http://www.iowastatedaily.com/sport...6b6-d0c2-11e4-8b2e-c7d395b46a4a.html?mode=jqm Just hours after the NCAA tournament’s round of 64 had started, Iowa State’s basketball season came to a screeching halt. ISU players sat in stunned silence at their lockers, as walls of reporters asked what happened. Conference USA’s fourth-place team, UAB, was heading to the round of 32 as the No. 9 Cyclones prepared to board a plane home. Players tried to make sense of the loss, yet none gave exactly the same explanation. A résumé full of ranked wins and a Big 12 tournament run didn’t line up with the team’s early exit in the big dance.But in one of the most unforgiving postseasons in the sporting world, the NCAA basketball tournament can swallow talented teams in their moments of weakness, turning Final Four hopes into a plane ride home before the first day is over. That was the story for Iowa State, giving the Cyclones a year to think about a return trip. Sitting with a towel around his neck, head lowered, Naz Long and the rest of the Cyclones painstakingly answered questions about the upset loss. “It’s a special team even though we fell short,” Long said.With what was considered ISU coach Fred Hoiberg’s most talented team, the Cyclones were burdened with expectation no ISU team had seen in at least a decade. For the most part, they lived up to those expectations.
For the most part, players want to be coached. Adding together that the Bulls' players are high character guys and the fact that Hoiberg played 10 years in the NBA, I expect that Hoiberg will easily win acceptance. Beyond that, we'll just have to see.
Del Negro was fairly popular as well. At some point, the players want competence, fairness and hard work. We'll see if he's closer to Del Negro or Thibs on that front.
