Keep in mind, that the league that X plays in has produced athletes like Marc Loving, Nigel Hays, Chris Wormley and X. Also, they have 2 teams in Toledo St Johns and Lima Senior who have done well in the state playoffs historically. If you compared it to the league Davis plays in, the LCAA, it would be like the NBA and NCAA.
I need to say with Zak having a full off season I have high hopes for him. I watched the conference tourney game vs Wisconsin last year with this year fresh in my mind and Zak looked much stronger and faster. Really have high hopes given he has a full off season
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He was playing some very good ball over the last 10 games of 2015. Hopefully he can get back to that.
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I am confident he will I see it happening
I like the way Simpson creates space for himself to get off his jumper and in the lane. Obviously it will not be quite as easy in college, but I think it will help. Especially if his shooting from distance is consistent, Iām not worried about expecting 12-15 minutes of solid play from him next year.
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Iām hopeful. I thought his last 10 games of 2014-5 were amazing. Injuries certainly have a lot to do with last year, but what they donāt explain is shot selection. Lack of available alternatives may explain it, but needs to improve in a big way.
That could be true however I donāt think that was the case. I actually think the opposing teamās best defender was on MAAR once we hit the half way point of big ten play.
Teamās guarded Irvin with their PF every game. Usually that player was slower and less agile than Irvin. Teams should have had to help all day on defense with that mathup but they didnāt.
Walton was almost exclusively guarded by the other teams pg.
I think what we saw toward the end of the year was Opposing teams keying in on MAAR when he drove which led to a lot of uncontested put back situations if MAAR missed. We also saw glimpses of MAAR being able to distribute, though not consistently, when the other team over committed to helping on him.
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I believe it all relates. He wasnāt fast enough or strong enough this season to create so he wasnāt getting great shots. Those last 10 games he was creating for himself very well and getting good looks
ā¦ and, to further your point, showing good judgement in how he did it in 14-15. hope the 16-17 version shows that return to both form and choices/selection.
Agreed but I believe the choices/selection will come with the form. The form will help create and get better looks instead of struggling the way he did this past season.
Part of the bad judgment, Iām sure, was the feeling he had to do something at certain times because others werenāt capable. Losing Caris left Zak as the most experienced and capable scorer we had, though with his injury, he wasnāt nearly as effective.
If heās healthy, I think he can have a strong senior year. I could see a 16/5/3.5 line for him, shooting maybe .450 from the floor and .380 from three, which would be huge for us. But man, you just never know with back injuries, they are very tricky. The bad news is, when heās not healthy, he still shoots a lot and in some games (ND immediately comes to mind), can really hurt us with his inability to make open shots.
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Further, itās very tough for guys to realize their own injury-based limitations, especially when theyāve done it a million times before. Watching Kobe now, he still takes a ton of shots he can no longer make, but the old Kobe would have made easily.
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Oh boy, Iāll take the over on 8mpg. I could see some games he is limited to 5-8 minutes due to Beileinās odd subbing at times, but Iād be surprised if he doesnāt average over 8 mpg next year by seasonās end.
Freshman Spike Albrecht averaged 7.6mpg when Trey Burke was the NPOY. I think freshman Simpson is better than freshman Albrecht and there is no comparison between the guys they will be spelling.
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Walton vs MAAR certainly already debatable. In conference play, Derrick Walton shot 35% from the field last season compared to Abdur-Rahkmanās 48% and MAAR is the better defender. Walton rebounds better and passer, but there is nothing that puts Walton clearly above MAAR.
Iād consider Irvin our best player right now, but he didnāt really improve at all from sophomore to junior season so his ceiling is more capped than MAARās is IMO. If MAAR contines his improvement trajectory, he could very well be our top player next year.
I donāt have doubt that X could average 8 mins per game with all the cupcakes included. The real question is will he play more than 5-8 mins per game in those contests vs legit teams. We all know JB likes a short rotation, so Iām guessing he gives Derrick a 4 min blow in each half, particularly when MAAR can bring the ball up the court.
Well, I think Xās minutes will increase as the season goes on. I think he will average 8+ minutes in conference play.
I guess weāll see, I just donāt think X is an instant impact type of player. That being said, it is possible he becomes a rotation player with DW and MAAR the only people capable of handling a press.
You guys are looking at MAAR with tunnel vision. He is not asked to do all of the things both Walton and Zak are asked to do. Such as guard the opposing teams power forward or best player (Zak) or be the primary ball handler when ever he is on the floor and guard the opposing teams point guard and make sure the team is set up to start plays. Which in turn causes them to expend more energy than any of their other teammates. I like MAAR but he is not asked or expected to carry or do most of the heavy lifting for the team. When he starts averaging more than 2 assists and thatās putting it kindly becomes a primary ball handler then we can talk.
Down the stretch he was THE primary option on offenseā¦and his production increased accordingly.
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Uhhhā¦ Heās not a pg so why would he be the one starting the offense the majority of the time? You basically just said that only the pg can be the best player on the floor regardless.
Zak does not guard the other teams best playerā¦ Where did you get that at?