I noticed in the article on what Nixon's commitment means to Iowa State, that Zion Griffin is referenced as incoming freshmen a long with the returning guards., making him sound like a guard. I may have misunderstood, but I was thinking Griffin might be a wing, but not what I would consider a guard unless you are thinking broadly of a 3-guard lineup. If I remember correctly, he mostly played post in high school, but his recruiting really took off when he got more time on the perimeter and showed range to 3 and handles to slash. I hear about THT playing the 1-4, but always thought he was more of a 2-3 that could potentially play the 1, and even the 4 ala Burton. I was thinking of Griffin as more of a 3, that might have range to go to a 2, but just as likely, or even more so, could play the 4 in a smaller ball line-up. I haven't personally seen either of them play, so am looking for insight from those who have. Ah, speculation...this is what we do with no games to watch!
What Position will Zion Griffin play?
- Thread starter CyberJJJ
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I think he has the versatility to play the third guard in a big line up, or something like that, but my impression is that he's more like a 3-4.
Yeah, I think Zion will play SF/PF for ISU. I have thought he'd develop an Ejim type player. ZG has played PF/C upto this point but gained the recruiting attention once he added an outside game.
IMO he's a classic SF that can guard 2-4. Reminds me a lot of Marquis Gilstrap.
Strengths: A strong and athletic wing player who is physically ready for the next level … He has a nice mix of tools that he brings to the game, and he is able to contribute in a variety of ways … A lanky player with a good build, he can get to the basket and use his body to finish plays ... He shows a decent first step, and can get to the basket using jabs out of the triple threat ... As a jump shooter, his form is pretty good and he is a capable threat from beyond the arc ... He is very good from midrange, where he has a well balanced pull up, shooting it with good elevation and rhythm ... As a rebounder, he is extremely effective, because he can use his physicality and athleticism to go get the ball ... Has the ability to block shots ...
Weaknesses: Can do a number of things well, but doesn't have one area that he is great at ... His perimeter game lacks polish, and he is not very effective attacking off the dribble ... He is a fairly inconsistent shooter, needing to get into a rhythm before he can make shots ... He is not the smoothest player when attacking the basket, needing an extra step to gather himself before exploding ... Makes poor decisions and tends to panic when he gets pressured ... Has only one season of D1 basketball under his belt as he spent time in JUCO and rehabbing a leg injury ...
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/marquis-gilstrap
I don’t think Fred or Prohm do traditional 1-5 like old school. Minus lard and young. The 2-4 are basically interchangeable and when u get a guy like Niang or THT they might even bring the ball up.
KU wanted him as a small ball 4 man I think that's all you need to know. If he develops his ball handling and ability to dribble drive he could be an absolute nightmare to defend by the end of his career.
THT and Griffin should be mainstays for us at the 3 and 4 respectively for the next several years. Lard at the 5 not a bad young nucleus for our frontcourt right there.
THT and Griffin should be mainstays for us at the 3 and 4 respectively for the next several years. Lard at the 5 not a bad young nucleus for our frontcourt right there.
I get that and like the flexibility...yet we saw how "positionless basketball" worked for Iowa last year. I believe what it does do for the coach is that if gives him a variety of combinations, with more flexibility if there is foul trouble, he can put on the floor during the game, as well as to play different ways.
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Iowa scored plenty last year. They just could not stop anybody.
Fran finally came around to Hoiball.
He will play basketball. Positions are overrated.
I get what you're saying, but ISU isn't going to try to play "positionless basketball" with a bunch of unathletic 6-8 power forwards.
Figured that was implied when we were talking about Iowa.
As if he wasn't bad ass enough he played with a toothpick in his mouth.
Everybody was kung fu fighting.
