Seems to me like we had the same old issues with the two big lineup. Bad spacing and poor defense vs ball screens. When we went 4 guard, we ran them out of the gym. Not sure what the answer is here...Jacobson and Solo are good players. They just aren't quick enough offensively or defensively to help much outside of playing the 5. The problem is if they go 4 guards, there's no THT who could halfway hold his own against taller 4's. I guess the good thing is that we have some versatility to how we play, but it seems to me that we are heading toward starting TH, Bolton, Jackson, Nixon and Conditt...for better or worse. We'd get killed on the boards with that lineup, but scoring shouldn't be a huge issue.
Just from what I've seen so far in games:
TH - He HAS upped his game like everyone hoped. He is attacking the basket more, shooting more, hitting his 3s and his passing is elite. Trending toward a lottery pick. His D is a little sketchy, but most times his length can make up for it. With those long arms, he is a steal machine.
Bolton - Where would we be without him? Really good at attacking the rim. D is hit or miss. Streaky shooter. Going to be a nice addition over the next few years.
Nixon - Not a bad on ball defender. Can hit 3s but he misses a lot. Excellent at drawing charges. Overall a solid guard, but one who would be a 6th man on a lot of recent ISU teams.
Jackson - Easily our best perimeter defender. His shot will come around. He still makes FR mistakes, but you can see the potential.
Grill - Probably our best pure shooter, but he doesn't get many shots up. The effort is never a question here. And he seems like a smart player, but he gets beat back door a lot. I think that he's trying too hard.
Griffin - He should be the missing piece, but he reminds me of Lewis in that he can't seem to put it all together. He's losing playing time instead of earning it now.
Jacobson - Tonight we saw some of last year's Jacobson. He's a hard nosed player and can do some things in the lane. I just don't know that he can play the 4 at a high level.
Solo - We know what we're getting from him. He usually has a nice jumper from 10-15. He won't get pushed around much inside. But, he lacks quickness and is a liability on the perimeter on both O and D.
Conditt - The sky's the limit for him. Really good shot blocker, now showing some post moves. Great hands for a big guy. He just needs to stay out of foul trouble and decrease the mental mistakes and he'll be our best big in years.
Just from what I've seen so far in games:
TH - He HAS upped his game like everyone hoped. He is attacking the basket more, shooting more, hitting his 3s and his passing is elite. Trending toward a lottery pick. His D is a little sketchy, but most times his length can make up for it. With those long arms, he is a steal machine.
Bolton - Where would we be without him? Really good at attacking the rim. D is hit or miss. Streaky shooter. Going to be a nice addition over the next few years.
Nixon - Not a bad on ball defender. Can hit 3s but he misses a lot. Excellent at drawing charges. Overall a solid guard, but one who would be a 6th man on a lot of recent ISU teams.
Jackson - Easily our best perimeter defender. His shot will come around. He still makes FR mistakes, but you can see the potential.
Grill - Probably our best pure shooter, but he doesn't get many shots up. The effort is never a question here. And he seems like a smart player, but he gets beat back door a lot. I think that he's trying too hard.
Griffin - He should be the missing piece, but he reminds me of Lewis in that he can't seem to put it all together. He's losing playing time instead of earning it now.
Jacobson - Tonight we saw some of last year's Jacobson. He's a hard nosed player and can do some things in the lane. I just don't know that he can play the 4 at a high level.
Solo - We know what we're getting from him. He usually has a nice jumper from 10-15. He won't get pushed around much inside. But, he lacks quickness and is a liability on the perimeter on both O and D.
Conditt - The sky's the limit for him. Really good shot blocker, now showing some post moves. Great hands for a big guy. He just needs to stay out of foul trouble and decrease the mental mistakes and he'll be our best big in years.
