I totally agree with your take. I also think it would be a major plus if he would give maximum effort on defense. He has a tendency to close out on shooters late and he doesn’t defend the hardest when he’s playing on ball defense either. All in all he’s a really good player for us but I do believe he has it in him to be great if he digs deep enough!
For whatever reason, Jax just doesn't have the heart to play strong on defense.
It truly would be a beautiful thing to watch him turn it up and become what we know he can be! I think he’s a passive guy by nature but my goodness what a difference it would make if he played as hard as Butler does!
A lot of the “effort” issues fans perceive isnt due to effort so much. Butler is much more explosive athlete than Robinson. I’m not saying JRobs effort is always great but there are plenty of times people inappropriately assess “lack of effort” on things that have a little more nuance to them.
His lateral movement is not elite or even good, that is his biggest problem. Then you add to that his lack of burst and it's why he struggles to guard opposing athletic players. It's also why he uses the step back on offense so much to get space to shoot. He is long enough to compensate for it against opposing players that aren't great athletes. But most of the best teams have studs at the 3 or a 3rd Guard that can move.
I was thinking earlier of a comparison for Oweh. I see a little bit of Kalenna Auzbuike in him. What do y’all think?
If Amari Williams is standing there under the basket, and doesn't even attempt to jump for the rebound, let alone even reach for it, while the defender on his back gets the rebound, that's lack of effort.
You may be right but idk if I’d change anything right now other than focusing on improving the defense, rebounding, and consistent intensity. One of the things I love about Pope is he set a rotation and stuck with it, making minor adjustments when things were clearly not working without making drastic changes. I think players fully knowing their roles helps them play so much more free (and not to bash on Cal, but just comparing to how he’s juggled Arkansas lineups all year and it seems like his team has 0 confidence partly because of it)
You could be right. Robinson and Williams may be too fragile mentally to take a demotion back to non-starters. I am going to trust CMP on how he chooses to handle these players and how he plays them.
Oweh is Lu dort from the OKC Thunder, that’s his perfect player comp
I can definitely see that comparison. What former cat would you compare him to?
The azbuike one is a good one, I can’t really remember a player built like Oweh at Kentucky besides him
Only problem I have with the Azubuike comparison is the motor. Good as Kelenna was, he was an on again and off again motor, whereas Otega is a ferocious and tenacious player. Also, Azubuike had a pure stroke and Oweh is a slash first guy. It’s not a terrible comparison but i wouldn’t say it is great either
Yeah I agree, I just can’t think of a cal guy who had a similar build to Oweh with similar skillsets
There weren’t many. There are some guys but they aren’t perfect comparisons either. One, shockingly, would be Archie Goodwin. Both are close to the same size and had a similar play style, although Goodwin was a worse shooter and defender, slighter build. Both Oweh and Goodwin have ridiculous motor and will slash first, think later. Both get tunnel vision on drives and rarely kick out. Oweh is a significantly better player in terms of basketball IQ and doesn’t turn the ball over, whereas Archie Goodwin is Archie Goodwin.
He was before my time. Oweh is a good one though. If he was a little more consistent with his outside shot he would be really something.
What about a poor man's Derek Anderson?
I think he reminds me of a slightly smaller and less consistent shooter than Kelenna Azubuike. A big strong guard that can score and is athletic.
Put Lanier, Sears, Thornton, Hubbard or Clayton Jr on our squad and I think we would be unstoppable. We are one super dynamic guy from being a serious problem.
Put Javon small on this squad and allow butler to just be a defensive off ball menace and this squad is unbeatable, Kentucky could have got small if they wanted to as well.
Heard rumors his NIL was getting out of range for us. Any truth to that? Btw I wanted Small as well
It can’t be some outrageous number, I think Kentucky could have easily afforded him. If you get small you most likely don’t get guys like Almanor, and Krisa, which I would be fine with
