Iowa State men’s basketball player preview: Looking at Abdel Nader
By Doug Winkey
Our next Iowa State men’s basketball player preview focuses on another one of the new wings, Abdel Nader.
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Nader comes to Iowa State having transferred from Northern Illinois University. During the season — just prior to his transfer in 2012-2013 — Nader led the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game while adding 5.6 rebounds per game. He was also named to the All-MAC freshmen team in 2011-2012.
Nader is forced to sit out the first three games due to his offseason arrest for OWI in April. When he returns, he will likely come off the bench to spell Georges Niang as the primary swingman. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, Nader has the right sort of stature to both stand out on the wing and go into the post on both ends of the court.
As he will play with the second unit of Clayton Custer, Matt Thomas, and Naz Long, I could even see him playing the stretch-4 for periods to accommodate the team’s high-flying offense. Overall, his skill set and usage will place him somewhere between Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones in terms of the role he will ultimately fill.
The hype surrounding Nader has been much less compared to Dejean-Jones and some of the other players. And for that reason, I am less confident about my ability to make a bold prediction for him. As a wing-player, his position is the deepest on the team and playing time could be hard to come by. But that’s I would not be surprised to see him worked into the post in order to provide further depth, experience, and athleticism.
I recommend keeping an eye on Nader as the season develops. He has been less heralded as preseason basketball coverage has increased and his suspension did him no favors for public attention. Don’t be surprised if he is able to go on some scoring binges and shock a few folks in the Big 12 for overlooking him.
Thanks for reading, and keep looking at Clones Confidential for more previews!