Bear Down Wildcats

Kevin O'neil just said that Ristic is a better player than Zeus. I can't believe that guy coached this team. How many drinks did he need to say that?

billk78 wrote:Kevin O'neil just said that Ristic is a better player than Zeus. I can't believe that guy coached this team. How many drinks did he need to say that?

Not better at the FT line. So I'll wait and see when Zeus comes back in a few weeks..we'll see how competitive it gets.

billk78 wrote:Kevin O'neil just said that Ristic is a better player than Zeus. I can't believe that guy coached this team. How many drinks did he need to say that?

This is not as far fetched as you make it sound.

gronk4heisman wrote:

billk78 wrote:Kevin O'neil just said that Ristic is a better player than Zeus. I can't believe that guy coached this team. How many drinks did he need to say that?

This is not as far fetched as you make it sound.

It's pretty off base.

Ristic has a better touch on the ball, but Zeus is a far better defender, and like CSM says always in the right place at the right time. Zeus makes every other player better, Ristic does not.

However, it was nice to see Ristic pass it out a couple of times against Mizzou, which he has not been doing.

Merkin wrote:Ristic has a better touch on the ball, but Zeus is a far better defender, and like CSM says always in the right place at the right time. Zeus makes every other player better, Ristic does not.

However, it was nice to see Ristic pass it out a couple of times against Mizzou, which he has not been doing.

Ristic has better hands in terms of catching the ball and putting it in the basket.

Zeus is better at everything else. I did like Ristic getting a few nice blocks last night, though. If he can do that every night, he can up his stock in my eyes.

Ristic has more post moves, and a better left hand. Feel better when he's backing down than when Tarc does.

I find KO refreshing in the studio and on podcasts. Quite a break from the others who feel the need to pimp every coach, every program,every player, and the conference in general.

If all the "next level" players really were, we'd need to add 30 more teams. If we never hear from Joseph Young again, would it really be shocking? Yet, KO caught grief for saying so.

I don't agree with hm on Ristic. But his candor adds to the discussion. He challenges the cheerleaders. (No, not those ones).

Agree w the post moves and the softer touch around the rim. In terms of overall offense, I am still taking Zeus because he gets the ball down low and is a powerful force and looks to slam it home or at least go up hard with it. You can give the ball in advantageous spot to Dusan down low and he will stop, wait for the defender to come up on him, and then go into his low post moves. Ive seen him break into those moves without a dude within a foot of him too . Or will pump fake 20 times and get blocked, or go to the line and clank half of them. Zeus understands urgency and going straight up when you already have an advantage, Dusan does not. Rebounding numbers are higher per minute for Dusan, but there are other factors that contribute to that too. Hands are a wash this year, Zeus hadnt displayed any major issues this year. Zeus does everything else better and is a lot better player than Dusan. Basketball IQ isnt even debatable.

rgdeuce wrote:Agree w the post moves and the softer touch around the rim. In terms of overall offense, I am still taking Zeus because he gets the ball down low and is a powerful force and looks to slam it home or at least go up hard with it. You can give the ball in advantageous spot to Dusan down low and he will stop, wait for the defender to come up on him, and then go into his low post moves. Ive seen him break into those moves without a dude within a foot of him too . Or will pump fake 20 times and get blocked, or go to the line and clank half of them. Zeus understands urgency and going straight up when you already have an advantage, Dusan does not. Rebounding numbers are higher per minute for Dusan, but there are other factors that contribute to that too. Hands are a wash this year, Zeus hadnt displayed any major issues this year. Zeus does everything else better and is a lot better player than Dusan. Basketball IQ isnt even debatable.

Ristic is much more skilled than Zeus on the offensive end. Ristic isn't a banger and won't wow you with dunks, but I take Ristic over Zeus all day on offense. Zeus is a better overall player obviously, but I'm excited to see Ristic learn the system and get better because having a center who can consistently make the easy 2 is great for any offense.

Skill isn't everything though. Completely throwing out free throws, who would you rather have as your big man, Shaq or Hakeem? Hakeem is without a doubt the most skilled big man of all time, but brute force without the dream shake and fading away gets the ball in the cup way more efficiently. And Dusan mitigates a lot of that skill with the things on offense he does not do right. The TEAM is better offensively with Zeus on the floor too, for various reasons. Zeus' FG percentage is 6 points higher. His FT percentage is 17% higher. Zeus is a high 50s guy from the floor his whole career outside of freshman year. You take that every time over skill and 51-53 percent.

Down the road, it will probably be a different story. But not this year.

gumby wrote:Ristic has more post moves, and a better left hand. Feel better when he's backing down than when Tarc does.

I find KO refreshing in the studio and on podcasts. Quite a break from the others who feel the need to pimp every coach, every program,every player, and the conference in general.

If all the "next level" players really were, we'd need to add 30 more teams. If we never hear from Joseph Young again, would it really be shocking? Yet, KO caught grief for saying so.

I don't agree with hm on Ristic. But his candor adds to the discussion. He challenges the cheerleaders. (No, not those ones).

I'm not sure about that at all. Dusan's post moves frequently involve drop stepping directly into the defender's chest. Both he and Zeus have a bit of a tendency to pick a direction and bull that way. The left hand, Dusan just has better touch with both hands.

Zeus is more efficient on both ends of the court. Fitting the team offense and defense is still an issue for Dusan. That said, it isn't odd that this is the case. He's a soph and Zeus is a senior. Miller is giving him the right guidance, and I think his ceiling is higher than Zeus's.

It's a fair observation by bozo. I tend to agree if offense and potential are in play.

Well that was a fun show tonight.

Anyone else really looking forward to the Ristic/Welsh pillow fight in a few weeks?

gumby wrote:Ristic has more post moves, and a better left hand. Feel better when he's backing down than when Tarc does.

Oh and footwork. Just more polished. More ways to score.

Interesting discussion on this topic on 1290 right now: Are we missing Zeus with Ristic playing well?

http://player.listenlive.co/26441" target="_blank

Kelvon Eafon says no. Which I think shows his preference for the Lute days and offense over defense. They also say that Zeus will have his starting spot back, conditionally, but with fewer minutes. Which makes sense.

Also add in the Dusan is beating his man running down the floor pretty often too.

Inside out is obviously the best way to get good looks. I think Dusan may actually be better at creating and passing out to open shooters. In any case he is quickly improving in this facet of the game.

2 good centers are better than one good center.

It's that simple.

20 good wives are better than one good wife.

Sincerely,

Warren Jeffs

Going to take a long time for Zeus to get back into playing condition. Only so much you can do when your foot is in a boot.

He may be back for the uw game January 14 but it may be February before he's at full speed

Been saying it for a while... Im not sure how much better we are with Zeus over Ristic. I literally cant quantify it.

I think, based on what I have seen, we are a tad bit better with Zeus on the floor than Ristic, but how much? How does that change if Ristic keeps seeing solid minutes all year? I would like to see a 23-17 split Zeus-Ristic, which Commanche picking up minutes via foul trouble and blow outs.

I think Zeus brings some defensive consistency that we need heading into conference play, but Ristic need minutes as well and is improving a little bit more every game (not at Trier's level though).

First-world problem. Nice one to have. Helps practices, too.

TucsonClip wrote:Been saying it for a while... Im not sure how much better we are with Zeus over Ristic. I literally cant quantify it.

I think, based on what I have seen, we are a tad bit better with Zeus on the floor than Ristic, but how much? How does that change if Ristic keeps seeing solid minutes all year? I would like to see a 23-17 split Zeus-Ristic, which Commanche picking up minutes via foul trouble and blow outs.

I think Zeus brings some defensive consistency that we need heading into conference play, but Ristic need minutes as well and is improving a little bit more every game (not at Trier's level though).

It's apples and oranges. Zeus is a better option on D across the board. He is solid on offense, but Dusan has better hands and touch and will always be able to finish better. Zeus is better in spacing and understanding on O. They are both solid rebounders.

It depends on whether you want solid in every area or the guy who can drop 20 but is less trustworthy in all other areas. I'd rather have both and the ability to ride the hot hand. We have the luxury of two 7 footers who would start at 99% of schools.

Love how Dusan has been playing but I am reserving judgment until we start getting into the conference grind. I think once Dus proves he can hang defensively against top 80 teams and tougher assignments, then it can become a serious conversation. He has improved a lot defensively though, his offense speaks for itself, and it is a nice problem to have. If we can make that twin towers thing work, cool, if not, I like him for instant offense off the bench and Zeus taking a dip in minutes. It will be nice to throw some of our rotations out there that have struggled, but be able to throw Dus out there and just focus on feeding him down low for points, or opening up things for everyone else when the double teams come. That is one huge plus with him though and an x factor that works in his favor, you almost have to double him down low.

Ristic is very skilled in the post with his back to the basket. He has great footwork and can spin equally to his left or right. He can shoot the open jump shot too. His all around offensive skills are very good and he's improving every game. The Zeus injury injury has been a Godsend for Ristic because of the increased minutes. This is going to pay off at the end of the season.

And next too. We are gonna have something special if Trier returns or we land JJ. With both I cant see anyone rlse being favored over us.

5 games with Zeus:

6.8pt 6.6rb 48%FG in 15.6mins

8 games without Zeus:

9.2pt 4.6rb 61%FG in 19.7mins

Last 4 games:

13.2pt 4.2rb 70%FG in 20.7mins

Zeus:

8.6pt 7.2rb 57%FG in 24.2mins

Gotta say that second half drive to the baseline, spin and finish with the left hand was probably the single best low post move by an Arizona big in a long long time. Man Dusan making strides, even at the beginning of the year he isn't going to be able to make a move like that. Almost couldn't believe it when I saw it...liked the game post thread comment calling him Dusan Olajuwan lol.

Even the very first bucket he hit, that lefty hook floater surprised even Sean Elliot. Kaleb does some things Dusan doesn't, but Dusan does some things Kaleb doesn't with softer hands and more all around offensive game. With Kaleb back hope we still get to see at least 20 min a game from Dusan, our offensive works pretty well with him.

Love watching his offense! Sweet post moves today some of which really helped to kill assu momentum at various points during game.

With Kaleb and Dusan, we play a very good 7 footer 40 minutes a game.

I like Ristic starting where his O game can really help us get into great rhythm early. Tarc can Gome in and we lose just a little on O but re as lly get much better defensuvely. Did you see him on those hedges. Stopped ASSU cold

TheGreatCatsby wrote:Gotta say that second half drive to the baseline, spin and finish with the left hand was probably the single best low post move by an Arizona big in a long long time. Man Dusan making strides, even at the beginning of the year he isn't going to be able to make a move like that. Almost couldn't believe it when I saw it...liked the game post thread comment calling him Dusan Olajuwan lol.

Even the very first bucket he hit, that lefty hook floater surprised even Sean Elliot. Kaleb does some things Dusan doesn't, but Dusan does some things Kaleb doesn't with softer hands and more all around offensive game. With Kaleb back hope we still get to see at least 20 min a game from Dusan, our offensive works pretty well with him.

Yeah that first shot was a thing of beauty. If Tarc and him could play together, even just for a few minutes like say in a tourney game to throw the other team off.. or during the season if anderson and tolly are out for or off for whatever reason, man that would be nice.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:With Kaleb and Dusan, we play a very good 7 footer 40 minutes a game.

Bingo. This is like having Bush and Lendale

rgdeuce wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:With Kaleb and Dusan, we play a very good 7 footer 40 minutes a game.

Bingo. This is like having Bush and Lendale

Yep and with totally different strengths.

My dude is pretty much automatic if he's not getting doubled in the post

^^^^ this.

And now when they do run a double, he's starting to recognize it and hit York for an open catch and shoot 3 , which is almost automatic these days.

He really opens up a ton on our offense. Him and gabe on a 2 man clear out on one side of the court is deadly.

PennZona20 wrote:^^^^ this.

And now when they do run a double, he's starting to recognize it and hit York for an open catch and shoot 3 , which is almost automatic these days.

He really opens up a ton on our offense. Him and gabe on a 2 man clear out on one side of the court is deadly.

Dusan also knows how to spin away from the double team. With his footwork and the ability to shoot from his right or left hand, he is hard to stop.

Those first couple of shots he took had me wondering if in fact he's left-handed. So damn smooth...

PennZona20 wrote:^^^^ this.

And now when they do run a double, he's starting to recognize it and hit York for an open catch and shoot 3 , which is almost automatic these days.

He really opens up a ton on our offense. Him and gabe on a 2 man clear out on one side of the court is deadly.

It's funny you said that and I agree, but you know what drove me absolutely mad? It was either the UNLV or Long Beach State game in the second half after the opponent was hell bent on doubling Ristic. The wing defender was either flashing help and over committing or coming all the way to double. The wing on Ristic's side was consistently Allen and at times PJC. York was on the opposite wing every time. Even on a return pass to Allen/PJC, York's man was in good position in case of a swing pass to York.

Hopefully PJC's three yesterday will get him going. He played a good game and I was very glad he nailed that three to add to his confidence and make him less hesitant to take the shot in those situations. If PJC can consistently hit the three it will be a HUGE floor spreader as he makes good entry passes and, as stated before, Dusan is getting good at recognizing the double team and passing out for a three or re-posting (I think he and PJC had a nice kick out and re-post play).

I'm so excited for conference play I can barely contain myself.

Chicat wrote:Those first couple of shots he took had me wondering if in fact he's left-handed. So damn smooth...

We've never had a big man that good with both hands in the post. If he gets a shot off inside 10 feet, I expect it to be in, regardless of the type of shot, the hand, etc.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Chicat wrote:Those first couple of shots he took had me wondering if in fact he's left-handed. So damn smooth...

We've never had a big man that good with both hands in the post. If he gets a shot off inside 10 feet, I expect it to be in, regardless of the type of shot, the hand, etc.

Derrick Williams!!!!

dcZONAfan wrote:Hopefully PJC's three yesterday will get him going. He played a good game and I was very glad he nailed that three to add to his confidence and make him less hesitant to take the shot in those situations. If PJC can consistently hit the three it will be a HUGE floor spreader as he makes good entry passes and, as stated before, Dusan is getting good at recognizing the double team and passing out for a three or re-posting (I think he and PJC had a nice kick out and re-post play).

I'm so excited for conference play I can barely contain myself.

Definitely a step in the right direction and hopefully it can snowball from here. Had a good game overall.

rgdeuce wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Chicat wrote:Those first couple of shots he took had me wondering if in fact he's left-handed. So damn smooth...

We've never had a big man that good with both hands in the post. If he gets a shot off inside 10 feet, I expect it to be in, regardless of the type of shot, the hand, etc.

Derrick Williams!!!!

Derrick was better at creating ahots, but never had the left hand Dusan does. Dusan is basically ambidextrous in the post.

Remember D Will was playing (and putting up big scoring numbers) with only his left hand when his shooting hand was casted/wrapped. Ristic obviously does it better but D Will was great with both.

I did not think anything positive at the time, and the first game or so I believed I was correct, that Zeus going down was going to be a major problem for this team--especially defensively.

However, Ristic's offensive side, and especially his rebounding has been really impressive. When the term "silver lining" is used, this is what is meant. I am really happy with the improving development of his all around game.

gumby wrote:

But he doesn't play for Cal, so he's obviously not elite.

um, ok.

gumby wrote:um, ok.

It's a Jon Frothstein joke. Well Frothstein in general is a joke.

Hater.