Basabe is a pretty solid player but I would choose Melvin. He's a better ball handler and outside shooter. And he chose to be a Cyclone.
Ejim or Basabe
- Thread starter mitchforcy
- Start date
don't get me wrong, i think Basabe is a solid player and would take him in a ISU uniform. however i think he is more a focal point in the hawk offense than Ejim. Ejim may be the 5th offensive option in the starting lineup. So that will skew number to number comparisons.
i think both are solid freshman and have shown flashes of reasons to be excited. However i think i would take Ejim, just because he has played out of position all year and held is own - just may have some more upside that we haven't seen yet.
That's a valid argument, but I could argue (as someone else already has) that while Ejim isn't the focal point of your offense, he also isn't the focal point for the defense. Basabe is more of a focal point in Iowa's offense, therefore teams focus to stop him.
I'd take either in a heartbeat. But that said, this is really an apples/oranges comparison. Ejim is playing out of position, and isn't the focal point for your offense/opponent's defense. Meanwhile Basabe is the opposite.
The only clear edge in all of this for Ejim is that he is clearly a very versatile player.
But, when all things are equal (playing the right position, being the #1 guy, etc.), we are still left with an apples/orange comparison. It then becomes more of a Kobe/Shaq debate (and no, I'm not saying Basabe is the next Shaq).
Ejim has the upper hand in another category - playing better against teams the second time around. He has only faced one team (KU) twice, but put up better numbers the 2nd time that he faced them.
Basabe has face Ind, Mn & OSU twice. His numbers against Ind were similar in both games, but both OSU and Mn basically shut him down in the second games after he had solid games against them the 1st time around.
Granted these are small samples, but this would be a significant factor if the trends continue. Basabe might not have as bright of future as some project if teams are able to limit his production as they become more familiar with his game. Obviously he can counter this by becoming more versatile, but he has yet to show that he can do this.
Basabe has face Ind, Mn & OSU twice. His numbers against Ind were similar in both games, but both OSU and Mn basically shut him down in the second games after he had solid games against them the 1st time around.
Granted these are small samples, but this would be a significant factor if the trends continue. Basabe might not have as bright of future as some project if teams are able to limit his production as they become more familiar with his game. Obviously he can counter this by becoming more versatile, but he has yet to show that he can do this.
Those are WAY too small of samples to really make a comparison in that aspect. Basabe was in foul trouble early against Minnesota the second time, and was never able to stay on the court much. Against OSU, he was facing Sullinger. The fact that he played so well the first time against OSU can be explained by the facts that 1. he's pretty good, and 2. Sullinger is a freshman, too (though much more talented).
This in no way refutes the point that I was making that Basabe might be held in check when he goes against better teams that have some experience on how to play him. He played 17 minutes the second time against Mn and scored 4 points. Double that to 34 minutes (which is far above his average of 24) and it projects to 8 points.
The Basabe fan club acts like that the 20 point games are the norm and the single digit games are written off as inconsistency. It could be just as true that 8 to 12 points is the norm and the 20 point games are flukes against teams that didn't have a good plan on how to play him. The latter is still an above average showing for a first year guy. I'll hold off ranking him much higher than that until he shows that he can deliver his "A" game against teams that know his strengths and weaknesses.
Bear in mind that in addition to being in foul trouble against Minnesota (and they were scattered out enough to prevent him from getting into a rhythm), Minnesota played their 2-3 zone all game. That will shut down a post game real quick. If we could have even come within 10 yards of hitting the broad side of a barn from the perimeter, things would have loosened up for Basabe on the inside. But we shot miserably from the outside, which allowed Minnesota to focus almost entirely on shutting down the paint. The Hawks were unable to force them to play honest.
I know I would love Basabe to be a Cyclone. His athletic ability and court awareness is ahead of Ejim's at this point. They are pretty even comparisons, and I love this thread because people will side with their teams players. Three years from now I think we will be talking bigger picture about these 2 guys.
I'm not saying that this means all that much, but I will throw it out there. I've heard countless announcers state that if not for Jared Sullinger, Basabe would be the Big 10 freshman of the year. I haven't heard anything of similar praise for Ejim.
That doesn't speak too highly of the Big 10 freshman class if that is the case. He's good but way to inconsistent to even be mentioned in Big 10 Freshman of the year category.
Deshaun Thomas, Aaron Craft, and Hardaway Jr. Are the only 3 other freshman to even earn a Freshman of the week award. I think you might want to win one of those before your name is in for Conference Freshman of the year.
In the begining of the year he was, when he was outplaying Perry Jones, and Selby wasn't playing yet.
The countless anouncers are trying to pump up the crappy team that they are covering. They have to say Basabe is impressive otherwise there is no reason to watch. They pick Basabe, because he is Iowa's best player. Same with Iowa State, only the anouncers pump up Diante because he's the best player.
Ejim half the time is playing out of postion and is forced to due to our depth. I think next year will start showing everyones full potential once we get next season going.
How is Ejim going to get on the court with all of the awesome transfers getting his pt? Just curious. Is ISU going to be soooo loaded that a very good young player like Ejim can't even get on the floor. It seems there won't be enough minutes to go around for this juggernaut of a team that CFH has put together !:unsure:
Ejim is going to play a ton next year. I do however think he will not start and he will come in behind Chris Babb all im saying is that he will finally be in his true posistion which is SF.
I'm sorry, but if Sullinger isn't there Basabe is easily the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Top 10 of all Big Ten players (conference games only) in FG%, FT%, Blocks, Offensive Rebounds, and Defensive Rebounds, and is the 3rd highest scoring freshman.
12.4 pts, 7.5 reb (3 off, 4.5 def), 57% FG, 82% FT, 1.4 blk, all while playing around 24 minutes per game. Pretty impressive.