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JC on Oriakhi

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I meant to post this the other day but forgot. Remember during the summer Alex chose to stay in Storrs instead playing for one of the summer (USA teams?) teams? Well I wonder if that experience would have been better for his development compared to whatever he did during that time. Seems whenever our best players play for these types of summer teams they improve dramatically. Kemba and lamb are two such examples.

There's little argument that this team will be at their best if Alex and Roscoe can rediscover their 2012 post season form. The two brought it, especially during that Butler game. All three (adding Tyler here) bring different things to our front court, giving JC a lot of flexibility to match-up and keep the energy and level of play high. That can only happen if they're each doing what they can do best.

OA - What he does: Physical play on both ends of the floor. What he needs to do: Get back to doing what he does best. He also needs to work on squaring his body to the basket when shooting the ball. He still has the bad habit of throwing it up there off balance and with his body at bad angles to the hoop. You'll notice that when he's square, he's finishes more often. He seemed to do that early this season, but has gotten away from it again.

RS - What he does: Adds energy and length on D, some jump shooting and attacking the rim from the baseline. What he needs to do: Like OA, he needs to get back to doing what he does best at the level he did late last season. He's a better jump shooter than he's shown this season. He was very good in HS but seems to have lost confidence in his J. I wonder if he's a rhythm shooter who struggles now that his role doesn't give him the green light to fire away all game long. I'd like to see him improve his handle and be more aggressive catching the ball near the baseline and attacking the rim from there. He's a lot stronger now, but seems to have the guts or skill to catch the ball and if the space is there, drive it right to the basket, without running someone over or traveling along the way. He seems to get at least one bad traveling call each game that gets him a quick trip back to the bench. He and Alex need to do whatever it takes to improve their play around the basket. Both should be cleaning up the glass a lot better than they are. If they can add just a 2 to 3 more clean-up type baskets a game, this team will be all the more dangerous.

TO - What he does: Not as athletic as the other two, but makes up for it with how hard he works. He's not a bad athlete. He runs the floor well and is very good at finding the open space on the floor, catching the ball and shooting it. He's also the better passer of the 3. What he needs to do: He's shot the ball well most of the season. FSU game was clearly his worst game. Tyler needs to continue to work on his midrange shooting. IMO, AO and RS at their best can be more dominating players, but Tyler brings plenty to the court that deserves PT.

Having all 3 sharing time at the 4, plus Alex sliding over to the 5 and playing well there, is what this team needs to repeat at NCs. They need at least 2 of these 3 playing at a high level. Right now we're getting a lot of Tyler, but not much from the other two.

Roscoe will be fine and has been playing well of late. Calhoun even said that this week the best players in practice were boatright, roscoe, and giffey. It is troubling that he didn't mention Oriakhi as one of the best players in practice which you would think he would come out with passion and force in practice to try to reclaim his spot at the 4 which I frankly don't see happening. You are right though Orikahi is better suited at the 5 maybe checking in for Drummond when Drummond needs a break. Oriakhi's game is not fluid and he cannot play off the ball which he must either learn to do or get used to sitting on the bench more often this year. Roscoe is a banger down low as he proved through the year, and he seems like he has gained about 10 to 15 pounds over the course of the year. Olander even though hes improved doesn't seem like he can bang, but he's so good at doing the little things and plays very well off the ball which i like. He really understands the game.
 
C

Chief00

I don't really pay attention to what JC says. The reality is when guys cross him publicly things don't go well for that guy. Doug Wiggins comes to mind as does Jamal Coombs-McDaniel.
 
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I've read a lot of crazy things on the Boneyard - heck, I've posted some crazy things. But this takes the cake. I was a huge Chuck fan, but tell me you're joking here.

AO's success was a direct result of AO being a beast against a lot of tough teams.

Miss Oriakhi,

Okwandu's physical play takes a toll on an opponet. You have to use your strong slow pitch muscle and those muscles get tired. Now comes AO and now you need your fast twitch muscles to respond. They do, but you have lost a half step. That half step was the difference in you not being able to stop AO's drives to the basket and execute proper box out techniques.

You call on your muscles to do things they can manage in short spurts, but over the course of the game they wear down. And on many, many ocassions, Alex took advantage of opponent's challenges

We don't sugarcoat here on The Boneyard. And speaking of sugar, tell you husband, boo or whatever your reltionship is with Alex that you can't out train poor nutrition.
 
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Considering Chuck averaged 15 minutes, can you imagine the softening that would have occured if he could play 20 or 25 minutes? The other team would look like this:
View attachment 332

Miss Oriakhi #2,

Chuck was a motivator for Alex. Everytime Alex went to the bench to regroup after making a mistake he saw Chuck playing his minutes and it forced him to get his mind together and return to action with a new purpose

This year, it's a lot different because big's talent is much, much better. Alex must accept his role.
 
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As an aside, I saw the movie Hugo yesterday. It certainly isn't a movie for everyone. But as a fan of silent movies, George Melies, and one who loves visual effects, I thought the 3D version of this movie was terrific.
Glad you liked it and am planning to see it next week.
 
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