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Issa Thiam- Six assists

His defense was great. Very difficult to get around him and he closes out on people very quickly. Great job all around by him. He even went hard to the basket on that fast break. If he keeps that up, look out!
 
Issa looked like an upperclassman last night, maybe for the first time, and we need that from him this year.

His progress from year to year has been slow and steady. Hope he starts hitting on all cylinders during conference play. It would be big for us.
 
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Thiam has definitely shown improvement on both offense and defense.Its worth mentioning he was the only starter on the court for the last minute of the game with 4 substitutes.
 


Hopefully Issa will also get a little more aggressive like his brother here.
 
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Hopefully this spreads to Issa.
Issa is doing just fine. He has gotten better year after year. His defense and length are outstanding , his passing is incredibly improved. He has hit his three more consistently than the previous 2 years, he is playing more confidently, he can pump fake and put it on the floor and take it to the hole, he can post up a smaller player down low, his rebounding gets better and better. Go watch another team , troll.!!
 
The improvements some players are making under Pike and the rest of the staff are really incredible. Maybe as an RU fan I'm not used to it, but the way guys like Eugene and Issa are becoming more complete players is the greatest sign of future success. More high level talent will come in and I have full confidence in this staff to develop those guys to their utmost potential.
 
Issa is doing just fine. He has gotten better year after year. His defense and length are outstanding , his passing is incredibly improved. He has hit his three more consistently than the previous 2 years, he is playing more confidently, he can pump fake and put it on the floor and take it to the hole, he can post up a smaller player down low, his rebounding gets better and better. Go watch another team , troll.!!

Troll! Lol
I’ve always liked Issa but I do wish even though he’s gotten better that he’d dribble a bit more, like his brother.
 
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He was spectacular last night. He helped out in every facet of the game, from setting the defensive tone early, grabbing key rebounds, helping Geo break the press (could anyone see that happening last year?), to making some great passes vs the zone. His alley oop was a freakish athletic play I didn’t know he had in him.
 
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Issa scares the hell out of me on the press break. Ball handling and decision making in the open court are not his strengths. Yesterday, we saw Pike move him in the backcourt across from Geo rather than further up court on one of the wings. I understand the philosophy. He wants to use Issa's length to throw over the top. We're going to see other teams sag off him in this position, lock down on the other 4, and force him to put it on the deck. We really need a 2nd dependable ball handler across from Geo in the backcourt. Could Kiss, Mathis, Harper do this job better? I'm not sure. Pike was experimenting last night.

We're going to be pressed a lot this year. St. John's exposed us. Others will copy for sure. We don't have the personnel to consistently attack full/3 quarter pressure. While St. John's and EMU didn't force a ton of turnovers, they were both successful in chewing up minutes from each offensive possession. We did break down EMU a few times, but remember, it's EMU. Despite the preseason talk, I think EMU underperforms this season. We played very well, but still, not impressed w/ EMU
 
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Mostly invisible? He was one of the only players who wasn't mostly invisible. Led the team in scoring with 13, 3/8 from range (38%), 5 reb, 1 ast. He had more points than Baker/Kiss combined.
I was at the game, were you? Two of his threes were in garbage time. 1/5 in first half. And worse was the two fast breaks in first half where his passive play hurt them - one of them Kiss threw to where he should have been cutting and he stood in corner. And second he ran to far corner on a butchered break where Harper i think it was took a terrible three.
I'm not being combative, the guy has not been competitive against real teams.
Hope he proves me wrong.

Good games vs Boston, Fordham, Columbia, etc doesn't mean much to me
 
Zero turnovers for a guy who runs down the court to the corner baseline in every possession does not impress me

No but he's struggled with catching passes or starting his feet before his dribble before so it was nice to see a clean game from him.
 
No but he's struggled with catching passes or starting his feet before his dribble before so it was nice to see a clean game from him.
Agree 100%

For a 30 min guy his usage rate last season is unacceptable
 
Issa's not able to create space off the dribble like Geo does. He's tried that a few times this year using his jab step with the defender up in his face and it didn't go well. He looked uncomfortable, and off balance shooting that way. If he can make his open 3's, I'll be happy.
 
Issa is playing with more confidence. Who would have thought last year Issa would make gestures after making a 3 AND almost start a fight in the same game. He almost seems more athletic out there.

There were a lot of us posters who said Issa just needed Confidence....others said he was just not a good enough. Remember those threads?
 
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There's a lot to be encouraged about with Thiam and he's doing more small things than be a player that generates his own shot or offense.

His defense and length created a lot of lost possessions vs EMU and there's not a lot of options to score when scouting reports know you are a catch and shoot player.

Sometimes you have to accept and build around what a player does well and build that into your gameplan. I think as we move forward into games vs Miami, MSU and Wisconsin, i don't see a path for RU springing any upsets without Thiam knocking down 2 or 3 3's in any of those games.
 
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excatly what NJH says... I know your post is about Issa. In reality Issa worth and minutes are about what he can bring to the table that other in the rotation can't.

When you put Kiss, Issa and Mathis (what I hope he can be) side by side there are check marks in a lot of different boxes. They will probably be fighting for 60-70 minutes every night. Issa, right now, is the more well rounded player out of the 3. Last night was a Kiss opponent and Miami could very well be a Mathis opponent. Most/all nights Issa will be needed.
 
excatly what NJH says... I know your post is about Issa. In reality Issa worth and minutes are about what he can bring to the table that other in the rotation can't.

When you put Kiss, Issa and Mathis (what I hope he can be) side by side there are check marks in a lot of different boxes. They will probably be fighting for 60-70 minutes every night. Issa, right now, is the more well rounded player out of the 3. Last night was a Kiss opponent and Miami could very well be a Mathis opponent. Most/all nights Issa will be needed.
I remember before the start of the season there was a lot of posters calling for Issa to have reduced minutes to the point he would be the 11th or 12th man off the bench. Even some posters said he should look to transfer.
 
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There were a lot of us posters who said Issa just needed Confidence....others said he was just not a good enough. Remember those threads?
I always thought he had the talent just lacked confidence and killer instinct on offense. I'm happy with the progress I've seen so far from Thiam this season
 
I was at the game, were you? Two of his threes were in garbage time. 1/5 in first half. And worse was the two fast breaks in first half where his passive play hurt them - one of them Kiss threw to where he should have been cutting and he stood in corner. And second he ran to far corner on a butchered break where Harper i think it was took a terrible three.
I'm not being combative, the guy has not been competitive against real teams.
Hope he proves me wrong.

Good games vs Boston, Fordham, Columbia, etc doesn't mean much to me

I was - if Issa was invisible in that game, the rest of the guards didn't come out of the locker room.

You say he was 1/5 in the first half... Baker and Mathis were was also both 1/5. McConnell/Johnson were both 0/1, and Kiss was 2/7. The only guys who hit better than 28% were Omoruyi/Harper (each 2/4) and Doorson (3/3).

Issa's better than he was last year. He's added more to his offensive toolkit, and is possibly the best perimeter defender on the team right now. He's also passing better with 9 assists through four games, which took him 17 games to do last year.

He had 8+ points last year 16 times, and half were against B1G schools. He had 6+ rebounds last year 12 times, and half were against B1G schools.

No need to knock the kid - he's now an upperclassman, and is definitely looking a lot more confident out there than we've seen him for two years. Looking forward to him growing more with better ball movement later in the year.
 
I was - if Issa was invisible in that game, the rest of the guards didn't come out of the locker room.

You say he was 1/5 in the first half... Baker and Mathis were was also both 1/5. McConnell/Johnson were both 0/1, and Kiss was 2/7. The only guys who hit better than 28% were Omoruyi/Harper (each 2/4) and Doorson (3/3).

Issa's better than he was last year. He's added more to his offensive toolkit, and is possibly the best perimeter defender on the team right now. He's also passing better with 9 assists through four games, which took him 17 games to do last year.

He had 8+ points last year 16 times, and half were against B1G schools. He had 6+ rebounds last year 12 times, and half were against B1G schools.

No need to knock the kid - he's now an upperclassman, and is definitely looking a lot more confident out there than we've seen him for two years. Looking forward to him growing more with better ball movement later in the year.

Junior year is when a lot of players put it all together. Issa is right on track for a developmental player.
 
I was - if Issa was invisible in that game, the rest of the guards didn't come out of the locker room.

You say he was 1/5 in the first half... Baker and Mathis were was also both 1/5. McConnell/Johnson were both 0/1, and Kiss was 2/7. The only guys who hit better than 28% were Omoruyi/Harper (each 2/4) and Doorson (3/3).

Issa's better than he was last year. He's added more to his offensive toolkit, and is possibly the best perimeter defender on the team right now. He's also passing better with 9 assists through four games, which took him 17 games to do last year.

He had 8+ points last year 16 times, and half were against B1G schools. He had 6+ rebounds last year 12 times, and half were against B1G schools.

No need to knock the kid - he's now an upperclassman, and is definitely looking a lot more confident out there than we've seen him for two years. Looking forward to him growing more with better ball movement later in the year.
Save your energy. Some people just have an ax to grind. Toby's perception of Issa is cemented from his frosh year and nothing is going to change that view.
 
I was at the game, were you? Two of his threes were in garbage time. 1/5 in first half. And worse was the two fast breaks in first half where his passive play hurt them - one of them Kiss threw to where he should have been cutting and he stood in corner. And second he ran to far corner on a butchered break where Harper i think it was took a terrible three.
I'm not being combative, the guy has not been competitive against real teams.
Hope he proves me wrong.

Good games vs Boston, Fordham, Columbia, etc doesn't mean much to me

Harsh and IMHO undeserved criticism. His defense alone justifies his minutes. And. he is definitely improving on offense too.
 
Integral part of the team who contributes in ways that don't always make it to the box score. Very pleased with his development. Just needs to demonstrate a level of consistency during conference play.
 
I’ll chime in here since I have been a detractors...and have always said I hope i am wrong

His game IS better...no question.

I still have concerns that he can guard laterally on the perimeter (height and length make up for some of that) against theee men....and that he can get open quick enough off of screens to get his shot off

If he is playing 27 mpg at the theee spot....you really need to get 11-13 points a game out of those minute from that spot....and him getting off enough quantity shots to do that has been the issue

So far...a step in the right direction there...but need to see it more over more games
 
If he is playing 27 mpg at the theee spot....you really need to get 11-13 points a game out of those minute from that spot....and him getting off enough quantity shots to do that has been the issue
Well said. I'm not too juiced about 4/5 rebounds from that spot. He's supposed to be a shooter, a scorer. He took avg of two shots per game in the Big Ten tournament games.
You guys are getting a little nuts. I am rooting for him also. I just don't see him having an offensive game at this level.
 
Issa can fill it up and I love him taking those 3s and hope he doesn’t stop. His shot is smooth and effortless. I think he’s confused sometimes as to what position he is playing. He’s actually an okay ball handler for a guy his size. I thought peter kiss would help bringing the ball up more in backcourt pressure. We are really struggling without another guard besides Geo to really break soft pressure. I’m worried about what will happen versus a team like Illinois. Montez and Kiss really should get back and help and not Eugene .
 
Why does it seem Rutgers fans love to abuse their own players? Meanwhile, the same fans put opposing players on a pedestal like those players are perfect.
 
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