Let's talk '23
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:09 pm
Chet Holmgren is about as skinny a dude as you'll ever see, and he's the consensus #1 player in the country, probably a top 5 NBA Draft pick in '22.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:25 pmThat's the video I watched. He looks long and to have good skill. Doesn't seem insanely explosive, but an above average athlete. He obviously needs to fill out big time, but he's very young.
Most sites have Buzelis at 6'8 with unknown wingspan. Holmgren was 7'0 with a 7'4 wingspan at that age and is supposed to be 7'1 now.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:43 pmChet Holmgren is about as skinny a dude as you'll ever see, and he's the consensus #1 player in the country, probably a top 5 NBA Draft pick in '22.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:25 pmThat's the video I watched. He looks long and to have good skill. Doesn't seem insanely explosive, but an above average athlete. He obviously needs to fill out big time, but he's very young.
Pretty cool. I'm hoping you're right.YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:19 am Useful: Matas Buzelis is Lithuanian and will be playing for the U18 team soon (going to the team camp this summer). For anyone who needs reminding, the biggest star in Lithuanian national basketball plays for your Arizona Wildcats under Tommy Lloyd.
Here's a recent interview where Buzelis describes what he excels at, what he's working on, and what he's looking for in his college program. Cliff notes: he loves to share the ball, is looking to improve his ball screen reads, and plans to commit based on the head coach and his style of play and history of developing similar players.
Reading the signs, we're in a good spot here.
He also describes himself as 6'10" right now and he looks to have a plus wingspan.
Thanks for the update.IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:50 am The post above from YDF was from July. He seems to have cooled off on us for now and high on UK and Duke according to 247sports.
Just lack of available prospects, unless he finds some hidden Euro gems.Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
Tonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
Premature much? Lots of conclusions being drawn (jumped to?) on a sample size of <1.RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:51 pmTonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
What in the world is going on with Aiken??? He's a big part of what we do and it appears he's living off his scholarship while playing Madden in his apartment. Is there friction with Lloyd or someone on staff? We all have personal issues that arise from time to time. But missing four games is a huge deal with a schedule like ours, especially since we're not like the NBA and play 82 games. Having him on our roster raises our ceiling a bit. This is quite alarming and I'm surprised posters are not talking about this more.
It never ceases to amaze me the excuses people make for poor recruiting results. Jedd Fisch just had one of the worst seasons ever and now has the #2 class in the conference. News Flash: Arizona is not considered a football school. The work that Fisch and the previous basketball coach put on the recruiting trail was second to none. Lloyd needs to take notes and recruit like his life depends on it. Part of the reason this season is so impactful is because we have at minimum 4 NBA players on our roster that were leftovers from last year. To ensure that people don't write him off as a one hit wonder, he needs to step it up big time. And if he is finding it difficult to connect with recruits, then he needs to hire someone that can fill in the gaps.
Next year we need a point guard that is eye level with Kriisa and a high impact combo forward. In my opinion, you can never have enough talented true point guards on your roster. I never bought into the fact that recruits need to see the offense and find out what kind of coach Lloyd is. Lloyd came from Gonzaga, now he is the head coach at UofA. Now that he has results and is recruiting for ARIZONA, not a mid major, he should be doing far better than he is right now. Heck, Jedd Fisch was using our basketball games to close recruits, why isn't Lloyd calling recruits after our big games? If I'm Lloyd, I'm getting Mike Hopkins number on speed dial and finding out everything he did since becoming coach and doing the exact opposite. Hopkins took over Romar's guys and had Jaylen Nowell (Pac 12 POY) and Thybull (Pac DPOY), not unlike what we have with Mathurin and Koloko.
If you can't consistently recruit at a high level and reload every year, then you're only a marginal coach, no matter how superior your system is. You have to have high caliber players to implement your vision on the court. So far, I'm just hearing a bunch of excuses from fans and Lloyd. Make no mistake, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but if we don't straighten out our locker room problems and recruiting, our success will be short lived.
What's going on then? Why is everyone being so mum? Losing Aiken is huge, if something serious is happening, I certainly would like to know. Aiken was supposed to have a captain like role on the team; he was also known as a high character/academic oriented player. Something is not clicking, and I have questions.
Let me be the first to say we do not have 4 NBA players on our roster and it isn't close. Maybe 2 if Koloko can score in double digits after next year.RawleArenas wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:51 pmTonight was a great win. It's good to see Ballo making strides in his development. However, does anybody have any peanuts for the huge elephant in the room?Alieberman wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:21 pm I don't see any reason why Tommy would struggle recruiting.
What in the world is going on with Aiken??? He's a big part of what we do and it appears he's living off his scholarship while playing Madden in his apartment. Is there friction with Lloyd or someone on staff? We all have personal issues that arise from time to time. But missing four games is a huge deal with a schedule like ours, especially since we're not like the NBA and play 82 games. Having him on our roster raises our ceiling a bit. This is quite alarming and I'm surprised posters are not talking about this more.
It never ceases to amaze me the excuses people make for poor recruiting results. Jedd Fisch just had one of the worst seasons ever and now has the #2 class in the conference. News Flash: Arizona is not considered a football school. The work that Fisch and the previous basketball coach put on the recruiting trail was second to none. Lloyd needs to take notes and recruit like his life depends on it. Part of the reason this season is so impactful is because we have at minimum 4 NBA players on our roster that were leftovers from last year. To ensure that people don't write him off as a one hit wonder, he needs to step it up big time. And if he is finding it difficult to connect with recruits, then he needs to hire someone that can fill in the gaps.
Next year we need a point guard that is eye level with Kriisa and a high impact combo forward. In my opinion, you can never have enough talented true point guards on your roster. I never bought into the fact that recruits need to see the offense and find out what kind of coach Lloyd is. Lloyd came from Gonzaga, now he is the head coach at UofA. Now that he has results and is recruiting for ARIZONA, not a mid major, he should be doing far better than he is right now. Heck, Jedd Fisch was using our basketball games to close recruits, why isn't Lloyd calling recruits after our big games? If I'm Lloyd, I'm getting Mike Hopkins number on speed dial and finding out everything he did since becoming coach and doing the exact opposite. Hopkins took over Romar's guys and had Jaylen Nowell (Pac 12 POY) and Thybull (Pac DPOY), not unlike what we have with Mathurin and Koloko.
If you can't consistently recruit at a high level and reload every year, then you're only a marginal coach, no matter how superior your system is. You have to have high caliber players to implement your vision on the court. So far, I'm just hearing a bunch of excuses from fans and Lloyd. Make no mistake, I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but if we don't straighten out our locker room problems and recruiting, our success will be short lived.
FERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.
Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.
Kriisa is the next TJ Mc with a better shot, hard worker, team player, pass firster. No one is gonna put him on a draft board yet, but he could find the right situation, work his arse off and get a spot.Merkin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pmFERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.
If it was anything medical, or violation of team rules we would have heard about it.
Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.
So with Mathurin, that makes 4. And that's not counting the young guys. Ballo certainly has a high ceiling. Not sure if Kriisa has NBA size and speed, but will get a look as a free agent.
Postmaster wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:14 pm You would think if Aiken was having problems with team/staff he would have transferred yesterday.
^Terry is an NBA player? Really? Whoever says that will lose their job if they are from a team and not media. Terry, although greatly improved, might not even be able to keep his starting job this year. If Tubelis could knock down a high percentage of outside shots he could make it but he is not close to hitting that percentage now. He is a great college player and probably the true key to our success but he does not have the athleticism to take the shots he does in the league.Merkin wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pmFERPA rules are extremely strict. Same with HIPAA rules, but this is personal reasons, not medical.
If it was anything medical, or violation of team rules we would have heard about it.
Koloko and Dalen Terry are in the 2023 draft according to NBAdraft.net. I have also read where Tubelis may be a 2nd rounder on other sites.
So with Mathurin, that makes 4. And that's not counting the young guys. Ballo certainly has a high ceiling. Not sure if Kriisa has NBA size and speed, but will get a look as a free agent.
Koloko was 7’1” and looked like he weighed 106 lbs when he graduated high school. A lot of people thought he’d get his shit pushed in unless he went to a top flight program with a nationally respected strength and conditioning program. Luckily, that’s what we are.Longhorned wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:51 pm I don't understand the evaluation on Koloko coming into college. 247 noted NBA potential on his upside, but gave him three stars. I thought the star system was based on upside, not how long it would take to realize that upside. If I have that wrong, then I'd like Arizona's recruiting to focus on three star prospects with NBA upside, please and thank you very much.
If he would drive and finish consistently, adding in some big time slams, scouts will overlook his inability to shoot. Call it the Iggy/RHJ Plan.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
Not close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
I don't disagree. We have probably two NBA ready guys on the team in Benn and Koloko. Koloko is ready now whether he adds more offense or not as you can't teach his athleticism and defensive instincts. I'm not sure what else Tubelis can add, except more proven range, to get to the league, but chances are good he'll be back for another year. Dalen will most certainly get there, whether it takes 3 years or 4 years. Kerr at best could be a TJ situation in the league. So you can argue we have 5 future NBA players on the team, but we don't have 5 current NBA players on the team.TheCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:06 amNot close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.TheCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:06 amNot close. Don't get me wrong but you guys just said we have 5 NBA players on the team. That ain't close. We have 1 and maybe two if Koloko can score a bit more and that would be after next year if he wants to go in the first round. UCLA's two outstanding guards are scheduled for the second round. Love all these guys but be realistic.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:29 pm Terry is absolutely a NBA prospect. He’s not ready now of course, but with his body, length, and basketball IQ, he’s absolutely on the NBA radar. If he adds a jumper or some sort of offensive weapon next season he’s definitely a 1st rounder.
I'm not 100% Kerr doesn't possess those skills. I think he has the potential to be on TJ's level as a defender. That said, TJ is a rarity like you say because fairly few people have the consistent intensity and drive he does.Longhorned wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:03 am Yeah, I agree. And as everyone knows, "a TJ situation in the league" = probably not going to be in the league, at best or not. TJ made it because of skills that Kriisa doesn't possess.
Kriisa is a poor man's Ainge in the sense of what Ainge was in the NBA. In college, Ainge was a phenomenon. If Kriisa was like Ainge in college, he'd be this team's #1 scoring option, a lock-down defender, an absolutely elite distributer, and an unstoppable force. And he'd be MLB-ready. He'd be all the media could talk about.
His perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am
I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.
Here's where I need Yo to ride in with his Synergy white horse and save things. He's a fountain of stats in this thread.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:20 amHis perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am
I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.
Those guys' athleticism is why the NBA is more than willing to take a chance on guys regardless of shooting ability. Love Tubelis, but yeah he's not in their stratosphere of athleticism.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:22 amHere's where I need Yo to ride in with his Synergy white horse and save things. He's a fountain of stats in this thread.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:20 amHis perimeter shot isn't complete that's for sure.Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:54 am
I think Tubelis has a legit shot. He suffers, oddly, for being too complete as a player, IMO. Nothing stands out because everything is good. I somewhat disagree with Choo on returning (although I have zero inside knowledge) in that I don't see what one more college year does for his stock.
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Tubelis has shown the ability to be good shooting at times. He obviously needs consistency and would help himself by being a knockdown guy. That said, I tend to view shooting as one of those skills the NBA will take a chance on. It's why Stanley and AG went lottery and RHJ went in the first. If I had to list skills the NBA thinks they can develop, shooting consistency is #1.