in a draft of Big West players, maybe only 2nd to AJ (UCSB) is where AT might be picked.
all he's done is pick up a role as a rebounding big his frosh year, then assimilate a role as point forward his soph year
down teh stretch, Riverside, Davis players were instructed to throw bodies at him to keep him off the boards
he's so versatile. like a broken record I think the next step is let him shoot the jumper and 3s, and see how high the ceiling is. I hope it happens, though don't know with CDMs MO to force some players to keep within a certain envelope. Granted it can'be be a 15 game experiment if he can't show the outside shot. At the same time, a player can't demonstrate that type of scoring with a voice constantly in their head saying 'don't shoot'
his form just exudes that he'd be a succesful outside shooting.
I think we can have it all with AT, I think a little less point forward with Thompson back and AJ can post next year, which gives him more room to damage shooting and rebounding off the ball.
he's a 16 point, 8 rebound, 5 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks a game all court POY type of guy, which I hope we get to see all of that from the get go. if he can show and be allowed to shoot jumpers, it'll just open up the court even more for everyone else
Stroud is another interesting player
I doubt many would have seen him playing up at teh point on a 1-3-1, based on his Juco career.
he provided to be a key defender and solid rebounder. his shot is a bit rough
given this is his last year of elgibility, I'm sure he wants to prove he can be more of an inside force, shot changer, and finisher as well as versatile defender
to me, it's a couple little, things. namely strength to compete better at D1 inside. FT shooting, so he can make the most of likely more opportunities inside when he's subbing for LT, or on 2nd chance put-backs, running the floor. the 2nd year for Jucos seems to always show a distinct leap, namely Samuels and Edis are examples of guys that showed a lot of improvement between jr and sr year.
I'd expect no difference with Stroud, and given all the primary options for guys posting, Stroud should be able to feast on 2nd chance points, alley oops, simply slipping off picks and going to the hoop without the ball, etc. when LT, AT, AJ, & Tsohonis get attention. A role player, and a guy that should get lots of great looks in that role
He missed a couple of games between semesters, so hopefully he's advancing well on that front. He's got some potential for playing at some next level somewhere.
what's there to say? George just got progressively better and took larger roles as the season went on
he proved to be a key and clutch player in some games in the stretch, notably at Davis and at the end of the UCSD game.
smooth is the operative word. although not too many attempts, he was the best 3 point shooter @ 41% and maybe because it's hard to find an attempt he took that looked bad. it's a lesson for every player, if not squared up and set, then don't shoot it, no jack-ups
his assist to TO ratio was better than 1, he blocked shots, he shot over 55%, total efficiency to his game
it's a certainty our offense will post him up and run thru him next year ...A LOT
I guess the only thing one could say is hopefully he's pumping weights, working on passing as he'll get more attention, blocking out, etc. ...better, faster, stronger
sometimes the 2nd year isn't so smooth, he's certainly get the attention of opposing coaches now
for Jones it's almost a 'reset' to a year ago
if felt like watching Jones he was treading water. in large part the injuries hopefully he is 100% and a defensive monster again
the expectation from a year ago was he could slash more to the bucket, hit more 2s by finishing or hitting 15' jumpers. that never really materialized.
the other thing I'd like to see is less trying to draw 3pt fouls, I think towards the end of season he got too caught up as I think a lot of college players do with that play
watching the NBA, the 3pt shot and contesting is officiated really really well. I believe college players overdramatize and try to draw that call.
just square up and shoot, no leg action. in addition, this is really picky, Jones seeems to not be fully square to teh bucket on his shot, a bit sideways and at an angle. hoping that is some small tweak he works on, in part I think he will need to get extra range and consistency for that shot, as I'm sure he has a goal to play goal. 31% last year was not where he needs to be, and to me part was injury and part needs to be his shot and just focus on the shot and not drawing fouls with it.
Jones showed a ton of potential going in to last year, and has to be chomping at the bit to realize improvements to his game and build on the DPOY frosh year. if fully healthy, he's teh centerpiece of what would be suffocating defensive line-up with AT, AJ, Thomspons, & Stroud out there as a unit that would possess lots of wingy length and speed and height.
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