Is CJ Frederick Taking Enough Shots?

To answer the OPs Q I think he's taken most every open good look he's gotten. I think his shot selection has been really good and on the conservative side. I think as the seasons gone on he's gotten more secure in his role and knows he's got the green light. Fran is all about letting shooters and scorers do their thing. It's a bit of a process especially for a freshman who isn't the 1st option. When you come in as the 5th or 6th option and then through injuries and his own improvement climbed the ladder to 3rd option there's no complaints from me on his number of shots. Be it not enough or too many. He's taking good looks as he gets them and isn't forcing things. Love the kid and all he's bringing to the table.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Obviously Garza is leading the team in 2 pt attempts and has a great % at 54%. Wieskamp has taken 105 more 2 pt shots than CJF and at 44%. CJF is shooting 2pt shots at 51% and 3pt shots at 47% which is terrific. Wieskamp and Garza are both shooting 3's at 38% which is good on its own.

Sometimes I wonder when guys are shooting an exceptional % if they are not hawking enough for shots. It's probably more important they just play in the flow of the game and let the shots come to them but was just wondering about CJ and what his scoring potential really could be.

It's just nice to know that for some reason if he had to hawk some shots in a game situation, there is a cushion with that shooting %, meaning if he was to force some shots up for the team, there is a good chance at success. Also, if he was needed to spread the floor even more to get defenders off Garza a bit.


https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20
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I dont think so. I think CJ could take his man off the dribble and get that 10-12 footer whenever he wants, and he is good at that. That softens up that defense in the 2nd half when the defender has to run through all those screens and then bails out to go under. Joe W can do it too, he just makes me nervous going to the basket so much and picking up those charges.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
CJF just makes the correct basketball play. I remember a play against Rutgers when Garza actually kicked it out of the post and CJ had what looked like a decent look at 3, his guy closed out hard and he took one hard dribble to create space and made a perfect post entry to Garza for an easy two. He passed up a decent shot for a great shot. That’s a winning play.

To the point of the OP, yes I wouldn’t mind if he shot it a little bit more, I did think at Maryland he passed up a few he could have taken.

One underrated aspect of CJF’s game is that he currently has better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, that’s very good for an off guard, and shows he’s pretty good at setting up his teammates as well.
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Or how perfectly he executed the clear out twice on the same out of bounds play against IL that gave Joe 2 uncontested lay ups. Joe was seen laughing down the court almost as if he couldn’t believe how easy it was. Review shows CJ took his guy and the big under the basket completely out of the play.
 
SheagleHawk said:
Or how perfectly he executed the clear out twice on the same out of bounds play against IL that gave Joe 2 uncontested lay ups. Joe was seen laughing down the court almost as if he couldn’t believe how easy it was. Review shows CJ took his guy and the big under the basket completely out of the play.
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I loved it as well, but was it legal? He just backed his defender into the big, leaving a clear path for JW to get easy layups.
 
honestly, i think these guys are in sink on offense and those three will take a shot when they feel they should. is CJF not taking enough? i'd just say he seems to becoming more assertive and when he feels absolutely comfortable, he'll start taking more. i'm not concerned about it and it think those three will continue to carry us.
 
Has CJ ever done anything that hasn't looked smooth and in control? He threw up two air balls the other night I guess. Other than that, he always looks 100% under control.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
CJF just makes the correct basketball play. I remember a play against Rutgers when Garza actually kicked it out of the post and CJ had what looked like a decent look at 3, his guy closed out hard and he took one hard dribble to create space and made a perfect post entry to Garza for an easy two. He passed up a decent shot for a great shot. That’s a winning play.

To the point of the OP, yes I wouldn’t mind if he shot it a little bit more, I did think at Maryland he passed up a few he could have taken.

One underrated aspect of CJF’s game is that he currently has better than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, that’s very good for an off guard, and shows he’s pretty good at setting up his teammates as well.
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This ^^^. His instincts when to shoot and when to create an ever better shot for a teammate are exceptional. I hate the term "basketball IQ" but if there is such a thing his is off the charts.
 
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NikeHawk21 said:
The analytics don’t love that mid range shot, however I would agree when our offense is struggling or if a play breaks down and he can get that shot he should take it.

The cool thing about CJ is he’s been able to score at the basket (usually gets one or two layups a game), at the midrange, and obviously is a sniper from deep. He’s a three level scorer. I really don’t think we can say enough good things about this kid.
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That mid-range shot kept Illanoy in the game Sunday. It's such a hard shot to defend.
 
PCHawk said:
I don't think Ellingson was every supposed to be a big time stud.
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CJ was overlooked too. Ellingson was supposed to be a high basketball IQ guy who moved well without the ball, had nice backdoor moves to the hoop, and could shoot the three.

Another old Hawkeye who's game resembled CJ's was Paul Lusk. But Lusk broke his leg early in his freshman season, got lost in the shuffle, and ended up transferring to Southern Illinois.
 
Northside Hawk said:
CJ was overlooked too. Ellingson was supposed to be a high basketball IQ guy who moved well without the ball, had nice backdoor moves to the hoop, and could shoot the three.

Another old Hawkeye who's game resembled CJ's was Paul Lusk. But Lusk broke his leg early in his freshman season, got lost in the shuffle, and ended up transferring to Southern Illinois.
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They were both overlooked, but that's the exact opposite of "supposed to be everything CJ is".
 
PCHawk said:
It looks like CJ can do that pull up jumper in the lane whenever he wants. I think he should do it more for sure.
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Yes, it is great when a player can shoot 3's off the catch, off the fake and dribble, and then also drive and score in the lane with a pull up jumper or taking it to the rim. JW can do this on the current team and that was one of Matt Gatens big pluses as when he was getting overplayed on defense he could catch and take it to about 15 -18 feet and pop and make the shot.
 
PCHawk said:
Brunner had an awesome take about this on the podcast. He said Wieskamp isn't great and beating his guy off the dribble when his defender is directly in front of him, but if the offense creates an angle for him to get by his defender, he's great at that because he is so explosive to the rim. That explained a lot to me because I was even confusing myself how I can think he's great at getting to the rim and bad at it at the same time. He can't get around his defender on his own, but once he has the angle, it's over.
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JW can really go hard and get his head and shoulders past the defenders chest and then JW has them with his quickness and large strides. I hadnt really noticed him not beating defenders who have him head up but I guess he needs to get a good head and ball fake and better first step to win those situations.
 
uihawk82 said:
JW can really go hard and get his head and shoulders past the defenders chest and then JW has them with his quickness and large strides. I hadnt really noticed him not beating defenders who have him head up but I guess he needs to get a good head and ball fake and better first step to win those situations.
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Pretty much all players do.
 
Iowa's had their fair share of 6'3-6'5 white shooting guards that were 'sharpshooters' and not much else. I think Fran hit his HR with CJ. He is exactly what he's been trying to get for that position all these years.
 
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