WTH is going on over there on the hardwood? Barnes is getting paid $5M a year and here is what I have seen from our players with regards to player development so far:
Pons- regressed from an NBA pick to maybe the G league if he’s lucky
Fulkerson- regressed from an All SEC player and Wooden Award nominee to a player that spends More time on the floor from getting knocked around than he does on the boards
JJJ- decent player but really just the same player he was last season as a freshman
Vescovi- regressed from last year
ON- maybe the most improved vs. last season but still not good enough to be a major contributor
Gaines, Pember, Plavisc, Anosike- no development at all. None whatsoever. Nothing more than glorified bench cheerleaders at this point of their careers
Barnes needs to start taking responsibility for the pedestrian effort this team has given so far this season. To come out and play with little or no effort and enthusiasm against KY on your home court is inexcusable and Barnes first words after the game yesterday should have been an apology to the fans who attended.
First, we all have to acknowledge the extraordinary nature of the last offseason and how it impeded coaches and players from being able to do the things they would normally do and in the same manner to develop (SV and ON weren't even in the country as I recall). I feel quite comfortable asserting that CRB is elite in developing players based on his resume so this post seems myopic to me in all transparency but let's set aside the preseason and C19.
To start, I am not sure how you can really say Pons has regressed given his draft stock was always predicated on his defensive abilities and athleticism all of which he still clearly possesses. From a development standpoint, he needed to show improvement in his 3-pt shooting this season which is actually worse compared to prior years. Maybe it is just me, but I have always considered shot development to be largely predicated on the individual player's dedication to put up the volume of shots that are required. Having said that, his 2pt %, FT %, steals, blocks, turnovers, and points per conference game have all improved on a per 40 min basis.
Fulky has "regressed" this season but hard for me to see how anyone could use as a 3-star out of high school who had a season ending injury (some thought career ending) become an All SEC player under CRB's development yet ignore that to somehow make a case that CRB sux at player development...lol. As I stated in another post, ignoring that we heard he contracted C19 just before the season and what we have all seen with him constantly grabbing his wrist in pain (plus who knows what else) while blaming it on CRB's lack of development is dubious at best.
Regarding JJJ, I think a fair assessment is that he has definitely improved (his conference per 40 min stats show improvement in 2pt %, rebounding (which we desperately needed), turnovers (from 3.1 to 1.3) and steals) but he definitely has room to grow with a higher ceiling. Plus, I see a growing floor general and team leader in addition to aspects of his play which do not show up on the stat sheet (e.g., wearing down smaller players, altering shots, etc...).
Vescovi is suffering the proverbial sophomore slump IMO...the tape is out and teams know how to go at him on both ends of the court. Having said that, his per 40 in stats for conference games do show some improvement (improved 2pt %, rebounds, and turnovers) while 3pt % is relatively the same. Very interested to see how he develops over the next year.
Not sure how you can really evaluate Gaines and Pember given how little they have played due to there being better players ahead of them. IMO one or both could contribute some meaningful minutes here before it is over if they stick around.
Plavsic is fair to criticize as a project that has not worked and likely will not work. So, 20/20 hindsight would obviously say we should have went after someone else (but that also has risk of success which many seem to ignore).
Anosike has only been here a short time but disregard that for the moment...would have preferred Cardwell but not sure he was really going to come here. Could we have pursued another big...sure...but Anosike was worth the bet IMO based on his resume, the interest he was shown by other big-time programs, and our need. Unfortunately, it has not panned out and it looks to me like he lacks the athleticism which is hard to develop at this stage for him.
