So,,,

Mayo says the effort wasn't there. Coach says they tried hard but weren't competitive. He estimated Iowa State got 75% of the 50/50 balls. I actually thought it was worse than that. First play of the game, their guard drives in the lane, spins back toward the middle of the lane against Zeke and throws up a shot that goes in. He barely elevated, but Mayo expected him to go right, not left. OK, but HUNTER is standing maybe two feet away, in perfect position to block the shot. But no, our "All-American" chooses to box out the State big guy who's standing a few feet up the lane. Why? It symbolized to me a lot of what is lacking with this team. With only a couple of exceptions, they are slow...slow to react and often a step slow when they do move. I believe this team tries...these guys really do, they just aren't as athletic or quick twitch as a lot of the teams they play. Sad to watch.

I dunno. After Hunter threw up that 3 shot, I turned it off because I knew where this was going. ISU big men were good and Hunter seemed cowed by them . He just can’t seem to handle the contact.
Right or wrong, from now on, when Hunt throws up a desperation 3, I turn the TV off.

I get it. I by no means am excusing dumb plays. There were plenty of those. Why he thinks he is a good 3 point shooter is beyond me. I just don't think this team is as talented as I keep reading it is. Look at the starting lineup. Hunter, KJ, Harris, Mayo, and Moore. Three of those guys don't pose much if any offensive threat. ISU has a good defense, to be sure, but can't believe it's hard to draw up a workable defensive game plan against that bunch.

HCBS offered a lot of insight. The roster is not fitting together, whatever reason, and he complimented ISU on exactly the same topic when asked why ISU so successful. The staff needs to review their approach to the portal, because Hunter, Timberlake, Storr thus far have not paid dividends.

HCBS is a stubborn son of a gun, and he has earned the right to be, but last night look at how the offense flowed with Zeke/Griffen together. Why have we not seen Hunter + 4 perimeter players on Bidunga/Hunter + three perimeter players? It’s his loyalty to Juan, KJ. As I said, sorry KJ got hurt, but if he misses time maybe it forces HCBS hand.

Agree - want to see more Zeke/Griffen/Coit together too. And AJ needs to trust that he can just go out and play and not worry about being pulled. Hunter and Dajuan had over 7 t/os last night with sloppy ball control - they didn't get yanked.