Fran-Graphs, Iowa State

Greetings! It's been a while, but now that Iowa has started to play some more high-profile games, the photos of Fran are flowing into the BHGP offices again, and with them, the key link in the Fran-Graph supply chain has been reestablished. Just a few thoughts on Iowa's impressive win over Iowa State last night:

• Aaron White is just getting ridiculous with these dunks.
• Anthony Clemmons was the story of the game, taking the reins of the offense and playing like a composed vet on both ends of the floor.
• Iowa State looked like the more athletic team and toward the end of the first half it seemed like they might just blow Iowa out of the building, but to Iowa's credit, they played like the smarter, more patient team throughout the second half. They just made fewer mistakes than the veteran Cyclones.
• Josh Oglesby had some crucial threes in the second half, but that chin beard is weirding me out.
• It's been interesting to see Zach McCabe's role diminish somewhat over the past few games. He's a valuable offensive player, but the difference in quality on defense is apparent whenever he comes in the game. I imagine his playing time will vary depending on match-ups, but he seems to be losing ground for time at the four spot to White and Melsahn Basabe.
• It is such a luxury to have Adam Woodbury in the paint on defense. It's easy to forget how easily teams drove into the paint on Iowa last year, and now you can see guards start to drive, then back off. Delightful.
• George Niang had a pretty impressive game for the Cyclones. He had a quiet second half, but showed a lot of versatility for a player of his size. Tyrus McGee also looked good.