I like that he's got that little floater/push shot down. All our big men have it so it must be taught.
Robert Jones Improvement
- Thread starter ClonerJams
- Start date
Look like BRE hit the gym with some bad intentions and it's paying off. Add in a better supporting cast so he can play his intended role and I can't wait to see what he does in Big 12 play. The teams that know him well might be a bit caught off guard and I foresee him making them pay for that.
BRE might have hit the gym but the biggest change I've noticed is his quickness/footwork. His post moves look smoother and he's way better at staying in front of his assignment on defense. That includes smaller players and guards when they have to switch. He's keeping up more and fouling a lot less in those situations.
He had no business being on the roster of a major college team his first year here, other than heart and effort.
The improvement he has shown is absolutely incredible.
Both he and the staff deserve major props.
@ChrisMWilliams obviously Rob put in work but how much credit goes to Kyle Green? Robs development has been amazing.
On the radio call Heft mentioned that "even his misses look better", which I at first thought was a silly thing to say. But the more I thought about it, I think it's legitimate. He's picking his spots and getting everything he puts up on the rim. No forced shots. No flailing. Just good, hard post moves and finishes.
Although it was priceless last night when Iowa did the intentional foul on Jones and he drained them both.
Suck it Fran!!!!
The thing I have noticed the most with BRE this year is he looks a lot more poised and confident than previous years and is playing under control. At times the last 2 years he just tried forcing things to happen where he'd miss a couple shots and would get a couple quick fouls then have to come out with frustrated body language. It feels like he's finally just letting the game come to him and taking what is there instead of going all out from the second he steps on the floor which usually resulted in some unforced mistakes. Really glad to see him be able to stay on the floor without having to come out after a couple minutes with 2 fouls. In 8 games 5 of them he's had just 1 or 0 fouls, the other 3 he fouled out of the Depaul game, had 3 fouls in 31 minutes vs Texas A&M and 4 back on 11/12. And just 4 total turnovers on the season so far too.
He's definitely improved immensely, which is a huge credit to him and the staff. I also think we do a better job of getting him the ball in spots where he can be successful. Catching passes on the low block or when he's already getting downhill is much better than him trying to back someone down from the free throw line and try a hook after four seconds of dribbling.
It's also possible that he's still getting the ball in those spots, but is now recognizing it and passing out instead of forcing something.
Either way, he's been awesome and it's great to see.
It's also possible that he's still getting the ball in those spots, but is now recognizing it and passing out instead of forcing something.
Either way, he's been awesome and it's great to see.
he is quickly rising up the charts of my favorite Iowa State basketball players. Was a blast watching him last night and I loved him pumping up the crowd on the baseline after he checkout of the game for the night. He has really improved his jump hook downlow this year. I think he will be an Iowa State ambassador like Niang when BRE finishes his career here.
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
I think we don't give enough attention to just how well our big guys play perimeter defense.
It has almost always been a given in my decades of basketball viewership that big guys on guards out on the perimeter would look like elephants trying to guard rabbits.
Our guys do a great job of keeping in front of people while still being in range to contest a shot, and all with very little fouling too. That's great coaching, and real dedication on the part of our big guys.
I like to think we all can learn from BRE. He was heavily criticized here prior to this year. Instead of letting the criticism affect him, he continued to put in the effort to get stronger, more confident, develop his shot better, and work on his free throw shooting. Lesson being: if you work hard, your hard work will eventually pay off.
Kuddos to BRE. You may be a young adult, but you'll be highly successful in your career path if you continue to work hard at your trait
Kuddos to BRE. You may be a young adult, but you'll be highly successful in your career path if you continue to work hard at your trait
ZRF is gonna have a rough season with all these players succeeding in helping ISU win.
The misses generally look better at the FT line as well. I was pointing that out to Mrs. Velo last night. Not a lot of misses that are not drawing iron or are clearly way off line. He has clearly worked on it.
Hopefully he can get up around 60%. That might be enough to keep defenses honest so we don't see a lot of just hack Rob because he can't make a FT action like we saw last night. Not all crews are going to call the intentional foul even on a total wrap up or breakaway like they did last night.
Obviously I am talking about the first 36 minutes of a game. Teams will still try to foul poor FT shooters late the game when they need to stop the clock.
Shooting 75% from the field with a 2:1 a/to ratio will go a long way in that.
To add insult to injury, Rob scored a FG on the inbound play. It was 4 points in 2 seconds.
That's been the other noticeable thing - his FT shooting is FAR better than when he first got here.
No longer an automatic miss, and actually starting to assume he'll make most of them.
