Prohm previews Horned Frogs
Iowa State travels to TCU for a classic Big 12 "trap game" and Cyclone head coach Steve Prohm said ISU is focused on not falling into the snare. Here is a transcript of all that Prohm had to say as he met with reporters on Thursday.
Opening comments:
“It’s been a good week and now we’ve got to get back to work. This can’t be our mountaintop. I don’t want it to be our mountaintop. There are great things in store for us, but we’ve got to continue to do the right things and continue to push the envelope. If we do that, good things will happen. You can see the way the league is shaping up now. There are a lot of good teams, man, and so people are going to beat each other up. You’ve got to stay the course. People laugh when I say that, but that term’s been really good to me.”
On if he has any concerns about this being a trap game:
“It’s all about Iowa State. It’s the next game in conference play. I watched the game this morning, we were down 10 points in the first half at TCU and down six at half. Obviously we played really well in the second half and blew the game open. The only focus right now is TCU, and really the only focus (Thursday) is Iowa State. That’s what it’s going to be (Friday) and then on Saturday we’ll worry about beating TCU. It goes no further than that. It can’t in this league. You saw (Wednesday) night, Texas beats West Virginia on the road and K-State takes Baylor to double-overtime. You have to be totally locked in.”
On where he’s at with the bench spots going forward:
“Right now we feel good and we’re in a good spot. We’ll play it by ear. Our rotation is good. Whether it changes is based on production and practice. That sixth or seventh man is the only one that can swing a little bit. Right now I feel good where we’re at.”
On what Hallice Cooke will need to do to play his way back into rotation:
“It’s day to day. You’ve got to come out there, be productive and do the right thing. Then when your opportunity comes, you’ve got to make the most of it. That’s all Jordan (Ashton) did at Kansas State, he had the opportunity and made the most of it. Everybody has the same amount of opportunities and we’ve got to get it done in practice.”
On the need for this team to create its own energy at TCU:
“I’ll talk to the team about that. The good thing about it is, where I came from, in our league some places were packed and some places you had to create your own energy. That made it tough sometimes. The best teams in the league will go certain places and no one is there, so you’ve got to figure out ways to get ready to play. You don’t have time in this league to do that. You’ve got to win and be ready to play. If I need to bring a small picture of Hilton to show the guys in the locker room, I’ll do that. That’s my thought right now.”
On Jameel McKay’s progress in rehabbing his knee injury:
“He was with the trainer yesterday and I met with him, showed him film and talked with him. He had 18 deflections against Oklahoma on Monday night, which was terrific. I thought he was back to his old self and will need to continue to build off that. He needs to keep getting treatment and keep getting stronger. He’ll be fine and ready to go Saturday.”
On McKay’s performance against Oklahoma:
“I thought his energy level was the best it’s been. Four blocks. He defended well. Eighteen deflections. He rebounded. We watched tape offensive and defensively (Wednesday) and he was really good. We need to keep building on that.”
On if he’s worried about the legs of the main contributors on team holding up with playing time:
“Not really. Duke did the same thing last year. I’ve adjusted practice. Tuesday we were off, Wednesday we had individual workouts and we won’t be out here long (Thursday), maybe an hour and 15 minutes. We’ve got plenty enough. It’s more execution. I think we understand why we’ve lost. Every game we’ve lost has come down to the final seconds. We’ve had the ball with a chance to win in three of the four games. The Baylor game came down to the last minute and we led the whole game. It’s about us and not about fatigue or depth. It’s about getting our team better.”
On the craziness around the NCAA this season with so many upsets:
“There’s so much parity. If you’re not ready, especially on the road, you’ll get beat. If you’re not ready at home, you’ll get beat. There’s a lot of parity. There’s not one single team that you’ll say is the Kentucky of last season that went 38-0 before losing in the national semifinal game. You don’t have that. You have a lot of really good basketball teams and it will be about the teams that continue to get better. Michigan State is in a tizzy right now, but Coach (Tom) Izzo will get them better in February and March. Just like last year, they lost 10 games. It’s about which teams persevere and keep getting better.”
On what he thought of students starting to camp out for next Monday’s game earlier this week:
“The fan base here is as good as anywhere in the country. That’s probably been the most impressive thing. Hilton is amazing and Big Monday was unbelievable. The fan support by the student body is awesome. I’m very much appreciative of it.”