Time to Start Wigg

[Dingus]

That brutal no look pass out of bounds at the end of the game not withstanding, Wigginton has been making some very nice passes lately, the kind he rarely if ever did last year.

That said, I wonder if he's thinking too much out there. Sometimes feels like he's trying to beef up his PG skills and goes into a play already decided that he's looking to pass or to shoot. Whereas last year he was mostly looking to score.

 

[ClonesFTW]

What if WIggintons 3P shooting last year was the outlier? How many great 3P shooters are poor FT shooters? Not many at all. This has become a concern of mine. I don't know what you do with him.

One of his FT's last night was a complete brick, I think that shows that most of this is just in his head.

 

[Tre4ISU]

That brutal no look pass out of bounds at the end of the game not withstanding, Wigginton has been making some very nice passes lately, the kind he rarely if ever did last year.

That said, I wonder if he's thinking too much out there. Sometimes feels like he's trying to beef up his PG skills and goes into a play already decided that he's looking to pass or to shoot. Whereas last year he was mostly looking to score.

For the millionth time, that pass was not on him.

 

[Tre4ISU]

I think Wigginton’s current shooting is more of an outlier than last year’s, but Trimble’s worst year would be a good year for Wigginton.

That's true as a whole as Trimble was a little different player and more of a facilitator right off the bat, however, Trimble shot 41% from 3 his freshman year and then 31% the following two years. Wigginton going from a sharpshooter to a not very good shooter would not be unprecedented and with his FT shooting being consistent with last year to this point, I'd have to lean toward last year being the best shooting year he will have. He was a 38% shooter in high school which isn't awful but he didn't shoot a lot of them and there's probably a reason.

 

[Tre4ISU]

One of his FT's last night was a complete brick, I think that shows that most of this is just in his head.

How long's it going to be in there? We're halfway through year two.

 

[Cyclonepride]

It is, unless you’re limiting facts to highlight dunks and points per game.

No, I just compared sophomore seasons, and they're pretty similar. Melo has an edge in some places (and Wigginton in some), but I don't remember him missing 10 early games either.

 

[Cyforce]

I think when Wiggy learns to dribble all other issues will be minimized.

 

[Cyclonepride]

That brutal no look pass out of bounds at the end of the game not withstanding, Wigginton has been making some very nice passes lately, the kind he rarely if ever did last year.

That said, I wonder if he's thinking too much out there. Sometimes feels like he's trying to beef up his PG skills and goes into a play already decided that he's looking to pass or to shoot. Whereas last year he was mostly looking to score.

Yeah, the threw a couple darts inside that I had no idea where they were going until our guy caught it and laid it in.

 

[CycloneTJS]

Wigs is fine, and I do agree that he needs to start and get into the flow of the game immediately. The 3 conference losses hang 100% on the coach - in every loss, we have tired guys on the court as CSP refuses to to trust his bench in the first half and midway through the 2nd half, so, the gassed guys at the end are short on their shots, too fatigued to drive the basket, are flat footed on rebounds, and making mental mistakes. All of this with the deepest team we have had in years...if he continues to basically play 6 guys, and an occasional 7th, expect a few more close losses down the stretch.....

 

[ClonesFTW]

How long's it going to be in there? We're halfway through year two.

That would be true if he didn't miss nearly the whole non-conference season.

 

[CYdTracked]

I'm not wanting to make Wigginton the whipping boy but some here need to take the bias out of their analysis and look and look at things for what they are right now. I would love for us to get the Wiggy we saw last year but not at the cost of putting us at a disadvantage on the court when his shot isn't falling which was obvious last night. He's just not that guy he was last year at the moment. People keep using the "we before me" term, well is keeping a guy in the game who is struggling with his shot, who is turning the ball over, and is a liability on defense the best thing for the team when there are guys capable of doing things that give us a better chance to win the game at that given moment?

I have to do this to support my statement above but tell me what part of this last sequence of the KSU game does LW help this team win that game? He misses a key FT, then lets his guy blow right past him on defense to make the game winning shot, then chucks up a desperation shot at the buzzer. Yes there were mistakes made by the rest of the team leading up to that moment too as Mason just killed us in the 2nd half but it's been no secret that Wigginton's defense needs improvement and he was in there at a key moment when we needed a stopper in there.



Hoping that next month we are looking back at these threads about LW and Lard and talking about how much they have improved since now and have made this team even better. But in the meantime I'm not a fan of giving guys extra minutes or a starting spot just because the arm chair coaches here thinks that is the only way to get production out of them. The margin of error is thin right now if we want to compete for a conference championship and we don't have time to mess with the rotation too much when we have guys who have produced all year for us capable of winning games. I'm not saying play LW and Lard less I just think that they both still have to show some consistency and improved play in order to carve out bigger roles on this team the rest of this season. We were seeing that from Lard until his injury then the foul problems bit him again last night. Wiggy just looks like he is pressing too much right now. He just needs to take what the offense gives him, we know when we move the ball around and stay away from the 1 on 1 BS there are open shots that come from playing unselfish.

 

[NoCreativity]

Wow, reading through this thread is sad. Some of you guys need a serious reality check.

The reality is both Lindell and Lard have been injured/suspended and have missed extended practice time. It's not surprising that its going to take awhile to integrate fully into this team. Both of them just came off their best games of the entire season Saturday, expecting them to continue that every night, especially in a hostile environment like Lawrence is asking too much.

This may come as a shock, but with so much time missed it might be until mid to late February before you really see everyone comfortable with each other. Luckily for us the season isnt over until late March.

 

[Tre4ISU]

I also think people generally have an inflated view of what Wigginton was last year. He wasn't efficient at all. He shot it well from 3 and that bouyed his numbers. If he returned to that shooter, he would be significantly better this year as a player. He's better in pretty much every category except shooting, which for a volume shooter is pretty important.

 

[FinalFourCy]

No, I just compared sophomore seasons, and they're pretty similar. Melo has an edge in some places (and Wigginton in some), but I don't remember him missing 10 early games either.

Similar is generous unless you’re going off of per game fluff. Small differences are large in this context.

Wigginton will have to play better than he ever has to reach the level Melo played at his sophomore year. That’s consistent with my previous post.

 

[Tre4ISU]

That would be true if he didn't miss nearly the whole non-conference season.

Yeah, I'm not buying that as a reason for FT shooting. It's probably the one thing he's been able to do even when injured.

 

[Halincandenza]

I'm not wanting to make Wigginton the whipping boy but some here need to take the bias out of their analysis and look and look at things for what they are right now. I would love for us to get the Wiggy we saw last year but not at the cost of putting us at a disadvantage on the court when his shot isn't falling which was obvious last night. He's just not that guy he was last year at the moment. People keep using the "we before me" term, well is keeping a guy in the game who is struggling with his shot, who is turning the ball over, and is a liability on defense the best thing for the team when there are guys capable of doing things that give us a better chance to win the game at that given moment?

I have to do this to support my statement above but tell me what part of this last sequence of the KSU game does LW help this team win that game? He misses a key FT, then lets his guy blow right past him on defense to make the game winning shot, then chucks up a desperation shot at the buzzer. Yes there were mistakes made by the rest of the team leading up to that moment too as Mason just killed us in the 2nd half but it's been no secret that Wigginton's defense needs improvement and he was in there at a key moment when we needed a stopper in there.



Hoping that next month we are looking back at these threads about LW and Lard and talking about how much they have improved since now and have made this team even better. But in the meantime I'm not a fan of giving guys extra minutes or a starting spot just because the arm chair coaches here thinks that is the only way to get production out of them. The margin of error is thin right now if we want to compete for a conference championship and we don't have time to mess with the rotation too much when we have guys who have produced all year for us capable of winning games. I'm not saying play LW and Lard less I just think that they both still have to show some consistency and improved play in order to carve out bigger roles on this team the rest of this season. We were seeing that from Lard until his injury then the foul problems bit him again last night. Wiggy just looks like he is pressing too much right now. He just needs to take what the offense gives him, we know when we move the ball around and stay away from the 1 on 1 BS there are open shots that come from playing unselfish.

He is not turning the ball over at a high rate. Look at the efficiency numbers. His TO% is lower than Shayok and Weiler-Babb. His assist rate is just as high as Weiler-Babb's well if not slightly better. He has had some bad defensive plays but some of the other guys have as well. How many times did Garrett drive by someone not named Wigginton last night?

Wigginton missed some FTs v. KState yes. Other guys missed shots as well. And other guys made mistakes late as well. It is a team game.
Wigginton made a perfect drive and pass to Weiler Babb for a wide open corner three and he missed it.
On the play where Brown scored going around Wigginton, I believe it was Wade who came up to set a screen which was what Wigginton was waiting for and when Brown saw Wigginton hedge towards the screener, Brown turned on the jets to go left against him. he also had no help from his teammates there. A rim protector would have helped. Wigginton maybe could have played it better but Brown is a first team all league type of player and sometime good players just make plays like that. Don't forget that a few plays before Brown tried to drive on Wigginton and Lindell rejected him.

 

[Thompsonclone]

Big YIKES to this clown

No, yikes to the fans who say Wigginton and Lard shouldn’t play another minute for Iowa State this year. If I’m the clown for defending these guys than what does it make the fans who are openly say negative things about them? Yes, it’s excessive to say he doesn’t want to come back because of small portion of terrible fans but I’m sorry, I just hate seeing those comments.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Similar is generous unless you’re going off of per game fluff. Small differences are large in this context.

Wigginton will have to play better than he ever has to reach the level Melo played at his sophomore year. That’s consistent with my previous post.

Lol, go to the differences that can't be quantified to support your argument. He does need to play better, but Melo didn't set the world on fire either (and again, I don't remember him missing ten games either).

 

[Halincandenza]

I also think people generally have an inflated view of what Wigginton was last year. He wasn't efficient at all. He shot it well from 3 and that bouyed his numbers. If he returned to that shooter, he would be significantly better this year as a player. He's better in pretty much every category except shooting, which for a volume shooter is pretty important.

Go find me what freshman PGs/CGs had a better PER than him last year. Hint, the list will be short and most of the players that were, were in last year's draft. It is rare for a Freshman to be uber efficient. But for a freshman combo guard he was one of the best in the country. Even better than some McD AA's. I think what gets exaggerated is the idea that Lindell was supposed to be some super efficient advanced stats guy as a freshman guard.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Go find me what freshman PGs/CGs had a better PER than him last year. Hint, the list will be short and most of the players that were, were in last year's draft. It is rare for a Freshman to be uber efficient. But for a freshman combo guard he was one of the best in the country. Even better than some McD AA's. I think what gets exaggerated is the idea that Lindell was supposed to be some super efficient advanced stats guy as a freshman guard.

What's your point? I didn't say anything about him being uber efficient. I said he wasn't efficient as an offensive player despite shooting very well. Now he's not shooting well but he's held up in advanced stats by the other things he's doing well. So, essentially it just comes down to where he falls as a shooter. That's really the end of it. Either he can shoot or he can't. If he can, he's back to star status. If he can't, he's a good combo guard.