College Hoops Around The Country [TN opponents, RPI, others]

#7,153
#7,153
The Dog said:
Still, I wanna see Keon play defense on Boston and really everybody. There's a reason he is considered a lottery pick and it's defense, athletic ability, work ethic and mad potential growth on the offensive side, in that order.. But, great defense never has an off night
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I think folks are sleeping on his offensive skillset, he's a potential lottery pick because of his explosive offense I feel. Before he got injured he lacked the physical body to dominate offensively as he was thin. He looks to have put on 15-20 lbs of pure muscle since his Jr season, this added muscle is only going to help his transition game, offensive rebounding, finishing through contact and overall paint/mid range game. He already excels at posting up smaller guards down low, with added strength he could potentially dominate when able to post up. If he comes out playing physical and aggressive early then he'll be as good as it gets in the league. If he starts out playing soft and passive then it's just a youth thing because the day he starts playing physical will be the day he's the best player every time he steps on the court. Only thing that can derail Keon is himself and or women! Women can't be beat, they're 37-0, simply undefeated!!
 
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#7,154
#7,154
The Dog said:
Boston is good, but thin. I really want to see Keon guard him, wasn't he the kid that Keon blocked his shot and went to coast to coast, on that US u19 basketball team highlights ?
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Boston may struggle vs our Vols. He's going to be checked all night by Keon/JJJ with Pons lurking every time he drives to the paint. I think Keon and JJJ are going to dominate defensively some nights as both are terrific defenders in totally different ways. JJJ dominates you physically and uses his strong hands and positioning for steals and blocks, Keon uses his speed to jump passing lanes and to beat the offensive player to his spot resulting in his steals and blocks. Throw DPOY Pons and Springer into the mix as well as an improving Vescovi on that side I think it's easy to conclude that it's going to take some special guard play in order to beat the Vols. We're going to dominate, a bunch I feel.
 
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#7,158
#7,158
PulaskiVolFan said:
Boston may struggle vs our Vols. He's going to be checked all night by Keon/JJJ with Pons lurking every time he drives to the paint. I think Keon and JJJ are going to dominate defensively some nights as both are terrific defenders in totally different ways. JJJ dominates you physically and uses his strong hands and positioning for steals and blocks, Keon uses his speed to jump passing lanes and to beat the offensive player to his spot resulting in his steals and blocks. Throw DPOY Pons and Springer into the mix as well as an improving Vescovi on that side I think it's easy to conclude that it's going to take some special guard play in order to beat the Vols. We're going to dominate, a bunch I feel.
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Isaiah Jackson is the UK player that scares me the most.
 
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#7,161
#7,161
tn4elvis said:
Fulky will eat his lunch.
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I hope so, obviously. But if he does, it will be purely out of experience and savvy, not athleticism. Jackson had 7 pts, 12 rebs, and 8 blks vs KU, last night. Kid has 30 rebounds in 3 games. He has definitely been the most impressive all-around UK player, to me. Boston and Clarke get the headlines, and Sarr because he was the top transfer, but Jackson has been their most complete player, IMO. He is also the one who could give us the most fits. I think we have the personnel to handle Boston and Clarke to keep them from going off. Jackson is the one I think we are least able to control. Fulk and Pons will have their hands full with him. They will have to find a way to keep him off the boards. That was our biggest weakness, last year.
 
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#7,162
#7,162
Who in the world in the SEC is supposed to be good? Bama is not good so far, Kentucky isn't great, but they usually get better as the season goes along. Auburn is trash. LSU lost to Saint Louis already. Arkansas might be at least competitive. Maybe Florida is our biggest threat, but I don't think Mike White is even a decent coach.
 
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#7,163
#7,163
ArdentVol said:
isnt it too early for media to crown Big10 as nation's best?
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The Big10 is 32-3, so far. MSU with a win over Duke in Cameron, and only conference losses came to Texas, Clemson, and Nevada. Who has clearly been better, so far? A case can maybe be made for the Big12, but the Big10 has 4 teams ranked in the top-10, has played significantly more games, and yet has one less loss as a conference (Big 12 is 20-4, overall). SEC has looked terrible, at times, and is 14-9 with some bad losses.
 
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#7,167
#7,167
cncchris33 said:
I hope so, obviously. But if he does, it will be purely out of experience and savvy, not athleticism. Jackson had 7 pts, 12 rebs, and 8 blks vs KU, last night. Kid has 30 rebounds in 3 games. He has definitely been the most impressive all-around UK player, to me. Boston and Clarke get the headlines, and Sarr because he was the top transfer, but Jackson has been their most complete player, IMO. He is also the one who could give us the most fits. I think we have the personnel to handle Boston and Clarke to keep them from going off. Jackson is the one I think we are least able to control. Fulk and Pons will have their hands full with him. They will have to find a way to keep him off the boards. That was our biggest weakness, last year.
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He will accumulate fouls at a very high rate trying to guard and block Fulkys shots. Kentucky ran two 7 ft. guys at him and couldnt stop him
 
#7,169
#7,169
tn4elvis said:
He will accumulate fouls at a very high rate trying to guard and block Fulkys shots. Kentucky ran two 7 ft. guys at him and couldnt stop him
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I'm all for promoting John Fulkerson, but you are being rather optimistic, here. And I'm not insinuating Jackson is going to dominate Fulky. As you pointed out, Nick Richards was a really good defender, and Fulky handled him well, no doubt.

All I'm saying is that of the UK players, Jackson is the one I'm most concerned with. I have confidence that we can mitigate UK's perimeter players more readily due to our athleticism and depth at those positions. Outside of Pons, we can't match the athleticism of Jackson in the post. Fulk is a nice player and is a better than decent athlete in open space, but he still struggles a bit, athletically, on the block. He and Pons, both, rely on finesse rather than power in the paint. Nothing wrong with that, necessarily, but an athletic player like Jackson with a 7-foot+ wingspan can help to affect those turnarounds, hooks, and fadeaways, though those shots are generally difficult to guard, anyway, which is why Fulk was so effective vs Richards and Montgomery, last year.

Jackson currently averages a foul every 9 minutes, so I think it's still premature to assume he will be foul prone trying to guard Fulk. If he gets in foul trouble against him, then it will likely be due to Fulk's experience and savvy, which I already noted.
 
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#7,170
#7,170
Dallasbowlin said:
And it’s not just fulky we can throw at him. Throw Pons, EJ, Uros, ORN, etc. there are a lot of different looks you can give him. He ain’t blocking pons turnaround.
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Don't even mention Uros and Nkamhoua in this conversation. Jackson would destroy either of them based on what we've seen, so far. EJA and Jackson going head-to-head for rebounds would be fun to watch. Pons' biggest weakness, or perhaps more accurately stated, his greatest opportunity for improvement, is in his rebounding. Someone with his athleticism should average a double-double just based on sheer "want-to". If EJA can average 11.6 rpg, there is no reason someone like Pons can't if he wanted to.
 
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#7,171
#7,171
cncchris33 said:
I'm all for promoting John Fulkerson, but you are being rather optimistic, here. And I'm not insinuating Jackson is going to dominate Fulky. As you pointed out, Nick Richards was a really good defender, and Fulky handled him well, no doubt.

All I'm saying is that of the UK players, Jackson is the one I'm most concerned with. I have confidence that we can mitigate UK's perimeter players more readily due to our athleticism and depth at those positions. Outside of Pons, we can't match the athleticism of Jackson in the post. Fulk is a nice player and is a better than decent athlete in open space, but he still struggles a bit, athletically, on the block. He and Pons, both, rely on finesse rather than power in the paint. Nothing wrong with that, necessarily, but an athletic player like Jackson with a 7-foot+ wingspan can help to affect those turnarounds, hooks, and fadeaways, though those shots are generally difficult to guard, anyway, which is why Fulk was so effective vs Richards and Montgomery, last year.

Jackson currently averages a foul every 9 minutes, so I think it's still premature to assume he will be foul prone trying to guard Fulk. If he gets in foul trouble against him, then it will likely be due to Fulk's experience and savvy, which I already noted.
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Good post my Vol brother. Should be a great match up. I just hope we get to see it. What did you think about Kansas.
 
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#7,172
#7,172
tn4elvis said:
Good post my Vol brother. Should be a great match up. I just hope we get to see it. What did you think about Kansas.
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Kansas and UK both looked awful in the second half. KU literally had one player (Jalen Wilson) who hit a shot from the field in the 2nd half until Agbaji finally made a shot with 2:24 to play.

That game was so hard to watch if you like offense. That said, they shot just under 30%, missed 10 FTs, and still won. Marcus Garrett was playing sick (not sure how they allowed that) and David McCormack is still recovering a bit from an injury. Both guys at full strength to pair with Agbaji and Wilson makes them a really good team.
 
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#7,173
#7,173
cncchris33 said:
Don't even mention Uros and Nkamhoua in this conversation. Jackson would destroy either of them based on what we've seen, so far. EJA and Jackson going head-to-head for rebounds would be fun to watch. Pons' biggest weakness, or perhaps more accurately stated, his greatest opportunity for improvement, is in his rebounding. Someone with his athleticism should average a double-double just based on sheer "want-to". If EJA can average 11.6 rpg, there is no reason someone like Pons can't if he wanted to.
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I was just stating all the options, not saying they’re what I’d throw out there lol
 
#7,174
#7,174
rdk4121 said:
Who in the world in the SEC is supposed to be good? Bama is not good so far, Kentucky isn't great, but they usually get better as the season goes along. Auburn is trash. LSU lost to Saint Louis already. Arkansas might be at least competitive. Maybe Florida is our biggest threat, but I don't think Mike White is even a decent coach.
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LSU is kinda like Kentucky in that they usually get it together by conference time. Alabama is probably going to be hot or cold like last year depending on their 3-point shooting, but they have a lot of talent. Florida probably finishes in the top 5 on talent alone.

Two teams I'm intrigued by are Missouri and A&M, Missouri has a ton back and A&M is on the upswing under Buzz. Not sure what to think of Ole Miss either but I think they are well-coached. Agree that Auburn will probably finish in the bottom half.
 
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