Iowa State basketball coach Greg McDermott will be stressing fundamentals as the Cyclones prepare for Wednesday night’s game against Savannah State. After opening the season 6-0 ISU has dropped three straight games, including a 77-59 loss at Iowa last Friday night.
McDermott says they executed as poorly in Iowa City as they have all year, and he says that’s far away from playing like they’ve been practicing that they’ve been this year, and “that was disturbing.” He says they have to get back to the fundamentals of passing and footwork and defense.
Defense has been a trouble spot. Iowa State has yielded 70 points or more the last three games. McDermott says they’re giving to many straight drives to the basket, and it’s hard to explain why. He says that’s something they have to address at practice. McDermott says it starts with their inability to guard the dribble, and that put the defense in a bind.
McDermott says the Cyclones have issues they will battle all season. He says they’re short on numbers and short on experience and some of the guys they’ve put in certain positions have made some mistakes. McDermott says as a coach he has to put players in a place where they can have success, but he says he doesn’t want to sacrifice what he’s trying to do to build the program.