When will the Iowa State men make it back to the NCAA tournament? It doesn’t look like it will happen in 2008 and I have my doubts about 2009. The staff needs to upgrade the guard court in a hurry if the Cyclones want to make a run next year.
I feel bad for Greg McDermott, he will go through two Big 12 seasons with completely depleted back courts. It appears things will be better next year. Garrett will have a year under his belt and he has shown real promise. Lucca will finally be free to play, unless the NCAA suits find some other unreasonable excuse for why he can’t. SG Wes Eikmeier and PG Dominique Buckley will be on campus, but how much can they contribute as freshman. Peterson, Haluska and Boozer all return as well.
So things are looking better at guard next year, but it may be 2010 before this team can compete with the big boys. The Baylor game was a good snapshot of how far this team is from being a really good team. The Bears have five guards on their roster that would start for the Cyclones. It doesn’t matter how good your front court is when your guards are getting whipped. Craig Brackins couldn’t miss all night and Iowa State still lost by 7 points.
The Cyclones will need to find someone who can replace Rahshon’s defense next season and they will need to find depth down low with Jiri graduating. PF Clinton Mann may be ready for minutes next year, but Justin Hamilton appears to be a few years away from contributing. Will the Cyclones sign anyone else in 2008?
Here is a projection on next year’s rotation:
PG Garrett / (Peterson/Buckley)
SG Staiger / (Haluska/Eikmeier)
SF W Johnson / Staiger
PF Thompson / (C Johnson/Mann)
C Brackins / Thompson
