OT: - Ahmad Nowell's HS Season Opener | The Boneyard

OT: Ahmad Nowell's HS Season Opener

Huskyforlife said:
I swear this kid will be a dog for us. Probably won’t start as a freshman, but I’d expect at least a Solo type role for him.
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I think he probably starts but we have a veteran to split the time. It all depends on what we get in the portal and if Diarra is back. We have to replace a lot.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
I think he probably starts but we have a veteran to split the time. It all depends on what we get in the portal and if Diarra is back. We have to replace a lot.
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I like Diarra as a key bench piece. I think we could make it work with Nowell and Solo starting backcourt.

But a high level transfer plus Nowell in the freshmen Shabazz role would be even better. Diarra in the same role as today.
 
I Bleed Blue said:
I like Diarra as a key bench piece. I think we could make it work with Nowell and Solo starting backcourt.

But a high level transfer plus Nowell in the freshmen Shabazz role would be even better. Diarra in the same role as today.
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Small but strong backcourt trio there. All dogs too.
 
Mooch82 said:
Who starts at PG? Unless you think we’re bringing in a transfer, I think he starts.
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We've hardly ever started a freshman at the point. I have to think we bring in another guard through the portal capable of starting at the point for a year while Nowell gets acclimated to high-level college basketball. Or Diarra keeps progressing and takes the starting role.
 
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Connecticut13 said:
We've hardly ever started a freshman at the point. I have to think we bring in another guard through the portal capable of starting at the point for a year while Nowell gets acclimated to high-level college basketball. Or Diarra keeps progressing and takes the starting role.
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Some of our best PGs started as freshman, Williams, El Amin, Brown.
 
Palatine said:
Some of our best PGs started as freshman, Williams, El Amin, Brown.
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Williams didn't start as a freshman. That was 04 and Taliek was still the starter. But yes - El Amin and Brown are the two exceptions. Taliek's freshman year was a rebuilding year where we only made the NIT -- so, although it may have helped his progression getting that experience, it didn't work out well for the team that year. El Amin admittedly did excel his freshman year and the team played great. Just saying it hasn't really been our identity, especially in recent years.
 
Connecticut13 said:
We've hardly ever started a freshman at the point. I have to think we bring in another guard through the portal capable of starting at the point for a year while Nowell gets acclimated to high-level college basketball. Or Diarra keeps progressing and takes the starting role.
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Agree, definitely going to the portal again for a PG. We need experience. Having a freshman and sophomore as starters wont bode well for the season. Losing Cam, Tristen, Castle, and possibly Diarra is gonna be rough. I think we need two guards from the portal.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I swear this kid will be a dog for us. Probably won’t start as a freshman, but I’d expect at least a Solo type role for him.
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I'm pretty sure he is starting with both Newton and Castle leaving after this year. Who is going to start @PG? Diarra? LOL!
 
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Palatine said:
Some of our best PGs started as freshman, Williams, El Amin, Brown.
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El Amin and Wiliams were net positives. Brown was brutal until later part of his junior and senior year. He was physical and tough but he was a beast at over penetrating and getting in the air without knowing what he was going to do. Also, his FT shooting and jump shots were brutal.

As a fan he was great on the '04 team and should forever be remembered fondly. But his freshmen year was not good.

Back to the topic at hand. Great start for Nowell and it looks like Hurley and his staff have another player who oozes the skills and attitude Hurley loves for his players.

www.sports-reference.com

Taliek Brown College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Taliek Brown - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more
www.sports-reference.com www.sports-reference.com
 
The comeback against St. Joe’s Prep was impressive. He had 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. They were down by as many as 15 in the second half and started the fourth quarter down 9.

I don’t think Imhotep is quite as loaded as other years, and they’ve had some injuries. They should still be good, especially locally, and it is 100% Ahmad’s team now.
 
OceanDoggie said:
He'd already be the most explosive athlete on the roster since AJax.
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He's not a better athlete than Solo. He's above average but hardly explosive like we saw from AJ. Ahmad's best attributes are his IQ and skill level. It's beautiful to watch him control a game despite being a generous 5'11
 
Palatine said:
Some of our best PGs started as freshman, Williams, El Amin, Brown.
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Didn't El Amin have Moore to guide him?

I recall Brown was the only freshman who had to 'teach himself'. I remember when Khalid left early, freshman Taliek was going to be on his own. That was why I knew we would win the Championship that year because our 4 year point guard 'mastered' D1 basketball and could execute exactly what Calhoun wanted.

With that said, Diarra staying will benefit Nowell's adjustment, development and understanding of Hurley's system and D1 ball. I just hope Hurley (and Mamadou) keep Diarra from going into the portal.

Nothing sweeter than learning from a Champion.
 
husky429 said:
He's not a better athlete than Solo. He's above average but hardly explosive like we saw from AJ. Ahmad's best attributes are his IQ and skill level. It's beautiful to watch him control a game despite being a generous 5'11
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From what I've seen he is more explosive on the break and off the dribble in isolation. Also looks to have better control of the ball when switching gears. Sure at 6'3" Solo can do some of the dunks and defend shots in HS similar to how AJax has at Uconn, but that isn't the sole factor in defining one's athletic abilities.
 
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OceanDoggie said:
From what I've seen he is more explosive on the break and off the dribble in isolation. Also looks to have better control of the ball when switching gears. Sure at 6'3" Solo can do some of the dunks and defend shots in HS similar to how AJax has at Uconn, but that isn't the sole factor in defining one's athletic abilities.
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When I say athleticism, I'm talking about how fast and agile you are, how high you can jump, etc. Having control off the ball is a skill--not athleticism. He is not nearly as explosive as either of them. I'd keep in mind that many of the highlights you see are sped up by 10% to make the kids look faster.
 
husky429 said:
Having control off the ball is a skill--not athleticism.
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Sure, and I agree with this statement, but observing an athlete's ability to maintain control throughout an explosive effort tells a lot about that athlete's ability access the next gear. There are hundreds of sloppy athlete's that can raise the level of effort to explode on a play, but are never fully in control of their balance or the ball.
 
The coaches are targeting players who have a don’t quit attitude, a strong desire and capability to learn and improve, and have skills that can be successful in complex offensive and defensive team play.

It’s not that a player can pass well or rebound well or dribble well or shoot well. It’s a player who can see multiple things happening on the court simultaneously and quickly process better and best options in a constantly dynamic changing situation and make the right plays.

Good peripheral vision, good reflexes, good stamina, good motor, good strength, ability to learn quickly, ability to process multiple things quickly and effectively are valued as much if not more than athleticism and individual skills.

Nowell exemplifies this. I’ve watched enough of his play to know he has his own variation of team play that we see in Solo, Tristen, Stephon, Cam, Alex, and Hassan.
 
OceanDoggie said:
Sure, and I agree with this statement, but observing an athlete's ability to maintain control throughout an explosive effort tells a lot about that athlete's ability access the next gear. There are hundreds of sloppy athlete's that can raise the level of effort to explode on a play, but are never fully in control of their balance or the ball.
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I think we're just defining athleticism differently. I've had plenty of fantastic athlete's on my teams who couldn't get to the next gear with the ball in their hands. Usually football players. That's a skill gap, not an athleticism gap.

You can define it however you want, but if that's how you think of athleticism, you're going to lose a lot of folks in translation.
 
husky429 said:
I think we're just defining athleticism differently. I've had plenty of fantastic athlete's on my teams who couldn't get to the next gear with the ball in their hands. Usually football players. That's a skill gap, not an athleticism gap.

You can define it however you want, but if that's how you think of athleticism, you're going to lose a lot of folks in translation.
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It's all relative to be honest, so I can't imagine anything lost in translation. hand-eye coordination can be considered a skill, because it can be improved upon. However, it is also just as much an innate ability that individuals are born with on a gradient scale. Which will undoubtedly filter out most of those who started out their journey where that "skill" is necessary at the highest level.
 
OceanDoggie said:
hand-eye coordination can be considered a skill, because it can be improved upon.
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Does this mean you think someone can't improve their athleticism? Why do we have an S&C coach making 150k a year? Lol.

I would consider hand-eye coordination a part of athleticism. Steph Curry is a great athlete in part because of his hand-eye coordination. The ability to dribble through traffic is NOT athleticism--that is a skill one develops using athleticism.
 
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