For a 492nd ranked recruit in the words of Buzz Williams. Losing Maymon wasn't so bad afterall was it. ;D
Very good point. This is what Maymon should have been...although I think Gardner has a much better scoring touch inside.
Amen! Give him minutes and let him be the OX!
He has a remarkable free throw stroke - he's money!
Maybe a highly skilled, but unathletic big man is better than a very athletic, but non-skilled big man for a project.
What was impressive today is that he was not in for garbage minutes, he was in when the game was on the line and he delivered big time. He wants the ball, knows when he has his man where he wants him and has very good moves to the hoop. He followed his miss, got the rebound and put it in; that reverse layup from left of the basket with a defender, leaving the defender int he dust and putting it in from the right was downright beautiful. His FTs? Awesome. Missed one.
When his defense is improved, wow - this will be what we have missed at MU for a long time. And Otule had some great moves too and played well. Marquette is feeding the post - wow!
What a game! Oh, an dHomer is now calling him "The Artist" lol
Quote from: Daniel on November 14, 2010, 05:31:43 PM
What was impressive today is that he was not in for garbage minutes, he was in when the game was on the line and he delivered big time. He wants the ball, knows when he has his man where he wants him and has very good moves to the hoop. He followed his miss, got the rebound and put it in; that reverse layup from left of the basket with a defender, leaving the defender int he dust and putting it in from the right was downright beautiful. His FTs? Awesome. Missed one.
When his defense is improved, wow - this will be what we have missed at MU for a long time. And Otule had some great moves too and played well. Marquette is feeding the post - wow!
What a game! Oh, an dHomer is now calling him "The Artist" lol
do you know why he's calling him the artist?
Quote from: jfmu on November 14, 2010, 05:33:05 PM
do you know why he's calling him the artist?
No, I don't. He has been working on that for the last two weeks trying to promote that nickname - and I think on the show today after the game (I missed most of it by the time I got back to the car), I think Homer said something like Buzz kida called him that too or something to that effect.
I thought Homer and Smith were calling Gardner The Beast and Crowder The Artist.
Quote from: Daniel on November 14, 2010, 05:31:43 PM
What was impressive today is that he was not in for garbage minutes, he was in when the game was on the line and he delivered big time. He wants the ball, knows when he has his man where he wants him and has very good moves to the hoop. He followed his miss, got the rebound and put it in; that reverse layup from left of the basket with a defender, leaving the defender int he dust and putting it in from the right was downright beautiful. His FTs? Awesome. Missed one.
And on top of that, he knew his defender had 4 fouls and he could do anything he wanted.
Quote from: 94Warrior on November 14, 2010, 05:57:19 PM
I thought Homer and Smith were calling Gardner The Beast and Crowder The Artist.
Ah 94 - maybe you are right - I could be wrong sicne I tuned it last minute. . .
Quote from: 94Warrior on November 14, 2010, 05:57:19 PM
I thought Homer and Smith were calling Gardner The Beast and Crowder The Artist.
Tony Smith calls Gardner "The Beast". Homer calls him "The Artist".
Didn't notice any comments on Tony Smith. I had to leave the game early and thought he did a pretty good job. During the post game interview with Buzz after Tony asked him a follow up question Buzz said "Homer, Tony is pretty good"
Enjoyed having him fill in. Nice to see one of our former studs staying involved.
Looks like we done recruited ourselves a big man. ;D
Tony did a very good job. I'd give him an A.
Quote from: KC2016 on November 14, 2010, 10:48:44 PM
Tony did a very good job. I'd give him an A.
I agree, dare I say better than Jim Mac?
Soft hands. Nice player
Homer called him the artist because on the first game every. Time he touched the ball in the paint he would use a different post move to attack the rim. Then George said he was old school down low and he role buzz that Gardner had "sweet feet"
Gardner is the monster presence I've been waiting for. Don't slim him down too much! So great to see someone know what and how to do with the ball down low!
Also great to see Jr. come in and 'run the damn O'.
I didn't get to see the game at all, so could anyone that saw the game or was there, could i get a question answered?
When Gardner was doing so well today, was he being guarded by someone his size or taller?
In the previous game and high school clips i've seen, the guy just seemed to have a nice set of back to his basket and post skills overall. He new how to use his body/bulk to shield defenders, but he's used to being defended by kids no match for him physically so i wonder how he'll be able to handle defenders his size or bigger once we play quality teams?
That generally is the toughest adjustment freshman 6'7-6'9 bigs who mostly score inside have to make once they face quality college teams who have bigs the same size and often bigger compared to being able to just overpower most high school kids.
Quote from: El Duderino on November 15, 2010, 12:48:45 AM
I didn't get to see the game at all, so could anyone that saw the game or was there, could i get a question answered?
When Gardner was doing so well today, was he being guarded by someone his size or taller?
Muscala is 6'11" and looked pretty skilled. I was definitely impressed with Gardners ability to move through the lane and score. Also, he looks like the has the purest stroke from the free throw line on the entire team.
For more debate, does anyone else think DJO looks off this year? I know its early but man does he look out of sync.
The guy he had on him was a little taller, but Davante had more strength.
His improvement from July until now has been incredible. I love his instincts- he gets excellent position, feels how his defender is playing him, and has a great feel as to where the rebound will go. He has a nice touch around the basket, and his footwork is so deceptively good.
With more time with Todd, he could be a load to deal with inside.
Quote from: Doris Burkes Thong on November 14, 2010, 04:53:44 PM
For a 492nd ranked recruit in the words of Buzz Williams. Losing Maymon wasn't so bad afterall was it. ;D
Maymon had 36 points in his MU career. I'm willing to wager that Gardner will surpass that. Anyone?
Not to take anything away from the way the Ox is playing but it did help that Muscala had 4 fouls on him and obviously did not want to get his 5th.
Quote from: chren21 on November 15, 2010, 07:56:58 AM
Not to take anything away from the way the Ox is playing but it did help that Muscala had 4 fouls on him and obviously did not want to get his 5th.
That was true for 2 of his baskets, but was was an off balance jump hook type shot and another was a followup from a miss (Even guys with 4 fouls can box out) - and then those sweet free throws!
I loved his footwork and those soft hands are ahead of his time. Like Ox said " I don't get nervous."
4 fouls or not - DG was super quick with his moves and left the stiff in the dust. That move across the lane was sweet. Also, he seems to be in control when he gets the ball. He is going to get DJO some wide open looks when teams start doubling down. He smoked his man 1-v-1.
He is very confident and comfortable with the ball, and wants it. He believes in himself and he knows when he has his man beat most of the time. Very nice to watch and a great addition to our team. Once he refines his defense, look out!
Who wants to bet that Davante will be the best FT shooter on the team this year?
I do!!
Quote from: chren21 on November 15, 2010, 07:56:58 AM
Not to take anything away from the way the Ox is playing but it did help that Muscala had 4 fouls on him and obviously did not want to get his 5th.
Granted, this isn't the way it went down, but it would be one helluva strategy to limit DG's minutes and keep going at their big guy with everyone else so to draw 3 fouls before the half; then you get the fourth foul in the middle of the second half and turn DG loose. Without having seen DG much in the first half, the other team doesn't have the luxury of the half-time adjustment... so it's either play your big man with 4 fouls, adjust on-the-fly with 10 minutes left in the game, and/or just let DG have his chances and hope to shut down the rest of MU's team.
Having an impact big opens up a world of possibilities for this team. No wonder we've been bellyaching so much recently on the topic.
Quote from: mikem91288 on November 15, 2010, 10:16:04 AM
Who wants to bet that Davante will be the best FT shooter on the team this year?
I do!!
Agree. Best stroke on the team. Upside with DG is huge. I felt it would take until his Junior or Senior year..to where he was a player of similar caliber to Robert Jackson - cause he and RJax are very similar - not high risers, but great hands and feet. Having said that, I see DG being even better than RJax...if he continues to work hard, and maintain a good attitude..there is no reason he can't be almost DeJaun Blair good..by the time he is a junior/senior at MU.
Quote from: mikem91288 on November 15, 2010, 10:16:04 AM
Who wants to bet that Davante will be the best FT shooter on the team this year?
I do!!
Nice when you can keep a big guy in at the end of close games.To have a rebouder and a target for an inbounds pass when the other team is fouling late in the game is invaluable.
Gardner reminds me a lot of Big Baby Glen Davis of the Celtics - same body type, similiar skill sets, and really good feet. Now, I obviously don't expect Gardner to be an all-american like Davis was at LSU, but if he can have a college career that is anything close to the one Davis had we're going to be really good.