Thomas and Nader

[Wesley]

We've been waiting for people to start realizing Thomas is better than they think...he got a bad rap from the fans who overhyped him, and put a lot of pressure on him as a freshman. Glad to see him becoming the player we thought he would be.

As for Nader, DAYUM! He has come out of nowhere this year and we are loving it! I told PapaLew he looks like a thinner Royce when he freight trains his way to the basket. Looking to see good numbers from him this year.

We now call him The Day Stripper since he is best in league at stripping the ball.

 

[Rural]

We will have an array of intriguing small ball line-ups with Burton.

Should be fun.

 

[Cynonymous]

Nader has been the epitome of what you want from a SF. He can handle the ball. Presents a constant mismatch whenever he's on the floor. He can provide great defense on the perimeter and interior. He impacts rebounding on both ends of the floor.

Matt's play raises the floor for the whole team. That level of leadership off the bench is a huge asset.

 

[clonebb]

We now call him The Day Stripper since he is best in league at stripping the ball.

I thought it was because of his 8 pack abs.

 

[ISUcyclones11]

Starting to feel a lot better about next year if we can keep Monte.

Morris
Thomas
Cooke
Carter/Ernst
Malou

 

[HornacekFan1414]

Where are the CF Jack ***** Mattyice and ThomasRickJ that love to blast Thomas, as well as the handful of others known to be "Clone Fans" that come on a forum and belittle 18-21 year old kids?

hats off to the guy on the previous page who owned up to previous bashing and gave well deserved praise.

 

[HornacekFan1414]

Where are the CF Jack ***** Mattyice and ThomasRickJ that love to blast Thomas, as well as the handful of others known to be "Clone Fans" that come on a forum and belittle 18-21 year old kids?

hats off to the guy on the previous page who owned up to previous bashing and gave well deserved praise.

Nader has been a beast and I love the aggressive play. Needs to eliminate the turnovers, but he should be a contender for Most Improved B12 player

 

[Mr Janny]

I wonder if much of the improvement is due to Prohm's influence. I like to think so

I'm curious about this, too. Sometimes just a change in coaching technique is all it takes. Just one little thing and all of a sudden it starts to click.

 

[LLCoolCY]

Nader and thomas are both playing with a ton of confidence and its showing. Think last year nader was playing not to screw up. This year he's got confidence from being a starter and its obvious

Agreed, Nader's best games last year were the Iowa game (BDJ suspension) and others where he was on the floor due to foul issues. It is tough to get into a flow with limited minutes and he appeared to be pressing a little when on the court to get earn more minutes last year. Abdel has definitely worked hard in the offseason and made the transition from Hogue at SF seamless.
Curious if we would have seen this version of Nader if BDJ didn't transfer in and take his starting position?

 

[State43]

Where are the CF Jack ***** Mattyice and ThomasRickJ that love to blast Thomas, as well as the handful of others known to be "Clone Fans" that come on a forum and belittle 18-21 year old kids?

hats off to the guy on the previous page who owned up to previous bashing and gave well deserved praise.

So being critical of Thomas's play the last 2 seasons makes you an *******?
I think any fan with a lick of sense would admit he struggled most of the last two seasons but is really looking good this season so far.

 

[cloneteach]

I find myself wondering what last years team would have looked like at the end of the season with Nader and Thomas getting all of BDJs minutes earlier in the year.

 

[Cynonymous]

So being critical of Thomas's play the last 2 seasons makes you an *******?
I think any fan with a lick of sense would admit he struggled most of the last two seasons but is really looking good this season so far.

I think every fan in this thread would agree that he struggled with aspects of his game. What they are pointing out is that no credit was given for the improvements he made from year 1 to 2 and he was labeled as a failure/bust constantly.

 

[Jsievers24]

Both look great. Nader looks so strong on his drives. He finishes through contact and doesn't get pushed off his path. Both Nader and Thomas can create their own shots which adds another dimension and takes pressure off Monte and Niang

 

[HornacekFan1414]

So being critical of Thomas's play the last 2 seasons makes you an *******?
I think any fan with a lick of sense would admit he struggled most of the last two seasons but is really looking good this season so far.

there is being critical and being an *** riding and belittling a college athlete ...big difference

 

[Dingus]

Thomas appears to have worked really hard on the defensive side; as he doesn't have great lateral quickness he needs to always be in good position and anticipate the offense, which he seems to be much better at so far this year.

I've always loved his all around offensive game; he just needs to get his FG% up. He's the only rotation player shooting under 50% right now (at under 40%). His 3 pt shooting has been very good, its shooting sub 40% on 2's that's dragging it down. I'm still expecting him to start hitting his good looking floater at a better clip.

 

[State43]

I think every fan in this thread would agree that he struggled with aspects of his game. What they are pointing out is that no credit was given for the improvements he made from year 1 to 2 and he was labeled as a failure/bust constantly.

there is being critical and being an *** riding and belittling a college athlete ...big difference

I think you guys are fighting a nonexistent battle. If I said last year that he was a big liability when out on the floor, you would say I was attacking him when really it's being critical of his ability. No one was okay with tweeting him and attacking him as a person.

 

[Hoiball92]

Nader might be the best player on the team

 

[State43]

Nader might be the best player on the team

My thought last night as well. Still think Monte should get that honor.

 

[acgclone]

Nader might be the best player on the team

He's not, because our team features Morris and Niang, but he might be the most versatile on our team. He's very good this year and a great weapon because of his versatility.

 

[HornacekFan1414]

I think you guys are fighting a nonexistent battle. If I said last year that he was a big liability when out on the floor, you would say I was attacking him when really it's being critical of his ability. No one was okay with tweeting him and attacking him as a person.

You obviously have not been paying attention on here, as these same people have showed up in the "Thomas is doing great threads" this season to talk about what a huge letdown he is...

I should give ThomasRickJ an apology as he has been quiet on Matt since the season started, but he is easy to get riled up. But the rest of the guys know who they are and should post an apology for all the "He will never be anything here " or "Matt is terrible and a bust" statements.