****Official Class of 2019 Recruiting Thread****

[FinalFourCy]

Any Grill to Matt Thomas comparisons must come from them both being white. I don't think their games are anything alike.

Just because they’re white? They’re roughly the same size and likely to play the same position. Their games are similar enough, too.

Recency bias is standard in recruit comps. Naz fits, but Nadolny is already aptly drawing that comparison and people generally avoid multiples of the same comparisons.

 

[IASTATE07]

Matt had lots of bounce just never really showed it in game. He was throwing down windmills, and eastbay dunks in CCL warmups a few times.

Maybe I missed it during Matt's recruitment, but I didn't see anything close to Caleb's athleticism in his hs/aau clips.

 

[acgclone]

Black guards from France should automatically be compared to Naz.

Matt Thomas is the comp for white guards from the Midwest.

 

[Hayes30]

Maybe I missed it during Matt's recruitment, but I didn't see anything close to Caleb's athleticism in his hs/aau clips.

I think grill has slightly better athleticism. I was just saying Matt was no slouch. The strength of Matt's game was shooting and defense and that's what he showed more of.

 

[Dandy]

Why?

Agree. Tyler Harris did alright this year as a Memphis freshman.
10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists. 31.5% 3P% while playing 25.5 minutes per game.

 

[Knownothing]

They shot almost exactly the same % in high school from 3.

Where u getting those stats. I see Grill mid 30 percent in threes and Matt was close to 50 percent in high school.

 

[ForeverIowan]

Wheeler seems to be an extremely high character, charismatic kid. That really seems to be what Prohm is after kids the fanbase can respond to. Would fit in great with our young core Haliburton, Conditt, Leech, etc...

 

[IASTATE07]

I think grill has slightly better athleticism. I was just saying Matt was no slouch. The strength of Matt's game was shooting and defense and that's what he showed more of.

Comparing them as high school athletes it's not that close. Matt struggled athletically/defensively until his junior season.

 

[Cyforce]

Any Grill to Matt Thomas comparisons must come from them both being white. I don't think their games are anything alike.

I would say Grill is more like the MattyT he transformed to as an upperclassmen than the one dimensional player that originally arrived in Ames. Guessing Otz compared him to Mooney during his recruitment.

 

[isu81]

I would say Grill is more like the MattyT he transformed to as an upperclassmen than the one dimensional player that originally arrived in Ames. Guessing Otz compared him to Mooney during his recruitment.

I'm guessing a D1 basketball coach wasn't grasping for who he could compare him to during his recruitment.

 

[Hayes30]

I would say Grill is more like the MattyT he transformed to as an upperclassmen than the one dimensional player that originally arrived in Ames. Guessing Otz compared him to Mooney during his recruitment.

You realize Mooney didn't play for TJ right?

 

[DSMCy]

You realize Mooney didn't play for TJ right?

This is a new recruiting strategy. Compare recruits to players of other teams.

Listen - you're just like Zion Williamson. See how Coach K used Zion? That will be you, except instead of a Duke jersey, you'll wear an Iowa State one.

 

[TheHelgo]

View attachment 63850

A more athletic version of a career 44.3% three-point shooter (which is, you know, only the highest in program history) is not an unreasonable expectation at all.

Anyone else floored to see Lucca Staiger on this list and that he attempted 305 threes at ISU. Weird

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Anyone else floored to see Lucca Staiger on this list and that he attempted 305 threes at ISU. Weird

The list I saw skipped from 8 to 10.

And you can't convince me that it didn't.

 

[spitfyr36]

It seems like Grill is a good three point shooter but not elite like Matt Thomas. He's got plus athleticism though and many commend him for his toughness.

Matt was never elite until probably late junior year into senior year as a cyclone.
Always curious how much better he could have been as a senior without those bone spurs

 

[Sigmapolis]

Anyone else floored to see Lucca Staiger on this list and that he attempted 305 threes at ISU. Weird

That is not bad for 49 career games in Ames.

305 / 49 = 6.2 attempts per game

That is some legendary chuckin'. At least he mostly made them.

Still so weird how he left in the middle of the season.

 

[tobya8]

Agree. Tyler Harris did alright this year as a Memphis freshman.
10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists. 31.5% 3P% while playing 25.5 minutes per game.

Defensive liability.

 

[spitfyr36]

View attachment 63850

A more athletic version of a career 44.3% three-point shooter (which is, you know, only the highest in program history) is not an unreasonable expectation at all.

Who do you pick for your pickup team?
Thug Life or TMc3

 

[4theCYcle]

I think grill has slightly better athleticism. I was just saying Matt was no slouch. The strength of Matt's game was shooting and defense and that's what he showed more of.

Was going to point this out but IASTATE07 already did, Thomas' HS system was different defensively as I recall them playing a lot of zone. He struggled by getting beat off the dribble a lot until later at ISU when he put in the time to really emphasize his defensive improvement and lateral quickness. So no, they shouldn't be compared defensively.

Grill to me, seems a little more versatile in his game, but not quite the shooter Thomas was.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Who do you pick for your pickup team?
Thug Life or TMc3

One bad mofo you do not want to meet in a lonely alleyway.