Lard played his best game of his two year career last night, but it was only one game. He needs to be way more consistent in effort and play next year. He also needs to stop being a distraction. He has a high ceiling, but he needs to make significant improvements.
Lard
- Thread starter RagnarLothbrok
- Start date
I'd rather see us switch back and forth from big to small. THT still logging minutes at the 4 but also getting the bulk of the remaining backcourt minutes for Haliburton, Wiggy and Nixon. Basically playing 4 guards and 4 bigs till the Freshman show what they can do.
Anyone who thinks Solomon Young is starting over Jacobson is delusional.
He doesn’t have a choice on staying if higher authority tells him he’s done. Wouldn’t be surprising based on his history and the long time period between now and next November.
Healthy Solo probably gives us a much better chance yesterday. Arguing who starts isn't really even relevant. Using the guy that gives us the best chance to win on a given night is all that really matters.
Best game of this season, sure. Last season he had better games no question.
vs. Texas: 21 pts, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks.
vs OU 19 pts, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 steals, 3 assists
With a few other games being arguably as good or slightly better than the game last night. Those were just the ones that were head and shoulders better.
Jacobson deserved to be benched last night, but the 'who starts' discussion is about who is better/gives us the best chance to win on average, and that debate between MJ and Solo isn't particularly close. One can shoot from the outside, has a nice midrange and hook, and they both rebound relatively equally. At this point, is Solo better than Conditt?
The who starts argument is just an excuse for individuals to use their close minded opinion and spew it as documented fact.
Here's the hole that you could drive a semi thru in your argument. Was Jacobson at Nebraska better than Solomon prior to his injury? NO! What does a healthy Solomon look like next season? Jacobson spent a redshirt year refining his game yet he is still way overmatched against a solid offensive or physical post. Yesterday Solo gives us the best shot to neutralize their number one option. Based on Jacobson's lacking athleticism he's more needing of weightroom development than Conditt. I have nothing against MJ in fact I appreciate his effort, but to think he's hands down better than a healthy Solo is only speculation at this point.
Lard was awesome last night. Wish he would have started the second half, but that's one thing Prohm has shown he doesn't do is change up the line up / rotations very much. I was hoping Wigginton would have started the game (pipe dream, I know as he hasn't started the whole last month), but instead Prohm continued to start the same 5 he led with. I just don't understand the lack of adjustments and why he doesn't seem to favor who's playing well in that particular game.
I would have had Wesson's man front him on the post and make sure help side defense had one foot in the lane. Jacobson can stick with the smaller Wesson and we would have been just fine if we would have played two posts. Also, on offense, Ohio State was not big across the board. If Wesson was covering Lard, then Jacobson could have done quite well offensively posting against the smaller Wesson all night. Jacobson has an adept hook and little turnaround / face-up move. Kaleb Wesson was tough and too big for Jacobson yesterday, but that should be expected against a true wide body like Wesson, but their 4 man Jacobson could have scored all day on. Nonetheless, it was clear Prohm and staff did not think about attacking OSU this way. It's par for the course as Prohm likes to play one way this year - small ball with a 4 man (Jacobson) having to cover whomever the other's biggest guy is.
Anyway, hope Lard sticks around. We'll have 4 quality big men next year and we need to see a lot more 2 post sets, particularly if one or two of the underclassmen guards leave. Most of our talent could end up being in the front court.
There were many teams this year where I thought a 2 post set would have worked, yet we just refused to try it. Kansas St. when they had Maween and Dean in. Baylor with Gillespie and Vital. These were teams that beat us up on the offensive boards (and beat us) and having a Jacobson with Lard to battle at the same time would have been great.
Plus, Lard is an underrated distributor. I know this team relies on dribble drive and pick and roll / pick and pop as it's primary offense, but I really thought we could have played through the post yesterday as our primary offense. Lard is a good passer and if he couldn't score one-on-one vs. Wesson (which he probably could most of the time), then he's good at finding the diagonal pass / ball reversal. It's easier to hit threes when your feet are set and the ball comes from the post out to you. We just didn't get to see this style of play at all this year. With Jacobson as a 4 you can still stretch the court because he can shoot long jumpers and 3s. I really thought it could have been effective last night.
Really hope the lack of playing time for Conditt and Lard doesn't chase either of them off as they will be great assets to have next year and I hope Prohm sees it. If we try to play 4 guards again all the time next year - with our likely lack of great guard court depth (Babb and Shayok gone for sure, seems likely one of Horton-Tucker or Wigginton is gone) - then we will not be very good. Prohm has loved playing small ball his whole time here. Let's see if he's ready to change with his personnel.
*By the way, I'm not a Prohm hater and very happy to have him as coach. He does many things right. He's recruiting pretty well, sets a high standard for off the court behavior and decorum and gives the guys confidence to shoot and play freely, which I think leads to more effective shooters. It's ok to be critical and still believe in the coach and think he's the best option we have for the job. Hope the players keep their heads up because they had a solid season on balance, and they played hard and represented ISU well. I do hope we see some change from Prohm though or I will become more worried he's too irrevocably set in his ways.
I would have had Wesson's man front him on the post and make sure help side defense had one foot in the lane. Jacobson can stick with the smaller Wesson and we would have been just fine if we would have played two posts. Also, on offense, Ohio State was not big across the board. If Wesson was covering Lard, then Jacobson could have done quite well offensively posting against the smaller Wesson all night. Jacobson has an adept hook and little turnaround / face-up move. Kaleb Wesson was tough and too big for Jacobson yesterday, but that should be expected against a true wide body like Wesson, but their 4 man Jacobson could have scored all day on. Nonetheless, it was clear Prohm and staff did not think about attacking OSU this way. It's par for the course as Prohm likes to play one way this year - small ball with a 4 man (Jacobson) having to cover whomever the other's biggest guy is.
Anyway, hope Lard sticks around. We'll have 4 quality big men next year and we need to see a lot more 2 post sets, particularly if one or two of the underclassmen guards leave. Most of our talent could end up being in the front court.
There were many teams this year where I thought a 2 post set would have worked, yet we just refused to try it. Kansas St. when they had Maween and Dean in. Baylor with Gillespie and Vital. These were teams that beat us up on the offensive boards (and beat us) and having a Jacobson with Lard to battle at the same time would have been great.
Plus, Lard is an underrated distributor. I know this team relies on dribble drive and pick and roll / pick and pop as it's primary offense, but I really thought we could have played through the post yesterday as our primary offense. Lard is a good passer and if he couldn't score one-on-one vs. Wesson (which he probably could most of the time), then he's good at finding the diagonal pass / ball reversal. It's easier to hit threes when your feet are set and the ball comes from the post out to you. We just didn't get to see this style of play at all this year. With Jacobson as a 4 you can still stretch the court because he can shoot long jumpers and 3s. I really thought it could have been effective last night.
Really hope the lack of playing time for Conditt and Lard doesn't chase either of them off as they will be great assets to have next year and I hope Prohm sees it. If we try to play 4 guards again all the time next year - with our likely lack of great guard court depth (Babb and Shayok gone for sure, seems likely one of Horton-Tucker or Wigginton is gone) - then we will not be very good. Prohm has loved playing small ball his whole time here. Let's see if he's ready to change with his personnel.
*By the way, I'm not a Prohm hater and very happy to have him as coach. He does many things right. He's recruiting pretty well, sets a high standard for off the court behavior and decorum and gives the guys confidence to shoot and play freely, which I think leads to more effective shooters. It's ok to be critical and still believe in the coach and think he's the best option we have for the job. Hope the players keep their heads up because they had a solid season on balance, and they played hard and represented ISU well. I do hope we see some change from Prohm though or I will become more worried he's too irrevocably set in his ways.
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Yeah, because 4 of our 5 starters acted like deer in headlights scoring 8 points combined and missing 17 shots out of 21.
Speaking of holes you could drive a truck through, why would anyone base their assessment of MJ on his time at Nebraska when he had a full year at Iowa State statistically comparable to Cameron Lard last season? MJ's PER is miles ahead of Solo's, pun intended.
Because Solomon was injured all season, we don't know what progression he made during the off season, just that he tried to play on one leg. You have no idea where a healthy Solomon is at development wise compared to MJ. Just stop I hate back and forth with individuals that lack comprehension skills.
"Wahh, someone is challenging me on my completely unjustified speculation of a player's potential improvement and total disrespect of another."
Jacobson scored in double figures 19 times this season and rebounded in double figures 6 times. Solo has been in double figures 10 and 4 times respectively for his *entire career.* Get a grip
It didn't give up 20 offensive rebounds per game either. There are definitely negatives and positives to it. I think for the 4 guard lineup to work, you need big guards who are strong rebounder. We lose our two biggest in Shayock and Babb. I think 2 bigs next year might be the way to go.
I'm not opposed to two bigs playing. I'm just not starting those two together.
In a physical game, Lard and Wigginton were the dudes to show up.
Lard took it quick and fast over the top of Wesson twice at least that I recall and Wesson had 3 fouls I believe. Imagine if he'd gotten more looks in the 2nd half, and looks in the first half. Maybe have a Wesson in foul trouble and a totally different game.
Lard took it quick and fast over the top of Wesson twice at least that I recall and Wesson had 3 fouls I believe. Imagine if he'd gotten more looks in the 2nd half, and looks in the first half. Maybe have a Wesson in foul trouble and a totally different game.
That’s a crazy argument Jacobson was horrendous from three. Solo is stronger and more athletic and it isn’t even close.
