will be a game changer two years from now, in terms of consistent scoring and rebounding? I don’t see it happening.
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Ummmm....no.
 
J

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WoodlandWarrior said:
Remember the excitement when Abdou signed with us? Supposedly Wichita State also wanted him. Does anyone think he will be a game changer two years from now, in terms of consistent scoring and rebounding? I don’t see it happening.
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Yeah, WSU definitely wanted him. Marshall flew down to Fla to talk with him. Abdou's final 4 where Us, Georgetown, WSU and somebody else pretty decent. He's shown some signs of being a good shock blocker, but that's about it. So far, Sissoko is showing much more promise in the start of his career than Abdou.
 
CaliRdBrd

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JHBird said:
Yeah, WSU definitely wanted him. Marshall flew down to Fla to talk with him. Abdou's final 4 where Us, Georgetown, WSU and somebody else pretty decent. He's shown some signs of being a good shock blocker, but that's about it. So far, Sissoko is showing much more promise in the start of his career than Abdou.
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Abdou is the final piece of the puzzle for teams that have everything else (penetrating point guards, shooters, etc), which is likely why Georgetown and WSU were interested. He hardly strikes me as a guy to build a team around.
 
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