It'll be interesting to see how he plays against Damian Jones, could be the two best centers in college basketball.
Who can guard Skal?
- Thread starter KyFord
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Uh, no they didn't. KAT was a brillant passer all year.
I'm not calling him a jock. He simply misses a lot of reads in the post. Doesn't see the court well.
Just collected this stat on twitter :
Between Hoop Summit & UK's 2 NCAA games vs turds, Skal has 0 asts, 8 TOVs, 16 rebs, 1 stl in 78 mins. Models are going to like Simmons more.
Obv. small sample size, but the zero assist matches my assessment of him having poor vision.
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Cuz absolutely could, too. Cal just didn't let him do it too much, because he was much more effective than anybody else in the country 5 feet from the basket, including Skal. Cal has joked thousands of times about how he held Demarcus back and how Cuz will never forgive him now that he's showing off the most complete offensive game of any center in the NBA - much of which he was already showing off way back on the AAU circuit.
Yes, Skal is a monster, should be a top 2 pick, and I bet will become an All Star with the expected improvement to weak side help D, post passing etc, but Cuz is the best offensive center on the planet, and he didn't get that way overnight after leaving UK.
We've been crazy spoiled is my point. We get absolute freaks nearly every year who will go on to have a profound impact on the game nationwide, and still it gets harder and harder for us to say "we've never seen..." with these guys, because of the freaks of the past.
It has nothing to do w/ his shot selection.Guy's stroke is smooth as hell.
My whole point is his vision sucks. Thats it.
I have no idea what 5star is rambling on about. He is averaging 8.5 shots a game and shooting like 80%. Just why should he be passing? Hansbrough averaged 1 assist a game while at UNCheat. Don't think it really hurt them too much. And how does his vision "suck"? Are we likely going to get a better shot from whoever he passes to? Dude, I think you are looking for a problem where one doesn't exist.
![[laughing]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/laugh.r191677.gif "Laughing [laughing]")
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I do think that's a fair assessment, at this point. Thinking back I do not remember many times hes passed the ball out when getting it down low. I think some of that has to come from his early teams. Wasn't he basically on an AAU team filled with scrubs, to the point he had to carry them every game? He seems like a smart, coachable kid so I'm sure as the season progresses well see his passing game improve.
If "court vision sucks" is the only label that somebody can put on an 18-year-old seven footer then the guy's pretty damn good.
The offense can be so much better if he improves his vision and starts whipping it around to open shooters.
Like i already said, I'm not questioning his shot selection. Its about recognizing whats around him to keep the offense flowing, since it has gotten stagnant for minutes at a time the last 2 games.
And yes, as the season progresses, more teams will bring the double. So, better shots will present themselves, like a open Ulis/Murray 3-pointer if he can see & react to it.
He's probably gonna turn into our #1 option, so his vision will become important as the season progresses. I've noticed this trend since the hoop summit, he just doesn't see the court well. I don't know why u guys get sooo defensive when one of his flaws get pointed out.
If Skal keeps shooting at a high %, i'm not sure passing the ball out of the post would be better for the team. Let's not forget the kid hasn't played organized basketball for a couple of years. Things like passing out of the post and spotting the open man will come with more games played. It seems most Kentucky fans take for granted how much talent we get year after year and never want to give these kids time to develope any at all. We have the best shooting big in college basketball. Let's not discourage the kid from taking shots in the offense.
You can bet your bottom dollar that Cal will have the bigs leaning on him in practice today and tomorrow and have him ready for Duke.
It probably depends on how hard the defense attacks him. If he's getting double-teamed then he has to pass out. We've seen him have the ball stripped away from him a handful of times this year already. That's just a lack of instinct and a lack of strength at this point; not sure it's indicative of court vision.
Last night Cal moved him around. He didn't catch a whole lot of balls in the true post. He was out on the baseline, at the free throw line, facing up. In that case he needs to be a scorer, which he was.
Randolph Morris should have been great man. I mean he should still be in the league starting somewhere. But I see Skal as more of an AD type. He's farther along than AD was at this point offensively to be honest. But not quite where AD was defensively. Skal's something special and will be the 1st overall pick next June.
Hmm, he can see the basket and the ball but not his teammates.
Or
He is developing the part of his game that he's been told to.
I'm going with the more likely scenario and I bet his vision mysteriously improves when the coaches need it to.
But you believe what you like. I find Santa Claus to be particularly profitable.
U seem to think u can't balance a developing post game & actually passing the ball.
Cal developed KAT's post game as the season went on last yr, but KAT was still dishing out great passes.
No coaching staff in the world will tell a player to just focus on scoring in one particular area and neglect passing the ball. That seems to be what u think is happening w/ Cal & Skal lmao.
Sam Bowie was a good ball handler and excellent passer,probably why he was drafted ahead of Jordon
The point was this "Unguardable" talk sounds like Louisville Fans and their delusional thoughts about their players,There is NO Player who can't be guarded,I don't give a crap who they are,everyone can be stopped,slowed down,or harassed into an off game,the problem for most college teams is they will have to double team him and leave one of UK's other players open. I like Skal as good as anybody,but he lacks the physical strength to match up with some older,stronger players right now,he can shoot lights out definately,but wait until he meets a big front line or when UK starts the very physical SEC Conference play,it will get harder before it gets better.
They've been saying that Skal goes against Humphries in very physical practices
I see what your saying Blue and I agree to an extent, the thing that I said was unguardable is that jump shot. If he's making that shot then there is no one that's going to stop the kid.
Unlike Louisville, we get the best players so at least we are bragging about a future #1 pick instead of a 3 star JC player.
Unlike Louisville, we get the best players so at least we are bragging about a future #1 pick instead of a 3 star JC player.
No, I'm certain that's what is happening with Cal and Skal. I've seen coaches do it before when a kid doesn't make the play when his team works to get him the ball. If you think it's easy to get that ball down on the block, you are wrong. Skal will start passing when they are confident he is looking for his shot first. Skal was not aggressive looking for his shot in the first game. He sure as hell was in the second. He'll be hell bent against Duke.
But you invest in whatever fantasy you like. You think Skal is a ball hog, he's a ball hog. If you are really convinced, you should tell Cal he should pass and forego the points. Really, call him so we can laugh our ass off.
lmao jesus. I've stated like 100 times already that his shot selection isn't the problem. Why do u continue ignoring that?
Picturing Cal actually sitting down w/ Skal and telling him to hunt his shot & don't pass. Yes, a guy who always preaches about everybody eating & being unselfish.
Lmfao I'm done.
You make good points and I'm not trying to disrespect Cuz. I am just blown away with the skills/ability of Skal.
I don't see anyone in college with ability to guard some of the shots in his skill set. Yes they can push him around but when he's hitting turnarounds you might as well forget about it.
Now that you are done with Skal, there is another guy on the team they want more aggressive about taking shots and that is Poythress.
Cal doesn't really want scoring aggression from Poy. Just aggression in general.
Aggressive towards rebounding, dunk when near the basket and not losing focus. I mean, Cal turned his back in a lil disappointment last night when Poy finished a basket w/ a layup, and not a dunk.
This is true, hopefully we can overcome the advantage that they will have with the refsWho can guard Skal? These guys will for the whole Duke game:
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