Thomas

[Rhoadhoused]

Well if your only measure of success is against those 3, then I think you are not going to find many people who succeed. Matt is a freshman that will continue to get better. I am not sure why we expect everyone to be a finished project.

We are on the same page. He isn't a completely finished product, and nobody should expect him to be this early in his career. It is ok to not be perfect, and good thing, because he isn't. He has two obvious imperfections: defense and ability to create his own points outside of open jumpers. Those will get better as the year goes on, and he is obviously working on them.

And of course my only measure isn't against those three players, I just mean against major college basketball athletes. Because he hasn't done that stepback move in any game yet all year, and it is the only time he has really created his own space, I suspect there is a reason it came against the Kangaroos and not Michigan or BYU.

If anyone is ****** that I point out Thomas isn't perfect while praising every other aspect of the game, then.....

 

[CynadoAlley]

I know some people wish he would shoot more, but I like the fact that he just lets the game come to him.

This is one of my favorite parts of his game thus far. You're not going to see him forcing too much. I'm not sure what to expect from him from an all-time scoring standpoint, but I think he'll end up being one of the most efficient Cyclones in recent memory.

 

[CyberJJJ]

My opinion - Thomas will have a career like Jake Sullivan when it is all said and done. And I'll be just fine with that.

I get the comparison between Jake Sullivan and Matt Thomas, as Fred is using Matt in a bit similar role to what Eustachy used Jake his first year, namely to spot up at the three line to spread the defense and knock down the 3 if left open. Jake feasted off kick-outs from Mel, and Matt is benefitting from the penetrating game Kane plays. The fact that both were great shooters begs that comparison, but it basically stops there.

I loved Jake Sullivan – one of the hardest working Cyclones of all time – but dude was abused on defense. Matt is already as good a defender as Jake was. We know Matt didn’t play man-to-man in high school and has been exposed at times, but is improving by leaps and bounds with each game. While only 5 games into his career Matt is averaging 4+ rebounds a game, while Jake was just over a 2 rebound per game guy his entire career. Matt is an athletic 6’3†while Jake was barely 6’1†and never confused as an elite athlete – elite shooter and competitor yes – but where Matt is athletic, Jake looked more like Austin Powers.

Jake was asked to try to be the primary ball handler one season, and I have to tell you it was rugged to watch. He average just over 2 assists per game that year. Jake was able to use his dribble to step under the defender flying out to stop the three. Jake could then pull up for a quick release jumper, and even had some junk floaters and scoops to score. Matt has more athletic ability to get the jumper off over a defender. Each game I see Matt’s confidence growing and he clearly has the green light to shoot, yet he doesn’t feel the need to force it. I predict he will develop the aggression as a scorer, not just a shooter, that we saw from a Stauskas, Haws and Carlino—that just isn’t his role on this team yet. Having said that, as a freshman I believe he is already averaging in double figures (51 points in five games?)

 

[Bewilderme]

I for one was impressed with Matt's defense last night. He had a few steals/assist steals and looks to have better foot speed than I thought on D. I think he's doing fantastic for a freshman.

 

[VeloClone]

There is more than one way to create your shot. The jab step and step back we saw last night is one. What we have seen from him previously is the shot fake and driving past the closeout for an uncontested mid range jumper. So yes, he has created his own shot.

 

[Rhoadhoused]

There is more than one way to create your shot. The jab step and step back we saw last night is one. What we have seen from him previously is the shot fake and driving past the closeout for an uncontested mid range jumper. So yes, he has created his own shot.

I guess we can agree to disagree for now. I never saw him do that against Michigan or BYU. I want to see him do it against athletic guys and legit D1 competition. And I loved that step back. I'm not talking about him going ISO and juking his opponent. I'm talking getting open off of screens and working to get open vs standing at the 3 point line and waiting. Creating space for himself.

We have a lot of players who can hit catch and shoot 3s. Thomas is a good enough player to do more I think.

 

[VeloClone]

I guess we can agree to disagree for now. I never saw him do that against Michigan or BYU. I want to see him do it against athletic guys and legit D1 competition. And I loved that step back. I'm not talking about him going ISO and juking his opponent. I'm talking getting open off of screens and working to get open vs standing at the 3 point line and waiting. Creating space for himself.

We have a lot of players who can hit catch and shoot 3s. Thomas is a good enough player to do more I think.

We can agree on that part.