Could this be Jamal's "coming into his own" game? Like Sam last season I expect him to see more minutes if he continues to play like he did last night. He gives us another option in the corner and is our most athletic player. I think we played our best ball last night when the frosh were in.
He has improved greatly since the start of the season. I expect that he will still have his ups and downs .....like all freshmen.
I'm sure his confidence is growing by the day. Ceiling is very high with his athleticism and ability to hit the 3.
Now shooting 40% on treys for the season.......very small sample it great to see.
Its too early to tell. Yes he had 16 pts and hit 4 threes but that was because Xavier took a "risk" leaving him open.
Still more excited about Cain than any other frosh on our team. He still struggles with team defense but his individual defense and three point shooting are already solid. I don't expect him to break out this season, but I think we will see his role continue to grow. Anim is who he is competing with
Quote from: GoldenZebra on December 28, 2017, 06:11:11 PM
Its too early to tell. Yes he had 16 pts and hit 4 threes but that was because Xavier took a "risk" leaving him open.
This. If he can replicate this and continue to hit the open three while contributing at both ends, this could prove to be a breakout, but if he doesn't crack double-digits again all year, this will just be seen as an appreciated blip.
Wojo knew that the 1-3-1 would be utilized by X yesterday. Raft said JC was practicing threes for a long no time pre-game. He answered the call yesterday.
However, I would expect Wojo to use the team as he can exploit weaknesses of the opponent—which may or may not include JC specifically.
IMO Cain has most upside of the freshman and has a chance to be a nice player. Last night was nice for him, but would not call it a breakout game.
All three freshman have upside. We would have won this game if Marcus rayed his usual game.
Vander Blue scored 25(?) points in one game as a freshmen and average around 6 points for the season.
Quote from: bilsu on December 28, 2017, 10:36:51 PM
Vander Blue scored 25(?) points in one game as a freshmen and average around 6 points for the season.
Blue scored 21 against A&M Corpus Christi. Pretty much all of them were at the rim. He only hit double digits v. the BE once - and that was DePaul. Jamal's overall offensive game is clearly better at this point.
I really like his game. Impressive growth. Pretty crazy to think he was at the end of the rotation at the start of the season and didn't look quite ready yet. Does a lot of little things right. Defense is getting better each game. Four steals last game.
His game on Wednesday reminded me of the first time I saw Mikal Bridges as a freshman. Crazy long arms, really active in passing lanes, loose balls, rebounds, knocking down J's as a 4th/5th option. I remember thinking where did this guy come from and how is he killing us?
Obviously only one game, but if he can approach anything like Bridges as an upperclassman...
Quote from: Ellenson Family Reunion on December 29, 2017, 09:55:04 AM
His game on Wednesday reminded me of the first time I saw Mikal Bridges as a freshman. Crazy long arms, really active in passing lanes, loose balls, rebounds, knocking down J's as a 4th/5th option. I remember thinking where did this guy come from and how is he killing us?
Obviously only one game, but if he can approach anything like Bridges as an upperclassman...
I hear what you're saying Ellenson, but other than knocking down J's on Wednesday, the rest of his game has been there for several games. His length and athleticism have been evident since the first time he stepped on the floor. He's got great leaping ability and I'm thinking he will be a leader in steals and among the leaders in rebounds, if not by next year, definitely by junior year.