Joshua Jefferson has committed to Iowa State

[WhoISthis]

I get what you're saying. Dishon Jackson is a very good defender with speed and athleticism and Jefferson has the speed to be able to help keep the pesky speedy guards away. I'd say defensively we're not really losing anything. Offensively we seem to be 3-4 points per game better.

I think the chance the front court is not as good defensively is much greater than you’re implying. In part, because they were elite last year

We missed Ward’s abilities when he was out last year. Jackson’s block percentage and ability to defend in space isn’t as good as Ward’s

All three bigs were experienced, tough super seniors. Rob in particular was a bully, yet with deceptively good ability in space.

Maybe they’re better on offense, although all three of last year’s bigs would look good in highlight tapes in the WCC and American

 

[Cyforce]

I think the chance the front court is not as good defensively is much greater than you’re implying. In part, because they were elite last year

We missed Ward’s abilities when he was out last year. Jackson’s block percentage and ability to defend in space isn’t as good as Ward’s

All three bigs were experienced, tough super seniors. Rob in particular was a bully, yet with deceptively good ability in space.

Maybe they’re better on offense, although all three of last year’s bigs would look good in highlight tapes in the WCC and American

Maybe but I'd bank on Jefferson being better than King defensively. Offense without question.

Jackson has the size and athleticism to out shine Jones.

Ward was a freak, no doubt about it. He also tended to get in foul trouble.

The biggest factor is the guys that are returning and how they develop.

 

[Ankency]

Do we know what the Jefferson's knee injury was? I saw he had surgery right away but didn't see a timetable. Getting back in time for a full offseason would be nice

Meniscus/cleanup issue. Didn’t sound too serious. Full go for June workouts/practices from what I understand

 

[Gibbon]

Maybe but I'd bank on Jefferson being better than King defensively. Offense without question.

Jackson has the size and athleticism to out shine Jones.

Ward was a freak, no doubt about it. He also tended to get in foul trouble.

The biggest factor is the guys that are returning and how they develop.

Robert Jones had pretty good lateral quickness for a 6'10" guy, which is the #1 defensive attribute needed for a big in TJ's defensive scheme. If Jackson can't switch on screens, IMO, he's a downgrade to BRE.

 

[bosco]

If I remember right, early last season many of you wanted to give Curtis Jones zero minutes. Good thing TJ didn’t listen because at the end of the season Curtis may have been our best player. I think I will trust TJ to play the best guys.



Edit: Many of you thought King would be our starting 5 before the season too.

You're right.

TJ for the love of God don't play Rock at the 4.

 

[jcyclonee]

I think the chance the front court is not as good defensively is much greater than you’re implying. In part, because they were elite last year

We missed Ward’s abilities when he was out last year. Jackson’s block percentage and ability to defend in space isn’t as good as Ward’s

All three bigs were experienced, tough super seniors. Rob in particular was a bully, yet with deceptively good ability in space.

Maybe they’re better on offense, although all three of last year’s bigs would look good in highlight tapes in the WCC and American

Although he was much improved, BRE isn't going to look good offensively in any highlight tape.

 

[jcyclonee]

You're right.

TJ for the love of God don't play Rock at the 4.

He's a natural 3.

 

[WhoISthis]

Maybe but I'd bank on Jefferson being better than King defensively. Offense without question.

Jackson has the size and athleticism to out shine Jones.

Ward was a freak, no doubt about it. He also tended to get in foul trouble.

The biggest factor is the guys that are returning and how they develop.

Reasons for optimism, but I’d be surprised if the three front court players are as good on defense as a group. Out-shine isn’t the same as getting the job done consistently

The returning guys on defense won’t be the biggest factor imo.

 

[NorthCyd]

Reasons for optimism, but I’d be surprised if the three front court players are as good on defense as a group. Out-shine isn’t the same as getting the job done consistently

The returning guys on defense won’t be the biggest factor.

I feel confident defense will not be an issue. Upgrading offensive ability was the key. Rob, Ward, and even King for the most part were non factors offensively outside the paint. I know King had a few moments but defenses were not guarding him out to the 3 point line and he rarely made them pay with a few notable exceptions.

 

[SolarGarlic]

My one question about losing the entire front court is how well can all of these new bodies guard guards. One of ISU's strengths last year was the ability to switch everything as needed and 6'9 or 6'10" guys being able to stay in front of speedy guards. Are all of these new bigs going to be able to do this? That ability really made it tough to create and exploit mismatches with screens against that team.

I do think a lot of the fanbase is underestimating the adjustment period of not having those three guys with multiple years in the defense. I'm not convinced Jackson, even with more pure talent, will be better than Rob Jones. Jones was an efficient offensive player and a good defender. Hopefully the new guys pick up the scheme quickly.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Although he was much improved, BRE isn't going to look good offensively in any highlight tape.

He was 117/197 (59.2%) from the field. Many of those were from solid post moves, good footwork, and baby hooks over post defenders. Rob was an asset on the offensive end and often times was physically impressive in doing so. Much fewer instances of falling over in the lane than previous seasons.

 

[NorthCyd]

I do think a lot of the fanbase is underestimating the adjustment period of not having those three guys with multiple years in the defense. I'm not convinced Jackson, even with more basketball talent, will be better than Rob Jones. Jones was an efficient offensive player and a good defender. Hopefully the new guys pick up the scheme quickly.

Look at pre-season last year. The prevailing wisdom was defense will take a step back but offense will improve. What happened? Offense got better and defense finished number one in the country. This staff has earned the benefit of the doubt IMO that year after year they can be expected to put a top 10 defense on the floor.

 

[jcyclonee]

Look at pre-season last year. The prevailing wisdom was defense will take a step back but offense will improve. What happened? Offense got better and defense finished number one in the country. This staff has earned the benefit of the doubt IMO that year after year they can be expected to put a top 10 defense on the floor.

You're right. He was pretty effective and, don't get me wrong, I do really like BRE. It's just that so much of what he does offensively looks so awkward.

 

[NorthCyd]

You're right. He was pretty effective and, don't get me wrong, I do really like BRE. It's just that so much of what he does offensively looks so awkward.

Rob was great and got the most out of his ability. He turned into a really good defender by the end. I think we'll miss his intangibles more than anything. The energy and leadership he brought to the floor were great. But it sure looks like this team has an incredibly strong culture and there are plenty of guys ready to pick up that attitude and run with it.

Rob was a below average offensive player. He had developed some decent post moves by the end of his career, but that's it. He was a poor free throw shooter and couldn't score at all outside the paint. Defenses found it really easy to pack the paint and made it very difficult for our talented guards to attack the rim and finish in the half court. Need to solve that for our offense to take the next step.

 

[VeloClone]

Look at pre-season last year. The prevailing wisdom was defense will take a step back but offense will improve. What happened? Offense got better and defense finished number one in the country. This staff has earned the benefit of the doubt IMO that year after year they can be expected to put a top 10 defense on the floor.

Last year ISU had a preseason schedule that was uniformly ridiculed because of a lack of challenges in it. This year ISU will be challenged a lot more in the non-con so there won't be nearly as much opportunity to "get up to speed" without it hurting the team in the W/L column.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Rob was great and got the most out of his ability. He turned into a really good defender by the end. I think we'll miss his intangibles more than anything. The energy and leadership he brought to the floor were great. But it sure looks like this team has an incredibly strong culture and there are plenty of guys ready to pick up that attitude and run with it.

Rob was a below average offensive player. He had developed some decent post moves by the end of his career, but that's it. He was a poor free throw shooter and couldn't score at all outside the paint. Defenses found it really easy to pack the paint and made it very difficult for our talented guards to attack the rim and finish in the half court. Need to solve that for our offense to take the next step.

He was not a below average offensive player unless you're holding him to a standard outside of his role as a 5 man. He was one of our most efficient offensive players.

 

[NorthCyd]

Last year ISU had a preseason schedule that was uniformly ridiculed because of a lack of challenges in it. This year ISU will be challenged a lot more in the non-con so there won't be nearly as much opportunity to "get up to speed" without it hurting the team in the W/L column.

And last year everyone was worried about a lack of returning players. There is always going to be reasons to wring your hands why it's not going to be as good as last year. I'll continue to believe in this staffs ability to put a great defense on the floor regardless of situation until they give me reason not to.

 

[SolarGarlic]

And last year everyone was worried about a lack of returning players. There is always going to be reasons to wring your hands why it's not going to be as good as last year. I'll continue to believe in this staffs ability to put a great defense on the floor regardless of situation until they give me reason not to.

Nobody is saying our defense isn't going to be elite. But we were the most efficient defense in the country last season, and losing all three post players in the same year does bring an unknown element. We know we'll be a good defensive team, but it's reasonable to question whether we will be the best defense in the country again. Our guards should be able to take a lot of the pressure off the bigs as they did last season.

 

[VeloClone]

And last year everyone was worried about a lack of returning players. There is always going to be reasons to wring your hands why it's not going to be as good as last year. I'll continue to believe in this staffs ability to put a great defense on the floor regardless of situation until they give me reason not to.

I never said the defense wasn't going to be good, I mentioned what the unknown was. We have people saying that the defense is automatically going to be better than the defense that was in the #1/#2 range all season. It was able to stay top of the nation because they didn't have holes offenses could exploit. If the bigs aren't able to consistently stay in front of guards on switches it is a hole that offenses can exploit and the defense won't be better. A top 20 defense is still great but won't necessarily get the team to elite 8/final 4 level.

Pointing out an unknown is not handwringing, it is realism.

 

[Cyforce]

Nobody is saying our defense isn't going to be elite. But we were the most efficient defense in the country last season, and losing all three post players in the same year does bring an unknown element. We know we'll be a good defensive team, but it's reasonable to question whether we will be the best defense in the country again. Our guards should be able to take a lot of the pressure off the bigs as they did last season.

I thought someone posted one of the big boys said we will have the best defense in the country with the addition of Jefferson?