Who would you rather have?
- Thread starter Louis_Skunt
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I prefer having that elite shot blocker in the middle, but I would take either one and be very happy.
Bamba and right now it's not close.
I'd love to have Bam back but imo Bam isn't the stud Bamba is. Bam isn't one of UK's best bigs, he was average. I know as a sophomore it could be different but probably not too much with Bam. Payne isn't going to have him hitting hooks and playing with different tools. It will be much of the same.
Bam should come back though and I won't be too bummed. But I'd much rather have Bamba and keep his from Duke. You do not want to see Duke with Carter and Bamba down low. Those saying Bam are drinking the pre season cool aid while looking at his biceps. It's obviously choice Bamba.
I'd love to have Bam back but imo Bam isn't the stud Bamba is. Bam isn't one of UK's best bigs, he was average. I know as a sophomore it could be different but probably not too much with Bam. Payne isn't going to have him hitting hooks and playing with different tools. It will be much of the same.
Bam should come back though and I won't be too bummed. But I'd much rather have Bamba and keep his from Duke. You do not want to see Duke with Carter and Bamba down low. Those saying Bam are drinking the pre season cool aid while looking at his biceps. It's obviously choice Bamba.
Bam would get better on D. The guy averaged 13 and 7+ as a frosh as the 3rd option.
Of course I'd love to have both. I'm fine with either as long as we get one of them.
The one thing is if Bam leaves and UK gets Bamba no rival gets him...if Bam stays a rival could get Bamba. If Bamba and Bam are a wash (most seem to think Bamba is better) then Bam leaving and Bamba coming here might be the best thing from a competitive standpoint. That said, I doubt we win a national title with just freshmen (Just IMO).
Of course I'd love to have both. I'm fine with either as long as we get one of them.
The one thing is if Bam leaves and UK gets Bamba no rival gets him...if Bam stays a rival could get Bamba. If Bamba and Bam are a wash (most seem to think Bamba is better) then Bam leaving and Bamba coming here might be the best thing from a competitive standpoint. That said, I doubt we win a national title with just freshmen (Just IMO).
Part of your argument of preferring Bamba is that people fell into the trap of the preseason hype. How is that not the case with Bamba? Remember, Skal was the #2 player in his class, I believe. We all thought he'd be a star. I'd take a sophomore Bam over Bamba because that's much more of a sure thing. Plus, Bam should improve, even if it's marginally. Bamba, and any recruit for that matter, is somewhat of a wildcard.
Even if Bam improved a lot, still won't be enough to match Bamba.
It's like me never having a chance to make NBA. Well...there is a lot more than my height and length...but Bamba and Bam is not even a fair comparison.
Even offensively, i expect Bamba to be better than Bam by season end. There are certain things player at his size is capable of that others aren't.
Bam is 6'10" with 7'1" wingspan. You aren't going to ever be comfortable playing against 7'.5" with 7'9" wingspan.
One advantage is athleticism, but it's not like Bamba can't move. He moves good enough for his size.
Bamba will have triple double with Blocks next year.
Well Skal was injured and joined some silly league, missed two years basically. Doing okay in NBA now.
And... Bamba is HUGE. HUUGGGEEEEE
True. And it's not that I think Bam is a bum, he's just not in Bamba's league right now. Imo Bam was average for UK this year but in fairness he didn't have much help. We needed Julius Randle out of Bam.
And keeping Bamba from Duke is going to be necessary.
yeah exactly. It's not like Bam is a bum or we are attacking Bam...
It's just that Bamba is a freak. Its like saying people here would take sophomore Bam, when Anthony Davis is coming in. Just not going to happen.
The guy averaged 1.5 blocks, and most guard had no issue attacking him. They weren't afraid of him at all. He can improve maybe to 2.5 blocks, but highly doubt that. Bamba will most likely be close to 4 - 5 blocks per game.
Also, how hard would it be for him to shoot...how can he be guarded? The guy is 7' with 7'9" wingspan. Most of his shot would be barely contested. He'll be calm and relaxed the whole time.
Btw, i am wondering if he is still growing also. Last few measurement, each time the measurement seemed longer. Might get up to 7'1".
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What are you basing this on? Have you seen him play personally or are you just going mix tapes you have seen?
Don't know much about Bamba beyond what I saw in all star game. My answer anyway would be Bam. He has things to work on but effort sure isn't one of them. Love that kid. Frankly I'm not sure Cal did him any favors making him play with his back to the basket all the time.
many things.
First... Basic physical advantage of past great players. You look at AD, KAT, Noel and Boogie. They all have characteristic of size and length. In that category, Bamba is far superior than any of the 4 mentioned above, and Bam is less than all 4 mentioned above. Bam is more athletic than all 4 of them but failed to achieve their level of performance. Basic height/length does make a difference, as long as you have some mobility.
Second...I just saw an All-American game against top high school players and you can tell clearly that Bamba is simply troublesome to them. He got 4 blocks easily, against major size in Ayton/Porter. These two are likely to be top 25 players in college next year. Yet, even THEY struggle against that size.
Third... Basic adjustment. Bamba will never be the one to adjust. He is still weak and needs to get stronger, but time alone will fix most of that. You can see the shots made against Bamba, were all short. The arc was much bigger than normal, and they just aren't used to it.
Finally, Bam isn't great at any one thing. There is a saying in basketball, you rather be great at one thing than be good at everything. Well Bamba will be a monster interior defender the likes we haven't seen since AD/Noel.
I just cannot see why in earth someone would rather have Bam than Bamba. Did you honestly watch Bam this season? Did you watch him in the tournament. As Wild said, he's great at nothing. He was a solid freshman For a traditional system. Bamba is a better basketball player with better reach, tools, hands, length, defense etc.
I'm sorry it's not close.
I'm sorry it's not close.
A lot of players make a big jump between their 1st and 2nd years. And even highly-ranked frosh don't pan out quite often. Bamba is pretty raw on Offense right now, but I'm not sure that Bam can really get better at the things he's not very good at right now. Tough call, but next year's team needs some upside potential to be really good, so I think you roll the dice with Bamba.
I believe if Cal had played Skal at forward, and not tried to make him a center, he would have been a much better player.
OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!
OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!
How about take Bam back and move him to his proper position....PF?
SKJ/Hump/Richard's could play center.
I personally think Bam will make a big leap in productivity in his soph year. He played much much better in the last half of the season vs the first. I would expect his play to only continue to get better.
Let me ask you this question.
Lets say he plays the 4 (which i don't think it's much of a difference), tell me what he would do for the team that you could say "NO MATTER the match up, he will do "this""?
He isn't going to stretch it that well. He is going to rebound good. He will block decently. But tell me how he would DOMINATE the game of college basketball?
Honestly, i don't see this huge difference in Paynes bigs from year to year in the tool dept. Johnson regressed. Stein improved but not much on the offensive end. Jones improved more so than any, but he actually had offensive tools to start with.
Bam is not going to be much different in terms of rim protection and offensive abilty. He would most likely be better, but then again, there's that sophomore slump you've gotta watch out for.
Then you've got to measure the other factors. Bamba goes to Duke, Kennard comes back and they sign Knox or Duvall. With Carter coming in, they are the pre season number one team in America with the best shooter / POY front runner, a OAD PG, OAD center, and Bamba to block everything in the paint. This is what you sign up for if you had the choice and chose Bam at UK. And I've always believed if Bam was a broom stick build half of this board would call him average. His body blinded a lot of people this year imo.
Not me. No way. Duke is praying Bam returns.
can you not talk scary with that talk. Duke with Duvall, Kennard, Knox, Bamba, and Carter...
I won't watch next season, if that happens.
lol I already know. People on this board would freak out the moment Bam loses the ball at his waist and Duke is rolling with Bamba throwing 10 blocks a game through the first 5.
How do you know if he will not stretch it that well? He has shown several instances of stepping out and hitting jumpers. It was clearly obvious Cal saw something in him to run the offense through him and opposing coaches all saw something as well when we got into tourney play as they singled in on him with their defensive plan.
Weak side rebounding will be key if we got Bamba to play center. Bam would do well in that role very well. Also Bamba has been floating it out he wants to play PF in college, has he shown the ability to be a PF at the collegiate level?
I think a Bam/Bamba combo would be very fun to watch not only in the name factor but a thunder and lightning type of game each would compliment the other.
Bam and it's not even close. You have no idea how important having veteran leaders is. He will be the tj of the 2017 squad
First of all, never said anything about not playing those two together. That wasn't the question or discussion. I wouldn't mind if those two players played together.
But again, You also decided to skip my question. I don't expect Bamba to stretch anything, but the dude won't be bothered by most defense when you are the biggest/longest player with good mobility. NBA scouting report is that he is mobile/agile (Draftexpress). Which is crazy for a guy that measured 7'.5" and 7'9.5" wingspan last time. I think Jordan Brand game does measurement, so we should see the update. Will be interested if the measurement remains the same or this was exaggerated numbers.
Yes, he'll struggle initially, but his late season potential is absurd.
that's dumb, because Bamba will be AD of the 2017 squad. Let me know if anyone else on this board will take TJ over AD>
Also, TJ averaged 15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 spg, and 1.9 bpg. Not sure you realize this but TJ outplayed Bam his freshman year.
The TJ that can't create his own shot, shoot 3's or block a shot? I don't mean to be cruel, but comparing Bam to T.Jones is a slap in the face. TJ is on a different level compared to Bam.
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