Also never thought I could miss Dakari this much. He couldn't jump over a phonebook but he would fight and whack people!
Cal: “a wake-up call for our front line. It’s not about anybody else.”
- Thread starter Mojocat
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I think everyone is forgetting the other side of the coin with DJ, he got his shot blocked and the ball stripped more times than he ever converted.
I agree. Sometimes, I believe, when guys are recruited their lack of fundamentals are not exposed because of the competition. Sometimes these skills, or lack thereof, are overlooked because obvious strengths outweigh them and coaching and system hopefully alleviate the problem.
Alex reminds me so much of several guys I grew up playing with who had incredible leeping ability and strength, but from an outside perspective, it seemed that they didn't have the coordination necessary to harness that power. The forces exerted by jumping higher and running faster disallow the player from total control of the ball or even his own body at times. Marcus seems to fit this same mold.
Not sure there is an solution except what Cal and staff already do: teach them what you can in 6 months (1anddones), ask them to do only what their best at, continue to recruit the best they can get.
Teammates sure make a big difference too. Imagine Alex or Lee in the spot Jared Prickett played opposite Jamal Mashburn. Both are being asked to play the Mashburn roll much more than they are capable instead of the putback artists that they are. Obviousy it's out of necessity due to Dakari leaving and Skal being a real Freshman. After all we weren't expecting Aminu Timberlake. Hopefully Skal stays around long enough to get out of that company but I'm afraid some NBDL weight room has his spot waiting.
Alex reminds me so much of several guys I grew up playing with who had incredible leeping ability and strength, but from an outside perspective, it seemed that they didn't have the coordination necessary to harness that power. The forces exerted by jumping higher and running faster disallow the player from total control of the ball or even his own body at times. Marcus seems to fit this same mold.
Not sure there is an solution except what Cal and staff already do: teach them what you can in 6 months (1anddones), ask them to do only what their best at, continue to recruit the best they can get.
Teammates sure make a big difference too. Imagine Alex or Lee in the spot Jared Prickett played opposite Jamal Mashburn. Both are being asked to play the Mashburn roll much more than they are capable instead of the putback artists that they are. Obviousy it's out of necessity due to Dakari leaving and Skal being a real Freshman. After all we weren't expecting Aminu Timberlake. Hopefully Skal stays around long enough to get out of that company but I'm afraid some NBDL weight room has his spot waiting.
After such a long post I'd be remiss to say that I'm almost positive that at least some of us could help improve certain guys free throw percentages...and that is baffling to me.
Untouchable, you bring up a very interesting post of the ones I have read here. We can debate who should play, who shouldn't etc. But, you are hitting upon something that does seem interesting. Yes, Young was bad at passing and over the season seemed to do the same thing over and over which was throw a weak pass from the baseline out to the top of the key where it would get picked off for a fast break for the other team. It happened time and time again and never really changed. I have seen Murray do it this year, although I wouldn't say he is at the James Young level or that the passes are weak. But, same type of thing which I am waiting to see it corrected (and it hasn't). How hard is it to get Briscoe to put more of an arc on his free throws, his fundamentals stink? Heck, I wouldn't mind him missing them if they even had a chance but the straight line he shoots them almost always hit the back of the rim and have no chance. What is equally weird, is guys like me, I mean not a basketball player can hit them with more frequency. Poy loses the ball on the dribble and that also has been a career issue that one wonders why it hasn't either been corrected by now. What about Lee, how hard is it to teach a pump fake or an up and under move? What about just ONE move for him?
My guess is we want players to be something they are not or that there are many aspects to the game where the expectation is the player will learn it on their own. But, fundamentals do seem like they don't change and it makes no sense.
My guess is we want players to be something they are not or that there are many aspects to the game where the expectation is the player will learn it on their own. But, fundamentals do seem like they don't change and it makes no sense.
It is all about upside and there will be teams willing to roll the dice. According to the experts, what qualifies one to be an expert must be a deep dark secret, he has plenty of upside.
I agree 100%, that's why I don't get as tore up over the Cats as I did before. Refuse to let an NBA minor league team get me down. Most of these kids don't give a crap about college and are just (shooting) for a chance to get drafted. After all isn't that our number one goal?
This is actually a brave statement and I would bet the exact sentiment of many UK fans. I personally could not care any less about the NBA since I am not a fan, so I can identify.
Surely you guys mean you don't watch or follow professional basketball...not that you don't care if our players go on to succeed? Just clarifying.
I assume you mean the former because it wouldnt make any sense otherwise.
I assume you mean the former because it wouldnt make any sense otherwise.
Of course. I wish success for any of our guys but I typically only concern myself on how they do at UK. I am a COLLEGE basketball fan. I am a UK COLLEGE basketball fan. I am not a fan of OAD, although I fully understand and support players getting what they can when they can. I follow some of their stats in the NBA but that's about it.
There is a certain pride that our players have gone on to successful Pro careers. It also likely helps with recruiting as a discussion today that we may lead for another top center because of those previous success at center. However, I agree that there is too much about how great they do in the pros. That is meaningless in terms of our championship aspirations. Great that Booker is hitting his shots in the pros, too bad he completely lost his touch at the end of the season.
Yes, if there is one thing Cal simply has to do better, it's recruiting.....
Way to take an entirely laid out argument about devaluing traditional basketball fundamentals over length and athleticism and how that has really been a detriment to the program and cut out one line to take it out of context.
I understand context, and here it's unimportant. He gets the top recruiting class every year. He has a certain philosophy about the way to recruit, the kinds of players he likes to recruit. That philosophy has led directly to winning nearly 85% of his games. Not to mention going 22-4 in the NCAAT, getting to 4 final fours in 5 years - you know the list. There is no contextual consideration which goes in the other direction. If he goes less athletic and more skill, you give up something, and since there's very little room to go anywhere but down, my guess is the results would be less. Which would lead to much carping about not being athletic enough.
I think any kind of complaining about coaching in the midst of this kind of run is questionable - but reasonable minds can differ. I do think it's kind of crazy to complain about recruiting......
I appreciate your very reasonable argument and explanation of your thoughts on the issue....but we are going to have to agree to disagree. Not making the NCAA is NEVER acceptable to me at UK. And it's happened once under Cal and although I think this years team is going to make the tourney it is not all that unlikely we fall apart in conference play and miss the tournament again. That's where the line is for me personally. And IF that happens it would be because in both cases we had ZERO post scoring on those teams and Cal's offense doesn't work well unless there is a superior post scorer which is a basketball skill issue. But I respect your viewpoint and understand we simply disagree on this issue.
What potential have you saw from Skal other than dominating church league in high school?
If you had never saw Skal's rankings from high school, never saw him play before college and never even heard of him before UK, can you honestly say you think he would be drafted this year, first round (potentially lottery) based on his play while at UK? Stop kidding yourself.
Can he get there? Yes. Showing 'potential' right now? No.
I can offer the Poythress dribbling question. He has the WORST hand eye coordination of any big time athlete I've ever seen . He can barely make a one handed pass , it's almost always a two handed chest pass ( which I appreciate) . I'd be curious to know if there has ever been a non- center at UK with less assists per minute played . So there is no fix to his dribbling problems . Kenny Walker was much the same way but he was a WARRIOR .
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