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Brackins wants to be more aggressive
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2009-11-30
A six-hour bus ride home after Saturday’s 67-65 loss to Northwestern gave Iowa State forward Craig Brackins plenty of time to watch the game tape.
He picked up on one thing pretty quickly.
“There are some possessions I settle for whatever they give me, be it a jump shot or a fade-away,” Brackins said. “I just need to get more aggressive.”
So Brackins will try to get the Cyclones (6-1) back on track against Northern Iowa (4-1) Wednesday (Mediacom, 7 p.m.), by making himself a bigger offensive force.
“When I get aggressive, good results happen,” Brackins said. “It’s just something I’m going to start doing.”
Brackins scored 18 points against the Wildcats, but did it on 6-of-16 shooting. Brackins thinks it’s only a matter of time before he’s fixed his offensive issues.
“It’s a rhythm thing, getting my rhythm back and my timing back,” Brackins said. “I could do a lot of things. It’s just me not doing the things I think I should be doing.”
ISU coach Greg McDermott believes Brackins is doing just fine and that he just missed several shots that he would normally make — an alley-oop in particular — against Northwestern.
“I’m certainly not going to discourage him to shoot (a jumper) because he has proven over the test of time that he can effectively make that shot,” McDermott said. “But if Craig goes to the line 10 times in a half, he is being aggressive and he got 10 free throws the second half.”
Brackins was 6-of-10 from the foul line on Saturday.
Experience pays dividends
UNI returns its entire starting lineup from a team that went 23-11 and made the NCAA Tournament last season. McDermott thinks the Panthers are in a position to have another outstanding year.
“They have guards that can shoot it,” McDermott said. “They got two veteran post players inside and then they have a great point guard. They have all the makings to have another great season. Without question, it’s the best team we’ve played so far.”
Injury update
McDermott didn’t know how long forward LaRon Dendy would be sidelined at his Monday press conference.
Dendy re-injured his right knee on Friday, but he originally sprained his knee on Nov. 16 and didn’t return until Friday’s 65-54 win over St. Louis.
“He just got blocked out and hit at a weird angle and tweaked the knee exactly the same way he did the first time,” McDermott said.
Also, forward Marquis Gilstrap has been battling bronchitis and McDermott said Brackins “is starting to come down with something.”
“For the most part, we are relatively healthy,” McDermott said. “Knock on wood, I hope it stays that way.”
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2009-11-30
Iowa State forward Craig Brackins wants to be more aggressive around the basket.
Tribune file photo
Tribune file photo
A six-hour bus ride home after Saturday’s 67-65 loss to Northwestern gave Iowa State forward Craig Brackins plenty of time to watch the game tape.
He picked up on one thing pretty quickly.
“There are some possessions I settle for whatever they give me, be it a jump shot or a fade-away,” Brackins said. “I just need to get more aggressive.”
So Brackins will try to get the Cyclones (6-1) back on track against Northern Iowa (4-1) Wednesday (Mediacom, 7 p.m.), by making himself a bigger offensive force.
“When I get aggressive, good results happen,” Brackins said. “It’s just something I’m going to start doing.”
Brackins scored 18 points against the Wildcats, but did it on 6-of-16 shooting. Brackins thinks it’s only a matter of time before he’s fixed his offensive issues.
“It’s a rhythm thing, getting my rhythm back and my timing back,” Brackins said. “I could do a lot of things. It’s just me not doing the things I think I should be doing.”
ISU coach Greg McDermott believes Brackins is doing just fine and that he just missed several shots that he would normally make — an alley-oop in particular — against Northwestern.
“I’m certainly not going to discourage him to shoot (a jumper) because he has proven over the test of time that he can effectively make that shot,” McDermott said. “But if Craig goes to the line 10 times in a half, he is being aggressive and he got 10 free throws the second half.”
Brackins was 6-of-10 from the foul line on Saturday.
Experience pays dividends
UNI returns its entire starting lineup from a team that went 23-11 and made the NCAA Tournament last season. McDermott thinks the Panthers are in a position to have another outstanding year.
“They have guards that can shoot it,” McDermott said. “They got two veteran post players inside and then they have a great point guard. They have all the makings to have another great season. Without question, it’s the best team we’ve played so far.”
Injury update
McDermott didn’t know how long forward LaRon Dendy would be sidelined at his Monday press conference.
Dendy re-injured his right knee on Friday, but he originally sprained his knee on Nov. 16 and didn’t return until Friday’s 65-54 win over St. Louis.
“He just got blocked out and hit at a weird angle and tweaked the knee exactly the same way he did the first time,” McDermott said.
Also, forward Marquis Gilstrap has been battling bronchitis and McDermott said Brackins “is starting to come down with something.”
“For the most part, we are relatively healthy,” McDermott said. “Knock on wood, I hope it stays that way.”
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
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