Evaluating DeAndre Kane to Iowa State

Few programs utilize the college transfer process more than Iowa State. The Cyclones graduated five seniors off of this year's team, and four were Division I transfers, and one played his first two years in JUCO. They've been replaced, partially, by a recruiting class that includes Northern Illinois transfer Abdul Nader, and now Marshall transfer DeAndre Kane.

Nader will have to sit out a season, but Kane can play right away. Which is great news for a team that just graduated its starting back court.

In Kane the Cyclones get a big (6-4), accomplished, point guard who at moments is breathtaking in his abilities. He can score, he can break down defenses, he can deliver highlight reel passes. But he's always on the edge of playing out of control, and he crosses that line far too often. He's also a very emotional player, which can quickly become an obstacle.

Playing for a bad Marshall team, Kane pretty much was the offense. He averaged 15.1 points and 7.0 assists, but his scoring was primarily through volume. He took over 26% of the shots when he was on the floor (far more than any ISU starter), and only made 25% of his 3s. He was also one of the best players in the conference at getting to the line, but only made 52% of his free throws.

Ideally, his role should be more like the player he'll be replacing – Korie Lucious. Lucious took less than 20% of the shots when he was on the floor, and Iowa State was able to utilize more efficient offensive players. Two of those players are back – Melvin Ejim and Georges Niang – and Kane needs to focus on setting them up. This is the strength of his game. He had the 9th highest assist rate in the nation last year, and six times had double digit assists.

If the staff can convince him to stop shooting so many ill-advised threes and instead focus on breaking down defenses, then this will be a great pickup for Coach Hoiberg.

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