Ugonna Onyenso encourages opponents to attack the rim: "Good luck with that."
With two seven-footers now lurking in the paint for Kentucky, Ugonna Onyenso dares the opponent to attack his rim.
Ugonna
- Thread starter megablue
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SEC refs are now eagerly warming up their whistles to give Ugo the TAMU Bradshaw treatment.Ugonna Onyenso encourages opponents to attack the rim: "Good luck with that."
With two seven-footers now lurking in the paint for Kentucky, Ugonna Onyenso dares the opponent to attack his rim.www.on3.com
Ugonna is certainly better under the rim than Bradshaw, but neither player is that much of a deterrent.
I think Ugonna is going to improve dramatically over the course of the season. I think in tight games, Cal will need him on the floor. He might be the only way we can get stops. He may prove more valuable than Bradshaw in must-win tournament games.
He is already more valuable from the perspective of what Kentucky needs from a post player. Bradshaw plays below the rim like no 7-footer has done at Kentucky in years.
Bradshaw fell right into the hands of their game but I believe it was good for him. SEC play is what it is but most importantly you have to fight for the rebound. You cannot give the officials any lead way to their agendas either.
Without playing zone to help stop straight-line drives, Ugonna’s presence certainly helps us defensively.
Cal won't play him if Bradshaw stays out of foul trouble. At least not much. He's his draft pick, and we all know how Cal treats his draft prospects (Edwards is a damned good example). The only reason Ugonna got so much clock Saturday was because Bradshaw doesn't know how to defend like a typical big man. He puts his hands all over the offensive player rather than hands straight and using his hips. He squats like a guard.
Bradshaw had that one game that was decent, but since then he looks nothing like we thought he'd look. Definitely appearing to be an overrated project big man. Ugonna, however, man that kid learns quick. He still makes mistakes, but I think his upside is leagues above that of Bradshaw, at least based on what I've seen since Bradshaw and Ugonna returned.
You probably already know, but Ugonna should’ve been in high school last year … he came out early. He is over 4 months younger than Bradshaw … great potential !!
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Bradshaw does not play like a 7 footer or hasn't so far. Ugonna does stay down low on defense. His reaction is slow though to me on picks and drives to the goal.
Ugonna has a nice touch around the basket. The more he gets comfortable and away from that foot injury the better he will play I believe. Gotta continue to build his confidence. He needs to be more aggressive going for rebounds. Seems to wait a little too long to go for it. You need anticipation, work for your spot, box out, and gotta attack that ball once it comes off the rim.
I like where he is at. Just keep getting the big man experience and it should pay off.
I like where he is at. Just keep getting the big man experience and it should pay off.
Ugonna is who he is so he isn't going to magically start playing like Patrick Ewing when he plays up in competition like some fans think other teams' players do against us. We don't need a lot of scoring from him; we just need him to rebound and shot block well. To do those things well requires a naturally instinctive nature to anticipate things that Ugonna hasn't come close to displaying. His reaction to things around him are below average which makes the game too fast for him in a man-to-man defense. However, he is much better at it than Bradshaw who seems completely lost at times. If he played for a coach who is willing to use defensive schemes to get the most out of his players, some zone defenses, Ugonna and Bradshaw would be more effective defensively. However, we haven't seen anything from our one-trick pony coach that indicates a willingness to do anything other than what he does year after year which means we will never get the best of what either player has to offer.
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Both are clearly big man projects, with definite rawness, and each has their prospective upsides. They do need a lot of work, but again, aside from that one breakout game Bradshaw had, Ugonna has shown me a little more advancement and value to the team than Bradshaw. Of course, that will probably flip-flop as we go through the next 2 months of the season, which is fine because we need something from at least one of them in each game.
How quickly people forget about the good games Bradshaw had recently now calling him soft and no good lol. He was in foul trouble all game. Both Ugonna and Bradshaw are game changers.
