Recruiting - 2020 Class (Optimal Vision Class)

[Box and Won]

29 minutes ago, wgstl said:

Im convinced Davidson and Dayton are both W's with Thatch. 

There's no doubt in my mind.

[BuiltFordBills]

36 minutes ago, NH said:

Jacobs showed flashes of that. In the first UMass game we lose without him stepping up and being aggressive down the stretch. He was also assertive in the Valpo game. I agree that he needs to show that consistency a LOT more frequently, but I don't think it's fair to say he never showed it. We have some glimpses. 

I thought he was great in the Tulane game where he was lights out from 3. Making a couple shots seems to greatly increase his confidence.

[wgstl]

1 hour ago, NH said:

Jacobs showed flashes of that. In the first UMass game we lose without him stepping up and being aggressive down the stretch. He was also assertive in the Valpo game. I agree that he needs to show that consistency a LOT more frequently, but I don't think it's fair to say he never showed it. We have some glimpses. 

he was also big for us in the Valpo game that seemed like years ago now thinking about

[slufan13]

Jacobs does a lot of things well but he isn't the top option on anything. He's a really good player but other guys may fill needs better. I think his playing time may depend a lot on the health of Thatch

[gobillsgo]

10 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

Jacobs does a lot of things well but he isn't the top option on anything. He's a really good player but other guys may fill needs better. I think his playing time may depend a lot on the health of Thatch

I know others have said this, but if we actually play fast paced offense for entire games, Jacobs will shine on the break.  I've said it before, but he is incredible and contorting his body and getting to the rim.  Haven't ever seen the data, but I'd also guess his wingspan is much longer than his height.  

[davidnark]

3 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

I know others have said this, but if we actually play fast paced offense for entire games, Jacobs will shine on the break.  I've said it before, but he is incredible and contorting his body and getting to the rim.  Haven't ever seen the data, but I'd also guess his wingspan is much longer than his height.  

The challenge is that we cannot dictate the pace of play every game. If a team elects to drop 3 or 4 players back on D during their offensive shots, there are no fast break opportunities available. We ran against teams who pressed or who favored challenging the offensive glass. It is fair to assume we will continue to push the ball whenever it is available, but I also expect more and more teams will game plan to take that away.

[moytoy12]

I think folks are asking a lot of Thatch.  Even if he is back to 100%, we need to remember he sat almost an entire year.  With the possibility of a shortened off-season, Thatch may not be up to the same level as Jacobs in terms of cohesiveness with the other guys. 

[billiken_roy]

fast breaks typically come from defense.   if we are playing full court pressure defense, and we get steals and turnovers, the fast break opportunities will come and the easy game defining difference making easy points will come.   

with the depth we will start the season out, to not turn up the intensity and pace of the game would not be wise imo.  and if the team responds positively, that depth will be used.   

[Reinert310]

37 minutes ago, davidnark said:

The challenge is that we cannot dictate the pace of play every game. If a team elects to drop 3 or 4 players back on D during their offensive shots, there are no fast break opportunities available. We ran against teams who pressed or who favored challenging the offensive glass. It is fair to assume we will continue to push the ball whenever it is available, but I also expect more and more teams will game plan to take that away.

This true, but Jacobs more than held his own in the half-court, even if he wasn’t a star. And if Jacobs can make a similar leap from his sophomore to junior year as he did his freshman to sophomore year, I don’t think anybody is gonna he stealing minutes from him. There’s just so much we don’t know right now. How healthy will Thatch be in November? How long will it take him to kick the rust off? How much does Jacobs improve? Hiw much does Hargrove improve? How much are Strickland and Andre gonna contribute their freshman years? These are excellent problems to have, and it certainly is very exciting to discuss. Can’t wait for next year to start.

[Pistol]

5 hours ago, Pistol said:

JUCO freshman Carlton Linguard picked K-State. Had a SLU offer but it basically came down to K-State, Colorado, and a couple Texas schools. He's also a bigger threat to Levi Stockard's minutes than Davion Bradford is, IMO. But I still think Stockard stays.

This aged well.

[slufanskip]

4 hours ago, davidnark said:

I think the biggest frustration with Jacobs from a coach and fans' perspective is that he has all the right tools but has never once shown any signs or confidence to have a "takeover" mentality. Goodwin, French, Collins, and Perkins have all displayed the mentality of "give me the ball and I will find a way to get us a bucket." (And haven't been afraid to fail in trying to do so.) Jacobs has the ability, but he just hasn't crossed that mental threshold and may never get there. If he does, watch out.   

Even his shot release is slow. Everything he does seems so calculated. Like you said he just needs to let loose and play with reckless abandon. 

[johnbj14]

1 hour ago, moytoy12 said:

I think folks are asking a lot of Thatch.  Even if he is back to 100%, we need to remember he sat almost an entire year.  With the possibility of a shortened off-season, Thatch may not be up to the same level as Jacobs in terms of cohesiveness with the other guys. 

Agree with this 100%. The lost year is a huge factor, and might take a few months to get back up to speed.  People also don’t really talk about this, but we haven’t seen anything out of Fred offensively to this point. 

[Old guy]

I would rather be surprised than disappointed when Thatch actually starts playing. I think a lot of members will be seriously disappointed when they see what he can do.

[Clock_Tower]

On 4/19/2020 at 1:16 PM, Reinert310 said:

I may be alone in this thinking, but I personally think it would be a good thing if Yuri and J-Good don’t play as many minutes as they did last year. Not as a punishment, not because they don’t  deserve to play those minutes...but as a reward, to take a breather, and stay fresh. We finally have a roster where we don’t have to stick to playing 7 guys all game, every game. We have guys that can pick up the slack and allow guys like Yuri, J-Good and French to get a little bit more of a break. I’m NOT saying that I don’t want Yuri and J-Good and French I’m the game in crunch time, but maybe get them an extra minute or 2 late the 1st half, early in the 2nd, so they have that much more left in the tank later in the season. We can spread the minutes out so everybody can contribute. Just my 2 cents.

I think Yuri will make a leap as far as his confidence and scoring.   He has the skills and ability.  Will he be our top scorer?  No, but I think he will start to become more of a well-rounded player and not just be the "pass first" PG he was.  It's all about keeping team's honest.   With better outside shooting from Jimerson, Perkins and Jacobs (possibly from Fred, Markhi and Andre), with a mid-range shot among Marten, Bell and/or French, then the need for Yuri to score will be reduced.   Even still, offensive production from all 5 guys will only make the team better.  Will Yuri be that player on day 1?  I hope so but I doubt it.

Again, I may be in the minority - and not looking to re-hash or start a controversy when one does not exist, but when limited minutes are being spread around, but minutes can therefore come from Yuri until he scores.  I would not simply not give 32 mpg to a player who does not score.   Injuries and illness to Jimerson & Thatch led our guys to playing other positions this past year.   Hankton not deserving minutes and being injured further reduced the demand for minutes among guards.  Next you thing you know, Yuri was hardly coming out of the game as Goodwin stopped playing PG and Jacobs was being turned to as the guy we needed to be our leading scorer and perimeter threat -- and as such, he was not yet ready.   Instead, Perkins came out of no where and picked up the slack.

[Reinert310]

53 minutes ago, Clock_Tower said:

I think Yuri will make a leap as far as his confidence and scoring.   He has the skills and ability.  Will he be our top scorer?  No, but I think he will start to become more of a well-rounded player and not just be the "pass first" PG he was.  It's all about keeping team's honest.   With better outside shooting from Jimerson, Perkins and Jacobs (possibly from Fred, Markhi and Andre), with a mid-range shot among Marten, Bell and/or French, then the need for Yuri to score will be reduced.   Even still, offensive production from all 5 guys will only make the team better.  Will Yuri be that player on day 1?  I hope so but I doubt it.

Again, I may be in the minority - and not looking to re-hash or start a controversy when one does not exist, but when limited minutes are being spread around, but minutes can therefore come from Yuri until he scores.  I would not simply not give 32 mpg to a player who does not score.   Injuries and illness to Jimerson & Thatch led our guys to playing other positions this past year.   Hankton not deserving minutes and being injured further reduced the demand for minutes among guards.  Next you thing you know, Yuri was hardly coming out of the game as Goodwin stopped playing PG and Jacobs was being turned to as the guy we needed to be our leading scorer and perimeter threat -- and as such, he was not yet ready.   Instead, Perkins came out of no where and picked up the slack.

I honestly think Yuri can and will score. He’s got a nice shot. He may not be Perk Or Jimerson, but certainly has the ability to knock down shots. I was actually disappointed that Yuri didn’t shoot more last year. He doesn’t need to be a volume shooter, but he had so many wide open looks last year that he passed up. Knocking down outside shots will keep defenders from sagging off him and will help clear out the middle as well. I fully expect him to shoot and score more next year.

[3star_recruit]

Butler, who isn't as offensively potent as we are, achieved a top 25 ranking with a point guard that averaged 7ppg while playing 32 mpg.  That's a mere extra bucket for Yuri, which could be achieved just by pushing tempo slightly more than last year.  Yuri's ppg is the last thing I'm concerned about.  We've got plenty of offense.  If we can play defense at the level we did the last 5 games of the season, we're going to be a top 15 team.  Period.

[Clock_Tower]

14 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

Butler, who isn't as offensively potent as we are, achieved a top 25 ranking with a point guard that averaged 7ppg while playing 32 mpg.  That's a mere extra bucket for Yuri, which could be achieved just by pushing tempo slightly more than last year.  Yuri's ppg is the last thing I'm concerned about.  We've got plenty of offense.  If we can play defense at the level we did the last 5 games of the season, we're going to be a top 15 team.  Period.

Simple math.  When 1 does not score, it puts a larger burden on the other 4. And if defenses don’t guard him, it makes it tougher on the other 4.  Is it possible to overcome?  Sure.  And if it’s so easy to make an extra bucket, just push tempo more, then he should do it.  Wonder why he didn’t?

[BilliesBy40]

4 minutes ago, Clock_Tower said:

Simple math.  When 1 does not score, it puts a larger burden on the other 4. And if defenses don’t guard him, it makes it tougher on the other 4.  Is it possible to overcome?  Sure.  And if it’s so easy to make an extra bucket, just push tempo more, then he should do it.  Wonder why he didn’t?

Yuri's scoring is a strange thing to be so focused on. I'll take a PG who controls the tempo and averages 5 ppg and 5 apg over a PG who scores 10 ppg and 3 apg every day of the week. Plus, Yuri was a freshman, so it isn't crazy to expect his scoring to go up slightly in his sophomore season.

[almaman]

22 minutes ago, BilliesBy40 said:

Yuri's scoring is a strange thing to be so focused on. I'll take a PG who controls the tempo and averages 5 ppg and 5 apg over a PG who scores 10 ppg and 3 apg every day of the week. Plus, Yuri was a freshman, so it isn't crazy to expect his scoring to go up slightly in his sophomore season.

Yuri scoring 10 points yields 10 points. Yuri getting 10 assists yields minimum of 20 points max of 40. realistically about 25 per 10 A I would think.

[shempie]

I wonder how much taped hands and thumbs impacted his confidence and shooting?

[wgstl]

9 minutes ago, shempie said:

I wonder how much taped hands and thumbs impacted his confidence and shooting?

Idk about confidence as much as how it actually impacted his shooting 

[moytoy12]

 

[Cowboy]

12 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

 

-where there's a will there's a way

[NH]

Okoro played Yuri and Hargrove on Brad Beal Elite. Would be a terrific pickup, if the scholarship situation worked out. We still *theoretically* could lose Hasahn or Jordan to the draft, so maybe the coaching staff is playing it safe in case of that.

[wgstl]

Just now, NH said:

Okoro played Yuri and Hargrove on Brad Beal Elite. Would be a terrific pickup, if the scholarship situation worked out. We still *theoretically* could lose Hasahn or Jordan to the draft, so maybe the coaching staff is playing it safe in case of that.

Between Jordan and has with the draft, diarra not playing at all, and Jacobs or thatch Battling, coach is playing it safe and keeping options open.