Said he tried Edwards at the 4 and didn't like the results.It didn't seem to suit him at all.
Cal's comments on Justin Edwards
- Thread starter bookerfan66
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I heard that, said he didn't have a feel for the position.
But you know what, I'm okay with it if it means Thiero gets on the floor more often as a 4 man.
Bradshaw
Mitchell
Ugonna
Thiero
Is a very versatile group at the 4/5 spots.
I do wish we had a bit more beef, but Thiero is a real fit at that spot now with how big he is, and those 2 blocks today were something else!
I think the lack of size is what will eventually hurt this team
Edwards will be fine. He had jitters today and tried to force too many things. He got caught playing me-ball to try to get going. He'll get it going.
It can't be easy for him, he’s a projected #1 pick and he knows he has to live up to that.
I think he'll get it going tomorrow. He got his feet wet today.
It can't be easy for him, he’s a projected #1 pick and he knows he has to live up to that.
I think he'll get it going tomorrow. He got his feet wet today.
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I would highly recommend a bit more beef.
But apparently Ugo had 6 blocks before getting hurt in the Africa scrimmage yesterday- that gives me a lot of hope.
I think Ugo and Bradshaw are pretty effective rim protectors, which can often negate a lack of "beef" (for instance, Davis/Jones/Wiltjer had almost no beef, but Davis and Jones could protect the rim like crazy).
Will be interesting to see, maybe we add someone in August. Cyril would've been perfect.
Ummmm Bradshaw and Ugonna were both out today. Thats basically 2 seven footers.
Try again.
I have to agree. 6’7” 210 and ripped is about like a Deron Feldhaus in terms of size. And I don’t think the kid’s done growing yet.
I remember the game Feldhaus guarded Shaq, in a huge win at Rupp. It was inspiring.
Thiero rebounded the ball well today. All the guys drove to the basket nicely. When the 3 ball starts falling and we get Ugo and or Bradshaw back this is a really good looking bunch at first blush.
I love their quickness!!!!
Hopeful for a good year. After one summer tourney game!! Lol.
I love their quickness!!!!
Hopeful for a good year. After one summer tourney game!! Lol.
They have to add somebody when or if those next wave of guys enter the portal in late august
It’s his first game against college level players too. He will have plenty of time to get better. When he gets used to the speed and physicality of the college game he will be great.
Edwards had a little jitters I think. 3 is a more normal position for him.
9 rebounds. I’m hoping he sees the value in that contribution. He’ll get it going offensively but nice to see him still able to contribute.
T Jones was built like a brick shit house. He had plenty of beef, 6-9 250+. But I get what you are saying. AD cleaned a lot of everybody's mess up.
Maybe Thiero could be like a PJ Washington. PJ was 6-7 , maybe weighed a little more than Thiero does right NOW.
Edwards had a bad game and never really got settled in. He'd be dynamite at the 4 if we ran some pick and pop at the elbow. He needs to find his role and focus on impacting the game without demanding the ball. If he locks down on D and hits the boards like MKG, the buckets will come.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit surprised to see Edwards struggle and look out of place, but I fully believe he'll figure it out and go on a roll. He might have just needed to get his feet wet today.
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I would agree with that, I just don't put him in the same group (in my mind) to guys like Oscar, Nick Richards, KAT, Cousins, etc.
Just a true, beefy, back-to-the-basket dude. That 2012 team didn't really have that, and neither did some other teams, but I think it requires elite rim protection if you aren't going to have that, which luckily Ugo and Bradshaw SHOULD provide.
I'm sure Edwards will play better but if he is the number 1 draft pick I'll eat your shorts. Not as quick and explosive as I had thought. On a positive he does appear to have some " dawg" in him with 9 rebounds playing out of position. I hope the Edwards at the 4 experiment is over.
I agree, could be nerves too. You never know. Let’s see how their entire 3 games look before we start trying to predict things. Much like the NBA Summer League it’s hard to tell how it translates to the real thing.
Cals best teams outside Cousins and KAT’s years really relied on quicker big men who defended the rim very well and could run the floor. Not that Towns/Cuz couldn’t do those things. They were just more traditional bigs than the others, and could get a bucket in the post every time trip down.
I thought Edwards was high energy. He played hard, hustled, rebounded and worked on defense. I agree he struggled on the offensive end, but it's one game. His play reminds me of MKG to some degree. Hope the comparison turns out to be true.
It’s just like Cal to take one of the best recruits he’s had in years and make the next-level move to try playing him out of position. The man’s ego is as legendary as his lack of true self-esteem.
He sees something special in Edwards so he automatically knee-jerk worries that Edwards will look so good from day 1 that when he’s an NBA star people will say he would have been that good under anyone. Solution? Play him out of position so if it works out you can claim you made him. And if it doesn’t work out? Meh. Generational poverty; generational schmoverty.
I swear we always have to play 5 on 6 with Cal’s ego starting for the other team.
He sees something special in Edwards so he automatically knee-jerk worries that Edwards will look so good from day 1 that when he’s an NBA star people will say he would have been that good under anyone. Solution? Play him out of position so if it works out you can claim you made him. And if it doesn’t work out? Meh. Generational poverty; generational schmoverty.
I swear we always have to play 5 on 6 with Cal’s ego starting for the other team.
Of the NCAA Champs since the 2017 season only Kansas had a significant contributor that was taller than 6'9" and he averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds. The game has changed to the point you don't need a lumbering 7 footer in the paint if you have guys in the 6'4"-6'8" range that can shoot and defend. The defense on the perimeter is the thing that worries me most. If we can't defend a simple high screen any better than we did yesterday it could be a season of double digit losses. That has been our issue for the last 3-4 seasons. We haven't had a lockdown defender and the team defense has also been terrible.
Those are good points, but we will not face many teams that shoot the three as good as Germany. They must have had 4 guys who could make the three at a high clip. We did guard it better in the second half.
I never liked the idea of him at the 4. Maybe a sophomore or junior Edwards would be a good fit there, but not as a freshman. He just isn’t strong enough for the position at this level yet. He’s a prototypical college 3 at this juncture of his career.
This. Our best defender yesterday was a 6'2" guard who played good defense. Fun to watch. Thanks Reed.
Love Edwards. However, MKG was a one of a kind freshman IMO. An absolute man!
I predicted last week that this would happen. I knew as soon as Cal said he was playing Edwards at the 4, that he would end that experiment as soon as he had an excuse to.
Cal hates playing small. He is not happy unless he has two bigs together. That’s just what he likes to do.
As soon as the big guys are ready to go, he will be playing two bigs together.
I thought Edwards played well.
I’m not sure that playing “out of position” caused Edwards to miss shots as much as first game jitters did.
Sheppard didn’t knock down his shots either. Was he playing out of position?
Like I said, I figured this would happen.
Now I thought it would be because of rebounding, but Edwards obviously had no trouble in that category (9 rebounds).
Cal just simply does not want to play that small and is setting up that narrative to justify playing two bigs as soon as he can.
Cal hates playing small. He is not happy unless he has two bigs together. That’s just what he likes to do.
As soon as the big guys are ready to go, he will be playing two bigs together.
I thought Edwards played well.
I’m not sure that playing “out of position” caused Edwards to miss shots as much as first game jitters did.
Sheppard didn’t knock down his shots either. Was he playing out of position?
Like I said, I figured this would happen.
Now I thought it would be because of rebounding, but Edwards obviously had no trouble in that category (9 rebounds).
Cal just simply does not want to play that small and is setting up that narrative to justify playing two bigs as soon as he can.
Excellent post.
I bet Cal does just what you said, which is put Ugo and Bradshaw out there together. Cal puts more weight on shot blocking than spreading the court, shooting and free flowing offense. He thinks that's a huge advantage and it isn't. That’s the old school way and it just doesn't work.
Put Mitchell out there with Bradshaw, Wagner, Reeves and Edwards and you have the new Benny lineup. We probably shouldn't tell him that's the best lineup, because if he knows, he won’t play that lineup.
Reed was not our best defender yesterday. He had a solid all around game outside of scoring, but let's not get carried away. I love what Reed brought yesterday, but I also watched the game.
There will be moments it hurts us but overall I think it's likely a blessing in disguise. Its going to force us to be a little smaller and I think most of the time we will like the result. Thiero at the 4 some, Burks getting some, etc. Gives these guys experience and we get to see some lineups. I still fully expect as I have all summer for Ugo to start at the 5 and be pretty good once healthy.
So did I. Opinions are like azzholes, everybody has one. Keep yours, I'll keep mine.
Ok, fair enough. What exactly did Reed do on defense that made him the best player on defense yesterday ? Rebounds? Block shots ? Stay in front of his man ? He had a couple steals, yes. Not arguing , just debating our opinions. Wagner played better defense. So did Dillingham. IMO.
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