*** Official MVSU vs #5 IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***

[CycloneVet]

JT is nowhere near ready. Which is honestly on par for freshman of his size. He will get there

 

[CyHans]

I don't see Watson seeing the floor much. His minutes went down last year, I doubt they go back up this year.

I think Watson is one of those guys you want to see do well but I was thinking this same thing last night that I doubt he sees the court very much this year.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I think Watson is one of those guys you want to see do well but I was thinking this same thing last night that I doubt he sees the court very much this year.

Seems strange TJ would ask him to stay around and not use him.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Maybe, but he definitely needs to be at least late season Watson, probably more.

At times he was such a non-factor on offense last year that it really bogged down our half-court offense as a whole last year. The advanced statistics were showing this last year and that's why he wasn't playing. Late in the year when he at least started attacking hard with some back door cuts, he could provide a little space and some production, and that made a big difference.

The other thing to keep in mind is as great a defender as some guys are, if your offense struggles, that means more turnovers, more missed shots, and more opportunities for the opposition to score in transition. So it reduces the effectiveness a great defensive lineup if they struggle offensively.

It's really up to him. I think he could be a reasonably effective jump shooter, or guy that can take a guy with an explosive 1-2 dribble move. You're right, he's a terrific defender, but he has to be at least some factor on the offensive end to at least not create spacing problems. Maybe he's developed that and just needs to let it rip. He doesn't need to be a great offensive player. Just serviceable.

I do think some of the challenge last year was trying to play Watson at the same time as Rob, just because that's two guys on the floor that are going to lead to the lane being clogged and have plenty of help defense against our scorers. Maybe with the higher offensive potential of Jackson and Jefferson it helps Watson get on the court more.

But more than anything I just want to see him let it rip a bit and get little aggressive offensively. If he does that with some success he's hard to keep on the bench.

Yeah, just needs to make cuts and himself available and get all the put backs that he can. Would help to add a jump shot to his game too if he doesn't have it already. He's so good on the other end that it wouldn't take much.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

I’m a small bit concerned about not having any jump out of the gym players like Hasan. He could guard 1-5 and throw it down on almost anyone. I’d like to have a hyper athletic wing as well.

We may take a step back in post defense as well.

We really didn't have that player last year either for what it's worth. I would agree though that us not having that player kind of felt like the difference between us and the rest of the sweet 16 field last season

 

[madguy30]

We really didn't have that player last year either for what it's worth. I would agree though that us not having that player kind of felt like the difference between us and the rest of the sweet 16 field last season

Hasan Ward was that person. Maybe not 'jump' but always a threat to take the lob.

I'm not worried about it though.

This should be a nice team.

 

[cyclones500]

Re: The Big Guys --> it's natural to compare how it'll differ from R-W-K, defensively.

The current trio might be less "nimble" collectively, I assume the approach will evolve with how scheme is designed (perhaps reduction of trapping/double-teaming?).

As a unit, though, these three are stockier & taller.

 

[madguy30]

Re: The Big Guys --> it's natural to compare how it'll differ from R-W-K, defensively.

The current trio might be less "nimble" collectively, I assume the approach will evolve with how scheme is designed (perhaps reduction of trapping/double-teaming?).

As a unit, though, these three are stockier & taller.

I wonder if they'll be able to play more of a straight up defense and be able to cover more ground but not have to make it a hornets' nest in the lane like BRE.