Said he needs to work harder but had the most potential on the team. That sounds pretty positive. They also said he was playing really well in the practices at the end.
Per Derek Willis on KSR, SKJ had most upside on last years team
- Thread starter mdlUK.1
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We need him I hope he turns into a good one for 3/4 years.
He can be not only good. He can be outstanding.
Cal has to let him on the floor and let learn from his mistakes.
He's more of a throwback freshman than a 1AD. He will need some time to grow and develop his game. It was certainly a head-scratching situation not seeing him play, but we don't know what was going on behind the scenes in practice. I hope Willis is right, and I hope SKJ sticks it out at UK.
You know, considering he has more game time experience than Diallo, maybe he should go pro.
SKJ was not on the hardwood because he pretty clearly was in a hardwood constructed doghouse.
I remember Julius Randle and a few other said the SAME THING about Willis. They said he had the best offensive game on the team and could play at a high level. If SKJ show he's got what it takes in practice on top of being a 5 star, the potential is there to succeed and now its up to him to make it happen.
If he averages 4 points a game and 6 rebounds he is gone .....
Josh Carrier never missed and was unstoppable in practice......lol
I watched this guy in practice. Terrific jumper to 17ft, good hands, a little immature, has to get used to the physical play and develop the sense of urgency that comes to some in time. Did see this 7 footer and go between his legs with the ball and dunk on the other side behind his head. Hellacious move! He's got plenty of talent. Springy and fast off the floor. Needs maturity. Could be huge next year out of the blue. Would not be at all surprised to see him start and perhaps at the 4! .
If someone is willing to pay him? Good for him. In sure you'd turn down the money.
So that fans can crucify Cal and the kid for mistakes.
SKJ is such an interesting person. If he suddenly turns out to be great next season then it would seem inexcusable that Cal wasn't giving him back-up over Humphries who now left us high and dry. If he is so-so then again Cal should be questioned why he didn't allow him to get real game experience and favored Hump who most of the season was not very good either. If SKJ stinks then we know why he had no playing time but it will be bad news for our team.
I disagree that it would be inexcusable that he did not play. He didn't EARN the PT. If he works hard and gets better, he will be like a normal freshman that gets a year older.
I'm pretty sure I recall when we had the scouts in for the combine, there was a near consensus that SKJ had the most upside. As I said earlier, he is really young for his class, around 19 months younger than Gabriel, if I recall right.
I'm hoping those two things coincide and really comes on......
I'm hoping those two things coincide and really comes on......
No. If he's good next year that has no bearing on how ready he was last year. It's impossible to quantify, and so you can't make that claim. You can't say with any accuracy if he was great all along or became an all american over the summer.
I do think it was tough to invest so much time into Humphries just to have him leave, and I think if that was known before the season - remember there wasn't a single rumble about it until the SEC tourney - SKJ may have gotten more run. That being said, Hump darn near tilted the UNC game in our favor.
What does SKJ's possible improvement this coming season have to do with how much he played last year? Cal shortened his rotation and SKJ evidently hadn't shown he was reliable enough to get in the game at that point. Growing as a player his hard sometimes. It's more than just being able to knock down a jump shot or dunk the ball or even being tall. By most all who got to witness a practice he just wasn't near tough enough and got lost defensively. Thankfully those things can be improved upon and it sounds like he's on his way to doing that.
Personally, I think something happened off the court. It could have been grades since the team had a miserable 2.0 team GPA. Remember how Mulder was "sick" for multiple games but was seen cheering from the bench? Regardless, I love his game and hope he's been living in the weight room and the cafeteria. He needs at least 20-30 pounds before next year.
Hopefully Cal will give him the opportunity to really develop and get some quality run in.
I know it may sound strange but some times it does pay off to play somebody not necessarily for draft night, but for March as well as the following season after a mass exodus.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I know Hump wasn't amazing and a lotto pick last year, but had he played more through out the season and taken his lumps he might have been able to provide something vs IU. He could have taken that into this season, built up on it, contributed, helped Bam throughout the year, and been able to do more than what he did v UNC.
We're going to need all the help we can get next year. If SKJ shows signs of anything he needs to play. So what if he is a little raw and needs work, so are all the 18 year olds Cal likes to play in bulk.
If you're gonna play Skal and WG, go ahead and play SKJ.
I know it may sound strange but some times it does pay off to play somebody not necessarily for draft night, but for March as well as the following season after a mass exodus.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I know Hump wasn't amazing and a lotto pick last year, but had he played more through out the season and taken his lumps he might have been able to provide something vs IU. He could have taken that into this season, built up on it, contributed, helped Bam throughout the year, and been able to do more than what he did v UNC.
We're going to need all the help we can get next year. If SKJ shows signs of anything he needs to play. So what if he is a little raw and needs work, so are all the 18 year olds Cal likes to play in bulk.
If you're gonna play Skal and WG, go ahead and play SKJ.
Skal never earned the PT either. Still think in house stuff was going on with SKJ. Brad and Johny David were going in and SKJ wouldn't even glance towards Cal.
Humphries did play. You also ignore Lee, Poythress, skal, and Willis last year to go along Humphires.
Coach Cal did try to play SKJ but he was behind Bam and Humphries.
You can't develop player that's third in rotation.
Well again I will disagree and that seems to be where fans are differing in general. Cal has Kentucky as a place preparing young men for the NBA. Great, he has shown the best success of any current coach, and that goal attracts the top talent. We want the top talent obviously as does every other program so the players first concept has been great for recruiting.
Cal's approach has been great for most outcomes in terms of fielding a very good team that will go far in the tourney but generally unlikely to win it all unless there are also some perhaps lesser skilled players with experience. Doron Lamb, Terrance Jones, and Darius Miller had experience to go along with the top tier. Josh Harrellson had experience as a Senior the year before. This year without Hawkins and Willis (neither likely to be NBA players) we wouldn't have gone as far.
Cal should have allowed SKJ some investment of playing time to improve. Again experience counts and unless as some have suggested there were academic or behavioral issues behind the scenes it made zero sense in the long run not to allow some development. Same as someone pointed out with Humphries the year before. There certainly were games where SKJ should have played.
I feel Cal should continue to recruit elite players but one and done only is a challenge if others who return haven't been developed.
Cal's approach has been great for most outcomes in terms of fielding a very good team that will go far in the tourney but generally unlikely to win it all unless there are also some perhaps lesser skilled players with experience. Doron Lamb, Terrance Jones, and Darius Miller had experience to go along with the top tier. Josh Harrellson had experience as a Senior the year before. This year without Hawkins and Willis (neither likely to be NBA players) we wouldn't have gone as far.
Cal should have allowed SKJ some investment of playing time to improve. Again experience counts and unless as some have suggested there were academic or behavioral issues behind the scenes it made zero sense in the long run not to allow some development. Same as someone pointed out with Humphries the year before. There certainly were games where SKJ should have played.
I feel Cal should continue to recruit elite players but one and done only is a challenge if others who return haven't been developed.
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