This summer Iowa State’s forward Georges Niang tackled one of his biggest problems with his game, his weight. Niang has talent that can place him in the first round of next year’s NBA Draft. The missing link in his game was his conditioning and his athleticism.
Due to losing a lot of body fat and getting in better shape, next season Niang will have the best year of his college career and will be in contention for major college basketball awards.
In an interview with College Basketball Talk, Niang said this:
"“Being able to guard smaller guys and keep them in front of me, I noticed I couldn’t do that last year when I was heavier,” Niang noted when discussing the impact his weight loss has had on his game. “Getting up and down the court is easier. I rarely feel tired now, so I feel that with my stamina I can keep on going and keep pushing guys to a higher level.”"
This year his role on the Cyclones is different. Niang will have to lead this team if they want any semblance of a successful year in the Big 12.
The best way to describe his game is in two words:
Boston Tough.
(Look at the Nerlens Noel cameos)
On the court, the Boston product can do anything. His game is similar to another former Iowa State standout, Royce White.
These two have similar games because of their body type and versatility on the court.
The one glaring difference between the two is that White enjoyed facing up his opponent on offense, yet still had enough skill to score with his back toward the basket. On the opposite side, Niang’s best part of his game is when he has his back towards the basket.
On the low block and mid post, Niang has an array of moves that leave defenses in their tracks. One of his go to moves is a spin move that he loves using against players that are bigger and slower than him. When the defense attempts to crowd him with craftier and smaller defenders, Niang uses his strength to back his way into the paint.
Because of his low post game, opponents double team him but it doesn’t help because he knows how to find cutters in the lane, and can kick it out to shooters who roam on the perimeter. Last year Niang averaged 3.6 assists which left him as the third highest setup man on the team.
In addition, Niang also pulled down 4.5 rebounds.
Last season on a stacked Iowa State team with DeAndre Kane and Melvin Ejim as the premier players on offense, Niang averaged one less point than the two at 16.7 points a game.
The awesome part of Niang’s game is that he is aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. Last year he took the most shots per game on offense. With Ejim and Kane gone he will have to assert himself even more as the leader of the Cyclones. His offensive numbers across the board should all increase, especially his free throw attempts per game.
In an interview with Terry Rozier of CBS Sports, Niang had this to say:
"“I’m going to have to be a better leader,” Niang said. “With those two being gone, I have to step it up to another level. Improvements in leadership, and getting my teammates involved.”"
A more aggressive Niang will give the Cyclones a punchers chance to win the Big 12. The third team All Big 12 selection will have the basketball in his hands more, and that will propel Iowa State to having another successful season.
The boy has eaten his spinach lately and soon we get to see how good
POPEYE
Niang is.
Next year maybe we won’t hear the cliche about how his athleticism hampers his draft stock.