Matt Thomas predictions

[cyfan964]

At some point you just have to realize it isn't a slump and is just the way he is.

I'm more in this boat. I want him to succeed just as much as anybody, but some people just can't get it done in game time situations.

I agree he needs to shoot his way out of it, but it's tough to give him minutes at this point with Nader playing the way he is and Naz stroking it as well.

 

[JackCyclone]

I've never seen a player have more misses that hit two or three sides of the rim than him. It's not like he needs major work to break out.

This. Minus a couple really poor forced shots, it seems that his misses touch every part of the rim or are an inch long and hit the back iron. He is so close and it's really only a matter of time before he breaks out of it. I think if allowed the playing time as an upperclassmen he will get it clicking and the confidence from seeing some shots go down will transform him as a player.

 

[3TrueFans]

So what you are saying is that if we are down 3 with under 5 seconds to go Fred won't have a natural long range shooter in at that time, mmmmkay.

I don't know if he'd be in, but I think there are probably 3, 4 maybe even 5 guys that would probably get the shot before him.

 

[Cyientist]

I think he needs to focus on being a good guard first and foremost, and make the shooting a secondary issue. He's not Naz, but he doesn't have to shoot like Naz to be an effective player. He's a good rebounder, good ball-handler, and can score at the rim and in the mid-range.

Right now, I'd be surprised if he ever shot over 40% from 3 in a season, but if he can just work on those strengths and improve steadily defensively, he can be a damn good guard.

Agree with this 100%. I would label Thomas as more of the complete player type than the sharp shooter type. I think he can do a lot things right over 8 - 10 minute stretches rather than hitting a couple of 3's in a 3 - 5 min stretch.

 

[InAWord]

Matt is the type of player that if he breaks out of the slump he's in, ISU vaults into a very rare group of extremely dangerous teams. Thomas is capable of dropping 12+ points a game. And I expect him to breakout before the end of the seaon. Just my opinion.

 

[acgclone]

He shoots his best (both 3's and 2's) when he pulls up off the dribble from what I can tell.

Even though his percentage isn't great, he might be the guy you want to take a shot if you have 3-4 seconds to take it the length and fire one off the dribble.

 

[heitclone]

The tough fact for some to deal with is, Matt might just be a bench guy who can come in and hit 3's his whole career. that's not writing him off, Fred has always depended on a shooter off the bench so its something the program needs. I expect him to contribute more the next 2 years but right now honestly, if all he gives us offensively is 1 or 2 makes a game, I'm okay with that. 2 weeks ago, with McKay coming off the bench, points from Nader and Matty were necessary. Now with BDJ coming off the bench, we have a little more firepower, any points Matt gives are gravy. His biggest assest is regardless of how poor he is shooting, he's the most feared shooter on our team in the eyes of the opposition.

 

[3TrueFans]

The tough fact for some to deal with is, Matt might just be a bench guy who can come in and hit 3's his whole career. that's not writing him off, Fred has always depended on a shooter off the bench so its something the program needs. I expect him to contribute more the next 2 years but right now honestly, if all he gives us offensively is 1 or 2 makes a game, I'm okay with that. 2 weeks ago, with McKay coming off the bench, points from Nader and Matty were necessary. Now with BDJ coming off the bench, we have a little more firepower, any points Matt gives are gravy. His biggest assest is regardless of how poor he is shooting, he's the most feared shooter on our team in the eyes of the opposition.

More than Naz? More than Georges?

 

[Psiclone]

As Matt Thomas has obviously been in a recent slump that he hasn't been able to quite break through, I just wanted to see what you guys are thinking will end up happening the rest of the season and into next year as an offensive weapon.

It's been so frustrating to see such a solid player struggle mentally because he has incredible form and awesome potential, just needs to translate that to performance in a game.

I predict that people who judge the worth of a player based only on scoring and think they know more than the coaches will continue to post negative comments because they think that if they say something negative, they will sound like they actually know something about basketball. (You know, the same people who are/were critical of BDJ despite him being near the top in almost every team and Big XII statistical category.)

 

[Spam]

Didn't someone post his high school shooting percentages a few weeks ago? Those numbers were not great either.

It seems that the hope was that we'd be able to transform him into a great shooter.

 

[State43]

He is who he is. the 8th best player on the team.

 

[DurangoCy]

This. Minus a couple really poor forced shots, it seems that his misses touch every part of the rim or are an inch long and hit the back iron. He is so close and it's really only a matter of time before he breaks out of it. I think if allowed the playing time as an upperclassmen he will get it clicking and the confidence from seeing some shots go down will transform him as a player.

I agree with your assessment, I just hope he get's that chance or goes out and "takes" those minutes like Monte did last year.

 

[NickTheGreat]

So what you are saying is that if we are down 3 with under 5 seconds to go Fred won't have a natural long range shooter in at that time, mmmmkay.

Yeah . . . Naz . . . :twitcy:

 

[acgclone]

Didn't someone post his high school shooting percentages a few weeks ago? Those numbers were not great either.

It seems that the hope was that we'd be able to transform him into a great shooter.

I didn't see the post last week, but I seem to recall that his HS shooting percentages were not great. It's certainly possible he will never become a great shooter.

 

[cmjh10]

Needs to drive more, as his mid range and runner game are very good.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Shooting this year has taken a step back... slightly... not that we haven't developed alternative ways to score (the run-and-gun, more Monte/BDJ slashing, Niang/McKay getting a nice little low-post game going with each other)... but, yeah, looking back...

2012-2013 = Tyrus (46%), Niang (39%), Babb (38%), Lucious (36%), Ejim (35%)
that team could shoot and did it all day long

2013-2014 = Morris (40%), Long (40%), Kane (40%), Ejim (35%), Hogue (35%), Thomas (33%)
not quite as three-raining as the year before, and Morris didn't have much for volume there as a freshman, but, yeah, this team could certainly shoot the ball, too

2014-2015 = Hogue (45%), Long (41%), Niang (40%), DeJean-Jones (35%), Morris (34%)
actually better than I remember... way to go with the posts raining it down

Consider next year is going to have...
Morris (probably 35% to 40%)
Custer (shot good so far and looks good on stroke)
Thomas (lots of potential)
Cooke (45% as a freshman in the Pac-12)
Long (consistently a 40% shooter from three)
Niang (up to 40% this year)
Nader (awful start but better in conference)
Williams (40%+ as a JUCO)

...gonna keep it going

 

[carvers4math]

Which one of you guys is Clay Matvick?:laugh:

 

[allenj32]

I don't see any playing time for him next year unless he is the 9th or 10th guy, which I would expect him to transfer if that is the case. His field goal % and 3pt % is brutal for being a "3pt specialist". I understand Fred raves about him making 3s in practice all the time, but if it doesn't translate over to games, HE GONE! He's likely to transfer next year to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

 

[Doc]

I didn't see the post last week, but I seem to recall that his HS shooting percentages were not great. It's certainly possible he will never become a great shooter.

I think he only shot 35% from 3 as a senior, and maybe evaluators thought that would improve when moved off the ball. Seems like the opposite happened.

 

[Frak]

I don't know that you can call what we've seen so far a slump. I mean, we've seen 1.5 seasons now of this...hit a couple of threes one game, go 0-4 each of the next four games. Defense is sketchy, rebounding is really good for a guard, ball handling is OK (as long as he's a secondary ball handler). That's kind of what he is. Yeah, he can improve some and maybe learn to be more consistent, but he's not going to have the explosive offensive game that Naz does.

For predictions, I think that he has a decision to make. He's either going to be the 7th-8th guy in our rotation or he's going to transfer. I'm not advocating transfer by any means, but I could see why he would consider it.