Skal looks like a Harrow situation right now

[catrecruit]

Doesn't seem to respond to the vocal style of Calipari much like Harrow....And then throw in Skal's timid look when Tyler shoved him, it's looking more and more like a Harrow deal

The weird thing with Harrow was he got to see how it was for an entire year as he sat out and watched Teague have to endure it......So it's not like he didn't know it was coming

The good news is there's plenty of time to right the ship for March....but we need to start seeing some progress during January

 

[EnglandWildcat]

Not at all like that. Skal hasn't already quit the team 3 times.

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

None, zero, zip, nothing like Ryan Harrow.

 

[jockstrap_mcgee]

 

[blubo]

weak sauce.

 

[Hoskins21]

Another crappy thread started on RR.

 

[Kuhldaddy]

Doesn't seem to respond to the vocal style of Calipari much like Harrow....And then throw in Skal's timid look when Tyler shoved him, it's looking more and more like a Harrow deal

The weird thing with Harrow was he got to see how it was for an entire year as he sat out and watched Teague have to endure it......So it's not like he didn't know it was coming

The good news is there's plenty of time to right the ship for March....but we need to start seeing some progress during January

The similarities are that they are both mentally weak and soft. Skal is nowhere near the level of Harrow tho.

 

[WallMashKyBall]

I can't tell if skal has bad hands, or he's just so much in his own head right now that that gives him bad hands, but... he fumbled the first pass he received (it was a laser but catchable) and then he can't get two hard hands on rebounds. I'm somewhat unsympathetic because so much of what he's bad at is effort and positioning. Thats the easy stuff. It's hard to make a 10 foot sky hook, and he can do that, but not the easy stuff.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

 

[EvilMD]

Skal's struggles are simple...right now the game is too fast for him. He did well in the All-Star games last year because no one plays defense.

I really, really wish that dunk putback had stayed in.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Doesn't seem to respond to the vocal style of Calipari much like Harrow....And then throw in Skal's timid look when Tyler shoved him, it's looking more and more like a Harrow deal

The weird thing with Harrow was he got to see how it was for an entire year as he sat out and watched Teague have to endure it......So it's not like he didn't know it was coming

The good news is there's plenty of time to right the ship for March....but we need to start seeing some progress during January

This is the biggest part of why this o/d can be bad...IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THESE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.!!! The young man is 17-18 years old and so what if he is not ready right now. You can tell he needs to stay here2-3 years(hell even graduate) and then he should be ready for a nice nba career. It is not the end of the world look at Nazr when he came here and where he is today!!!

 

[63in62]

What is hard to understand is how Skal was rated so highly, and why Cal never saw see his limitations. He may turn out just fine as a project, but IMO there is little or no chance he will be be playing like we thought he would this year. Skal reminds me of John Hood, some what in that he was so highly rated and proved to be so highly limited. A recruiter told me that John's situation arose because he played in a very weak high school conference. Could it be the same situation for Skal?

 

[caneintally]

What is hard to understand is how Skal was rated so highly, and why Cal never saw see his limitations. He may turn out just fine as a project, but IMO there is little or no chance he will be be playing like we thought he would this year. Skal reminds me of John Hood, some what in that he was so highly rated and proved to be so highly limited. A recruiter told me that John's situation arose because he played in a very weak high school conference. Could it be the same situation for Skal?

LOL if he reminds you of John Hood then I must remind people of Jordan . There couldn't be 2 players more different . Skal is one of the top 5 most talented players in college but he just has to get his head right as he hasn't played real competitive b-ball for a long while due to his dumbass handler.

 

[catrecruit]

The similarities are that they are both mentally weak and soft. Skal is nowhere near the level of Harrow tho.

Good call..

 

[catrecruit]

This is the biggest part of why this o/d can be bad...IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THESE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.!!! The young man is 17-18 years old and so what if he is not ready right now. You can tell he needs to stay here2-3 years(hell even graduate) and then he should be ready for a nice nba career. It is not the end of the world look at Nazr when he came here and where he is today!!!

And Nazr even came out and said he wished he had stayed another year

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

What is hard to understand is how Skal was rated so highly, and why Cal never saw see his limitations. He may turn out just fine as a project, but IMO there is little or no chance he will be be playing like we thought he would this year. Skal reminds me of John Hood, some what in that he was so highly rated and proved to be so highly limited. A recruiter told me that John's situation arose because he played in a very weak high school conference. Could it be the same situation for Skal?

Cal recruited Zimmerman and Diallo after he locked up Skal. He didn't recruit any rotation big men after he landed Towns or Davis.

That should tell you everything you need to know about whether Cal "never saw his limitations" or not.

 

[yoshukai]

This is the biggest part of why this o/d can be bad...IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THESE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.!!! The young man is 17-18 years old and so what if he is not ready right now. You can tell he needs to stay here2-3 years(hell even graduate) and then he should be ready for a nice nba career. It is not the end of the world look at Nazr when he came here and where he is today!!!

Only thing is , the NBA is so geared to draft on potential, some GM will gamble on him in the first round. And lm bettin Skal will listen to his guardian, parasite handler that is the one most responsible for his delayed development in the first place .

 

[kybassfan]

Skal's struggles are simple...right now the game is too fast for him. He did well in the All-Star games last year because no one plays defense.

I really, really wish that dunk putback had stayed in.

This is closest to the mark. The speed and strength of opposing players are both outside his experience. He's having to retool his game completely at 19 and against the toughest competition he's ever faced.

I'm 100% confident he'll get it together. Why? A lesser person would have quit already.

 

[BlueBlood66]

This is the biggest part of why this o/d can be bad...IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THESE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.!!! The young man is 17-18 years old and so what if he is not ready right now. You can tell he needs to stay here2-3 years(hell even graduate) and then he should be ready for a nice nba career. It is not the end of the world look at Nazr when he came here and where he is today!!!

Skal is almost 20 years old.

 

[Kybluedude]

Give it a rest you Internet All Americans. We know he is struggling. Let him work through it at his pace. Kid came from Haiti. Lucky to be here. Didn't grow up playing high level ball. Wonderful caring young man. You must not be parents. Try to support him for God's sake. Quit piling on one of ours. If it takes 3 years so what. More depth. Don't make it worse for our guy.

 

[UKCatsFan10]

Only thing is , the NBA is so geared to draft on potential, some GM will gamble on him in the first round. And lm bettin Skal will listen to his guardian, parasite handler that is the one most responsible for his delayed development in the first place .

Without some switch going off to get things to start clicking for Skal, there's zero chance of a GM gambling on him in the first round. He doesn't have to be great for someone to gamble, but he has to be better than he's been. If the draft was tomorrow he is most certainly returning IMO, and it would be smart of him to do so. Even if he were to be projected to go late first round, he's the type of kid that it is money well spent to return to school, polish your game, and try to work your way into a top 10 pick.

I don't say that to bash Skal. In fact, quite the opposite. I agree 100% with slugger that there shouldn't be this sense of failure if a kid isn't able to leave after his first year. The NBA is full of great players that went multiple years in school. Likewise, the D league sees a lot of players that likely could have benefitted greatly by another year. Let Skal progress at his own pace. He's a talented kid and he will get there. It may take 2 years, 3 years, or 4 years, but if he commits to improving and stays in school until he's ready for the NBA, he will have a nice career. If he jumps ship after this year (without significant improvement) on the basis of some bogus mock draft that has him in the top 10, he very well may end up with a career outside of basketball. He simply isn't ready, and that's okay.

 

[Mike-D]

Not at all like that. Skal hasn't already quit the team 3 times.

Thank you. What an awful thread

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Harrow had college experience going into Kentucky, Skal doesn't. So not only does he have the rest of the season like Harrow did, but he's coming in brand new, and off an injury.

HOWEVER, you're crazy to think there aren't SOME similarities with their personalities. Skal has given up a few times, doesn't appear very coach-able, doesn't appear to be having fun. Fortunately, he has time to change this, and I think he will.. but every game that passes where Skal remains the same, the noise will get louder.

It is what it is. He's not quite ready for the Kentucky spot light.

 

[Icecoldbrewdoggy]

Doesn't seem to respond to the vocal style of Calipari much like Harrow....And then throw in Skal's timid look when Tyler shoved him, it's looking more and more like a Harrow deal

The weird thing with Harrow was he got to see how it was for an entire year as he sat out and watched Teague have to endure it......So it's not like he didn't know it was coming

The good news is there's plenty of time to right the ship for March....but we need to start seeing some progress during January

Tell me the upside of starting a thread like this?

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Horrible thread. Need an unlike button.

 

[blubo]

cal says he'll be fine, and cal has a fairly good-to-middlin' reputation as a knowledgeable basketball coach, outside of gooeyvill, so i'll run with that.

 

[Blueathletics]

I'll give the OP the Tyler shove situation because it made Skal look kinda weak....outside of that Skal>>>>>Harrow

 

[EvilMD]

I would compare Skal more to Rodrick Rhodes than Ryan Harrow.

 

[.S&C.]

Tell me the upside of starting a thread like this?

Because we must be negative. Duh.

 

[Hayes4prez]

I think the OP is spot on. We're seeing similarities in personalities, not styles of play. Both players were scared to be on the court under the spotlight of UK basketball. Both players are handling it differently, Harrow tried to run away by quitting the team... Skal probably feels like he just has to suffer this year and get drafted. That way he'll repay his caretaker back for getting him out of Haiti.

I hope I'm wrong, but my gut feeling is; Skal will be a good NBA player... someday. But he is not going to be a good college basketball player.

 

[CharlieT71059]

skal is defintely not Harrow

 

[IL Wildcat]

I have to disagree. Harrow left the team before the end of November that year. The only similarity I see is that at least part of the issue with both is/was mental. But Skal hasn't quit and needed to be talked back onto the team. And it's hard to tell what he's thinking in that video of Ulis pushing him. There is no doubt, he's timid and he's very young, and he's also a foreign born player who isn't used to the kind of attention he's getting. There are many things that he's dealing with here.

Another significant difference is that Harrow, by the time he started playing, had already played a year with NC State, sat out a year with UK, and was basically the equivalent of a junior, age-wise. Harrow was 20 years old.

The main difference is in ability, though. I know it's been hard to see at times, but Labissiere really does have the talent to be a great player. Harrow was a kid who really didn't have elite skills and talent. Skal will play in the NBA and have a good career, most likely. If he can get past his timidity and gain some confidence, he can contribute in a big way.

 

[Blueathletics]

I think the OP is spot on. We're seeing similarities in personalities, not styles of play. Both players were scared to be on the court under the spotlight of UK basketball. Both players are handling it differently, Harrow tried to run away by quitting the team... Skal probably feels like he just has to suffer this year and get drafted. That way he'll repay his caretaker back for getting him out of Haiti.

I hope I'm wrong, but my gut feeling is; Skal will be a good NBA player... someday. But he is not going to be a good college basketball player.

Hope it doesn't play out that way and we get to see some much improved Skal come March

 

[Bank Cat]

Cal recruited Zimmerman and Diallo after he locked up Skal. He didn't recruit any rotation big men after he landed Towns or Davis.

That should tell you everything you need to know about whether Cal "never saw his limitations" or not.

Agreed. Not to mention he picked up Humphries as another big body.

 

[shutzhund]

This is the biggest part of why this o/d can be bad...IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD FOR THESE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.!!! The young man is 17-18 years old and so what if he is not ready right now. You can tell he needs to stay here2-3 years(hell even graduate) and then he should be ready for a nice nba career. It is not the end of the world look at Nazr when he came here and where he is today!!!

I'm not arguing but the longer he stays the more he might be exposed. That may be the way his handler looks at it.

 

[jca4446]

Doesn't seem to respond to the vocal style of Calipari much like Harrow....And then throw in Skal's timid look when Tyler shoved him, it's looking more and more like a Harrow deal

The weird thing with Harrow was he got to see how it was for an entire year as he sat out and watched Teague have to endure it......So it's not like he didn't know it was coming

The good news is there's plenty of time to right the ship for March....but we need to start seeing some progress during January

Really.

 

[Primedfor9]

Cal recruited Zimmerman and Diallo after he locked up Skal. He didn't recruit any rotation big men after he landed Towns or Davis.

That should tell you everything you need to know about whether Cal "never saw his limitations" or not.

At that point no one knew if Skal would be eligible to suit up. He was recruiting for depth as well.

 

[uk_king_cat2]

I just hope he goes top 10 in the first round....

 

[Longtrip]

LOL if he reminds you of John Hood then I must remind people of Jordan . There couldn't be 2 players more different . Skal is one of the top 5 most talented players in college but he just has to get his head right as he hasn't played real competitive b-ball for a long while due to his dumbass handler.

Sorry, there is absolutely no way he is one of the "top 5 most talented players in college"!
Right now he isn't even in the top 5 on our team.
And his problems are NOT just "in his head". Cal realizes now that the guy is a project and needs more time watching from the bench and more time in the weight room.

 

[fatguy87]

I'm not sure if it's all mental with Skal. All he has offensively is a shooting touch.

His passing and handles are bad. When he has to do something with the ball, merely getting a shot off is a mild surprise.