Wojo Has Some "Chief Love"

[Tugg Speedman]

Driving home from the game, Wojo post game interview sounded like he has a man crush of The Chief (Cohen)

* Wojo says the Chief does a lot of things for the team
* Wojo assigns the Chief to defend the other team's best player
* Playing with confidence and emerging as a leader of the team

Count me as among those that have a "chief man crush."

Oh, and Wojo praised the entire team, he was very happen with the say they played.  His comments were the opposite of the Iowa post game.

No outdoor practice for them!

[forgetful]

Driving home from the game, Wojo post game interview sounded like he has a man crush of The Chief (Cohen)

* Wojo says the Chief does a lot of things for the team
* Wojo assigns the Chief to defend the other team's best player
* Playing with confidence and emerging as a leader of the team

Count me as among those that have a "chief man crush."

Oh, and Wojo praised the entire team, he was very happen with the say they played.  His comments were the opposite of the Iowa post game.

No outdoor practice for them!

I have a chief man crush also.  He just seems to do all the little things well.  He had 8 assists today.  He makes very few mistakes. 

I wouldn't mind him being a little more aggressive and would like to see him develop a quicker release, but love the guy.

And the best thing, he is young and will only get better and better. 

[jesmu84]

So, I know he's just a sophomore, and it may not be a fair comparison...

But, so far, he's the player I hoped Juan Anderson could have been.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I so thought this meant that he wanted to bring back the Warriors nickname.

[Tugg Speedman]

I have a chief man crush also.  He just seems to do all the little things well. He had 8 assists today.  He makes very few mistakes. 

I wouldn't mind him being a little more aggressive and would like to see him develop a quicker release, but love the guy.

And the best thing, he is young and will only get better and better.

Yes, 8 assists and 1 TO. 

Wojo also said the last 5 games Chief covers the other team's best player and in all those game they finish with below season average stats.

[Babybluejeans]

Reminds me of junior-year-Jimmy Butler. Wasn't yet a "take the last shot" guy but did all the right things and added heaps of value. Hopefully the comparison remains apt.

[esotericmindguy]

Reminds me of junior-year-Jimmy Butler. .

Gather yourself.

[brewcity77]

Sandy was excellent yesterday. Couldn't believe how many plays he just seemed to be doing the right thing. On this team, with guys like Henry, Duane, Cheatham, and Jajuan that are always in attack mode, and other guys like Fischy that will get tons of attempts, Sandy is a perfect fit. Does all the little things, plays his role, and can knock down shots given the chance.

[Tugg Speedman]

Every team needs a good player that's worth does not involve reciting their points of rebounding statistics.  In other words, their defense, assist and decision making is why they are so valuable.

On this team that person is The Chief.

[g0lden3agle]

If wojo can consistently get this sort of freshman to sophomore year improvements out of his guys he's going to be a special coach

[jsglow]

Reminds me of junior-year-Jimmy Butler. Wasn't yet a "take the last shot" guy but did all the right things and added heaps of value. Hopefully the comparison remains apt.

Let's not go crazy here.  Juan 'with a higher ceiling' is a more appropriate comparison.

[GGGG]

If wojo can consistently get this sort of freshman to sophomore year improvements out of his guys he's going to be a special coach

Not just that, but when I look at Carter and Cheatham, I see two relatively unheralded (when compared to HE) freshman who can significantly contribute right away.  Very positive sign.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Not just that, but when I look at Carter and Cheatham, I see two relatively unheralded (when compared to HE) freshman who can significantly contribute right away.  Very positive sign.

I am most impressed with who-ever helped JJJ completely rebuild his shot.  That is not an easy off season task.

[forgetful]

Let's not go crazy here.  Juan 'with a higher ceiling' is a more appropriate comparison.

Junior year Jimmy is a stretch, but Sophomore year Jimmy is not.  Chief is actually ahead of sophomore year Jimmy (and I really really liked sophomore year Jimmy).

[Tugg Speedman]

Junior year Jimmy is a stretch, but Sophomore year Jimmy is not.  Chief is actually ahead of sophomore year Jimmy (and I really really liked sophomore year Jimmy).

I agree with this

[jsglow]

Junior year Jimmy is a stretch, but Sophomore year Jimmy is not.  Chief is actually ahead of sophomore year Jimmy (and I really really liked sophomore year Jimmy).

No disagreement.  But let us remember how much Jimmy progressed EVERY year, including in his time with the Bulls.

[brewcity77]

Junior year Jimmy is a stretch, but Sophomore year Jimmy is not.  Chief is actually ahead of sophomore year Jimmy (and I really really liked sophomore year Jimmy).

Jimmy is a tough comparison. I can't think of many players who ever improved to the level JFB has. He clearly had some talent (though massively unrefined) as a sophomore, but I don't think anyone could have seen this coming.

I love the Juan Anderson comparison. Juan was one of those guys who just didn't seem to ever quite become what some of us thought he could. Maybe the talent level just wasn't quite at the level it needed to be. Sandy is doing well playing within himself, but the things that Juan showed flashes of, the defense, rebounding, shooting, passing, Sandy is showing those consistently.

I don't mean this as a criticism, but when you look at Henry, Luke, Traci, and Haanif (or Duane or Jajuan), Sandy looks like that guy who is the prototypical "worst starter". Yet at the same time, he's the guy that does a bit of everything. If Sandy is going to be the "worst starter" on this team, we're going to be very good the next few years. Absolute glue guy who just does the right little things to win.

[Tugg Speedman]

Jimmy is a tough comparison. I can't think of many players who ever improved to the level JFB has. He clearly had some talent (though massively unrefined) as a sophomore, but I don't think anyone could have seen this coming.

I love the Juan Anderson comparison. Juan was one of those guys who just didn't seem to ever quite become what some of us thought he could. Maybe the talent level just wasn't quite at the level it needed to be. Sandy is doing well playing within himself, but the things that Juan showed flashes of, the defense, rebounding, shooting, passing, Sandy is showing those consistently.

I don't mean this as a criticism, but when you look at Henry, Luke, Traci, and Haanif (or Duane or Jajuan), Sandy looks like that guy who is the prototypical "worst starter". Yet at the same time, he's the guy that does a bit of everything. If Sandy is going to be the "worst starter" on this team, we're going to be very good the next few years. Absolute glue guy who just does the right little things to win.

I believe the proper way to say the highlighted part is "I don't mean this in a negative way."

Seriously, I agree with you comments above and would summarize it by asking a question.

Could the Chief become the first scoop SOTG with 5 or less points in the game (I'm excluding Frozena for this argument)?  That because everything else he does on the court is that important?

Based on Wojo's comments yesterday, I think he would answer this as yes.

[brewcity77]

I believe the proper way to say the highlighted part is "I don't mean this in a negative way."

Seriously, I agree with you comments above and would summarize it by asking a question.

Could the Chief become the first scoop SOTG with 5 or less points in the game (I'm excluding Frozena for this argument)?  That because everything else he does on the court is that important?

Based on Wojo's comments yesterday, I think he would answer this as yes.

I would say yes. I thought Traci was fantastic yesterday. 10/7/7 with four steals and one turnover was excellent. But if not for his statline, I'd argue Sandy was next up despite not scoring much. Just did so much for the team in every aspect of the game. Yes, Luke and Henry put up points, but Maine was pretty defenseless as far as bigs went.

[thekahoona]

Reminds me of junior-year-Jimmy Butler. Wasn't yet a "take the last shot" guy but did all the right things and added heaps of value. Hopefully the comparison remains apt.

+1

[forgetful]

Jimmy is a tough comparison. I can't think of many players who ever improved to the level JFB has. He clearly had some talent (though massively unrefined) as a sophomore, but I don't think anyone could have seen this coming.

I love the Juan Anderson comparison. Juan was one of those guys who just didn't seem to ever quite become what some of us thought he could. Maybe the talent level just wasn't quite at the level it needed to be. Sandy is doing well playing within himself, but the things that Juan showed flashes of, the defense, rebounding, shooting, passing, Sandy is showing those consistently.

I don't mean this as a criticism, but when you look at Henry, Luke, Traci, and Haanif (or Duane or Jajuan), Sandy looks like that guy who is the prototypical "worst starter". Yet at the same time, he's the guy that does a bit of everything. If Sandy is going to be the "worst starter" on this team, we're going to be very good the next few years. Absolute glue guy who just does the right little things to win.

As a sophomore I actually thought JFB was going to play in the NBA.  You could see he had all the things in place just needed time to develop.  You can probably find posts of mine on here from back then where I was defending him against people saying he was too soft and couldn't finish. 

That said, I don't think Sandy will develop the same way, as I couldn't have expected Jimmy to continue to develop as much as he has. 

The big limitation that will hold the Chief back is his shot, he shoots a high percentage, but he will have to revamp his shot to play at the next level. 

[brewcity77]

As a sophomore I actually thought JFB was going to play in the NBA.  You could see he had all the things in place just needed time to develop.  You can probably find posts of mine on here from back then where I was defending him against people saying he was too soft and couldn't finish. 

That said, I don't think Sandy will develop the same way, as I couldn't have expected Jimmy to continue to develop as much as he has. 

The big limitation that will hold the Chief back is his shot, he shoots a high percentage, but he will have to revamp his shot to play at the next level.

Agreed with all of this (including both my roommate and I thinking he had NBA potential as a sophomore). I really think Sandy right now is better than Jimmy was then. But long-term, no way he has the kind of ceiling Jimmy had. I'd love to be wrong about that, but while I thought Jimmy had NBA potential pretty much from the start, I never imagined he was a future NBA all-star.

[GGGG]

Agreed with all of this (including both my roommate and I thinking he had NBA potential as a sophomore). I really think Sandy right now is better than Jimmy was then. But long-term, no way he has the kind of ceiling Jimmy had. I'd love to be wrong about that, but while I thought Jimmy had NBA potential pretty much from the start, I never imagined he was a future NBA all-star.

Sandy might be a bit more skilled, but JFB was a better athlete.  Once Jimmy developed as a basketball player, combining that with his athleticism was quite the combination.  I don't think Sandy is going to get there, but that is hardly an insult.

[forgetful]

Sandy might be a bit more skilled, but JFB was a better athlete.  Once Jimmy developed as a basketball player, combining that with his athleticism was quite the combination.  I don't think Sandy is going to get there, but that is hardly an insult.

I wouldn't sell Sandy's athleticism short.  Remember he was a state-champion triple-jumper.  He hasn't translated it to the court well yet, but I think he'll get there with the athleticism.

Its his shot mechanics and slow release, which is a really big problem .

[brewcity77]

I wouldn't sell Sandy's athleticism short.  Remember he was a state-champion triple-jumper.  He hasn't translated it to the court well yet, but I think he'll get there with the athleticism.

Its his shot mechanics and slow release, which is a really big problem .

It amazes me how low Sandy starts his shot. Half the time when he puts a three up, I wonder if it will even get to the rim. Of course, then he ends up swishing it . At this point, Sandy has the look of a guy who will develop into a very good collegiate role-player and likely be able to make money for a long time overseas. Again, a case of a guy I'd love to see prove me wrong.