Or... Hear me out on this...
2018-19 staff:
Prohm - Head Coach
Niang - Assistant/Footwork Coach
Mitrou-Long - Assitant/Lead Recruiter
Thomas - Assistant/Shooting Coach
What can go wrong?
What I'm hearing about Matt Thomas
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
2018-19 staff:
Prohm - Head Coach
Niang - Assistant/Footwork Coach
Mitrou-Long - Assitant/Lead Recruiter
Thomas - Assistant/Shooting Coach
What can go wrong?
Could be a jump from underclassman to upperclassman, could be that TJ was back for a year. Just guessing. Maybe Prohm is awesome, which I'm also ok with.
Kids press, kids try to live up to expectations, kids can get down on themselves... I honestly think it was just Matt's progression. I'm a HUGE CSP fan but don't think he had much more or less impact on Matt's development than Fred. Matt seems like a guy that will try until he fails then try more. Love that kid.
Matt had some personal issues earlier in his career - alcohol maybe? I'm going from memory on a great Matt article from earlier this year so I may be mis-remembering?
Of course, he isn't going to get an NBA contract based only on these two games. However, his sharpshooting this summer is very likely to get people to take a closer look at the whole picture about him. No one is overlooking him after performances like these.
I don't know if I would call is a "disconnect." I think it may have been more that they were wired very similarly. For instance, Matt is probably bummed about the two he missed! Fred said that he didn't enjoy winning as much as he was relieved by it. I think they both have perfectionist tendencies and put an enormous amount of pressure on themselves.
That plan worked out pretty well for Nader. Not necessarily the shooting part but play yourself onto a team part.
the point of summer league is to drag up enough bodies to fill rosters so that you can evaluate your new draft picks and last years players as well as some d league guys. Summer league really isnt about undrafted players making a roster. A camp invite if you're super lucky.
Matts nba game is one dimensional. stand in a spot and shoot a 3. THere are tons of players that can do that but also provide other skills matt cannot. He cannot guard anyone at any nba position a fact I was surprised by given his defensive skill at ISU. However then I think oh ya, this is the NBA now.
What matt did was fantastic and great for him. He more than likely will get a much better position overseas now. Unless he chooses to stay in the US and make 1/10 of what he could elsewhere. Summer league stars are just that. Happens with multiple people every year and then they are never heard from again, only difference is this time he is one of ours.
1: Nader was a draft pick
2: Nader has a much more dynamic skill set than Mattyice
3: Nader had extreme good luck in the fact that the celtics needed cheap players to fill out a roster. Nader and Thomas are not comparable.
Shooting like MT can shoot has always come with a premium and even more so now. If he can knock down 43%+ of his threes like he did at ISU the last two years, he's a good enough rebounder and defender for someone to take a chance on.
The comparison with Nader was less about skill set and more about his opportunity to play his way onto a roster through the D(G)-league.
Yeah, that became his biggest downfall. He was always an amazing shooter but he never really learned how to create his own shot. Luckily he had the best distributer in the league dishing to him so it never really was an immediate problem. I don't think he'll make it in the league as a Kyle Korver type catch and shoot guy, but if he can work on shooting off the dribble and developing his own shot in a game situation, he'll make some NBA team very happy.
You are probably correct, and this is pretty realistic about Matt's chances. I'd disagree on the spot up shooter comment. He's a 3 point specialist, but calling him only a spot up shooter seems to be selling him short. He's capable of hitting the 3 coming off of screens, pumping and stepping back to hit it, and he hits a pull up jumper if a guy over commits on the close out.
I thought what Matt did well was showing that he knows he role. He didn't start jacking up shots when he was on a roll, but kept the ball moving in the offense. Maybe that will catch a GM's eye as much as anything.
A lot of theories being thrown out there about Matt and Fred. Matt simply improved every year he was at Iowa State. Fred didn't hold him back, and I don't think there was disconnect. From freshman to sophomore to junior to senior he improved every year like a lot of players do.
One other thing to consider when talking about summer league
not to mention the personnel we had each year. he played his role unselfishly. some guy yesterday on a lakers message board was joking at how crazy ISU was for not utilizing him more and how silly the coaching staff was (admitted he never watched him play). Almost created a username just to explain to him why he only averaged x # of points etc.
Fred had elite athleticism and sweated all of the time.
By then, may be ready for Hoiberg - Assistant Coach for Recruiting. jimlad
I loved both Hoiberg and Thomas as players, but they were quite different. While they both shot the three ball, Fred was better at taking the ball off the bounce to the basket and finishing with authority. While Matt rebounded well for a guard, Fred was a better rebounder. Fred had a motor that let him run all day - I remember a quote by Loren Meyer when they played Loyola that even Fred got tired...and Fred never gets tired! Both great Cyclones with some similarities, but Fred's overall game was much superior.
