a good bit lighter than he actually played, and he filled out a bit before his Sr year. AJ feels like a decent get as a 2 year player, feels more like a high Mid Major guy versus P5, I thought he might end up home in Fresno, but that was an odd coaching choice. He might fit well at a Col St type of program.
I think AT is in a bit of a catch-22
IMO, at this point he probably needs to be in a professional development league, where the coaches charter is to develop first, vs. D1 P5 where #1 is to win, and individualized player development isn't the prime goal
at any P5, he'll likely be pigeon-holed as a role player, defensive stopper, boards, and a guy that can facilitate - they'll never permit working thru shooting issues.
even last year, he took very few shots and rightly we didn't spend games for him to work out shooting issues (as much as I wanted for teh first 4-5 games, lol)
I don't think one more year with Monson would do much.
going with Acker and a different instruction/philosphy might be good, and teh one thing at Beach is more latitude for him to grow offensively, vs. at a P5 they'll want him to get garbage points from others missing. Acker I'm betting will have more emphasis on weight training.
still, AT lacks
1st move. what he does is just put the ball down and dribble then take guys off the dribble. Pro level, have to have some moves before the dribble and more first step moves
and then the 3. I'm sure he got instruction here, sure he took crazy amount of practice reps. some of that is weights. he really never learned a jump shot. His FTs finally were solid in the BWCT
if he goes back to D1, he really needs the right coach and right summer league that allows him to shoot 2-3 jumpers and 2-3 threes every game. and allows a lot of mistakes.
not sure there is a best program for him. I hope he sees Beach as a new/different instruction staff combined with more latitude offensively than he'll get elsewehre
but not holding my breath.
similar for Lassina. Lasina really needs a better jump-show, bank-shot, and absolutely needs to work in some better pivot moves and going to his left and left hand. Lassina might get more benefit than AT at a P5 IMO, as going against taller stronger bigs regularly he has to show.
I don't think AT has to show any scout his athleticsm, he has to show that opponents can't just pack it in vs. him. He can do that at the Beach
The problem wasn't only his 3 point shooting - he didn't even exhibit mid-range shooting ability. What position is he going to play? He has decent ball handling skills for a forward, but certainly not point guard level. No ACC team is going to start him at power forward, no matter if Louisville is rebuilding. Nothing wrong with being the 6th man. He can make the most impact that way, I think.
Add to that, Louisville might be a large brand but they’ve been shockingly bad for the last couple of years. New coach, probably makes no difference who they have coming back or leaving. Decent chance he’d show up as the best athlete in that gym, and possibly the most experienced player. My personal hope is wherever he goes they have the development infrastructure in place to improve the range on his shot, AND let him shoot it in games.
6th man?
AT will start wheteber he goes, makes everybody on the clurt bettrr
Anyone hoping that he stayed for his final season at the Beach can probably stop hoping. If he's getting interest at that level, its a no-brainer for him. Probably a good 6th man candidate for schools like Louisville.
https://www.si.com/college/louisville/basketball/eight-transfer-visitors
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