Rams Notebook: A complete update on CSU men's basketball

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State men’s basketball currently sits in sixth place in the Mountain West but things are definitely heading in the right direction for Niko Medved’s squad.

In case you have been too busy watching the NFL Playoffs or catching up on The Bachelor, here is a brief reminder of what you’ve missed as well as a few thoughts on CSU men’s basketball moving forward.

Recap

Since losing to Colorado on Dec. 13, CSU men’s basketball has won five of its last six games. Most recently, the Rams have won three straight against the league, which is huge for their positioning in the standings after initially starting 0-3 against the MW.

The first of three wins came against the Pokes at Moby Arena. After taking down Wyoming in the first of their two games this season, the Rams picked up an important road victory over San Jose State last Saturday.

In the 81-70 win over the Spartans, the Rams were tested late. After trailing for much of the contest, SJSU battled all the way back to tie the game at 64-64 with 4:02 left in the second half. From that point on, though, CSU outscored SJSU 17-6 in the closing minutes and locked down the always-important conference road win.

The momentum from closing out SJSU on the road seemed to carry over into Wednesday’s matchup with the Lobos because the Rams were locked in from the start and never took their foot off the gas in a 105-72 beatdown of New Mexico.

In that home court win, CSU set a program record with 19 3’s. The incredible shooting performance surpassed the previous record of 17, which was set against Michigan back in 2000. The 33-point beatdown of UNM is also the largest margin of victory ever by either school in 124 all-time meetings.

Now that your memory has been jogged, let’s get into what has been working and what needs to improve.

Welcome to the Medved era

Much of the credit for the recent success should go to the players for buying in and executing. At the end of the day, coaches can do everything right but if the players do not go out and make it happen, all of it is for not.

That said, I would be remiss to not bring up what a phenomenal job the staff is doing.

More than halfway through his second season at CSU, it’s incredible how different the culture feels in Fort Collins. From the way that players are developing to the surplus of young talent on the roster, for the first time in a long time, it genuinely feels like the Rams can contend for the foreseeable future.

What’s been different? Well, aside from the recycling bill going down due to less Diet Cokes being consumed on the sideline, the most important change has been that CSU staffers are actually recruiting and working to find skilled players that fit into their vision for the program. When they are not hitting the pavement looking for future ballers, the entire staff is working with the current roster to help them improve in every way possible.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “shouldn’t every staff do that?” You would be absolutely correct but that’s not how the previous administration used to spend their time.

Amazing what can happen when someone has a vision for the program and actually builds the players up, right?

Age is just a number

Unsurprisingly, Medved has relied on the young guns heavily all season, and while there have been some bumps along the way, for the most part, the underclassmen have been up for the task.

We saw flashes of this young group’s potential early. Going down and hanging with Duke for half a game in November and then winning two of three in the Cayman Islands was pretty impressive with how inexperienced the roster was as a whole.

We also saw moments where this group looked its age. I still don’t understand how the Rams just completely collapsed against Arkansas State and the loss at Boise State is definitely a game the Rams would like to have back.

Recently, though, the freshmen and sophomores have taken it to a new level.

In the road win at SJSU, David Roddy (21) and Isaiah Stevens (21) led the way as the duo combined for 42 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. What was extremely encouraging about their respective performances, was that neither guy tried to force anything and just played through the offense.

The Rams benefitted from a couple of other key performers as well. Nico Carvacho pulled down 16 total rebounds, John Tonje hit a couple of timely 3’s off the bench, and Kendle Moore had four assists and two steals in the win too. But for the most part, it was the freshmen tandem of Roddy and Stevens that made the victory possible.

Encouragingly, UNM was more of a team win. The Rams had six double-digit scorers and two more players finished with eight points apiece. Even so, it was the underclassmen that carried most of the weight as six players in their first or second year combined for 85 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists.

As the season has progressed, it’s been a lot of fun watching Stevens and Roddy get more and more comfortable on the floor. Really, though, there isn’t a single underclassman that has not made massive strides in the right direction.

Roddy, obviously, does his best work in the post — through 19 games, the 6-foot-5 power forward is shooting 60.2 percent when he attempts 2-point field goals. He is also currently second on the Rams in total rebounds per game (5.7) and offensive rebounds per game (1.6).

Paired with Nico Carvacho, who is throwing out double-doubles (12.5 points and 10.7 rebounds) on a nightly basis, CSU’s frontcourt reminds me a little bit of when Larry Eustachy used to play Colton Iverson and Pierce Hornung at the same time. The Rams have an elite center with great size that can dominate opponents on the glass, and they also have a power forward that wears down opponents with relentless effort.

Considering Roddy is only hitting 18 percent of his 3-point attempts, there is definitely room for the big man from Minnesota to improve from beyond the arc. But as Medved said after the Wyoming win, the team is just better with Roddy on the floor.

Stevens, on the other hand, has done a little bit of everything and continues to play like a veteran despite only having one semester of college experience to his name.

Sticking with the theme of the Miles/Eustachy era, the freshman point guard is CSU’s modern Dorian Green. Much like Green, Stevens has a chance to be a four-year starter and play a significant role in the rise of a program. But more importantly, Stevens has brought the same type of versatility and intelligence to the floor that Green provided for the Rams during his magnificent career.

Stevens may not be the biggest guard in the world but he has a quick first step and is never afraid to attack the rim. This is important because it opens up the floor for the entire offense.

What’s particularly impressive about Stevens is when the freshman guard does decide to put the ball on the floor, he dang near always makes the right play. As one of the team’s most consistent scorers, he does not lack the confidence to sink a floater or make a difficult layup, depending on what the situation calls for.  If the defense does pick him up, it’s no problem either because he is an excellent passer and loves to dish the rock.

A lot of freshman guards have the athletic ability to get in the lane; what they lack is the ability to process the play quickly and then execute at a high level. Since the day he arrived on campus, Stevens has been able to do both of these things.

Finally, as good as he is at playing inside the arc, Stevens is also one of the more consistent shooters on the squad and is hitting 38.5 percent of his attempts from 3-point land this year. Making things simple, Stevens is the Swiss Army Knife that Medved has in his pocket at all times. You simply cannot emphasize enough just how much of a positive impact this young man has had on CSU’s starting lineup.

No sophomore slumps here

What should excite CSU fans moving forward is that with the freshmen playing like veterans, if the sophomores continue to produce as well, the Rams are going to be much more dangerous this March than the legacy MW media projected in the preseason.

With what guys like Carvacho and Roddy can do in the post, the Rams are always going to be a handful down low. What the sophomores bring to the table is the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter — which the Rams are going to need if this team is going to make any kind of run.

While 3-point shooting has not been CSU’s greatest strength as a team in 2019-20, as it currently stands, both Adam Thistlewood (44.3) and Kendle Moore (42.5) are shooting north of 40 percent from beyond the arc for the season.

If these two can continue to consistently knock down open jump shots, it’s really going to make it hard for opponents to stop the Rams, especially with the way that Moore can also stretch a defense in transition.

The offensive output is definitely beneficial. As Medved will tell you, though, Thistlewood and Moore have each come a long way on the defensive end as well.

In the win over the Lobos, Thistlewood drew an early charge and it helped set the tone for the entire game.

“The coaches dapped me up for that one,” Thistlewood joked postgame.

Although he has been limited by his ankle injury in recent weeks, it really seems like the additions of Roddy and Dischon Thomas to the roster have been huge for Thistlewood in year two. During his freshman season, Thistlewood was often tasked with guarding the opposing four because he was basically CSU’s only forward on the active roster.

With Roddy and Thomas able to slide into that power forward role, though, Thistlewood has been able to transition into a more natural fit for his skill set and he’s looked much more comfortable in the process. The numbers back it up as well — so far this season, Thistlewood is allowing roughly 11.5 points less per 100 possessions than he did a year ago.

Defensive Rating (an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions)

2018-19: 

Carvacho (104.9)

Edwards (106.6)

Moore (110.4)

Martin (111.7)

Thistlewood (114.0)

2019-20:

Carvacho (94.1)

Martin (98.5)

Edwards (99.1)

Moore (102.0)

Thistlewood (102.6)

Free throws are FREE

Colorado State has done a tremendous job of getting to the line this season. As it currently stands, the Rams are averaging 21.5 free throw attempts per game, which is a testament to their commitment to driving to the rim and being the aggressors on offense.

In the Mountain West, only New Mexico (24.5), Utah State (22.2) and Boise State (22.1)  have averaged more free throws per game than CSU. In terms of size and talent, all three of those teams are near the top of the league, so the fact that the Rams are drawing as many fouls as them is a positive sign.

The problem has been that despite attempting the 15th most free throws in the country through 19 games, as a team the Rams are only shooting 67.5 percent from the charity stripe, which ranks 268th in the country (274-of-408).

Carvacho has been a part of the issue. The senior center naturally gets to the line more than anyone else on the team but is only knocking down 45.5 percent of his free throw attempts. Of the players that frequently get to the line, though, Stevens (82.1) is CSU’s only player shooting more than 75 percent from the charity stripe.

This needs to improve if the Rams are going to have any shot of making a run through the Mountain West. When the games get tight, every single point counts and the Rams need to be able to take advantage of their ability to draw fouls.

Free throws per game | National Ranking | Final Record

2010-11: 22.5 | No. 96 | (19-13, 9-7)

2011-12: 21.4 | No. 95 | (20-12, 8-6)

2012-13: 24.5 | No. 11 | (26-9, 11-5)

2013-14: 26.8 | No. 20 | (16-16, 7-11)

2014-15: 23.3 | No. 32 | (27-7, 13-5)

2015-16: 25.7 | No. 18 | (18-16, 8-10)

2016-17: 22.0 | No. 106 (24-12, 13-5)

2017-18: 20.4 | No. 126 (11-21, 4-14)

2018-19: 18.0 | No. 227 (12-20, 7-11)

2019-20: 21.5 | No. 54 (12-7, 3-3)*

This team can win in March

As much as advanced analytics and numbers can teach us about this team, their greatest strength is not something that can be calculated. What makes the 2019-20 Rams different from some of the groups in recent years is this one is actually a TEAM.

Does it help to have talent? Sure, it helps a ton — this game is all about making buckets after all. At this level, though, talent will only take you so far. When the pressure intensifies and it’s time for teams to win or go home, the best individuals can shine but it’s the most complete units that tend to make it out alive.

When Duke lost in the NCAA Tournament last spring, it was not because the Blue Devils lacked ballers. Mike Kryzewski had an abundance of talent on his roster to work with. The reason that Duke failed to advance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament was that they relied on Zion Williamson playing hero ball for 40 minutes every single game.

Over the years, CSU has its fair share of dudes that wanted to pretend they were the next Allen Iverson or Zion Williamson. The problem was that they were nowhere near talented enough to play this way.

What’s been great about the Rams this year, though, is that despite having more talent on the roster, the group is actually playing less selfish than ever before. Part of this has stemmed from good coaching and an emphasis to push the ball and work for better opportunities.

But honestly, I think a large part of the unselfishness can be attributed to the fact that these new players just like being together. Whether it’s on the hardwood or hanging out in an airport terminal, this is a group that has completely embraced each other. Don’t underestimate the impact that can have down the stretch.