Iowa State men’s basketball: Georges Niang messes with ESPN reporter on Twitter
By Brian Spaen
Iowa State forward Georges Niang had some friendly jabs to ESPN college basketball reporter Myron Medcalf on Twitter Monday night following the Cyclones’ dominant victory over Georgia State.
Let’s set up the story. First, Medcalf said that Iowa State was on upset alert.
Upset Alert at Hilton Coliseum tonight. Georgia State is no joke. Will battle Iowa State all night. Should be a fun game.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) November 17, 2014
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There’s nothing troll worthy about that post. For those that know Medcalf, he previously wrote for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and definitely knows both college basketball and the overall sports scene in Iowa. He wasn’t the only one hyping Georgia State — Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register did the same. As did national pundits.
For the first half, they were right. Georgia State played right with them, but as I expected, they wouldn’t keep up with them in the second half. Iowa State simply had too much talent. Georges Niang also took a while to get going, but when he did, he ended up with a double-double to back up his 30-point night from Monday.
That made Niang take a quick jab at Medcalf for a tweet the reporter had during the contest.
The great thing about Georges Niang is not only is he one of the best players in college basketball, but he’s one of the best player follows on Twitter. Always humble, keeps things interesting, and never gets into real beefs. If you’re not following him, you should be.
Medcalf did go on to defend his thoughts on Georgia State, but also believes that Iowa State is a top 10 squad once the whole unit is back together — referring to Matt Thomas and Abdel Nader who were suspended and Jameel McKay who will finally be eligible in late December. Hell, he even brings up Iowa State being potential Big 12 champions!
Well ...... Georgia State still a good team. But Iowa State Top-10ish again once everyone together. Not sure how Hoiberg keeps doing this.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) November 18, 2014
Georgia State had a chance to make a statement. Couldn't defend. But they might be losing to a Big 12 champ so they can't get too down.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) November 18, 2014
Of course, that drew the ire of Kansas fans who were quick to defend their 10 straight Big 12 regular season titles. Because in their world, we apparently can’t acknowledge who the other contenders are this year. But that’s a different post for another day.