Ben Gold Improvement

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

tower

Corrected. Typing on phone while having a cocktail and cigar outside and freezing my ass off.

What kind of cocktail? Whose cigar? How cold?

[GoldenWarrior11]

BG's minutes and production (and development) have been a welcome surprise. I just thought he would take a year before seeing the rotation.

I do wonder what his role would have been to start had ZW not been hurt.  Maybe it's the same.  Maybe it's not.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Wizz, knot sure ewe no ball. Da kid kan ball out at 6'4", aina?

Would love to be wrong.  To be a 6'4" SG in the Association, you've got to be able to defend NBA level guards. Right now Kam is being assigned the 4th or 5th scoring option on college teams. Would love for  him to become a pit bull defender. We are seeing improvement

[4everwarriors]

Teams pay for scorers and Kam can shoot it. Tyme will tell, aina?

[MU82]

Would love to be wrong.  To be a 6'4" SG in the Association, you've got to be able to defend NBA level guards. Right now Kam is being assigned the 4th or 5th scoring option on college teams. Would love for  him to become a pit bull defender. We are seeing improvement

Man, Wiz, the guy who wanted the Bucks to trade Giannis' azz just said you don't know basketball. That's a deep cut.

[The Sultan]

Teams pay for scorers and Kam can shoot it. Tyme will tell, aina?

He's a good shooter. Streaky. But if you look at the stats, he is fine as a three point shooter, but this year he is living at the rim. That will be a lot harder for a guy his size in the NBA.

Put it another way, at this point, Kam isn't yet a senior-year DJO level scorer...and DJO got five games in the NBA.  (To be fair, that might meet TAMU's "cup of coffee" definition.)  As TAMU said, I would love to be wrong, but I just don't think he has the combination of size and athleticism.

[MU82]

Kam isn't yet a senior-year DJO level scorer...and DJO got five games in the NBA.

Excellent perspective.

Kam is only 11 12 games into his sophomore season, so we'll see how good he can get, but he's light years away from the NBA now. Of course, all it takes is for his people to be telling him he's a lock for him to leave, so who ever knows about this stuff?

[Jay Bee]

Excellent perspective.

Kam is only 11 games into his sophomore season, so we'll see how good he can get, but he's light years away from the NBA now. Of course, all it takes is for his people to be telling him he's a lock for him to leave, so who ever knows about this stuff?

What game are you not counting?

[MU82]

What game are you not counting?

D'oh! Corrected - thanks. Point still stands.

[4everwarriors]

Caca de toro, aina?

[PJDunn]

Back to Ben... his rugby background is perfect for the Big East. He is a great addition to the program. Also, a cigar and cocktail is a perfect combo regardless of the weather. If it is below 32, consider a rye, neat.

[Galway Eagle]

Back to Ben... his rugby background is perfect for the Big East. He is a great addition to the program. Also, a cigar and cocktail is a perfect combo regardless of the weather. If it is below 32, consider a rye, neat.

lol it's a large jump to say rugby background translate to basketball in general. This feels just like a way to say "we're tougher than others" in a non contact sport

[DoctorV]

Bennys got really nice sneaky athleticism, and apparently a smooth 3P shot.

Hopefully once that shot starts falling and guys have to step out on him aggressively he can use the pump fake and athleticism to his advantage and make a living offensively, like that jam he had earlier this season.

I'd like for him to keep working on the ball handling and passing.
He's trending up defensively, just keep working.

[Uncle Rico]

Bennys got really nice sneaky athleticism, and apparently a smooth 3P shot.

Hopefully once that shot starts falling and guys have to step out on him aggressively he can use the pump fake and athleticism to his advantage and make a living offensively, like that jam he had earlier this season.

I'd like for him to keep working on the ball handling and passing.
He's trending up defensively, just keep working.

He's a gym rat, too

[MU82]

He's a gym rat, too

Probably a coach's son.

[PJDunn]

lol it's a large jump to say rugby background translate to basketball in general. This feels just like a way to say "we're tougher than others" in a non contact sport

He probably is tougher, and that will play out nicely. He will also probably exhibit better sportsmanship than most. Lots to like about a rugby background.

[BLWarrior91]

Love the way he can handle the ball on the break.  Not many big guys can do that.  He and Oso together can create huge match up problems for a lot of teams.  Next year is really going to be fun.

[BobWildLoyalist]

Are we sure Ben Gold isn't Bill Walton in a time machine?

I just hope Ben can hold down Bill's affinity for the Grateful Dead. I always felt that was the most important part of Bill's game.

[mutodd5]

He's currently number 2 on my my "current MU players most likely to get at least a cup of coffee in the NBA" list, behind OMax.

Our most recent and the current leader of SoG begs to disagree....

Did you know Oso means "bear" in Spanish?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Our most recent and the current leader of SoG begs to disagree....

Did you know Oso means "bear" in Spanish?

If he can get his frame to more resemble his namesake or develop a three, I'll agree with you.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Just mad that Bo Jr. missed a white guy taller than 6-3.

Bo & Bo Jr doesn't care how tall they are, as long as they are white.

[fjm]

As I watched the game last night, I found myself asking multiple times... "if Ben is the only one making a shot... why are they not passing to him when he is wide open... instead we run in at 700 foot tall clingan?"

Multiple times Ben was open at the 3 line, hands up... and no one even looked at him. Ugh.

[jfp61]

We need him vs. Creighton and Uconn.

Especially if Joplin and Omax get into foul trouble or play poorly

[MUfan12]

Earlier this year Shaka brought Novak in to spend some time with Ben. Here's hoping last night was like the DePaul game in Steve's freshman year, when he made some shots and really got cooking over the last month of the season.

[Stretchdeltsig]

I've liked Ben Gold's game from day 1. He's gotten better each week. He rarely makes mistakes. He's good. Hrs already added muscle and will add more next year. We're lucky to have him.