Ament will improve

#101
#101
cncchris33 said:
Dybantsa seems much more physically developed and more of a finished product at the same stage, which would seem to account for the difference. Same for Boozer, Peterson, Peat.

Ament has tons of potential, but while BYU is likely to see close to the finished product with AJD in his one year, Tennessee is likely to only see glimpses of the player Ament can be in his one year.
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So why pay a gazilion bucks for him? Really bad decision.
 
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#103
#103
cncchris33 said:
There may be a level of truth to this. I guess I keep waiting for the kid who Barnes spent the offseason praising like I've never heard before to show up. I try to defer to Barnes and when he speaks like that, it's tough to abandon that idea.

His defense has been especially disappointing. If he isn’t contributing on offense, he becomes a liability. He wasn't drawing fouls tonight, either. That has helped mask his poor shooting in previous games.
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Remember when Barnes praised JoJo James as “a point guard!”? Then we had no point guard when Ziegler got injured or even when he needed a breather.

Instead of being a playmaker, James spent his career camping in the corner as a forward who wouldn’t shoot but one game out of the month. Great ball player, but not what he was advertised to be as a 5 star point guard.
 
#104
#104
Unconditional Surrender said:
So why pay a gazilion bucks for him? Really bad decision.
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I agree. Said it elsewhere that Ament simply got into Barne's head due to his history with Durant and the resemblance between the two. Granted his length and skills will make him a challenge to defend....someday. Doubt that happens here and this year.

Unfortunately, the game has changed due to the portal. Surely we could have gotten Rice for less than what we're paying Ament? He would have almost certainly been a far bigger factor and producer for us than Ament has been so far and likely will be over the course of the season. Plus, he and Gillespie played together and know each other very well. Seems like our "chemistry" would be much further along with Rice on the roster instead of Ament.

Hope Ament blows up and makes me eat these words, but I don't think so. Honestly, I have concerns that Ament can physically make it through the entire season in this conference with the physicality that's coming his way. Won't be surprised if he joins Phillips on the injury list at some point. Yep...looks like Barnes might have made a mistake with this one.
 
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#105
#105
johnfnkelly said:
I don’t think it’s an effort issue. He just isn’t a smart basketball player. He never makes the right plays.
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Barnes wouldn’t have signed Ament if he was a stupid basketball player. He’s adjusting to a huge change going from being the focus of high school basketball teams to meshing with a much higher level of teammates and opposition.
 
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#106
#106
Unconditional Surrender said:
So why pay a gazilion bucks for him? Really bad decision.
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Well, I didn't do it. It was a calculated decision. If I had to guess, I'd imagine Barnes ignored the signs because Ament’s skill-set reminded him so much of Kevin Durant.

***That is NOT me calling him KD, saying he's as talented as KD, or that his future is that of an all-time great future HOFer.***

It is still possible for him to turn things around, but yes, at this point in time, it looks a bit like a bad decision to pay him $4 million.
 
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#107
#107
adam.vol said:
Remember when Barnes praised JoJo James as “a point guard!”? Then we had no point guard when Ziegler got injured or even when he needed a breather.

Instead of being a playmaker, James spent his career camping in the corner as a forward who wouldn’t shoot but one game out of the month. Great ball player, but not what he was advertised to be as a 5 star point guard.
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He was obviously over-ranked, but the silver lining there is that we got a pretty good player for 5 years.

An interesting hypothetical would be to ask if you'd rather have one year of the current version of Ament, or 5 years of JJJ?
 
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#108
#108
cncchris33 said:
He was obviously over-ranked, but the silver lining there is that we got a pretty good player for 5 years.

An interesting hypothetical would be to ask if you'd rather have one year of the current version of Ament, or 5 years of JJJ?
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JJJ. He was a jack of all trades at the college level.
 
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#109
#109
Protein shakes with 2x the legal limit of testosterone added. See what happens.
Not having that dog in him will be what hinders him in his career unless he can find it.
Say what you will about NBA future and time will only tell but ain’t no 3 or 4, or many 2s for that matter, who would have trouble locking his current game down. He can get there but needs a few months of nothing but agility work and on being explosive and finding a streak to go with it. His first step needs a lot of work. His release needs adjusting and sped up. I hear people say “what a stroke” and I see it more of a push.
 
#110
#110
cncchris33 said:
He was obviously over-ranked, but the silver lining there is that we got a pretty good player for 5 years.

An interesting hypothetical would be to ask if you'd rather have one year of the current version of Ament, or 5 years of JJJ?
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You might add that, over 4/5 years, DeWayne Brown could be the most valuable player in this Fr class.....🤷‍♂️.....Who had that on their bingo card?
 
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#111
#111
DMcVol said:
You might add that, over 4/5 years, DeWayne Brown could be the most valuable player in this Fr class.....🤷‍♂️.....Who had that on their bingo card?
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It’s a little stretch but he really does remind of of Rodman in that:
-extremely smart player on both ends
-physical and goes to get the ball. Doesn’t watch it.
-finishes at times before the defender knows the shot is up. Doesn’t waste time gathering and gets it on the square. His coaches coaches did a great job
-he’s always moving on offense and a willing/good post feeder. Sometimes too quick but he feeds the post better than our guards.
-small head and broad shoulders. He’s gonna be jacked in the next couple of years. If he had more neck and a little longer head he’d be 6’11 but his shoulders are up there with “taller” dudes
 
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#112
#112
Skooter said:
Protein shakes with 2x the legal limit of testosterone added. See what happens.
Not having that dog in him will be what hinders him in his career unless he can find it.
Say what you will about NBA future and time will only tell but ain’t no 3 or 4, or many 2s for that matter, who would have trouble locking his current game down. He can get there but needs a few months of nothing but agility work and on being explosive and finding a streak to go with it. His first step needs a lot of work. His release needs adjusting and sped up. I hear people say “what a stroke” and I see it more of a push.
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And that is something that you either have or you don't. Knecht had it. The NBA is a league of alphas. It doesn't suffer players who are weak....mentally, emotionally or physically. Gonna be interesting to see how Aments career progresses and turns out.
 
#113
#113
DMcVol said:
You might add that, over 4/5 years, DeWayne Brown could be the most valuable player in this Fr class.....🤷‍♂️.....Who had that on their bingo card?
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Kid needs more minutes. With Phillips on the shelf, he likely will get it. He and Carey will likely determine how our far our season goes.
 
#114
#114
CAVPUT said:
And that is something that you either have or you don't. Knecht had it. The NBA is a league of alphas. It doesn't suffer players who are weak....mentally, emotionally or physically. Gonna be interesting to see how Aments career progresses and turns out.
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Somewhat true but it can be there as boys turn into men. More confidence helps get there too.
 
#116
#116
Little birdie said Ament might be out for the season w/ an ankle injury. Don't shoot the messenger
 
#118
#118
VOLINVONORE said:
He seems to have a problem driving to the basket, He often turns the ball over or winds up having to take an awkward shot.When he pulls up for a short jumper, he is often short with his shot. That will improve with experienced when he decides to dunk the ball.
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It is all due to him playing tentatively. Maybe it's due to his physicality, or lack of it, but he is also playing tentatively on finesse plays where he rises and shoots. His confidence is in the gutter right now.
 
#120
#120
Dewey said:
Little birdie said Ament might be out for the season w/ an ankle injury. Don't shoot the messenger
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Could be more to it than we know.Something is definitely wrong with his game besides the obvious things that have been discussed.If you can’t trust your ankles while playing then your confidence will surely be affected.Perhaps he realizes his body just isn’t strong enough for the rigors of conference play that awaits.It appears to me and probably most that he could use 15 lbs of muscle on his frame.I’ve wondered why Amari Evans has seen more time lately could be that we will need him moving forward…btw his body and defense is well suited for big boy basketball.GBO!
 
#121
#121
cncchris33 said:
He was obviously over-ranked, but the silver lining there is that we got a pretty good player for 5 years.

An interesting hypothetical would be to ask if you'd rather have one year of the current version of Ament, or 5 years of JJJ?
Click to expand...
Easily JJJ who was a key (top 3 imo) contributor in what proved to be a historic time for UT b-ball.
 
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#122
#122
cncchris33 said:
He was obviously over-ranked, but the silver lining there is that we got a pretty good player for 5 years.

An interesting hypothetical would be to ask if you'd rather have one year of the current version of Ament, or 5 years of JJJ?
Click to expand...
I would take another 1 yr of Kennedy Chandler over either.

Aahhhhh what could have been..
 
#124
#124
Ahment has talent. How will he respond to:

1. A new level of physical play
2. Teams game planning to stop him
3. Figuring out how to contribute when his shot is not falling

All three of those could be growth areas he shows vast improvement . . . Or maybe some areas . . . Or maybe none.

It just has to play out. I’m frustrated as a fan because I was hoping against hope he was more like Boozer or some of these other players that are obviously way beyond him in the development aspect. By a lot. And to be a final 4 team . . . I think (JMO) UT needed him to be that type of player along with other pieces such as JG being able to be a PG and a scorer / and a healthy Estrella.

Instead, Ahment is more in line with Keon Johnson (in terms of impact), JG doesn’t seem to be a PG, and Estrella is hurt all the time.

It is what it is. This team will improve . . . But how much . . . Is probably limited.
 
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