Lineups - just bizarre. Would like to see the contract.

[Jay Bee]

I'm team DO.

I don't understand what's going on. gotta be more to it. Play him 12+ mins a night or fight.

[panda]

I'm team DO.

I don't understand what's going on. gotta be more to it. Play him 12+ mins a night or fight.

Mostly everyone on this team stinks. Some stinky players have much more upside than others. Owens is one of them. Would love to see him work through whatever is going on to play more mins

[MuggsyB]

I have no idea regarding DO.  It's not debatable that he's looked atrocious.  But he also seems to have a quick hook.  If he can't guard at all I'm not sure how Shaka can play him extended stretches.  Maybe you rol the dice, start him Saturday, and park Hamilton?  It could light a 🔥 up his buttocks?  I dunno.

[CountryRoads]

I have no idea regarding DO.  It's not debatable that he's looked atrocious.  But he also seems to have a quick hook.  If he can't guard at all I'm not sure how Shaka can play him extended stretches.  Maybe you rol the dice, start him Saturday, and park Hamilton?  It could light a 🔥 up his buttocks?  I dunno.

I listened to the radio show tonight and don't think that will happen. Shaka was raving about Hamilton. Also said he had a long talk with Zaide today.

[MU82]

Mostly everyone on this team stinks. Some stinky players have much more upside than others. Owens is one of them. Would love to see him work through whatever is going on to play more mins

Agree, Doc.

[Hards Alumni]

DO wants to score, so when he sees the ball in his hands he goes for it no matter the cost.  Trouble is, he is very careless with the ball and frequently turns it over.  In addition, he seems lost (as does most of the team) on defensive rotations.  Hard to keep a guy in who turns the ball over and is a bit of a liability on defense.  He has incredible potential, but I'd love to see him play for more than two possessions without turning it over.  Owens seemed much more in control last year.  Frankly, a lot of that was probably the senior leadership, of which we don't really have any.  I love Chase but he strikes me as a quiet leader when this team needs a vocal one.

[Shooter McGavin]

Mostly everyone on this team stinks. Some stinky players have much more upside than others. Owens is one of them. Would love to see him work through whatever is going on to play more mins

Shaka first needs to teach him to box out. His technique of shoving someone with two hands in the chest at the three point line doesn't work well and will draw a whistle. 😂

[The Sultan]

Mostly everyone on this team stinks. Some stinky players have much more upside than others. Owens is one of them. Would love to see him work through whatever is going on to play more mins

Does Owens have more upside? Of the wings / guards, how do we know he has a bigger upside than Phillips or Stevens? He is athletic no doubt, has been pretty bad.

[Jay Bee]

Does Owens have more upside? Of the wings / guards, how do we know he has a bigger upside than Phillips or Stevens? He is athletic no doubt, has been pretty bad.

I feel like there's more going on with Damarius, but I will say this -- of the various guys on the bench, he is the one who is a natural higher-usage guy, something we lack much of. Phillips is going to shoot when he has his clear opportunities - that's fine, but he's not going to get a ton of looks. Stevens is in a real nice spot for now -- in a year or two, I think he can be a mid-range usage or even medium high, but he'd be pushing it / playing out of his comfort zone to do so now.

Owens, I think it's him. Now, what all is going on.. and would he play poorly throughout 12-14 minutes or run per game? I don't know, but I'd be testing it more than we have seen thus far.

[Pakuni]

Shaka first needs to teach him to box out. His technique of shoving someone with two hands in the chest at the three point line doesn't work well and will draw a whistle. 😂

Well, this kind of begs the question as to what happened this offseason that saw DO and other players plateau (at best) and/or regress. What returnee looks better than they did a year ago? Maybe Chase, but you could chalk that up to opportunity. Everyone else has either flatlined or gotten worse.
This time last year, DO was playing 26 minutes and putting up 11 points on the road against a top 10 team. He played 12 minutes against Wisconsin. How did he go from that guy to what we're seeing today in 12 months?
Parham - worse
Lowery - worse
Hamilton - who knows
Gold - same
Tre- same
Jones - same

[The Sultan]

Yeah I think it is fair to say that player development has not gone swimmingly.

[Jay Bee]

RsGV.5

Relationships. (stunted) Growth. Victory, about half the time.

[Shooter McGavin]

Jay Bee,

Do you think this based solely on length and athleticism? Or have you seen something else that makes you curious to see more.

Other than the Iowa state game last year where he hit a couple threes, I haven't seen much.  His shot spin is sideways.  He lacks strength.  He can't dribble without losing the ball.  He gets lost in the lane.  He doesn't use his athleticism to dunk in traffic.  And he's a baby giraffe on roller skates on defense. 

Is it his high school stats or video that you are basing this optimism off of?  Please understand, I want you to be right.  We need a 6'7" ultra athletic  wing on this team.  But I'm not seeing it yet. 

[panda]

Does Owens have more upside? Of the wings / guards, how do we know he has a bigger upside than Phillips or Stevens? He is athletic no doubt, has been pretty bad.

The flashes Owens showed his freshman year when healthy leads me to believe he is a high ceiling player. Quick and strong first step. Good finisher at the rim and great handle. Looked comfortable running the offense etc. Haven't seen any of that this year in his very limited minutes. I agree w JB that something is up.

[Jay Bee]

Jay Bee,

Do you think this based solely on length and athleticism? Or have you seen something else that makes you curious to see more.

Other than the Iowa state game last year where he hit a couple threes, I haven't seen much.  His shot spin is sideways.  He lacks strength.  He can't dribble without losing the ball.  He gets lost in the lane.  He doesn't use his athleticism to dunk in traffic.  And he's a baby giraffe on roller skates on defense. 

Is it his high school stats or video that you are basing this optimism off of?  Please understand, I want you to be right.  We need a 6'7" ultra athletic  wing on this team.  But I'm not seeing it yet. 

How he moves (or CAN move), his skills, largely based on play in EYBL. He's got the tools. Has a look of a guy who you'd never think has a chance of playing in the NBA but eventually does. I'm not saying I project that for him, but he does - for me - have that look.. he's got it in him... I don't know why it's not coming out yet. 

Back when I use to travel a lot to watch travel bball, including EYBL, I was getting pretty good at utilizing the eye test + heavy statistical analysis to project guys... maybe things have gotten different now in recent years, as there are certainly some oddities (including for example, Tre). #pray

[mileskishnish72]

RsGV.5
 Victory, about half the time.

Until you run out of cupcakes.

[mileskishnish72]

I feel like there's more going on with Damarius, but I will say this -- of the various guys on the bench, he is the one who is a natural higher-usage guy, something we lack much of.

Owens, I think it's him. Now, what all is going on.. and would he play poorly throughout 12-14 minutes or run per game? I don't know, but I'd be testing it more than we have seen thus far.

JB, I'm with you on DO. Of all the frustrating disappointments this year I think he's the hardest to figure out. He is the guy that I thought would step up, but watching him this season has been painful.

I'm assuming that Shaka wants to win as many games as he can. Despite DO's potential, can Shaka tolerate his poor play on an ongoing basis?  As much as I'd like to see DO do well, I don't think the coach is going to give him increased minutes purely on potential. I
think he's going to have to prove himself in the minutes he gets to get more run. Here's hoping.

[Jay Bee]

Despite DO's potential, can Shaka tolerate his poor play on an ongoing basis?  As much as I'd like to see DO do well, I don't think the coach is going to give him increased minutes purely on potential. I
think he's going to have to prove himself in the minutes he gets to get more run. Here's hoping.

Well, that doesn't seem to be the requirement for all players, so maybe he eventually gives DO a little more run.

[Hards Alumni]

Well, this kind of begs the question as to what happened this offseason that saw DO and other players plateau (at best) and/or regress. What returnee looks better than they did a year ago? Maybe Chase, but you could chalk that up to opportunity. Everyone else has either flatlined or gotten worse.
This time last year, DO was playing 26 minutes and putting up 11 points on the road against a top 10 team. He played 12 minutes against Wisconsin. How did he go from that guy to what we're seeing today in 12 months?
Parham - worse
Lowery - worse Slight improvement aside from Valpo
Hamilton - who knows Nowhere to go but up
Gold - same
Tre- same much better
Jones - same looks the same, but may need more run for a true evaluation

I'm a little higher on a couple of guys development, but it certainly isn't enough.

Tre is much better.  His PER is double his career, and his eFG is above 54.3% which puts him second on the team (not counting  Braeden Brenn's outrageous 1.00 eFG) behind Chase's 56.9%.

One could argue that out of anyone on the team, Tre deserves more run than he is getting.

Sorry Tre-tors!

[Shooter McGavin]

How he moves (or CAN move), his skills, largely based on play in EYBL. He's got the tools. Has a look of a guy who you'd never think has a chance of playing in the NBA but eventually does. I'm not saying I project that for him, but he does - for me - have that look.. he's got it in him... I don't know why it's not coming out yet. 

Back when I use to travel a lot to watch travel bball, including EYBL, I was getting pretty good at utilizing the eye test + heavy statistical analysis to project guys... maybe things have gotten different now in recent years, as there are certainly some oddities (including for example, Tre). #pray

Thanks for the reply Jay Bee.  You have been right on your scouts of these players in the past and I hope you are right again.

[Pakuni]

I'm a little higher on a couple of guys development, but it certainly isn't enough.

Tre is much better.  His PER is double his career, and his eFG is above 54.3% which puts him second on the team (not counting  Braeden Brenn's outrageous 1.00 eFG) behind Chase's 56.9%.

One could argue that out of anyone on the team, Tre deserves more run than he is getting.

Sorry Tre-tors!

I can along with Tre, but the minutes have been so limited and sheltered, it's kind of hard to make much of the improvement.

As for Zaide, his numbers are down pretty much across the board from last year.
FG% = .471 to .375
3pt% = .375 to .316
eFG% = .575 to .450
PER = 13.5 to 12.8
TS% = .584 to .478
TRB% = 11.1 to 7.4
AST% = 2.4 to 15.8
TOV% = 8.4 to 10.6
WS/40 = .130 to .112
BPM = 4.6 to 0.8