Do you guys not realize how good Big Z really is?

[Mike-McD]

This guy played Euro ball. The game looks slow to him. The only two real mistakes he made Sat night were deliberate - the pullup on the rim and the elbow to the face.

He honestly looks as though college ball is kind of a joke. I know he needs to get in a little better conditioning. But trust me - he's going to play 15-20 minutes by March and frankly by then I think he should be starting. Did I say that with my outside voice?

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about. He can do everything. Opposing teams do NOT want Big Z on the block or anywhere near the paint, or behind the three point line, or at the top of the key, or guarding the inbounds...you get the idea.

 

[Catzman]

Okay

 

[Mike-McD]

Okay

thanks

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

What I saw Saturday was the looks of a guy who might be giving us 25 minutes per game by the time the tournament rolls around.

He looked like a lottery pick to me.

 

[HoneyMoon155]

This guy played Euro ball. The game looks slow to him. The only two real mistakes he made Sat night were deliberate - the pullup on the rim and the elbow to the face.

He honestly looks as though college ball is kind of a joke. I know he needs to get in a little better conditioning. But trust me - he's going to play 15-20 minutes by March and frankly by then I think he should be starting. Did I say that with my outside voice?

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about. He can do everything. Opposing teams do NOT want Big Z on the block or anywhere near the paint, or behind the three point line, or at the top of the key, or guarding the inbounds...you get the idea.

I agree, I hope he’s playing more than 15-20 minutes though. He definitely made it look easy the other night, like he wasn’t even trying. Hopefully he stays consistent

 

[BluPappi81]

Thank you. I’ve told everyone I know that I can’t recognize who’s good until you spell it out for me.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Thank you. I’ve told everyone I know that I can’t recognize who’s good until you spell it out for me.

OP is just excited about Z, as we all are. This is a fun season and it might be one that finally unites the fan base.

 

[FFWhite]

Looked great but I need to see a little more of him

 

[blubo]

This guy played Euro ball. The game looks slow to him. The only two real mistakes he made Sat night were deliberate - the pullup on the rim and the elbow to the face.

He honestly looks as though college ball is kind of a joke. I know he needs to get in a little better conditioning. But trust me - he's going to play 15-20 minutes by March and frankly by then I think he should be starting. Did I say that with my outside voice?

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about. He can do everything. Opposing teams do NOT want Big Z on the block or anywhere near the paint, or behind the three point line, or at the top of the key, or guarding the inbounds...you get the idea.

Agree. i know we’ve only seen a small sample but he looks like he’s totally up to speed with the college game—maybe a step above.

 

[UK90]

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about.

Yeah, this was the odd thing, arguably his most impressive play might’ve been the dunk that he MISSED. He showed some amazing footwork and agility for a 7’2” white dude on that play.

You ain’t gonna see Zach Edey making that move.

 

[Deli owl]

He’s a scrub

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I mean it could be..

I used to laugh at the euro players who would largely fail in the league from the 90s and into the 2000s. But not anymore. Not only is international basketball much improved, but I think it's producing better basketball players than AAU leagues here in the states. On top of that, these guys have work ethics. They want to play. Load management isn't in the vocabulary for guys like Jokic.

BigZ might be playing college basketball thinking "This is it??". Wouldn't be shocked if there's not some of these euro league players who are just far past our elite Highschool players.

 

[RMorris33]

Z when he gets to play against 6'8" SEC centers

 

[BC_Wader]

Agree with th OP. He seems a step ahead and sure of himself. He covers a lot of ground obviously but his position on his blocks and rebounds were terrific. Had the one rebound where the only way to get it was to tip it to himself. His passes were crisp and without hesitation. His stroke is pure. For being nervous and a bit winded he showed out.

 

[ukfan1622]

Well, I think he'll be the number one pick in this summer's NBA draft so I think he's pretty good. How far off am I? Between him and Wembanyama I'd have trouble choosing.
And he'll play ever how many minutes we need him to play to win the game. He's our best player.

 

[bthaunert]

I took the wait and see approach with Shep as he started the season beyond my expectations. He proved to be who he was early on. Fingers crossed the same happens with Z.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

He played 16 last game so I definitely agree with 20 per game by March. Does he have the conditioning to play 25 or more? Idk.

Ugonna abd Bradshaw are good enough to play some at 5 as well and keep Z fresh. He's definitely best big man on roster talent wise and probably will be a lotto pick and first UK player taken.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Chuck Norris could dunk on him from a sitting position, but other than Chuck, good luck flushing over him.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

What we really need more than anything, is just competant rebounding, and enough defensive presence so our guards and wings can force players into the lane/not have to worry as much about getting beat off the dribble. Our bigs being good defenders will make things a LOT easier for our guards.

 

[ukfan1622]

One think about Big Z that amazes me is that, in this internet age, not much about him leaked out to the public about him being a freaking unicorn. Hell, back when Barkley was at Auburn, long before the internet word leaked out about a fat guy dominating their practices. I knew about him playing against pro players(while maintaining his amateur status) and that he was a projected 2nd round pick. So I knew he'd be a good player and I expected something like Bradshaw. But he is a unicorn.

 

[JumperJack]

Maybe we should temper expectations just a tad until we see him do it a few more times. No doubt he’s exciting. When he hit those threes I had that feeling from this summer watching de la Cruz with the Reds…that “what am I looking at here” feeling.

 

[thedahc]

This guy played Euro ball. The game looks slow to him. The only two real mistakes he made Sat night were deliberate - the pullup on the rim and the elbow to the face.

He honestly looks as though college ball is kind of a joke. I know he needs to get in a little better conditioning. But trust me - he's going to play 15-20 minutes by March and frankly by then I think he should be starting. Did I say that with my outside voice?

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about. He can do everything. Opposing teams do NOT want Big Z on the block or anywhere near the paint, or behind the three point line, or at the top of the key, or guarding the inbounds...you get the idea.

In a rare occurrence and I find myself hesitant to say this.... I agree with @Mike-McD on this.

The most impressive thing Big Z did that indicated his level of play actually resulted in a 0-1 from the field

That spin away from contact into an almost poster dunk was instinctual high-level pro stuff

 

[swflakat]

Just like Sheppard and Dilly, I want to see another 5-6 games with similar stats to say he's a sure-fire lottery pick. You cannot teach size, but his three 3-pointers rallied the team and fans in a way we haven't seen for a long while.

Bradshaw has someone to learn from, Onyenso can get defensive minutes, get Thiero back and sit Edwards on that front line if/until he blows up. That is a five-man front line that no one wants to pay against!

 

[gbl97]

My hesitation in excitement is that the guys who practice with him everyday say they were surprised at his performance. I would feel better if they said, "Oh yeah no surprise. He does that every day in practice."

 

[ukfan1622]

My hesitation in excitement is that the guys who practice with him everyday say they were surprised at his performance. I would feel better if they said, "Oh yeah no surprise. He does that every day in practice."

Yeah, I mentioned my surprise that word about practice domination didn't leak out if he is what he appeared to be in his first game, a unicorn. Maybe he's like Allen Iverson about practice? Maybe he doesn't like showing up his teammates?

 

[GoBIG BLUE]

One think about Big Z that amazes me is that, in this internet age, not much about him leaked out to the public about him being a freaking unicorn. Hell, back when Barkley was at Auburn, long before the internet word leaked out about a fat guy dominating their practices. I knew about him playing against pro players(while maintaining his amateur status) and that he was a projected 2nd round pick. So I knew he'd be a good player and I expected something like Bradshaw. But he is a unicorn.

His tape from the euro was VERY exciting to watch! Ive been extremely high on him ever since seeing them. So there info was out there but i agree; very little buzz for some reason.

 

[GoBIG BLUE]

My hesitation in excitement is that the guys who practice with him everyday say they were surprised at his performance. I would feel better if they said, "Oh yeah no surprise. He does that every day in practice."

So other players said there were suprised? Who?

 

[ck-2]

What I liked seeing from him was when a shot went up he was finding a guy, putting a body on him, and getting in rebounding position. Something the rest of our team doesn’t seem to understand.

 

[ukfan1622]

His tape from the euro was VERY exciting to watch! Ive been extremely high on him ever since seeing them. So there info was out there but i agree; very little buzz for some reason.

I hadn't seen any tape and I guess I don't need to now. But I rarely watch player highlights because they only show the shots that go in. Everybody looks like Stef Curry when they swish the shot.

 

[chroix]

I mean it could be..

I used to laugh at the euro players who would largely fail in the league from the 90s and into the 2000s. But not anymore. Not only is international basketball much improved, but I think it's producing better basketball players than AAU leagues here in the states. On top of that, these guys have work ethics. They want to play. Load management isn't in the vocabulary for guys like Jokic.

BigZ might be playing college basketball thinking "This is it??". Wouldn't be shocked if there's not some of these euro league players who are just far past our elite Highschool players.

Way better than AAU. Totally agree with that.

 

[CincyUKFan]

Yahoo Sports just inserted him as the 9th pick in their mock draft and expects him to move into the top 5.

They have Dilly at 7 and Reed at 11.

DJ, Bradshaw, Edwards, and Reeves aren’t listed in their first round mock draft.

 

[AirRaid08]

I wish I could tell you to slow your roll but I think we are about to see something special with Z.
Went back and watched a bunch of highlights today same as I think we all have.

Seeing the highlights over the summer and seeing those same highlights now transferring into Saturday in action, I’m convinced we just saw a small example of his skill set.

One of the more polished things I didn’t see mentioned much I noticed more in highlights today were his timing in shot blocking.

Times up shots perfectly. Gets in position with his feet, even when trailing.

Doesn’t go for ball fakes, eyes on the ball and not the man, impeccable timing.

We are about to see the full skill set soon I hope.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Yahoo Sports just inserted him as the 9th pick in their mock draft and expects him to move into the top 5.

They have Dilly at 7 and Reed at 11.

DJ, Bradshaw, Edwards, and Reeves aren’t listed in their first round mock draft.

I like that you snuck Reeves in there, like he's some failed freshman prospect with the others. Reeves isn't SUPPOSED to be a 1st rounder. If he was it would be a massive achievement by not only him, but Cal as well.

 

[EliteBlue]

I mean it could be..

I used to laugh at the euro players who would largely fail in the league from the 90s and into the 2000s. But not anymore. Not only is international basketball much improved, but I think it's producing better basketball players than AAU leagues here in the states. On top of that, these guys have work ethics. They want to play. Load management isn't in the vocabulary for guys like Jokic.

BigZ might be playing college basketball thinking "This is it??". Wouldn't be shocked if there's not some of these euro league players who are just far past our elite Highschool players.

Euro dudes have improved the further away from rugby that American basketball gets. We went through a phase where the European games was largely skill and finesse and the American game was power and physicality. As that gap closes…. The European bigs are showing how much more advanced they are skill wise.

 

[catlogic15]

Wagner said he plays that way in practice and wasn’t surprised.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Euro dudes have improved the further away from rugby that American basketball gets. We went through a phase where the European games was largely skill and finesse and the American game was power and physicality. As that gap closes…. The European bigs are showing how much more advanced they are skill wise.

I really think it's a lot of work ethic too.

American kids want to be basketball players.
Euro players want to play basketball.

There's a huge difference there, and you always prefer the 2nd option on your team.

 

[ukfan1622]

I know I'm rattling on about this guy so I'm going to limit myself to this one last thing. The thing I like most about him is that, while he has shown shooting ability, passing ability, shot blocking, rebounding ability, and agility while being 7'2"...he is still the kind of guy to elbow you in the face.

edit note: after saying one last thing I immediately made another post. I'm afraid I've caught Zlonomania. lol

 

[ukfan1622]

Yahoo Sports just inserted him as the 9th pick in their mock draft and expects him to move into the top 5.

They have Dilly at 7 and Reed at 11.

DJ, Bradshaw, Edwards, and Reeves aren’t listed in their first round mock draft.

Reed might come back for reasons we all know. I think Bradshaw will go in the 2nd round but that will be okay because they will play him on their G League while he develops and the same goes for DJ. But I'd like to see DJ come back(just don't think Bradshaw would come back with the bigs we have for next year). Reeves will go in the 2nd round and will also get paid. Edwards needs to be in college somewhere and I'd be happy if it was at UK because he has potential to be a good player but he'd get cut from a G League team next year and be job hunting.

 

[Rockfly78]

This guy played Euro ball. The game looks slow to him. The only two real mistakes he made Sat night were deliberate - the pullup on the rim and the elbow to the face.

He honestly looks as though college ball is kind of a joke. I know he needs to get in a little better conditioning. But trust me - he's going to play 15-20 minutes by March and frankly by then I think he should be starting. Did I say that with my outside voice?

All you need to do is re-watch the moment when he did the spin move and missed the dunk to realize what his game is all about. He can do everything. Opposing teams do NOT want Big Z on the block or anywhere near the paint, or behind the three point line, or at the top of the key, or guarding the inbounds...you get the idea.

Do you need a cookie?

Will someone please give morg his flowers.

 

[AfterschoolBBN1]

I hadn't seen any tape and I guess I don't need to now. But I rarely watch player highlights because they only show the shots that go in. Everybody looks like Stef Curry when they swish the shot.

I will say his highlights look “unicornish”. I’m not big on highlight videos either, but his is kind of like John Walls mixtape that came out when he was a senior. Something just seems different