yep, baptism by fire. Cupps seems like a tough kid and has responded well. He really battled vs Mich. This will reap rewards next yr and beyond. I keep thinking of Smith at Purdue....wasn't sold he could even handle it at the start of last year. PU had no real PGs and Smith had to drink from the firehose from day 1. Now I'm counting the days until he's gone.
Maybe he has and its in his arsenal, being saved for better teams. That may be why we haven’t seen it more. Just you wait!
Thanks for the clip. I saw a couple of his HS games, and I KNOW the dude can hit jumpers. Have NO idea why he has struggled so mightily at IU - most of his jumpers have even been complete bricks & airballs, not shots that look as though they’re going in. I can’t figure it.
I like Braden Smith, I said on here before he committed to PU I thought it was a mistake to not try and get him, but I also don't buy all the BS love. IMO BS has one outstanding trait: he gets to throw the ball to Zach Edey. That's all that keeps him from being just another nice player, imo. I think he and Cupps will be a great battle for as long as they are both there. I give BS the edge in shooting/scoring at the moment and GC the edge defensively. Remember we're talking about a kid who's started on a good team for over a year now, vs a kid who was expected to be a backup and now has started, what, 3 games (and is 3-0)?
I was told by many that both were going to be great shooters and neither can throw it out of a boat in the middle of the ocean and hit water.
Quite a reach. Damezi never looked anything but lost at either end of the court, whereas CJ is very aware on the defensive end, and has looked OK on O... outside of shooting 3s. Again, if everyone, including CJ, would chill on focusing on his shooting and just encourage him to be a really good player in all phases, I think his shooting might come around. I have never expected him to be a knock down 3 guy, but he can contribute in many ways. I think he's had two 4 steal games this year already.
And that's what has been encouraging about Gunn. You'll see a lot of young guys get caught up struggling on one end and letting it impact their play on the other end. Not Gunn though. He's been very active defensively and is almost always in the right spot. He's got the right mentality on the offense to stay down for ever.
His current steal rate of over 7 per 100 defensive possessions would be top 5 nationally in Kenpom if he played 40% of minutes. He's played 33% of minutes, and that's rising. The focus on shooting obscures what may be his biggest potential contribution.
Exactly, the focus should be on Gunn the player, not Gunn the shooter. Frankly, I don't think there is a magic bullet to cure our shooting woes on this roster and we're not going to be a high volume 3 pt shooting team. We need guys who are confident in their shot to take good shots when they are available and then feed the hot hand. I was never a good outside shooter, but I always took open 3s when I had them, because it made guys come out and guard me and I was better going to the hoop anyway. One league game though, I made 6 and for that game, I was a great 3 pt shooter. That's sort of how I see our team this year, don't focus on it, but take good open 3s when they are available.
I had this exact pic on a T-shirt in like 4th grade.right next to Farrah in her one piece with her head back smiling...
also for the youngsters (not a man over 50 who doesn't remember this poster!)
valid point. Smith has it pretty good right now. Let's see how he does next year without the huge Canuck in the middle. Everyone left on that squad will have to earn it on their own.
right next to Farrah in her one piece with her head back smiling...
also for the youngsters (not a man over 50 who doesn't remember this poster!)
Outside of the blocked in-bounds pass, that baby hook was my favorite play. Dude needs to take 2-3 every game. No defense for that...including Edey.
I don't think Auburn is the right time, but if CJ continues strong minutes and TG isn't producing, when we get to the weaker games, I wouldn't mind seeing those two flipped and see how CJ plays with starters and TG does coming off the bench.
The magic bullet might be Ware. Maybe run a 2-3 plays every half to get him some outside looks. 55%
Don't think so. It's nice that he can step out, but he's likely not going to get enough attempts out there to make a big difference. When he's out there, he's not in the paint which is still his comfort zone and where most of his "go-to" moves are. Also not under to rebound. It has value, but not a game changer imo.
I admit I had it wrong concerning Damezi. I watched a lot of his games when he was in high school and thought he would do well. Good kid but just not a great player on the college level.
Us old guys are probably only ones that remember how unstoppable Kareem was with his hook. Blows my mind kids like Ware aren’t doing the same thing. If nothing else just a mini jump hook.
Continue practicing to improve your weak areas while maximizing what you do best in games.
I don't know about that, he gets that shot off easily and it's been going in more often than not.
Good point.
Depends if he hits it consistently ....
Just from interviews and we've never seen him get into any trouble. I can't think of one scandalous thing said about Damezi.
there are a lot of preachers who we thought were great people. are you a follower of brother Jim Bakker
