J Toussaint - R Lester comparison

ArvadaHawk said:
so, i see your point in the comparison from a recruiting "interest" stand point. but by his SR season, lester was averaging 27 per. no one is expecting JT to be that type of scorer. the expectation for lester was to be that type of scorer.

From wikipedia (i know, i know...but making stuff up on wikipedia is only a rumor, right?)

Lester started on the varsity team at Dunbar High School of the Chicago Public League as a 5'6" sophomore. In between his sophomore and junior year, Lester grew to 6'2". He averaged ten points and ten assists per game in his junior campaign.[2]

As a senior, Lester averaged 27.0 points per game, playing alongside teammate Ken Dancy, who was a future 1980 NBA draft pick.[2] Lester led the Dunbar Mighty-Men to the Chicago Public League Championship game, where they lost 75-60 to Morgan Park High School, with University of Illinois recruit Levi Cobb.[3][4]

At the beginning of his senior in high school, colleges had shown little interest, until Iowa and coach Lute Olson and then others began seeing his talents during his senior season. Olson was the first to recognize Lester's abilities and began recruiting him.[5][1]

"As a junior in high school, we had two 20-point scorers. I may have averaged 10 points that season because I needed to get them the ball," Lester said. "The next season those guys had left and I was scoring close to 25 points a game. Iowa was the first school to show a big interest in recruiting me," said Lester.
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If JT ends up being "better than advertised" I will be very happy and Fran will have pulled off a coup, right out of New York.
 
ArvadaHawk said:
so, i see your point in the comparison from a recruiting "interest" stand point. but by his SR season, lester was averaging 27 per. no one is expecting JT to be that type of scorer. the expectation for lester was to be that type of scorer.

From wikipedia (i know, i know...but making stuff up on wikipedia is only a rumor, right?)

Lester started on the varsity team at Dunbar High School of the Chicago Public League as a 5'6" sophomore. In between his sophomore and junior year, Lester grew to 6'2". He averaged ten points and ten assists per game in his junior campaign.[2]

As a senior, Lester averaged 27.0 points per game, playing alongside teammate Ken Dancy, who was a future 1980 NBA draft pick.[2] Lester led the Dunbar Mighty-Men to the Chicago Public League Championship game, where they lost 75-60 to Morgan Park High School, with University of Illinois recruit Levi Cobb.[3][4]

At the beginning of his senior in high school, colleges had shown little interest, until Iowa and coach Lute Olson and then others began seeing his talents during his senior season. Olson was the first to recognize Lester's abilities and began recruiting him.[5][1]

"As a junior in high school, we had two 20-point scorers. I may have averaged 10 points that season because I needed to get them the ball," Lester said. "The next season those guys had left and I was scoring close to 25 points a game. Iowa was the first school to show a big interest in recruiting me," said Lester.
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Yeah, at that time Levi Cobb was considered the "best" HS player in Illinois. He didn't do much at Illinois, but he was one helluva HS baller.
 
Ronnie Lester's quality was evident as a freshman at Iowa

I remember watching the Hawks playing NW on a Sony black and white TV and I was really impressed with his floor play.....

We shoulda been National Champs his senior year

Damn Roger Burkman to hell
 
revkev73 said:
Is Toussaint the best PG on the current Iowa roster, that is the bigger question.
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Bohannon is the best on the roster, but he's likely redshirting.

The question is then Connor, Bakari, or JT for this season.

Connor - showed where he was at last year, and could improve, but he's been playing baseball and been injured.

Bakari - some have said is more of a 2 and upon inspection of his stats, he was averaging 2.9 assists to 2.8 turnovers in his best year at Valpo, so Connor is likely a better PG than Bakari.

JT - 4-star recruit (by ESPN). Passes the eye test with flying colors. Has put on 12lbs (theoretically of muscle) since arriving on campus apparently and is up to 185 at ~6'1. Highest ceiling of all 3 guys given his quickness and ability to penetrate. Defense is his calling card. Best case scenario is that he wins the job over two qualified but flawed other candidates. Also, owns the best quote of the off-season "My role is to win the game".
 
PCHawk said:
Can you quote the post that compared him please? I can't find it.
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The title of the thread.

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Maybe it's Chicago vs New York City. Lester was always silky smooth, JT is playground tough. Wasn't Lester 6'3, JT whatever?

I liked JT's interview. You could tell he's playground tough, said he never got asked to leave it. It appeared mentally he's coming in ready to compete, question is does he have game.
 
revkev73 said:
Is Toussaint the best PG on the current Iowa roster, that is the bigger question.
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I like to think except for experience that Beverly and Toussaint would be the best point guards even if Bohannon was healthy. I enjoy watching Bohannon, but the other guards seem to have more options to their game. They are both seem to be faster, quicker, and better athletes.
 
I do believe that the Hawks will Not be pushed around by the Penn State and Rutgers players with JoeT and Connor on the floor

Not to mention Ryan Kriener and Cordell banging around

Gonna be a overall upgrade in toughness this season
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I'm excited to see what JT can do, like everyone else. But comparing him to Lester?

Please...
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Note to those uninformed. What Isiah Thomas did in the NBA was a very good indicator of what a healthy Ronnie Lester would have done. Nobody could keep him from penetrating the lane, he was a deadly shooter and that ballhandling... that ballhandling! Especially in the pre shot clock era.
 
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thedukeofearl said:
Ronnie Lester's quality was evident as a freshman at Iowa

I remember watching the Hawks playing NW on a Sony black and white TV and I was really impressed with his floor play.....

We shoulda been National Champs his senior year

Damn Roger Burkman to hell
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Damn rubber based floor to hell!

He originally got hurt on one of those at Dayton. If you ever played pickup games at the original Fieldhouse courts, before they built the new ones above the parking ramp in 1989, you know what a rubber based court feels like.
 
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