Jacobs Article on Diallo | The Boneyard

Jacobs Article on Diallo

bear said:
As am I but read the second half at least. PSA coach wasn't exactly glowing about his work ethic and mental makeup.
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I was very surprised to see that level of candor in a random article. For a coach at that level, at this time, to take potshots at his work ethic, mental makeup, attitude, jump shot....you just don't see that often.
 
"Hamidou is a freak athlete," Espinosa said. "Gifts God gave him, not many people have. But at the same time, there's a lot of guys who are 6-5, 6-6 who are athletic who can't shoot. He has got to separate himself. He has taken too many days off, especially this fall with us, not getting better. He has so many tools, but he has to get so much better, work harder every day and be mentally tougher."

Could have dodged a bullet which UConn wouldn't have wanted for a year and a half, his personal try out doing it his way?
 
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Jacobs' perspective is colored by the coach though. This coach called Diallo a superstar because it's his first one. Doesn't seem to realize that there are a lot like him even in the NE Prep scene year after year.
 
Interesting article and inside details about him from the coach.

I'm still very optimistic on our 2017-2018 team next season without Diallo. and would love to face UK next year.
 
Deepster said:
I was very surprised to see that level of candor in a random article. For a coach at that level, at this time, to take potshots at his work ethic, mental makeup, attitude, jump shot....you just don't see that often.
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I would have done backflips if we got Diallo, BUT.... having a rep for not working hard and needing to develop a jump shot aren't a good recipe for success. All of our great shooters were notorious gym rats. Shabazz, Lamb, Ray, Rashad, etc.... were all known to put up hundreds of shots per day. One thing that I love to hear about a high school recruit is that he is always in the gym.
 
We would have taken him in a heartbeat of course but he would also present a problem which is jacking up and missing shots. It's the one area we have excelled at this year. I agree with a previous poster who said we need shot makers, and so does everyone, but they don't all have to be able to touch the top of the backboard. Could Bazz even dunk?
 
Vancat said:
I didn't read the whole thing because I am tired of reading about HD.
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My God , can it end already. Next thing will be a thread following his Co-Ed activity at
Kentucky. It's become cyber stalking . Just get me Ayala and two grad transfers and keep it moving.
 
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Deepster said:
I was very surprised to see that level of candor in a random article. For a coach at that level, at this time, to take potshots at his work ethic, mental makeup, attitude, jump shot....you just don't see that often.
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I think he has some egg on his face. Might be a bit irked, tho I don't see him as wanting to degrade HD. Perhaps brutal honesty is his nature.

It's interesting to see Rodney's best game being the first one post-Hami. It's like a weight came off his shoulders. Did he think Hami was going to send him to the bench?
 
A few quotes that really stood out to me:

The most immediate question, even more immediate than his draft status, is where does Diallo's game stand right now? What does he most have to work on?

"Consistently making shots," Espinosa said. "His strength is when the game is up and down in the open court. When you get in the half court, slow the game down, that's when Hamidou struggles. With us, A. he'd take bad shots. B. he'd miss a lot of shots.

"It's also maturity on the court. People ask me what are you going to do without Hamidou? We've been playing without Hamidou for the last two years. He has been in my doghouse at times. Discipline issues, he hasn't played. He has been in foul trouble a lot, missed half the game. We're used to playing without him. We are going to be fine."

"Hamidou is a freak athlete," Espinosa said. "Gifts God gave him, not many people have. But at the same time, there's a lot of guys who are 6-5, 6-6 who are athletic who can't shoot. He has got to separate himself. He has taken too many days off, especially this fall with us, not getting better. He has so many tools, but he has to get so much better, work harder every day and be mentally tougher."
​

In summary:
  • "Takes bad shots"
  • "Misses a lot of shots"
  • "Been in foul trouble a lot"
  • "Not getting better"
  • "Be mentally tougher"

His coach is making HD sound like a microcosm of everything that's been wrong with our teams the past year or so.

I know this could just be sour grapes on my part, but we may be better off in the long term without him -- It all depends who we can recruit in his place.


​
 
This is the age of the three point shooter with a quick release. Sound familiar- Ray Allen.
When recruiting for the 2 or 3 spot, Ollie has to give extra attention to the ability to knock down the three ball. Hitting threes makes up for a lot of other flaws.
 
pnow15 said:
This is the age of the three point shooter with a quick release. Sound familiar- Ray Allen.
When recruiting for the 2 or 3 spot, Ollie has to give extra attention to the ability to knock down the three ball. Hitting threes makes up for a lot of other flaws.
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You cherry picking the greatest players in the history of our program and saying we need to get more of those guys will never not be funny.
 
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I never felt like missing out on Diallo would harm us most on the court. Lord knows we have enough guys who can't shoot and who struggle in the half-court.

My concern was always about the perception of our program and the impact on future elite recruits. That remains to be seen.
 
7774 said:
You cherry picking the greatest players in the history of our program and saying we need to get more of those guys will never not be funny.
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No, I am pointing out that the importance of three point shooters in today's game and using Ray as an example. I could have used Curry.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
I never felt like missing out on Diallo would harm us most on the court. Lord knows we have enough guys who can't shoot and who struggle in the half-court.

My concern was always about the perception of our program and the impact on future elite recruits. That remains to be seen.
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This is fair. But just like it's rational to expect it to take a while to rebuild the roster into a top 15 team, it stands to reason that it's rational to expect it to take a while for us to rebuild our ability to recruit top 15 players.
 
pnow15 said:
No, I am pointing out that the importance of three point shooters in today's game and using Ray as an example. I could have used Curry.
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You mean Steph Curry, another one of the greatest players in the history of basketball? Yeah, that would have been totally different.
 
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7774 said:
You mean Steph Curry, another one of the greatest players in the history of basketball? Yeah, that would have been totally different.
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Do you want me to use Purvis to illustrate the importance of the lack of three ball shooting?
Would that make you happy?
 
aceboon said:
I wonder if the coach's comments are sour grapes since he's leaving them early, I get not being biased but it sounds overly harsh.
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I think he wasn't of fan of hd doing a pg year half assed. And also not including him in the recruiting process really. Remember all those quotes before he even committed, "he might as well get it over with". Psa was losing games with him this year too. They weren't dominate
 
pnow15 said:
Do you want me to use Purvis to illustrate the importance of the lack of three ball shooting?
Would that make you happy?
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I'd like you to have the awareness necessary to realize everyone already knows 3 point shooting is important, or better yet, to have the ability to understand that Ollie is already recruiting guys at the 2/3 that have reputations as good shooters.

Sadly, both of these are beyond you.
 
Dove said:
I think he has some egg on his face. Might be a bit irked, tho I don't see him as wanting to degrade HD. Perhaps brutal honesty is his nature.

It's interesting to see Rodney's best game being the first one post-Hami. It's like a weight came off his shoulders. Did he think Hami was going to send him to the bench?
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There are two filters between Hami and us - Espinosa and JJ. JJ is not above injecting his emotions into an article. And you can see from this thread all the different opinions which further magnifies the point that events are best served with our own personal seasoning.

But I thought the same as you. Not only Rodney but most of the team played like a weight was lifted from their shoulders. It's not unrealistic to wonder how much the team felt like the coaches didn't trust them to work things out and how much this contributed to the results in games. We'll never know for certain, but I wouldn't rule it out. Nor would I overly weight it. It's just human of us not to feel appreciated at times. More so when things are going badly.
 
FYI there was another piece in the Norwich bulletin with different but similar quotes. Espinosa seemed in a rush to get things off his chest.
 
I just hope that anyone who thought a guy who struggles in the halfcourt was going to be the answer to our prayers this season realizes how silly that thinking was.

I'm not saying I didn't want him or that I'm not disappointed that he picked UK. But if he was a deadeye shooter or a skilled big man, I'd be a lot more upset.

Sounds like Espinosa has a bit of an axe to grind, honestly. You don't see a coach sell out a player like that very often unless there's some bad blood.
 
.-.
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