Update

[kg-cyclone]

Cyismydog, you forgot to add Scott Christopherson to your lineup at SG. I really think he will be starting, and Gilstrap will be starting at the 3. Good info!

Christopherson is suppose to be one of our best guards...again take it for what it is worth; he hasn't seen the floor yet.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

I love Lucca and the fact that he stayed. He deserves all our support. Hopefully he'll improve into an all B12 type player.

Who was going to pay him to play? He is a starter on a B12 team (depending who you ask) that shoots three pointers. I'm really not trying to be an *******, just wondering how he could earn his way to a basketball paycheck. Really, that's where the expectations came from. If this guy is good enough to play pro ball, he should be a pretty good B12 player. That's what I thought, anyway.

Or, maybe the fact that he could get payed to play should tell people here that he wasn't at 100% all season aside from a couple games and maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

 

[bma725]

He was playing on a 3/4 tear of a meniscus.

Christopherson was Marquette's 6th guard even before the injury was discovered. He would have been the 6th guard this year as well, and had Crean's recruits actually come he would have probably been the 8th guard.

While he's a really nice kid, Scott's just not athletically gifted enough to be a high major player unless the coach runs an extreme system, something like what **** Bennett ran at Wisconsin and Washington State.

 

[cyismydog]

Christopherson was Marquette's 6th guard even before the injury was discovered. He would have been the 6th guard this year as well, and had Crean's recruits actually come he would have probably been the 8th guard.

While he's a really nice kid, Scott's just not athletically gifted enough to be a high major player unless the coach runs an extreme system, something like what **** Bennett ran at Wisconsin and Washington State.

How is he not athletically gifted enough? He's not super quick, but he' strong, can elevate, has a quick stroke, and is a good defender when the refs let them play.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

Christopherson was Marquette's 6th guard even before the injury was discovered. He would have been the 6th guard this year as well, and had Crean's recruits actually come he would have probably been the 8th guard.

While he's a really nice kid, Scott's just not athletically gifted enough to be a high major player unless the coach runs an extreme system, something like what **** Bennett ran at Wisconsin and Washington State.

First, I do not find it too discouraging that Scott was the 6th guard his first couple months into a program already in the Top 15. There is no way to know how he would have done in a healthy second year or next year as a 3rd year college player.
Second, I do not think people here are claiming he is going to be a McNeal or James type guard for ISU. Not every recruit will be a dominant player. What I do expect him to be is better than Peterson, a solid DI combo guard, a piece of the puzzle. Players like Brackins, Colvin, MG (if we have him for more than a year), perhaps eventually DG, and recruits like Barnes, Thames, Ejim are who I am expecting to be dominant players some point in their careers.

 

[isucy86]

Luccia is Crucial to Next Year's Team

Most first year players can't be expected to step in & be a top two scorer for their team. Lucca basically inherited that role when Wesley left.

Lucca needs to get over his knee injury and lose a few pounds to improve his quickness. Lucca hit a bit of a wall at the end of the year- but if he can be the 4th option on offense, ISU will be tough next year. If Lucca can shoot around 40% from 3 and average around 10-12ppg that will be a great year.

 

[CycloneErik]

Re: Luccia is Crucial to Next Year's Team

Most first year players can't be expected to step in & be a top two scorer for their team. Lucca basically inherited that role when Wesley left.

Lucca needs to get over his knee injury and lose a few pounds to improve his quickness. Lucca hit a bit of a wall at the end of the year- but if he can be the 4th option on offense, ISU will be tough next year. If Lucca can shoot around 40% from 3 and average around 10-12ppg that will be a great year.

Exactly. If Gilstrap can penetrate, then I could see Lucca getting more open looks as a spot-up shooter. That seems to be a role where he can have a lot of success.

 

[bma725]

How is he not athletically gifted enough? He's not super quick, but he' strong, can elevate, has a quick stroke, and is a good defender when the refs let them play.

He doesn't have good lateral quickness or particularly good body control. He has a real problem staying in front of his man because he just can't move his feet fast enough to keep up...and it wasn't an injury thing, he had this issue before he got hurt.

Unless he's improved greatly over the past year, he doesn't have a quick stroke. He has very good maybe even textbook form, but in game situations its a very slow deliberate motion that cuts down on his ability to get open shots because defenders can easily close before he shoots.

To be successful, he's got to play on a team that plays at a very slow pace, and does a lot of misdirection stuff to get him open looks. Defensively, i don't know that he'll ever be up to par. He had major issues not just physically, but trying to figure out things like proper spacing in zones and where he's supposed to be in rotations etc while he was at MU.

 

[cyco2000]

Yeah, he could go back to Germany and get a paycheck.

Two things: Needs to lose a few pounds. The most difficult part aside from injury was adjusting from international basketball to big12 basketball.

He was going to get paid in Germany, his family acknowledged this and wanted him to come home his freshman year.

I'm guessing the quality of play in Deutchland isn't great. I didn't even know they had leagues there.

Or, maybe the fact that he could get payed to play should tell people here that he wasn't at 100% all season aside from a couple games and maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for the info everyone. I really wasn't sure what the deal was--just didn't seem like a "pro" player to me. That's really not saying much, though--I have little if any real knowledge of what a pro basketball player should look like. :smile: