I had my doubts since the guy averaged like 6 points and 4 rebounds most of last year, but he is really talented. And you can tell how raw he is.. Which I equate to upside since he's still putting out good, winning, numbers in spite of his unpolished game.
I thought he was a combo forward. His skill set insisted 3 while his body and athleticism says athletic 4. He's definitely a 4 now and will be in the NBA.
First off, he's getting double and triple (I even see 4 LBSU players collapse on him at one point) teamed all night. In the first half he was double teamed just on the ball denial... He struggled to say the least. He couldn't get position at all and when he finally got the ball, their team fell on him so quickly. Smart defensive plan considering the inconsistencies of the perimeter shooting on this team.
But he still found ways to score. He got himself going with hitting the offensive glass. Then he started receiving the ball near the foul line and taking guys off the dribble. Then his teammates started making shots so LBSU couldn't collapse on him anymore. It allowed him to do whatever he wanted, and he did. He faces up and shoots, he backs you down and hits at turnaround jumper, he'll spin off you, take an incredibly quick first, and then dunk the ball on the other side of the rim.
And the interesting thing about his game is that he's a very talented passer. He will occasionally force a bad turnaround jumper (I think because he knows he has to be the man), but for the most part he passes very well out of double teams. He had one play where he picked up his dribble near the baseline and had no where to go. Last year he would have just thrown it up at the rim and airballed. Last night he held the ball, surveyed the floor while his defender was bodying him up, and threw a great pass across the line to his teammate under the basket for a layup.
Intelligent player. I now see some of the similarities to Tim Duncan he got from Telep and the DraftExpress guy when he was in high school. The on court demeanor, the patience, the calming influence on the floor...
Although he's no where near as talented as Duncan (obviously) and he really does lack some post moves right now. All he has is that turnaround jumper and relying heavily on his quickness to get around the defender. Like I said, he's raw. However, you can't deny his potential and the fact that he produces at a high level, even when teams game plan around him. That's a strong sign for the future.
I know conference affiliation an the "name of the front of the jersey" has come to mean very little in college basketball, but how does an ACC school fall behind 41-5 to a MAAC school?
I know conference affiliation an the "name of the front of the jersey" has come to mean very little in college basketball, but how does an ACC school fall behind 41-5 to a MAAC school?
Especially after the same school only lost to UConn by 6.
There's a lot of talk about Uconn going to the ACC , i think the Big East is going way downhill (Syracuse being the final blow) . What a great division it was though, I'm going to miss the rivalries
Re: 2012/13 Observation Deck
