He's 6'9", but shoots like he's 5'10"

[Drsupremo]

This video illustrates the major defect in Issa Thiam's outside shooting stroke. When you shoot a jump shot from your mouth as opposed to over your head, you lose about 12" in height. This is why Issa gets stuffed more than any 6' 9" guy that you will ever watch. that's my take. If he is not wide open, he will get stuffed. In other words, if he doesn't alter the mechanics of his shot -- the release point has to be above his head -- he will never be a high level player. It is as simple as that.

 

[RutgHoops]

 

[Section114]

If he can work on getting a quicker release, he'll be fine. Watch where Steph Curry shoots from.... doesn't matter because his release is so quick.

 

[bowlgoal]

I'm not sure I recall him getting stuffed much at all? You have a good point but if he's been shooting like that all of his life with accuracy; I don't know how easy it would be to make the adjustment? The trouble he had last year was getting open fast enough and getting off quicker shots. I think that will improve.

 

[RU96inNC]

You obviously have no clue how to evaluate a good shot. In that video, his form is fantastic. His release is high and he is jumping just enough.

If you actually knew anything about basketball, the real issue with his shot is that it just takes a bit longer than it should. His release is slow.

Mechanically, the shot is very good and pure!

 

[RutgHoops]

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

why do only lefties shoot like that

 

[knights1212]

Why do some people always have to criticize some of our players? Saying "he will never be a high level player" is just wrong. Plenty of players take jump shots with the ball not being above their head. I think just getting a little stronger and more experience that Issa will be fine.

 

[gigantor1024]

What is the point of this thread?

 

[higgins3]

If Thiam did bring the ball higher though, he could be lethal.As in top five scorer in the conference by the time he is done at Rutgers. He starts low.

 

[Good-Knight]

It's not the release point per se, but the amount of time the ball spends below his shoulders. I've got the same issue with Bell's shot. (Video above) That is going to be a problem when he plays in the league. Thiam also spends an extra 1/10th of a second hitching up his wrists. It's not terrible but it really means that he can't fire up a contested shot.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The bottom line is if he doesn't get it fixed he can't help Rutgers

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If Thiam did bring the ball higher though, he could be lethal.As in top five scorer in the conference by the time he is done at Rutgers. He starts low.

 

[RUsojo]

If Thiam did bring the ball higher though, he could be lethal.As in top five scorer in the conference by the time he is done at Rutgers. He starts low.

The first thing he needs to do is grow into his body. He's slow and lack so explosion. Only gym time and biological luck can accomplish that. Otherwise he's a career off the ball shooter - and there is nothing wrong with that pending he can defend his matchcup by contesting under control and trailing with length.

 

[PaKnight]

The first thing he needs to do is grow into his body. He's slow and lack so explosion. Only gym time and biological luck can accomplish that. Otherwise he's a career off the ball shooter - and there is nothing wrong with that pending he can defend his matchcup by balanced contesting and trailing with length.

I would not say he is slow, he moved very well on defense last year.

 

[rubaseball78]

Why do some people always have to criticize some of our players? Saying "he will never be a high level player" is just wrong. Plenty of players take jump shots with the ball not being above their head. I think just getting a little stronger and more experience that Issa will be fine.

And having a point guard who can get him the ball at the right time and at the right spot on the court would help.

 

[jrh51]

I would not say he is slow, he moved very well on defense last year.

I think the proper terminology there is that Thiam isn't "twitchy" yet. The burst and suddenness isn't there yet - as the poster was right. He hasn't grown into his length yet. That'll come with time.

 

[4theknights]

Yes ... getting the ball to Issa and passing to him in his shooting pocket will help getting his shot off... expect much improvement also in his strength and court awareness... his defense really came on strong toward end of year... anxious to see Souf's impact on our offense too

 

[RUsojo]

I would not say he is slow, he moved very well on defense last year.

He is much better on D than O you are right. I think the reason is (as I mentioned) he can play off a defender to protect against a blow by because he contests with control and his length makes up for the space he is allowing. If he still gets beat off the dribble he can catch up with length. A smart player with a good bball IQ can really take advantage of a god given frame.

 

[satnom]

Nice form in clip above. 6'9" plus jump and Thiam will be lethal if he develops a quick release. Not everyone shoots it above their head. Catching the ball and getting it above the eyes quick with fast form and fluidity then Thiam will be cooking with gas.

GO RU

 

[Scarlet Shack]

This video illustrates the major defect in Issa Thiam's outside shooting stroke. When you shoot a jump shot from your mouth as opposed to over your head, you lose about 12" in height. This is why Issa gets stuffed more than any 6' 9" guy that you will ever watch. that's my take. If he is not wide open, he will get stuffed. In other words, if he doesn't alter the mechanics of his shot -- the release point has to be above his head -- he will never be a high level player. It is as simple as that.

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Let's be clear here...

The shooting form in THIS video is a MUCH better stroke than what I saw from him last year, which I recall a much lower release point AND ball out from the body still too far

. I would still like that ball to be released with the arm not that far out but its only one video sample....and from, one sample, at least, that's better than what I remember from last year



.

 

[snowboarder]

I love when people that have never played think that they know what they are talking about. The shooting technique is nearly flawless. His point of release, especially from the perimeter, should not be any higher. Thiam needs to learn to play faster, the speed of play that he had been exposed to up to college was dramatically slower. If he can adapt to it, he will be one of the top scorers in the league. He was rarely given the ball at the proper time last year. I watched him spot up in an open area many times where he should have gotten the ball. Get him a few more timely touches and watch what can happen.If he can learn to shoot effectively off the dribble, he will eventually be our top scorer.

 

[Drsupremo]

For those who think I don't know what I'm talking about or don't understand the point of my OP, compare the shooting stroke (point of release) of Kevin Durant with the shooting stroke of Issa Thiam. See blow:

Issa releases the ball from the bridge of his nose and Durant release the ball from above his from above his head. They are both the same height and body build (Durant is older so he has filled out more than Issa).

When you combine the high release with a quick release, as Durant does, you can make a contested shot. Issa -- on the other hand -- has a slow release and a low release point. A recipe for a one dimensional player. He cannot make a contested jump shot. I watched him get stuffed many times in situations that you never see a 6'9" guy get stuffed.

 

[RU85inFla]

I think the OP is reaching here. the picture below shows Thaim's release and it's is clearly above his nose and not even close. I agree he starts his shot lower than Durant.

I saw an ex-Rutgers basketball coach friend of mine on Saturday and we caught up. He said all Thaim needs is confidence. His shot is beautiful and in practice he scores at will. With a year under his belt and hopefully some meat on his bones I believe his upside is huge.

I just find it funny how these boards work. A college level coach and now an announcer that sees hundreds upon hundreds of college basketball players every year thinks Thaim has a great shot. But our experts think otherwise. I guess time will tell.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

At the end of the day, there isn't a pure form, Klay Thompson type of release and shot, so the original poster is correct in that it's something that we have to improve OR, we need as a program to improve with better players, to allow the strengths of a Thiam to be focused on, vs trying to correct every weakness in a freshman's overall game.

The question is whether RU can find a SF better than Thiam in the next year or so OR whether Thiam takes the steps forward physically to improve....It is a situation where there is no downside for Thiam or RU....we need scoring threats and Thiam needs a roster than he can play on and get playing time to develop. Just best to call it a "win-win".....Thiam is much further down the list of items I am concerned with over the next year or two. The staff will get the next stages of development out of him.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I'd like to see that side by side him shooting in a game this past year

 

[hiwater]

If he can work on getting a quicker release, he'll be fine. Watch where Steph Curry shoots from.... doesn't matter because his release is so quick.

He steps in under the defender when the defend steps out on him. His push / low release shot is by design when he is stepping by or underneath his defender. It is a totally different situation than what Thiam does. If Thiam was stepping in toward the basket when someone was next to him coming forward, they would never be able to touch his shot either. You can objectively compared the way Curry does to Thiam and suggest that just speeding up his delivery will help much. Thiam's release point is too low any way you look at it.

 

[Russ Wood]

His release point may be a little low for some people's tastes but if Thiam gets the shot to go in I wouldn't be too worried about it.

The coaches can work with him on getting into his shot faster, since in that one clip his release is slow. Adapting to faster/quicker defenders is a challenge for almost all freshmen.

As one HM assistant coach told me last summer when I said their freshman SG had a funky jump shot: "We'll work on that some but we don't want to change it too much because it goes in. It's our job to come up with ways to get him open."

 

[jellyman]

For those who think I don't know what I'm talking about or don't understand the point of my OP, compare the shooting stroke (point of release) of Kevin Durant with the shooting stroke of Issa Thiam. See blow:

Issa releases the ball from the bridge of his nose and Durant release the ball from above his from above his head. They are both the same height and body build (Durant is older so he has filled out more than Issa).

When you combine the high release with a quick release, as Durant does, you can make a contested shot. Issa -- on the other hand -- has a slow release and a low release point. A recipe for a one dimensional player. He cannot make a contested jump shot. I watched him get stuffed many times in situations that you never see a 6'9" guy get stuffed.

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News Flash: Thiam does not appear to be as good as Kevin Durant! I see failure for the program ahead of us.

I agree with all the posters who say Thiam's form is fine (or even better than fine). And I also agree he needs to develop a quicker release, or adapt to the quicker element of the college game relative to what he was accustomed to.

 

[Shell21]

I coach high school basketball and study this stuff a lot . Bringing the ball below you waste like that on the catch is called "dipping " and nearly every player including NBA players do it when you watch a video . Great shooters like Ray Allen and curry and Durant all dip the ball you just don't notice it because they do it so quickly . Thiam actually has great form he just needs to speed up his dip a little bit

 

[SkilletHead2]

why do only lefties shoot like that

With their left hand?

 

[SkilletHead2]

I coach high school basketball and study this stuff a lot . Bringing the ball below you waste like that on the catch is called "dipping " and nearly every player including NBA players do it when you watch a video . Great shooters like Ray Allen and curry and Durant all dip the ball you just don't notice it because they do it so quickly . Thiam actually has great form he just needs to speed up his dip a little bit

There's a really good joke in there somewhere!

 

[RUBubba]

I am with Scarlet Shack. The form here is definitely higher than the video before the season.

I'm also not going to claim it needs to be quicker when there is no defense... it's practice working on form, and from what I see, the form is improved.

 

[Fzacsattac]

This video illustrates the major defect in Issa Thiam's outside shooting stroke. When you shoot a jump shot from your mouth as opposed to over your head, you lose about 12" in height. This is why Issa gets stuffed more than any 6' 9" guy that you will ever watch. that's my take. If he is not wide open, he will get stuffed. In other words, if he doesn't alter the mechanics of his shot -- the release point has to be above his head -- he will never be a high level player. It is as simple as that.

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You must not be a fan and definitely didn't graduate from Rutgers with that atrocious writing ability. No need to call out one of our players like you did. Go away troll!!!

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

The bottom line is if he doesn't get it fixed he can't help Rutgers

Really? Can't help at all. A total waste ?

Most of his shots last year were open looks as a result of his movement around the court. He Should get even more this year when Pikiell's goal of having more ball movement is successful.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

I think the OP is reaching here. the picture below shows Thaim's release and it's is clearly above his nose and not even close. I agree he starts his shot lower than Durant.

I saw an ex-Rutgers basketball coach friend of mine on Saturday and we caught up. He said all Thaim needs is confidence. His shot is beautiful and in practice he scores at will. With a year under his belt and hopefully some meat on his bones I believe his upside is huge.

I just find it funny how these boards work. A college level coach and now an announcer that sees hundreds upon hundreds of college basketball players every year thinks Thaim has a great shot. But our experts think otherwise. I guess time will tell.

The OP "unsupremo" saying his release point was at his mouth may just be the silliest comment ever. If his release point was at mouth or even nose level the ball would obstruct his view of the basket.

 

[Caliknight]

He did seem to get it blocked a lot. More than a player his size typically would.

Always seemed like it takes longer to get into shooting position rather than the actual release point.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

I think Thiam had about three or four shots tipped in about 26 games. None, that I can remember, were swatted back or rejected.

Okay........so we have had threads criticizing Sanders, Bullock, Mensah and now Thiam. Time to move on to Williams, Freeman, Sa et al. lol

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

WAY too much emphasis on shooting form. Issa's limitations last year had very little to do with his release point.

IMO, Issa needs to:
1. Improve his handle. HUGE weakness. THIS is what made him an offensive liability more than anything.
2. Hit the weights (obvious)
3. Quicker 1st step and learn to take a defender off the dribble. Finish around the rim in traffic. (See #1)
4. Develop a step back jumper

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

It's not about the shots that were blocked, it's about the shots that weren't taken. What we are talking about IS VERY important. What this team desperately needs is a 3 who creates better spacing by being a legitimate threat AND a 3 that puts balls in the basket from beyond the stripe. Issa needs to be that guy.

#5 to list above increase range to 25 foot range