Rahshon: Square Peg in Round Hole?

[isucyfan]

Is there any way for him to succeed offensively in a scheme such as GMac's? He is great on the boards, and a good defender, but he sure looks lost on offense this year. I never realized just how many of his points were scored off turnovers and breakaways last year.

 

[isu_bub]

He needs to drastically improve his ball handling and mid to outside shot. That, plus his athleticism will be awesome!

 

[isucyfan]

He needs to drastically improve his ball handling and mid to outside shot. That, plus his athleticism will be awesome!

Yeah, I know that's what we all expected him to do between this year and last. He would be devastating even if he could make one power dribble to the hoop, then elevate, or take a dribble then bust a spin move. I know I'm not as smart as the coaching staff...why are we not seeing this?

 

[isu_bub]

Yeah, I know that's what we all expected him to do between this year and last. He would be devastating even if he could make one power dribble to the hoop, then elevate, or take a dribble then bust a spin move. I know I'm not as smart as the coaching staff...why are we not seeing this?

Maybe he is not as accepting of McD's coaching as he should be, or maybe it just isn't helping... who knows? I wish someone at a press conference would bring this up!

 

[isucyfan]

If anyone had told me before the season he would be averaging less than 10 PPG at this point, I would have laughed. I expected about 20 PPG, 8 Reb. But give him credit for sticking around and doing the little things. The guy has a nose for the offensive glass. And his effort and attitude is great. I just want to see some of those thunder dunks off drives!

 

[bferin]

Rahshon just doesn't have the power dribble and some other aspects to his game. He's good in transition and with scrappy rebounds and putbacks. I think he played especially well last year with Blalock because they meshed well together. But then again, what transition player wouldn't succeed with Floor General Blalock?

 

[joepublic]

Rahson's a set shooter who can dunk. Offensively, he'll never do any more than that because he has no handle. Skills are limited. Enjoy the important things he does bring to the team with his game.

 

[tec71]

set shooter who can dunk describes him perfectly. He succeeded in the old system not necessarily because of the system but because you basically had to people going to the hole creating open set shots for him on the perimeter in the half court game, and those same two leading the fast break, whenever possible and sometimes even when it wasnt, getting him dunks. I just don't see that great penetration and dish as much out of this crew.

 

[cycloneworld]

Rahson's a set shooter who can dunk. Offensively, he'll never do any more than that because he has no handle. Skills are limited. Enjoy the important things he does bring to the team with his game.

Exactly right. He just doesn't have the skills right now to take anyone off the dribble. Maybe it's something he can develop over the off-season but he's just one of those excellent, exciting role players.

 

[ajjohnson]

Is there any way for him to succeed offensively in a scheme such as GMac's? He is great on the boards, and a good defender, but he sure looks lost on offense this year. I never realized just how many of his points were scored off turnovers and breakaways last year.

Part of the problem is there is no point guard to set him up. Look at Shawn Marion of the Suns, Steve Nash sets him up for a lot of very easy shots, you take him away and he isn't quite as big of a superstar anymore (think Jamaal and Stevie Johnson). I think the other issue is he is just flat out going through a slump and not necessarily uncapable of being productive in a half court offense as some are convinced of. His free throw percentage over the three years has gone from 70% to 76% to 59%, and his 3 year 3% from 40% to 37% to 24%. He basically led the team in 3 point field goal percentage the last 2 years. He wasn't making those on a fast break, he needs a PG that can actually do their job by penetrating and kicking it back out. If we had that he might not be the 20ppg superstar we had hoped, but I think he would be at 13-15 ppg fairly easily.

 

[flander1649]

He reminds me of Kenyon Murray from Iowa.

 

[CyBobby]

If I remember correctly I think Rashon Clark was recruited for a run and gun offense and a zone defense. Now he is playing in an offense that runs a lot of set plays in a very deliberate offense. He just doesnt have the right skills for this type of offense and will have to improve to keep his starting spot come next year.

In the long run GMac's style of offense will keep better athletic teams from pulling away from us on the road. Poor Rashon just got caught up in the transition of coaching regimes. I admire Rashon for staying at ISU when a lot of his teammates moved on.

:sweet:

 

[joepublic]

When he first came to ISU, I thought Rahshon my be a Desmond Mason (Okie State) type player who could get to the rim. Same type of explosive athlete. That's just not his game, however.

 

[cycloneworld]

He just doesnt have the right skills for this type of offense and will have to improve to keep his starting spot come next year.

No way does Rahshon lose his starting spot if he continues to play like he is. He is a very active defensive player and rebounder.

 

[ajjohnson]

No way does Rahshon lose his starting spot if he continues to play like he is. He is a very active defensive player and rebounder.

Agreed, there are a lot of forwards out there that don't have the skills to play in a deliberate half court offense with no point guard! His 3 pointer will come back, he made way too high of a % his first two years.

 

[JCloned]

It isn't about the system, it is about Rashon's development. He continues to struggle to take someone off the dribble - partly I think because in spite of his incredible athleticism he doesn't move well laterally. You see it show up in his man to man defense on the peremiter when people start to drive he has a hard time staying in front of them. Creating your own shot off the dribble or driving to the basket usually requires good ball handling skills and good lateral movement. Clark isn't strong at either at this point. As the offensive execution continues to develop as a team he will benefit as he can come off screens etc. to get his shot. An offense that requires him to create his own will be problematic for him. Until/unless he develops his weaknesses he will either need a Gmac type offense that can run plays to get him shots or playing with guards who are so good off the dribble drive that defenses have to collapse and he can get kickouts or dishes.

 

[cyflyer]

It's not Rashon, it's the team around him. Rashon is a great athlete. He's this team's Stevie Johson. He needs better basketball talent around him and he doesn't have that right now. It will get better. Stevie's best year was his senior year and I think the same will be said of Rashon.

 

[bawbie]

A couple thoughts on Rahshon:

I heard McDermott talk about his offense on the radio at some point in the last couple weeks and he used, I think repeatedly, the word "struggling". It would seem mainly with his shot. If you improved his 3-point shooting from 24% to 40%, he's averging over 11 ppg. He also needs to shoot better than 59% from the line.

I don't think he'll ever be a player who can create his own shot. The whole "maybe he'll learn it in the offseason" is just a fantasy. He hasn't done it the last two offseasons.

I think his biggest problem on offense is the whole team's problem: they just don't know the offense yet. Rahshon has the skills to get points "within" the offense, yet he and especially others, aren't proficient at running the offense enough to get Rahshon those points.

I still think he's the best defender on the team, but I know there are some who disagree with me.

He's become a very solid player who doesn't turn the ball over and takes what the game gives him. I think he'll improve a lot over the next year and a half under McDermott, as he and the team get better at the offense.

 

[jbhtexas]

The biggest "Square Peg in Round Hole" right now appears to be Hubalek. :sad9cd: If he doesn't dump his Euro-guard mentality, he's not going to see much PT on this team. I would not be surprised at all to see him leave ISU at the end of this season, or even before the end of the season.

Clark seems to work hard. Hard work usually pays off in the long run. I hope that turns out to be the case for him.

 

[cygoat]

I agree with others that the main problem is his inability to create his own shot, mainly due to lack of ball-handling skills. I'm not really surprised by his low scoring. Unfortunately, for the last two years, he played in a system that exploited his strengths, and he wasn't required/expected to improve his overall game. I think his staying with ISU/McDermott is the best decision he could have made if he really wants to improve his game and possibly make it to the next level. I believe it's not too late. With good coaching and hard work on his part, he can definitely improve his offensive versatility.

I also think that his rebounding, defense, hustle, care with the ball, and leadership are critical to any success the team has this year. He definitely deserves a starting spot. We would be a much worse team without him.