Cap City 7/9

Cloned4Life · 07-10-2006, 05:42 PM

Very good crowd, which probably was to be expected since Kyle Korver again graced the floor with his presence :-) I'll say this, I went tonight really excited to watch Mike Taylor play, and I certainly was not disappointed.

I only stayed for the first 2 games, and from what I saw, unless I'm blind, Jessan Gray, Corey Johnson, Dodie Dunson (DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY DODIE HASN'T BEEN AT THE LAST COUPLE GAMES?????????), and Corey McIntosh were NOT there tonight for whatever reason. Please correct me if I'm wrong, again, I only stayed for the first 2.

Game 1: Gratias (Jiri & Wesley) vs. Peak (Marsden)

Ross Marsden - Eh, really didn't do a whole lot. Played some solid D at times but really wasn't a factor at all on offense. Looked a little bigger than what I saw last season but still has a long ways to go weight wise.

Jiri Hubalek - Well we haven't heard many good things about Jiri so far this summer and tonight was more of the same. At times, IMO, he was the worst player on the floor. Not in terms of ability, but in terms of decision making, shot selection, b*tching and moaning over every call, etc. He never seems to communicate at all with his teammates and his attitude was again...crappy. He did hustle a little bit more tonight though so at least that was positive.

Wesley Johnson - Another giant WOW for him. Showed up a little late but came in and was as smooth as can be. Great shot, great handle; just OOZES with potential. SO ATHLETIC TOO! Man I'm really looking forward to him bring Hilton to a scream with his play. Also, between games, he did some sick dunks; had me speechless. Really seems to be a nice kid too that gets along great with the rest of the team. The scary question is...what if he's not done growing?

Notable: Sean Haluska - Played very well I thought. I'm not a coach by any means so I'm certainly not qualified to properly judge D1 talent, but I'm going to say that in another year, he has the chance to be a mid-high major recruit - a CHANCE. He'll never be Adam, but I could seem him playing at Creighton or UNI or hell even Iowa and being a very solid player. At times, he really took it to Wesley and held his own.

Game 2: MOHA (Thompson & Taylor) vs Ev Cochrane (Rahshon)

Alex Thompson - Like others on here have said, he is our best big man right now. He had his few usual travels but really seems to have a good feeling around the hoop and he's definitely going to be a good sized post player in a year. He some nice catches and finishes and showed he's willing to battle physically with a bigger guy, he guarded Alou Kieta (sp?) I'm glad to have him on our side, he will help us.

Rahson Clark - Struggled with his shot early on, I think he got flustered being guarded by Kyle Korver. He picked it up in the second half and made a bunch of shots. Like I said before, I think he looks bigger and from his body language and relation to the other players, he appears to be the "captain," which is good to see.

Mike Taylor - WOW was I impressed with this guy! He was so fun to watch and has me even more excited about ISU basketball. Just so much energy; he was all over the place. Wasn't afraid to take it to the big guys and wasn't afraid to stick his head down low for rebounds and steals. A tenacious defender. I haven't been to many Cap City games but what I have noticed is that many "take off" possessions on defense. Not Mike. Again, his energy and effort were awesome and he really is a character out there on the court, always yelling and laughing and hustling. To top it off, he's extremely atheltic (I'd describe him as bouncy). He had some awesome dunks in warmups. Seems to be very long too which has got me believing he's going to be one of our better defenders if not THE best. His shot was OK, probably could use a little work, but make no mistake, the Hilton crowd is gonna love this guy. He's fasttt and sometimes seems "out of control" with the ball but always stayed under control somehow and made smart and unselfish decisions. OK now I'm just babbling on. You get my point! One more note: Size wise, I think he's a legit 6-3 but definitely needs weight and strength.

Notable: It was cool seeing Kyle Korver play. I've never been to an NBA game but in the short time I got to see him, I realize just how good you have to be to play in the NBA. He looks absolutely ripped and also hit some amazing fade away shots. This might sound absurb, but I'd say right now, based on the very little that I've seen, I'd say Wesley has the most NBA potential on our team.

lennon3 · 07-10-2006, 06:26 PM

I haven't been to any of the games so i do have a question. When you said Wesley has the most NBA potential its making me wonder how good this guy actually is. I have never seen him. Is he out playing Rahshon?? In most of the updates they just say Rahshon is Rahshon but how good is W. Johnson doing if you compared the two?

Cloned4Life · 07-10-2006, 07:34 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lennon3 @ 07-10-06 6:26 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> I haven't been to any of the games so i do have a question. When you said Wesley has the most NBA potential its making me wonder how good this guy actually is. I have never seen him. Is he out playing Rahshon?? In most of the updates they just say Rahshon is Rahshon but how good is W. Johnson doing if you compared the two?

[/b][/quote]

Well there's no question about it, this is a SUMMER LEAGUE, so all my observations now probably don't really mean a whole lot since we haven't seen this team in real games yet. When I say Wesley has the most NBA potential, I'm saying that because of he has so much raw ability and he combines that with great handle, a great shot (at least good form) and great size. Let's say he leaves Iowa State at 6-7 or even 6-8 and 215-220lbs...he'd (IMO) project as a SG in the NBA and would get drafted, assuming he builds on what he has now. Make no mistake, he has a LONG way to go, but I just get really excited seeing where he is NOW, and thinking...wow, how good will this guy be in a couple years!? Compared to Rahshon, he's got a lot of Rahshon's athletic ability, maybe equal to Rahshon, but with MUCH better handle and court awareness. It seems like he could even play point guard. I've seen a two games with him this summer and all I can think of is "diamond in the rough." Rahshon simply doesn't have the guard like abilities that Wesley has. With that said, I still think Clark is the man and will be the team leader this season.

07-11-2006, 12:10 AM

Hopefully someone else can confirm this, but I heard Jessan was having hand surgery to repair some torn ligaments. I don't think we should be too concerned with it though. Hopefully this is enough time for him to get healthy before the season.

BryceC · 07-11-2006, 06:09 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HardcoreClone @ 07-11-06 12:10 am) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> Hopefully someone else can confirm this, but I heard Jessan was having hand surgery to repair some torn ligaments. I don't think we should be too concerned with it though. Hopefully this is enough time for him to get healthy before the season.

[/b][/quote]

Yep, this is true. I heard that it shouldn't keep him out too long, but he did have some surgery.

ISUFan22 · 07-11-2006, 10:15 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BryceC @ 07-11-06 6:09 am) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

Yep, this is true. I heard that it shouldn't keep him out too long, but he did have some surgery.
[/b][/quote]

He had something that caused him to miss time last season too yet I can't recall what it was. Are these issues related?

cygoat · 07-11-2006, 12:48 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cloned 4 Life @ 07-10-06 5:42 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'> [/b][/quote] Good summary, C4L. I really only got to see the 2nd game, and I share your enthusiasm for Mike Taylor. That was probably his best game. Probably the best play of the night was on a fast break when he bounced the ball off the backboard for a trailing Dion Curry to jam; that drew a lot of oohs and aahs from the crowd. He is incredibly quick and athletic. He was doing some insane dunks in warmups before the 3rd game, too.

Rahshon was incredibly cold. He was 0/12 in the first half (0/6 on both 3s and 2s). 2nd half he was 5/9 on 3s and 3/5 on 2s. But overall a pretty tragic shooting performance. I agree that Korver had him rattled a bit. Rahshon's best play was an absolutely amazing shot block against Dion Curry on a fast break. Curry was going in for a big jam, and it seemed like Clark came out of nowhere for one of the best denials I've ever seen. Even Curry was impressed and high-fived him afterward.

clone33 · 07-11-2006, 01:32 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ISUFan22 @ 07-11-06 10:15 am) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

He had something that caused him to miss time last season too yet I can't recall what it was. Are these issues related?
[/b][/quote]

It was a broken thumb and he missed the first nine games of last season. Cant tell you if they're related though.

Cloned4Life · 07-11-2006, 02:26 PM

I agree cygoat, that block by Rahshon was absolutely amazing! He not only started off cold though, but some of his 3's weren't even close. It was good to see him pick it up in the second half.

statman · 07-11-2006, 02:57 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cloned 4 Life @ 07-10-06 7:34 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Well there's no question about it, this is a SUMMER LEAGUE, so all my observations now probably don't really mean a whole lot since we haven't seen this team in real games yet.
[/b][/quote]

Lots of us seem to be quick to dismiss the value summer league interpretations, but at the end of the day these are basketball players (many of whom we wouldn't know about otherwise), and last I checked, they are playing basketball at the summer league. Granted, I'm sure the coaching staff hasn't been allowed to work with them a whole lot yet, they aren't taking it as seriously as they would take a 'real game', competition level isn't the same, etc. Never-the-less, I think we can make some very valid observations at these games. While some things, like Taggart's ability to score last summer didn't cary over into Big 12 play, we can still get a good read on players' attitudes, work ethic, skill sets, athleticism, body types, etc. from these games. In some ways, seeing them in a fairly informal setting like that can tell you more about a guy than seeing him in a real game (in terms of attitude, work ethic, etc.). Our perimeter players seem to be performing nicely in the league, and I'd say that all of our new guys are showing some nice traits. Hopefully, McDermott can work some magic with our post players, but they should only improve from last year and adding Cory Johnson (and Thompson to the practice floor) should only help us there. Thanks for the update, and please keep the information flowing. Even though it is just summer league, it's made me feel very good about the types of players we've brought in. Still, my expectations remain fairly modest, at least until Brackins & Thompson hit the court in the fall of '07 and our new guys get a year of experience under their belts.

frontrangeclone · 07-11-2006, 03:01 PM

regarding Jiri, is it just me or do Euro's tend to ***** a lot? does anyone on the "inside" know if this was an issue last year and was ignored by Morgan's staff? Will GMac put the hammer down on Jiri and require him to shape up his attitude or is this just something that occurs in the summer league? Too bad Homan wasn't around last year to bang around Jiri and toughen him up, both physically and mentally.

BryceC · 07-11-2006, 05:50 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clone33 @ 07-11-06 1:32 pm) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>

It was a broken thumb and he missed the first nine games of last season. Cant tell you if they're related though.

[/b][/quote]

My wife told me at one time that he was going for surgery for torn ligaments in a finger. I forgot where she heard it though. I don't think they are related, I can tell you that. If there is something more, I'll ask her when she gets back.