We have 10-15 games left

[Mike-McD]

Give or take, depending on our tournament performances.

Is that enough time to ramp up Big Z to where he can make a real impact?

I see him as the key to our team's chemistry, even on defense. He has great hands and court awareness on offense. He's a shot blocker and he's fearless.

He just needs some work on his footwork on defense and how to avoid getting silly fouls.

Will Cal turn him loose?

Will DJ come back? Tre? If so, will they get more limited minutes? Or will we go back to the failed model of the first 21 games of the season?

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

 

[catsfanbgky]

Give or take, depending on our tournament performances.

Is that enough time to ramp up Big Z to where he can make a real impact?

I see him as the key to our team's chemistry, even on defense. He has great hands and court awareness on offense. He's a shot blocker and he's fearless.

He just needs some work on his footwork on defense and how to avoid getting silly fouls.

Will Cal turn him loose?

Will DJ come back? Tre? If so, will they get more limited minutes? Or will we go back to the failed model of the first 21 games of the season?

LOL, court awareness is the least of his strengths. Give the kid some time, he has a lot to learn. it is not his fault (NCAA, sick, injured), hopefully he gets some steady clock and can improve every game. BUT, keep in mind, the road is about to get a LOT tougher. Playing well against Vandy and Georgia is one thing, against the teams we have remaining is another. I will root like hell for him, dude is a joy to watch,,, good and bad, LOL. Just get consistent, it will only make us a better, more dangerous, complete team with many weapons.
Hopefully, he learns to stay with his assignments on defense, and a little more polished and less sloppy with the turnovers on offense.
He played 12 minutes or so, and had a third of our turnovers. But if he can't play without fouling, it will not matter, he won't be able to stay on the court to get valuable experience. Pick and chose when to block and when to just play straight up, less handsy. You do not have to block EVERY shot, just contend them. he is not the only one obviously.

 

[Mike-McD]

LOL, court awareness is the least of his strengths. Give the kid some time, he has a lot to learn. it is not his fault (NCAA, sick, injured), hopefully he gets some steady clock and can improve every game. BUT, keep in mind, the road is about to get a LOT tougher. Playing well against Vandy and Georgia is one thing, against the teams we have remaining is another. I will root like hell for him, dude is a joy to watch,,, good and bad, LOL. Just get consistent, it will only make us a better, more dangerous, complete team with many weapons.
Hopefully, he learns to stay with his assignments on defense, and a little more polished and less sloppy with the turnovers on offense.
He played 12 minutes or so, and had a third of our turnovers. But if he can't play without fouling, it will not matter, he won't be able to stay on the court to get valuable experience. Pick and chose when to block and when to just play straight up, less handsy. You do not have to block EVERY shot, just contend them. he is not the only one obviously.

3 blocks, 2 assists. Several offensive putbacks. Don't forget the transition assist to Burks and the lob from under the basket to Smoochy for a dunk.

Court awareness. LOL He's probably our best passer not named Sheppard.

 

[catsfanbgky]

3 blocks, 2 assists. Several offensive putbacks. Don't forget the transition assist to Burks and the lob from under the basket to Smoochy for a dunk.

Court awareness. LOL He's probably our best passer not named Sheppard.

Oh boy. So you think he is a better passer than Dillingham ? Sheppard had 4 turnovers last night. Rob, 1 compared to 9 assist. I love Z, but he also had twice the turnovers as assist. A -2/1 turnover ratio is not exactly stats for a great passer. yes he made a nice pass, but no one was near "Smoochy". Awareness means he knows where to be on the court and protect the basketball, maybe you are watching a different game than me, not to mention court awareness to not foul out in only 12 minutes.
Dillingham
Sheppard
Wagner
Mitchell
Theiro
ALL better passers than Z. Facts. To think otherwise is just blind to what actually happens on the court. He CAN be a great passer, he just has to use that great awareness you say he has, and play under control.

 

[sk73]

Give or take, depending on our tournament performances.

Is that enough time to ramp up Big Z to where he can make a real impact?

I see him as the key to our team's chemistry, even on defense. He has great hands and court awareness on offense. He's a shot blocker and he's fearless.

He just needs some work on his footwork on defense and how to avoid getting silly fouls.

Will Cal turn him loose?

Will DJ come back? Tre? If so, will they get more limited minutes? Or will we go back to the failed model of the first 21 games of the season?

I like Z. He does need a tremendous amount of work, especially defensively. He needs a lot of work in the weight room. Thinking long term goals, he should put in the work and stay for another year. JMO
I am higher on DJ than you are. I really like him as a player.

 

[ukcatz12]

Oh boy. So you think he is a better passer than Dillingham ? Sheppard had 4 turnovers last night. Rob, 1 compared to 9 assist. I love Z, but he also had twice the turnovers as assist. A -2/1 turnover ratio is not exactly stats for a great passer. yes he made a nice pass, but no one was near "Smoochy". Awareness means he knows where to be on the court and protect the basketball, maybe you are watching a different game than me, not to mention court awareness to not foul out in only 12 minutes.
Dillingham
Sheppard
Wagner
Mitchell
Theiro
ALL better passers than Z. Facts. To think otherwise is just blind to what actually happens on the court. He CAN be a great passer, he just has to use that great awareness you say he has, and play under control.

You're arguing with someone who will never admit they're wrong.

I agree that Z's court awareness isn't great. He's lost on the defensive end almost every possession and just kind of wanders around like he can't find where he's actually supposed to be. He does it a bit offensively too, where he'll wander into a place he shouldn't be and we have two guys standing directly next to each other instead of being well spaced.

He has flashes of brilliance, but I think it's clear he's behind in a lot of aspects. Not that anyone is really good defensively, but he seems more lost than the rest of the team and cannot play without fouling.

 

[ukcatz12]

I am higher on DJ than you are. I really like him as a player.

You can't get lower on DJ than Mike-McD is. After DJ's 18 point 10 assist game the only thing he could say is "well he missed a fast break layup." For some reason that poster has felt the need to turn this entire season into some weird Sheppard vs. DJ debate.

 

[502 Wildcat]

I don't think Ivisic is gonna turn into Jokic anytime soon, but if he gets consistent clock over the next few games he can absolutely make an "impact". You just can't expect Georgia every game with him. But I agree, he does change things when he's on the court and his ability to pass and shoot is a real weapon. He's just gotta work on positioning on defense. It's the little things: staying between his man and the rim on defense, cutting off the baseline, keeping your arms straight up when guarding down low, boxing out consistently, etc.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Second best passer on the team is Wagner. Dillingham’s TO’s are trending down, but he also has a tendency to drive into the paint, get up into the air, and make passes that he shouldn’t. Thankfully, that’s gotten much better in recent games.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

3 blocks, 2 assists. Several offensive putbacks. Don't forget the transition assist to Burks and the lob from under the basket to Smoochy for a dunk.

Court awareness. LOL He's probably our best passer not named Sheppard.

Smoochy?! 🤔

 

[catsfanbgky]

Second best passer on the team is Wagner. Dillingham’s TO’s are trending down, but he also has a tendency to drive into the paint, get up into the air, and make passes that he shouldn’t. Thankfully, that’s gotten much better in recent games.

And unfortunately, Sheppard's turnovers are going up. Talk about someone who drives it deep and leaves his feet, he has done this several times in games recently. When did this start ? he used to be so dependable with the ball in his hands. If he is going to see any significant minutes at point, he has to cut down on mistakes. He also tries to make the "circus" pass and it gets deflected / stolen. Play him at the two, let him take all open 3's, and drive to the MIDDLE, not baseline, and shot the little 10-12 foot pull up. he is deadly at those, and when teams close out, it is there, he just has to quit driving it deep and getting into no mans land and giving up his dribble.

 

[cats#1again]

Dilingham is starting to remind me of IQ in the 19/20 season. Was all over the place until late December and then became one of the best guards in the country. Money from 3. We are just now starting to see how good this kid really can be. Wouldn't surprise me if we look back around Jan 25 to March 25 that he and Reeves both avg above 19.

 

[cats1920]

We're 1-3 in games without DJ. The 1 win was over #236 in the NET Vanderbilt. UNCW is 114 for comparison.

We were the hottest team in college basketball until DJ missed the Florida and UT games.

OP hates DJ. It's DJ vs Reed in his eyes. The players are friends, but Mike McD thinks we need to hate DJ to root for Reed. It's nuts.

 

[Mike-McD]

Oh boy. So you think he is a better passer than Dillingham ? Sheppard had 4 turnovers last night. Rob, 1 compared to 9 assist. I love Z, but he also had twice the turnovers as assist. A -2/1 turnover ratio is not exactly stats for a great passer. yes he made a nice pass, but no one was near "Smoochy". Awareness means he knows where to be on the court and protect the basketball, maybe you are watching a different game than me, not to mention court awareness to not foul out in only 12 minutes.
Dillingham
Sheppard
Wagner
Mitchell
Theiro
ALL better passers than Z. Facts. To think otherwise is just blind to what actually happens on the court. He CAN be a great passer, he just has to use that great awareness you say he has, and play under control.

I don't know where you're getting your numbers, but according to the box score Z had 3 turnovers and 2 assists. So your ENTIRE case, turnovers against Z, just blew up because you either can't read or can't count. You also referenced just ONE of the TWO examples of passing that I mentioned. There were other passes he made, one from the top of the key that led to a lob, which momentarily stunned even Tom Leach in his radio call. Maybe you should watch the games instead of mangling the stats.

You also failed to establish that any or all of Z's turnovers came from him passing the ball. Not every turnover comes from an errant pass. Have you ever watched a basketball game, anywhere?

 

[cats2010]

Oh boy. So you think he is a better passer than Dillingham ? Sheppard had 4 turnovers last night. Rob, 1 compared to 9 assist. I love Z, but he also had twice the turnovers as assist. A -2/1 turnover ratio is not exactly stats for a great passer. yes he made a nice pass, but no one was near "Smoochy". Awareness means he knows where to be on the court and protect the basketball, maybe you are watching a different game than me, not to mention court awareness to not foul out in only 12 minutes.
Dillingham
Sheppard
Wagner
Mitchell
Theiro
ALL better passers than Z. Facts. To think otherwise is just blind to what actually happens on the court. He CAN be a great passer, he just has to use that great awareness you say he has, and play under control.

Not debating on who is a better passer but Z’s turnovers were not the result of passing. He had the ball stolen from him twice trying to put the ball on the floor (another learning curve for him) and his 3rd turnover was the offensive foul getting called for a hook. He probably thought that play was fine as it got done to him in a recent game at the same place on the baseline with no call. South Carolina game I think. From a purely passing standpoint I do think he has pretty good court awareness, he spotted Burks coming down the middle last night while the pass was in the air on its way to him. His court awareness issues are on the defensive end. He’s still learning that side and plays like he’s on eggshells there.

 

[cats#1again]

You can't get lower on DJ than Mike-McD is. After DJ's 18 point 10 assist game the only thing he could say is "well he missed a fast break layup." For some reason that poster has felt the need to turn this entire season into some weird Sheppard vs. DJ debate.

True. It's not hard to see we need DJ on the floor as well.
This type of fan won't be happy with the next coach either

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

You're arguing with someone who will never admit they're wrong.

I agree that Z's court awareness isn't great. He's lost on the defensive end almost every possession and just kind of wanders around like he can't find where he's actually supposed to be. He does it a bit offensively too, where he'll wander into a place he shouldn't be and we have two guys standing directly next to each other instead of being well spaced.

He has flashes of brilliance, but I think it's clear he's behind in a lot of aspects. Not that anyone is really good defensively, but he seems more lost than the rest of the team and cannot play without fouling.

He didn't play against TN and we gave up over 100. I'll take my chances with Z. He rebs, had 7 in 12 mins the other night.

 

[NociHTTP]

I like Z. He does need a tremendous amount of work, especially defensively. He needs a lot of work in the weight room. Thinking long term goals, he should put in the work and stay for another year. JMO
I am higher on DJ than you are. I really like him as a player.

I like DJ, too. The problem with him is that he seems to want to play PG all the time, but he's not PG material. When the ball is in his hands, the offfense just STOPS for whatever reason. Maybe it's because they just expect him to drive to the basket, because that's what he usually does and has struggled at doing on occasion. On a very small level he reminds me of Wheeler.

 

[oldsports_]

Z looks like a new born fawn out there playing.
5 fouls in 10 mins was comical

 

[Mike-McD]

Z looks like a new born fawn out there playing.
5 fouls in 10 mins was comical

"New born fawn"
LOL


You sound like a fake fan.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

"New born fawn"
LOL

View embedded media

You sound like a fake fan.

It’s his opinion you sound more like a fake fan than anybody, so maybe you should take a good look in the mirror. Seriously seriously you think your opinion is solid gold on my watch you talk about and sometimes it’s not even tinfoil

 

[Mike-McD]

It’s his opinion you sound more like a fake fan than anybody, so maybe you should take a good look in the mirror. Seriously seriously you think your opinion is solid gold on my watch you talk about and sometimes it’s not even tinfoil

Look down. See my sig? Read it. Digest it. Learn it, little man white knight.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Look down. See my sig? Read it. Digest it. Learn it, little man white knight.

You’re sitting sure and you can kiss my ass. You always attack and start crap with people

 

[Mike-D]

Z has huge upside. Needs more minutes to figure everything out. Not sure if there is enough time left in the season, though.

 

[fastpaste101]

He has so much talent he just isn’t up to speed and his strength is not there. With ugo emerging he and AB will get spot minutes. Good to know that we have a big guy that can pass a shoot if ugo is in foul trouble. We will just have to hope he doesn’t give up too much in defense.

 

[UKAlum84]

Unfortunately, Big Z's Big game was his debut.

When I first saw him, I thought there's no way he can handle the post position in the sec.

I base this thinking on his lack of strength. He can run like a guard but can he battle in the paint?