You don't force a player to play through high risk situations if they don't want to. If you do that against their will, that information will leak out and destroy future recruiting.
JJeff Injury Updates
- Thread starter ForeverIowan
- Start date
I just hope the staff and team realize how much better our offensive movement has been the last two games. ISU is better with JJ, but if we could incorporate that same ball movement from the last two games, with him on the floor, we could be unstoppable.
If we are hitting some threes and getting out in transition, our offense is fine without Jefferson.
If we arent forcing turnover or getting out in transition after rebounds and if Milan has a bad night, our offense will look like utter garbage without him
Small ball worked great vs KY but they let Toure, Tamin, and HEISE drive for about 20 combined layups. Just zero defensive effort from KY esp in 2nd half.
I would not expect a much more mentally tough Tenn team to mail it in like that on defense.
Sans JJ they will need to make a LOT of 3s and/or turn them over 20 times to be in it.
I would not expect a much more mentally tough Tenn team to mail it in like that on defense.
Sans JJ they will need to make a LOT of 3s and/or turn them over 20 times to be in it.
Exactly this... If we're forced into a half-court game we will STRUGGLE without Jefferson.
Yes I agree. Those who are saying we looked better without JJ need to take into account the opponents. Our backups could have beat Tennessee State and Kentucky’s D was deplorable.
Our opponents are going to be a lot better defensively from here on out (unless Alabama knocks off Michigan, but they could pose other problems).
Hehe... here's some reported non-info info...
I think if we get refs who call ticky tack fouls we might be in trouble if we play with the same speed and intensity we did against Kentucky.
I feel like we got away with a lot, not saying we were necessarily fouling a lot but you get the wrong refs and they'll see it differently.
I feel like we got away with a lot, not saying we were necessarily fouling a lot but you get the wrong refs and they'll see it differently.
TJ will be very noncommittal with any information prior to the game. Today I expect something like— ‘The MRI results were positive in that they don’t show any severe ligament damage, but Joshua still has significant physical therapy ahead. As far as availability for Friday night’s game, his status is day to day.’
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I think we can win Friday without Jefferson. We would need him to have any chance beyond Friday though.
IMO, you rest him as long as possible. Don’t play him Friday unless you’re sure he’s as close to 100% as he’s going to be.
IMO, you rest him as long as possible. Don’t play him Friday unless you’re sure he’s as close to 100% as he’s going to be.
Sounds like the ankle is still attached then?
This may be controversial, but I would like to have our All-American back for Friday.
Definitely a higher sense of urgency without JJ. As long as we continue to force turnovers and rebound marginally well this team isn't losing.
Nah…not “controversial” at all. If he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go.
I personally think Tennessee is fairly similar to Kentucky, with a better defense. I also think Toure and Heise have really stepped up in JJeff’s absence. Again…I think we can beat them without Jefferson, but we absolutely need him beyond Tennessee if we get to that point.
It's pretty well been confirmed (based on mostly the interviews with Jefferson and Vic Miller) that's its not a broken bone, a high ankle sprain, or a grade 3 ankle sprain. My best guess is that if this was January he would be sitting 2 to 3 weeks to get it close to fully recovered before coming back. But the fact its the NCAA tournament his senior year coming back a week later seems possible depending on how it responds to therapy and coming back 2 weeks later (if we are still playing) seems highly likely. Its possible something else is going on in the foot/ankle, but the replay looked like a pretty clear lateral ankle sprain.
Cannot take Tennessee lightly. They will be ready for ISU either way. Hope ISU fans are repping well in the building. Our fans can make a difference.
The decision will be up to Jefferson, you cannot force him to play, but you would have to think that as an All American and a senior, he will want to be out on the court, even if he is not a 100%. If he is one of the players that has to be at 100% or does not want to risk it, because of the draft, we are better off him not playing at all. I think that he will try to play on Friday, now how long he can go is another question, but if he cannot go on Friday, I doubt he is going to be able to go on Sunday if we beat Tennessee.
I think Toure is the key. If he plays well, then everything works whether we have JJeff or not. When Toure is not an offensive threat, we need JJeff to take over. Admittedly there were games JJeff tried to take over and he pressed too hard, leading to turnovers or bad possessions. But we still won most of those games.
Bottom line, if JJeff can play we want him on the court. If he can't, then it puts a lot of pressure on Toure and Heise to make up for him.
I'd rather see them sit JJ for Friday. I don't see any way he is 100%, and playing Friday super late means the Sunday turnaround will be significantly less than 48 hours. If he plays Friday, I would be surprised if that activity didn't degrade his health at least some for (hopefully) Sunday.
I guess I would roll the dice on beating Tennessee without him and hope he can be a bit healthier against a much better opponent (and tougher matchup) on Sunday. Then if you get by Sunday, he would have almost a full week to recover.
I might feel differently if we squeaked by TN State and/or Kentucky, but we have the talent to beat Tennessee without him if we keep playing the way we've been playing.
