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

#7,179
#7,179
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.
Click to expand...
I can see more power in Pons' game this year. He is one well-built guy now, and all indications are that he's off-the-charts with his physical strength now. I think he will be the perfect mix of athleticism, finesse, and power this year. Should be fun to watch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ArdentVol
#7,180
#7,180
gohogs14 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Buzz is a damn good coach. A&M was supposed to “maybe” win 2 games in conference last year and they went 10-8. They have a lot more talent this year, but are mostly guard-oriented. Quenton Jackson (6’5” wing) and Savion Flagg (6’7” G/F) are their best players. They really play defense like their hair is on fire, and have a lot of 6’3”-6’7” athletes. They also will probably be a much better shooting team this year - they were near the bottom of D1 schools in 3-pt shooting last year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vol49er
#7,181
#7,181
cncchris33 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I thought they both looked kinda soft. Our big bodies like Pons, JJJ, and Ej should have their way with either team.
 
#7,184
#7,184
TrumpedUpVol said:
If Florida can’t pull it together in the second half against a truly woeful Army team, we really are going to start feeling the burn of our lackluster non-conference SoS.
Click to expand...
If our seeding suffers it will be from the SEC being down as much as anything to do with working at the last second to cobble together a schedule to fill with games after cancellations outside of our control. I have a hard time seeing the committee punish teams for Covid-related issues that affect their resumé.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ArdentVol, Willy14, cardvolfan and 1 other person
#7,189
#7,189
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.
Click to expand...
You know why Pons doesn’t get 10 rebounds a game- it’s because he looking to block / alter shots, tough to do both unless you’ve got a significant length advantage
 
  • Like
Reactions: Larkin
#7,190
#7,190
walkenvol said:
You know why Pons doesn’t get 10 rebounds a game- it’s because he looking to block / alter shots, tough to do both unless you’ve got a significant length advantage
Click to expand...
I agree that Pons going for blocks does cost him some rebounding opportunities but I think he could/ should pull down more with his athleticism.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ArdentVol and cncchris33
#7,192
#7,192
This might go under the category of “be careful what you ask for” but if the schedule s allowed it I’d love to see Tennessee’s guard’s against Illinois
 
#7,193
#7,193
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.
Click to expand...

Mike White was losing to Army at half today. Sure, they won, but he continues to underachieve.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BruinVol
#7,194
#7,194
gohogs14 said:
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.
Click to expand...

About Texas A&M...woof.
 
#7,198
#7,198
Vol49er said:
Glad to see Jalen Suggs was ok. I would've been so bummed for him and that program if otherwise
Click to expand...
Missed that, what happened ? I noticed he didn't have as good of a game (stat-wise) as the rest of his games, so far this year.
 
#7,200
#7,200
The Dog said:
Missed that, what happened ? I noticed he didn't have as good of a game (stat-wise) as the rest of his games, so far this year.
Click to expand...
Hurt his ankle in the first half and went out of the game with a limp, but came back sometime in the second half and finished the game
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Dog
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top