3 moves into the promised land!

You should have a #4:

TN needs to true 5 man - neither Pons or Fulky are true post players and it shows. Don't get me wrong, I like them both.

imo you don’t need a boy true 5 to win big. That for sure didn’t matter tonight
 
imo you don’t need a boy true 5 to win big. That for sure didn’t matter tonight

OP said 3 moves into the promise land - 4th is a true post player - TN needs a true big man. Wasn't confining my post to tonight. Bama been beating our tails in the Tommy Bowl for years no matter what kind of team they roll out and no matter who is coaching either team!
 
OP said 3 moves into the promise land - 4th is a true post player - TN needs a true big man. Wasn't confining my post to tonight. Bama been beating our tails in the Tommy Bowl for years no matter what kind of team they roll out and no matter who is coaching either team!

And my post wasn’t just about tonight either to be clear

I don’t think a team needs a true 5 to get to the final 4.

I think an elite PG is more important and that’s our biggest worry
 
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Playing Keon at PG is helping develop him
Into a better nba prospect but really hurts this team



He must get out of that habit of turning his back once he gets into the lane. Limits him so much and he does it every single time
Yep. Unreal that he gets so much run at PG vs what Springer gets. I'd love to hear an explanation from Barnes on the line of reasoning behind that.
 
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His handles are borderline atrocious, dribbles so far away from his body, reminds me of early day Pons
His potential is thru the roof, but he isn't a lottery pick, right now, let alone a top 5 pick. And that isn't an overreaction to one game. His offense is just not very good, or even consistent. He shows flashes, but he isn't the guy we should want trying to take over a game, offensively.
 
Agree, Keon needs at least one more year to work on his weaknesses, before he declares
for the draft and I'm cool with that
 
I don’t think we have a true point guard. Vescovi can run it, although struggles a bit against longer/more athletic guards. I’m not sure the Keon experiment is going to work this year. Springer seems like a score first guy which I’m not sure Barnes is looking for at point.

I’d like to see JJJ run it as a point forward, or at least as the backup pg. I’m just not sure it’s a good year to break in a freshman pg given the lack of ooc/off-season.
 
A couple of stats that I think need to addressed for this team to be at it’s best.

Imo Bailey is shooting way too much and JJJ isn’t shooting enough.


Thru 8 games Bailey is by far the leading player in shot attempts with 80. While his overall % is very solid his 3pt % is a poor 31% with 35 attempts. If that % doesn’t improve quickly he’s going to have to tone it down. I know he has a history of being a good shooter but this team has way too many options for him to get so many more shots than the rest of the team.


last year we saw that JJJ was a darn good 3 pt shooter and he’s off to a solid start being 7/19 38%. The issue is that’s not enough attempts for a guy that has proven himself here.
 
His potential is thru the roof, but he isn't a lottery pick, right now, let alone a top 5 pick. And that isn't an overreaction to one game. His offense is just not very good, or even consistent. He shows flashes, but he isn't the guy we should want trying to take over a game, offensively.
He isn't polished yet, but last night I see why the coaches are giving him time handling and penetrating. There were four instances in the second half where he decided he was going to take it low and score, and he did. Schwartz has discussed Johnson's "it factor" and Barnes is apparently in agreement in getting Johnson comfortable as early as possible.
 
His potential is thru the roof, but he isn't a lottery pick, right now, let alone a top 5 pick. And that isn't an overreaction to one game. His offense is just not very good, or even consistent. He shows flashes, but he isn't the guy we should want trying to take over a game, offensively.
This would be accurate if the NBA drafted on current skill instead of perceived potential.
 
This would be accurate if the NBA drafted on current skill instead of perceived potential.
I guess it is possible that he goes out and wows scouts at an NBA workout and they fall in love with the athletic ability and hope they can coax that potential out of him to the tune of a Patrick Williams like draft path, but based on what we have seen so far, it would be complete projection and blind faith to take him top-5.

He is a guard in the NBA, and he is currently a below average ball-handler at the P6 level, and a terrible shooter (2-14 from 3...14%, and 14-24 from the FT line...58%). Hard to project potential from those numbers, albeit a small sample size. I think he really needs to improve his offensive skills to maximize his draft value.
 
I guess it is possible that he goes out and wows scouts at an NBA workout and they fall in love with the athletic ability and hope they can coax that potential out of him to the tune of a Patrick Williams like draft path, but based on what we have seen so far, it would be complete projection and blind faith to take him top-5.

He is a guard in the NBA, and he is currently a below average ball-handler at the P6 level, and a terrible shooter (2-14 from 3...14%, and 14-24 from the FT line...58%). Hard to project potential from those numbers, albeit a small sample size. I think he really needs to improve his offensive skills to maximize his draft value.
While it looked like an almost certainty both would leave and Johnson picked higher than Springer, I’m starting to think Johnson could potentially return and Springer being drafted highly. Obviously it’s early and a lot can change, but their draft stock is likely going in 2 different directions currently.
 
While it looked like an almost certainty both would leave and Johnson picked higher than Springer, I’m starting to think Johnson could potentially return and Springer being drafted highly. Obviously it’s early and a lot can change, but their draft stock is likely going in 2 different directions currently.

I said before the season that if the season was canceled it would help Keon with the draft. I think that’s turned out to be true at this point
 
While it looked like an almost certainty both would leave and Johnson picked higher than Springer, I’m starting to think Johnson could potentially return and Springer being drafted highly. Obviously it’s early and a lot can change, but their draft stock is likely going in 2 different directions currently.
Agree completely.
 
I said before the season that if the season was canceled it would help Keon with the draft. I think that’s turned out to be true at this point
Yep, it looks like that. Again, small sample size, but he needs to start putting things together. The competition is only going to get tougher.
 
Yep, it looks like that. Again, small sample size, but he needs to start putting things together. The competition is only going to get tougher.

I can’t get over how nearly every single time he enters the paint he immediately turns his back. That’s a habit he has to break
 
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Yep, it looks like that. Again, small sample size, but he needs to start putting things together. The competition is only going to get tougher.


In the first couple games of the season KJ showed some flashes as a guy that excels in transition. If given the opportunity, he needs to do that. I also like him in the post using his strength and athleticism against smaller guards.
 
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I think it's an effective move for him. I have replayed a couple of his moves to see if he travels, but am convinced he doesn't. I do respect your opinion, though.

Don’t get me wrong I like having the move and love the ability to isolate and do that

i just seen him doing it when it’s not needed and that takes away the ability to see the floor and kick it out to the baseline
 
Don’t get me wrong I like having the move and love the ability to isolate and do that

i just seen him doing it when it’s not needed and that takes away the ability to see the floor and kick it out to the baseline
Yep, in order to make a pass toward the basket in that position, he has to completely turn his body. And for Keon, it's almost a tell of what he intends to do. When he gets to the paint and turns his back, he almost always is intent on scoring. The opposition would be smart to double team him every time he does it and force a bad/awkward pass, or a bad shot. At worst he has to dribble it back away from the paint or kick it out away from the basket.
 
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