AJ - I don't see it

[jdb50]

Andre has to stop with the bad passes that are off target or stolen. Get that fixed first and work on the rest .

 

[Pudge]

GO

I think what you say about him above is what you and we all want out of him, but he's simply not there yet.

Find your own little corner. I understand you and a few others are disappointed that he has not risen to YOUR standard of stud wing. AJ plays hard and gets the subtleties of blocking out and basic defensive fundamentals far better than most kids getting to campus. He is obviously a great team player. I am not disturbed by his shooting ... I more want him to cut out the adventurous passing. And I am certain Hurley is in his ear. He gets 20 minutes. And has to earn that within this year because Hawkins and Martin are gonna take his minutes with more efficiency. He could be just a spot defensive dog; though I am hoping he plays his way to stay in the starting lineup.

 

[Dean Wormer]

I hate that Dre plays hot-potato whenever he catches the ball outside. He needs to show more confidence and shoot the m f’in ball. Damn the torpedoes!

 

[Husky68]

You have to play the game to understand Jackson. He makes lots of winning plays ... even with being a hesitant shooter. With lots of aggressive defensive rebounders on our team, he might be the most fierce. His defense is intense and surely puts the fear of God into some. Then what the dunking does ... it swoons momentum to another planet. He is a whirling dervish that carries the other guys.

We talk about how important Whaley is. He could not shoot a lick 2 years ago. Look at his value now. Jackson is competitive and the best fundamentals in block out and hedge. He has a role. And basketball is not always the fluid skillset of a Bouknight or Hawkins.

He makes a lot of losing plays also.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

GO


Find your own little corner. I understand you and a few others are disappointed that he has not risen to YOUR standard of stud wing. AJ plays hard and gets the subtleties of blocking out and basic defensive fundamentals far better than most kids getting to campus. He is obviously a great team player. I am not disturbed by his shooting ... I more want him to cut out the adventurous passing. And I am certain Hurley is in his ear. He gets 20 minutes. And has to earn that within this year because Hawkins and Martin are gonna take his minutes with more efficiency. He could be just a spot defensive dog; though I am hoping he plays his way to stay in the starting lineup.

You don't have to be so offensive about it and you've conflated my thoughts on AJ with others'. I'm still hopeful he can rise to all of our hopes - I just don't think he is as impactful right now on the game and opponents as you do. All you have to do is listen to his coach's public words about how he still needs to elevate his game in a few ways. AJ has soooo much potential - all he needs is some more seasoning and skill refinement. He'll leave UConn a far better player than when he came in - and that's saying a lot because he's pretty damn good now.

 

[BlueMAB]

You don't have to be so offensive about it and you've conflated my thoughts on AJ with others'.

that's what he does. reads a thread, finds a theme he doesn't like, attributes it to one poster who didn't actually make that point, and then lectures them about how wrong they are.

 

[olehead]

I'm a bit envious of the shine Baylor's Fr. Kendal Brown is getting. This includes top 10-20 NBA projections. The projections are based primarily on freak athleticism, length and off the chart NBA defensive versatility. Dre has what Kendal has. Though I wonder if it's possible within this verse that their is someone with half a higher ladder? Dre has freakish length and as everyone seems to know off the charts athleticism like this kid Brown. Perhaps naively, I find it a bit puzzling that Dre does not merit greater NBA attention in the mold of a Thybulle-light on the D with greater athleticism. Is it due to Baylor's current rise? Dre can do so many things. If he simply commits to locking down the opponent ala Morsell, runs the floor and rebounds, he then plays himself into garnering greater NBA attention and gets us into the second round.

 

[cohenzone]

Hawkins and Jackson showed flashes of chemistry that could really develop.

Yeah, but people want at least one of them to jump to the NBA ASAP before that chemistry brings us an NC just so we can attract the next stud who can leave early. But I hope you’re right. Have fun while it lasts.

 

[olehead]

Yeah, but people want at least one of them to jump to the NBA ASAP before that chemistry brings us an NC just so we can attract the next stud who can leave early. But I hope you’re right. Have fun while it lasts.

I was not implying a premature push out the door for the sake of a natl championship. I also never begrudge the will of someone to move on.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

It's hard to imagine that AJ would be given so much room to work on, work out, and work through his various 'irregularities' if the coaching staff didn't have an overall confidence that 'playing through' is the way to go with him. I'm therefore not going to question it, but it's easy to see that he's being given a lot of room to both work and play. Not many players get that much space, so the variety of responses to some of the incomplete parts of his game doesn't surprise me.

 

[Rico444]

Yeah, but people want at least one of them to jump to the NBA ASAP before that chemistry brings us an NC just so we can attract the next stud who can leave early. But I hope you’re right. Have fun while it lasts.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

No doubt a spectacularly tremendous athlete. I don't see sufficient inner toughness or bball IQ to project he will consistently excel at this level.

Btw, I thought you chose your words with care in both thread Title and the words I've quoted, especially by grounding them in your personal observation and opinion.

Few posters are comparably responsible in their expression, because it exposes one's assessment to greater direct criticism as we've seen here.

I don't know if your current assessment will turn out to be more right than wrong, and I'm mindful that Andre's 3 points, 3 turnovers, and 2 assists on his 20th birthday generated a lot more heat than light in post-game comments. He's not even a month out of his teens.

PS - Kudos for anyone whose comment included the phrase, "I see it."

 

[Chin Diesel]

You can definitely question his shot and his overall ability to score the basketball, but I don't think you can question his athleticism, BBall IQ, heart, or toughness.

I'm starting to split hairs with the whole "Jackson has a great BB IQ" argument.

He has great vision. He sees things before they happen and you can tell his mind is always looking ahead. He is said to be a student of the game. He's also really unselfish and seems to want his teammates to score moreso than scoring himself.

But, I don't think you can say someone has a great BB IQ when they try a behind the back pass from the wing to the top of the key in the middle of a half court set. A large part of a BB IQ is the right play at the right time. I think it's fair to say Jackson gets sloppy with some of his passes right now. It's surely correctable but he is still learning what can be done at the high D1 level vice what he got away with in HS.

 

[uconngb]

I'm starting to split hairs with the whole "Jackson has a great BB IQ" argument.

He has great vision. He sees things before they happen and you can tell his mind is always looking ahead. He is said to be a student of the game. He's also really unselfish and seems to want his teammates to score moreso than scoring himself.

But, I don't think you can say someone has a great BB IQ when they try a behind the back pass from the wing to the top of the key in the middle of a half court set. A large part of a BB IQ is the right play at the right time. I think it's fair to say Jackson gets sloppy with some of his passes right now. It's surely correctable but he is still learning what can be done at the high D1 level vice what he got away with in HS.

I may have this wrong, but I equate BB IQ with solid fundamentals. He is not a good fundamental player. I've listed the reasons why ad nauseum so I won't bring them up again. He does seem to have good anticipation, but instead of making the fundamentally sound play, he always goes for the spectacular. To me, that's a low BB IQ mentality. But maybe I just have that wrong.

 

[BlueMAB]

I'm starting to split hairs with the whole "Jackson has a great BB IQ" argument.

He has great vision. He sees things before they happen and you can tell his mind is always looking ahead. He is said to be a student of the game. He's also really unselfish and seems to want his teammates to score moreso than scoring himself.

But, I don't think you can say someone has a great BB IQ when they try a behind the back pass from the wing to the top of the key in the middle of a half court set. A large part of a BB IQ is the right play at the right time. I think it's fair to say Jackson gets sloppy with some of his passes right now. It's surely correctable but he is still learning what can be done at the high D1 level vice what he got away with in HS.

I may have this wrong, but I equate BB IQ with solid fundamentals. He is not a good fundamental player. I've listed the reasons why ad nauseum so I won't bring them up again. He does seem to have good anticipation, but instead of making the fundamentally sound play, he always goes for the spectacular. To me, that's a low BB IQ mentality. But maybe I just have that wrong.

splitting hairs/picking nits....

I think you're both somewhat right, but semantically speaking, he has a high BB IQ, but he still makes some poor decisions.

I think his decision making (like his FG%) will improve with time.

 

[Umami Zen]

Could be the X factor tomorrow night breaking the press with his floor game.