Basketball trivia

[ElComanche]

I hope that Franks does it this year. He has to literally start throwing his weight around. A man that size should not be a finesse player. Bernsteine went for 20-15 against Arizona s talented front line,i could/did not see Franks doing that last year. Daniels is small and bigger players like Gittens,Hinson, Ergas, and Acquaah should get the playing minutes. I would like to see a serious upgrade in talent and size at the wing and guard positions. IT will be decided in practice. If the reports of Ergas,Chidom ,and Acquaah were standing out in practice ,they were doing so at other player s expense ,so it may already be decided

 

[avabob1]

Ergas will have to show me he can shoot a lick.

 

[jourdand]

I don't remember reports of Ergas standing out in practice. If that was the case why was he redshirted? Acquaah was injured and Chidom was very weak but why was Ergas redshirted? It could very well have been an issue of not wasting a year sitting on the bench but if he was that good minutes could have been earned. He is amazingly athletic so the potential is there.
I have never really warmed up to Franks and feel Pollard will be more productive but we still need Franks to contribute. Hopefully Chidom is worthy of the hype but I have my doubts on that also. He would have to at least equal his prep school and high school numbers to completely live up to the hype. That's a tall order to go from a small high school to PAC 12 in one redshirt year. Chidom needs to be in the rotation imo because I think we get very little out of Cooper this year. I would be jumping up and down screaming the praises of Coach Kent if we make an NIT run this year but I think I'll have to wait till next year but I do believe it's coming!

PS Tj Mickelson is a very solid pick up for a walk-on. Not a PAC 12 player but is good enough to push players in practice if he is fully recovered from is injury. Reports say he had smaller D-1 offers and had originally signed with D-2 Chaminade.

 

[avabob1]

We need scorers. They can learn to play d through effort. Hustle defenders seldom become scorers even though every team needs one. Franks is a scorer who is long enough and athletic enough to defend and rebound.

I like the upgrade in athleticism that will certainly give us more opportunity in transition. However, shooters in the half court offense are absolutely necessary because all the other teams have them

 

[ElComanche]

Well if you believe Kent s hyperbole, one would think that Ergas stood out. Kent said that "Ergas was the best frosh on the west coast" or something to that effect. He would have had to stood out in practice to garner that type of praise,one would think. I also like Pollard and think that he will contribute this year.I have more hope for Cooper and think that he can provide some basket defense which was lacking last year.

 

[SaveFerris]

Ergas and Chidom were most lightly recruited for a reason but both have upside if they can by their real flaws. I think they were good projects to take.

Franks was hopefully going to get taller with the long arms but hasn't to date. He needs to get stronger and maybe shed some "bad weight"? Looked a bit thinner from a photo but just a guess. He also needs to improve his focus but maybe just an experience thing?

Daniels improved but it will be interesting to see if his minutes actually go up next year. I tend to doubt it as the season goes on but he has a role on this team

Pollard is going to get there but he has to be able to consistently finish at the rim. There's almost nowhere to go but up in that department.

Also, I expect more from Hinson and Cooper than most seem to.

 

[ElComanche]

I believe that Bernsteine is going to be a consistent player at the four position.He is a experienced consistent performer and i expect him to continue to be.I also think that Pollard ,back healthy,will be more productive and consistent. The potential is there but a couple of players need to have breakout seasons for the potential to be reached.

 

[avabob1]

I think Chidum may have a year similar to Franks last season. Wouldn't surprise me to see Franks as an 11- 7 guy this .

 

[ElComanche]

It would be great if Franks is a 11-7 guy this year.Other people are not as convinced that he will be anymore than a role player.He is on a squad going to China and it will be interesting to see how he performs. I see him as a reserve this year but hope that i am wrong. He will really have to step up his game to be a 11-7 type of guy.

 

[avabob1]

Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong either. I am obviously seeing something different. The thing I see is he is so long with big hands. He plays 6-9 with his reach. His shooting stats haven't been impressive But he has a very good stroke. Also I remember twice last year watching him take a rebound and go length of the court and score. You don't see 4's do that.

Franks looks like a smart kid who might be thinking too much, making him tentative sometimes. I think people may be mistaking that for a low basketball IQ. In any event, we will all know a lot more in 4 months.

 

[ElComanche]

The transition to college ball is tough for some players and they have trouble adjusting to the quickness and pace of the game. If a player has talent then the adjustment is the mental part of the game.If Franks is going to be a player then he has to become more aggressive and develop a different mind set. There will be a lot of guys vying for playing time this year.

 

[avabob1]

The other thing about Franks, his freshman year was almost a waste. Last year he looked more like a frosh with up side

 

[SaveFerris]

One of Franks biggest issues is being tentative especially shooting. Too timid too much of the time (TTTMOTT.

 

[avabob1]

That's is more easily fixed than a bad shooting stroke

 

[jourdand]

Not so sure about that. It's much easier to practice and change a flaw in form then to change a persons personality. It's very hard to get a passive player to become an aggressive player. Not saying Franks is passive but definitely not aggressive his first two years.

 

[avabob1]

Everyone can improve with work, but many people have a much lower upside than other. I watched Capers shoot hundreds and hundreds of jumpers with Ben Johnson helping him in practice. He never developed a dependable jumper. Woolridge shot a respectable 3 point percentage his soph season, but bad mechanics caught up to him his junior year. Dick Bennett told Weaver that his top off season priority was his shooting. He improved from abysmal to mediocre over the years, but would be playing in the NBA with even a decent 3 point shot.

You can't teach touch and hand eye coordination.

 

[ElComanche]

Sometimes such a player respond to teammates who exhort them to get more aggressive .I played with such a player a long time ago and he was a massive man who was usually somewhat passive. I would get on his case and tell him to get physical and play harder.When he responded and he got physical,,bodies would fly. If one had a verbal player who would do that with him he may respond.I think that Bernsteine is an aggressive physical player who may encourage the rest of the team to develop a new attitude. In a few games last year,the team seemed passive and did not respond when teams got physical with them.They were dead out of the gate in those games.

 

[avabob1]

Going way back, Rob Corkrum was a good example. Strong athletic 6-8 kid who disappeard for long stretches on offense, but could be dominating against quality opponents at times

 

[jourdand]

Corkrum is a great example! He Had all the tools just couldn't seem to stay aggressive for the whole game. Also we've all seen players who's moves and shot look near perfect except one MINOR issue... the ball doesn't go in the basket. Lol. I felt that way about Jordan Riely. I also felt that way last year about Pollard, that is part of the reason I'm expecting a solid year from Pollard... hoping his freshman jitters are gone

 

[ElComanche]

The reasons i have always liked Pollard are his desire,hustle,athletic ability, and being the ultimate team player.

 

[avabob1]

I never thought Pollard had much touch. Don't think he will ever be much of a face up jump shooter. He is an example if a hardworking athletic kid who has been well coached but does not have a high ceiling as a shooter. In think he can be a good garbage scorer down low.

 

[SaveFerris]

I never thought Pollard had much touch. Don't think he will ever be much of a face up jump shooter. He is an example if a hardworking athletic kid who has been well coached but does not have a high ceiling as a shooter. In think he can be a good garbage scorer down low.

I do to and think he needs to and will get stronger. I think he could become a more athletic Critton-type player.

 

[ElComanche]

Eli Abaev a 6'8 juco forward from Florida has been offered by the cougs. He appears to be an all around player.

 

[avabob1]

I am guessing they must be looking at some attrition next season.

 

[ElComanche]

I think that when it is all said and done,they will have four scholarships to offer for 2018.The 6'8 205 Abeav, is a teammate of Shaq Carter .6'9 240 juco who was also offered by the cougs. One writer called Abeav,one of the more elite and versatile defenders in juco ball. He also averaged 7.4 rbs per game.Carter averaged 9.2 pts and 6.2 rbs per game as a frosh

 

[SaveFerris]

I think 3 for sure but 4 wouldn't surprise me. They have been extremely active this cycle.

 

[avabob1]

They still have 2 for 2018 so one guy leaving gives you 3. In the day and age 4 wouldn't surprise me either. I hope one is there for Sorn

 

[ElComanche]

I believe that Sorn is a high priority. But Colorado and Boise St are recruiting him hard

 

[ElComanche]

What really puzzles me is posters lack of enthusiasm about Drick Bernsteine?He was a very consistent performer and had a great game against Arizona. He is a grad transfer and is an experienced D1 player. I see him as a starter and yet some posters act like he will not start and will struggle for playing time.?

 

[avabob1]

I think he is a nice addition and will not struggle for playing time. However I am also reluctant to extrapolate his outstanding performance against Arizona considering his overall Big Sky stats.

 

[ElComanche]

I see Bernsteine as having an 11-7 year and being one of the leaders on this team.His consistency and solid defense would/will help the team.

 

[avabob1]

Similar numbers to what I picked for Franks. I hope we are both right, but probably not realistic. Bernstein is certainly closer to those numbers than Franks.

 

[jourdand]

Seems like a guy transferring from the Big Sky to the PAC 12 and increasing his numbers is asking a lot. I will be happy with 8 and six and added toughness. I watched him against EWU he'll definitely help but is still not an elite PAC 12 performer unless he is greatly improved.

 

[avabob1]

That is about what I would expect.

 

[ElComanche]

Sometimes a better player will play up to the level of competition. i hope that this is the case. Since i have not seen him play but once, i truly do not know if this will happen

 

[SaveFerris]

Really glad we added Bernstine but 8 and 6 seems about right and I do think he will bring good toughness. He's a quality addition for a year.

 

[ElComanche]

Robert Franks heads to Ohio to begin training with the Athletes in Action Team which will tour China. He will be back in mid August..

 

[avabob1]

It will be interesting to follow him

 

[ElComanche]

The rich get richer. Marvin Bagley ,the 6'11 number 1 rated player in the 2018 class i seeking to reclassify to 2017. He will be visiting Arizona this month It looks to be between Duke and Arizona for his services.

 

[avabob1]

There are only about 10 schools that have any shot at the top 5 star kids unless there us some kind of special connection. Not sure it has changed that much over the past 20 years