Not really, Kemba was never injured. I love AG and he is due for a grear and healthy year but Kemba had one of the best college basketball seasons in the past decade or so, you might want to temper your expectations a bit.Didn’t that kind of remind you of Kemba’s sophomore year? Where we saw flashes and the leadership qualities come out. I firmly believe he has it in him to have a 2010-2011 Kemba type year this year.
AG hasn’t had the ability to finish so far. If he can finish going to the hoop this coming season, his stature will increase dramatically.
So far, any comparison to Kemba is hard to take seriously. However, Kemba wasn’t Kemba his sophomore year either, so we’ll have to see. The leap Kemba made from 09’-10’ to 10’-11’ was unimaginable.
This. His FG% at the rim was 42% last year...that's awful. For comparison, Jalen was at 63% last year, CV 65% last year, Tarin Smith 56%.
I Honestly don’t think it had to do with his shoulder I think it’s just how much smaller he is than everyone else. And maybe a little bit of rust.Is that a function of protecting his shoulder?
That’s a function of him not really knowing how to not get his shot blockedIs that a function of protecting his shoulder?
Is that a function of protecting his shoulder?
I'm not going to rule it out, but I can very quickly recall examples from every year he's been at UConn where he gets eaten alive in the paint.
Maybe this has been an issue since the first injury was before coming to UConn, but this doesn't surprise me from the eye test as he is consistently is blocked by larger defenders at the rim (I even recall lesser players during the Wagner game giving him trouble in this area).
I would recommend he study his predecessor Ryan Boatright who had a similar build and quickness getting to the rim how to address this issue. Interestingly, Boatright was at 47% during the National Championship season, but improved to 58% his senior year.
I Honestly don’t think it had to do with his shoulder I think it’s just how much smaller he is than everyone else. And maybe a little bit of rust.
He gets swallowed up in the paint. I suspect at least some of that is because it’s harder to commit to contact when your shoulder separates in a strong breeze.
I was going to suggest the same thing. Boat made some great adjustments by either using a little more hesitation in his game instead of going straight line to the rim and also by working on his pull-ups and floaters to keep defenders guessing on his tendencies.I'm not going to rule it out, but I can very quickly recall examples from every year he's been at UConn where he gets eaten alive in the paint.
Maybe this has been an issue since the first injury was before coming to UConn, but this doesn't surprise me from the eye test as he is consistently is blocked by larger defenders at the rim (I even recall lesser players during the Wagner game giving him trouble in this area).
I would recommend he study his predecessor Ryan Boatright who had a similar build and quickness getting to the rim how to address this issue. Interestingly, Boatright was at 47% during the National Championship season, but improved to 58% his senior year.
Boatright developed a nasty pull up from 10-15' that was aided by his crazy vertical.. I'm not sure AG has that vertical, so i agree a floater is needed.. He's a good enough shooter, with a high enough arc that he'd be able to do it. Also, when you don't have a bunch of shooters on the perimeter defenses collapse making it more difficult to finish. Vital is a consistent help from outside but if you remember, Tyler went through a massive cold streak last year..I'm not going to rule it out, but I can very quickly recall examples from every year he's been at UConn where he gets eaten alive in the paint.
Maybe this has been an issue since the first injury was before coming to UConn, but this doesn't surprise me from the eye test as he is consistently is blocked by larger defenders at the rim (I even recall lesser players during the Wagner game giving him trouble in this area).
I would recommend he study his predecessor Ryan Boatright who had a similar build and quickness getting to the rim how to address this issue. Interestingly, Boatright was at 47% during the National Championship season, but improved to 58% his senior year.
He gets swallowed up in the paint. I suspect at least some of that is because it’s harder to commit to contact when your shoulder separates in a strong breeze.
Even Jalen Adams stated that "Alterique finds seams that I don't even see". It's true, he gets in too deep, because he can, using his athleticism, size, footwork, crazy handle, and instincts. He's sliding into spaces other players can't navigate, and he's doing it mostly with finesse and no contact. I'm not sure everybody realizes how skilled AG is at getting to the bucket.He's not afraid of contact still so it's not that. His biggest problem is he gets too deep and is always flipping the ball from below his height so there's basically about 10% chance no one is going to get a piece that far in. His one handed high floater is a nice weapon he needs to utilize that more often and understand when he's going to deep into the lane just keep the dribble and find someone or retreat.
He's a different player than Kemba, Boat or Waters even. Boat and Kemba were both able to go up at the hole, body up and try to finish in with the trees on occasion. Boat had that strong 2 foot stop and then strong lift into bodies as well as hops to find a way. AG is more finesse and thinks he can squeeze in a finger roll or flip and rarely does he finish that. As stated above he will improve his finish by using a mid range jumper or just that floater in '19-20. We will see a very good player no matter if he stays healthy. We're lucky to have a kid who's gone through so much, especially if healthy throughout.