Josh Carlton

[UConnSwag11]

DeMatha big man Josh Carlton is a relic — and a major asset — in the paint

 

[pj]

DeMatha big man Josh Carlton is a relic — and a major asset — in the paint

Good news that he can get up and down the court quickly & keep up with a fast-paced game. Great hands, great feet is good to hear too. This kid has the tools UConn needs.

 

[mauconnfan]

Never know, kids getting better all the time. Hopefully understands the game coming and things come naturally so he is immediately coachable.

Looks like someone who will be a real nice 4 year player, maybe more than that up to him. Needs to hit the weights a little seems to have some good natural strength already added muscle could make the difference.

 

[ctchamps]

Never know, kids getting better all the time. Hopefully understands the game coming and things come naturally so he is immediately coachable.

Looks like someone who will be a real nice 4 year player, maybe more than that up to him. Needs to hit the weights a little seems to have some good natural strength already added muscle could make the difference.

Looks like he's got a good frame to bulk up. Hopefully he can do so without losing his agility and speed.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

We should train this kid to be the next Kevin Durant. We could use Kevin Durant on next years team

 

[pnow15]

We should train this kid to be the next Kevin Durant. We could use Kevin Durant on next years team

Right. One and done if he is the next Durant.

 

[QDOG5]

We should train this kid to be the next Kevin Durant. We could use Kevin Durant on next years team

Kemba, we've been asking for a low post presence with good hands and rebounding ability and you want him to go outside and shoot a bunch of 3's? I love KD but he ain't coming. Let's develop a banger in the point and let others shoot 3's. How's the dribbling coming along, btw?

 

[UConNation]

Kemba, we've been asking for a low post presence with good hands and rebounding ability and you want him to go outside and shoot a bunch of 3's? I love KD but he ain't coming. Let's develop a banger in the point and let others shoot 3's. How's the dribbling coming along, btw?

Sarcasm guys, sarcasm...

 

[pj]

Kemba, we've been asking for a low post presence with good hands and rebounding ability and you want him to go outside and shoot a bunch of 3's? I love KD but he ain't coming. Let's develop a banger in the point and let others shoot 3's. How's the dribbling coming along, btw?

Agreed. Kevin Durant would be nice but we really need Kevin Garnett and Kevin McHale. Kevin Ollie, get it done.

 

[jibsey]

Hands. We really could use that down low, a player catching the ball.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

Kemba, we've been asking for a low post presence with good hands and rebounding ability and you want him to go outside and shoot a bunch of 3's? I love KD but he ain't coming. Let's develop a banger in the point and let others shoot 3's. How's the dribbling coming along, btw?

Better thanks. Been creating my own shot, more confidence in my game. Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[Pudge]

I think we found a underrated gem in Carlton. He will develop ... and I expect we will give him our BY patience. of course

 

[Matrim55]

I think we found a underrated gem in Carlton. He will develop .. and I expect we will give him our BY patience. of course

He's got a great old man game around the hoop, it seems. I do worry about his lack of lift & no quick second jump – those things can & will limit his rebounding ability against D1 athletes, as has happened with Enoch (who also has a great body and great hands, but terrible rebounding #s).

 

[husky429]

He's got a great old man game around the hoop, it seems. I do worry about his lack of lift & no quick second jump – those things can & will limit his rebounding ability against D1 athletes, as has happened with Enoch (who also has a great body and great hands, but terrible rebounding #s).

Do you think it's Enoch's lift that is his problem? Honest question, because I'm not sure. Lateral speed is definitely a problem to me, but I haven't seen lift as the issue one way or the other.

I've always seen it as high lack of court awareness and touch that impact his ability to board. Half the time he doesn't even notice a shot has gone up on either end.

 

[Matrim55]

Do you think it's Enoch's lift that is his problem? Honest question, because I'm not sure. Lateral speed is definitely a problem to me, but I haven't seen lift as the issue one way or the other.

I've always seen it as high lack of court awareness and touch that impact his ability to board. Half the time he doesn't even notice a shot has gone up on either end.

Lateral quickness is definitely not his strong suit, but even that could be compensated for if he was quicker off his feet. Give him a head of steam and a clear runway and he can be borderline dominant, but without that – and 90% of the game is played without that – he's subpar. He's not "bouncy," to use a scouting term.

As you point out, his court awareness is really limited as well, and you can tell he picked up the game very late. Lots of big guys can be good rebounders or paint protectors just by being in the right place at the right time (Tim Duncan over the final 6 or 7 years of his career, when he couldn't jump, is the perfect example of this), but Enoch's nowhere close to that.

In a perfect world he'd have done another prep year at STM and be a redshirt freshman for us this year with Govan as our starting center, but our world hasn't been perfect for a long time. Perhaps if we do get a postgrad or JuCo big man, we can redshirt Enoch next year because it does seem like he's 1) got a ton of tools, but 2) is multiple years away from putting it all together.

The good news is that I've never seen a lack of effort from him, nor heard of the same. Hopefully he's next in the Hilton/Gavin/Kentan list of guys who have drastically improved senior seasons.

 

[Pudge]

He's got a great old man game around the hoop, it seems. I do worry about his lack of lift & no quick second jump – those things can & will limit his rebounding ability against D1 athletes, as has happened with Enoch (who also has a great body and great hands, but terrible rebounding #s).

These are two diametrically opposed skillsets.

Enoch problem - IMHO - is his lack of experience and low BB IQ. He simply needs to play a whole lot more and think a whole lot better. You may be looking at a kid that is really not destined to really feel the game until mid 20s. His hands? IMHO - his hands are big and sure and quick. He is athletic and can jump. He doesn't box out better than me ... and I am past 50.

If Carlton has a old man's game - and I see some of that in the film I have watched - he is in a different category than Enoch. Gary Clark of Cincinnati, I think, has an old man's game. You understand positioning and rotational positioning. When a Guard enters the lane, you read the flow. You know or guess where the pass will be or where the shot will come off. This? I don't think Enoch shows me that piece. Carlton, actually, has some refined post moves which is unusual for a kid playing against far shorter kids. He is rising ... and has improved since we saw him in September.

 

[Matrim55]

These are two diametrically opposed skillsets.

1) No they're not, and 2) I was referring to Carlton's offense re: old man game.

Gary Clark of Cincinnati, I think, has an old man's game. You understand positioning and rotational positioning.

Clark is a wildly explosive athlete – I don't think there's a better above-the-rim rebounder in college basketball. He is the polar opposite of both Enoch & Carlton in that regard.

 

[Pudge]

1) No they're not, and 2) I was referring to Carlton's offense re: old man game.


Clark is a wildly explosive athlete – I don't think there's a better above-the-rim rebounder in college basketball. He is the polar opposite of both Enoch & Carlton in that regard.

When I watch Gary Clark ... I don't think wildly explosive.

I love how the ball just seems to find him. He thinks the game. He is not exploding over top CBB Bigs and dominating the glass. He is not driving the ball to the rim and dunking all the time nor is he grabbing boards as you state. He is above the norm athleticism. But, I think the sweetest thing about him is he knows the game.

NOTE - just watched the YOUTUBE highlights of Gary Clark's sophomore year. Still think the same. He is skilled and always consistent. But no more brilliance in athleticism than another 6-8 guy. He can dunk.

 

[Brochacho]

I think we found a underrated gem in Carlton. He will develop .. and I expect we will give him our BY patience. of course

I'm excited about him too. I think Carlton has the potential to develop a game over 4 seasons that resembles Al Horford.

 

[UConnStats]

Tough to rely on any freshman big man, especially one that was a late bloomer at the HS level. Enoch was a late bloomer too, and at this point a late bloomer is what we're hoping he'll be in college.

I like Carlton for what he is, a willing passer with broad shoulders and solid hands. I still want an experienced 5 to be added to the roster. Slower bigs foul a ton as freshman and Carlton has not developed any semblance of a jumper nor is he a remotely good FT shooter.

 

[bazzdog]

I've said this before-Carlton is light years ahead of Enoch right now and will play more next year than people here think. I like the comparison to Gary Clark athletically but Carlton will never be the shooter that Clark is. But we don't need him to shoot-we need him to score in the low post and rebound.

 

[pnow15]

Carlton the next Purvis Ellison.

 

[Matrim55]

NOTE - just watched the YOUTUBE highlights of Gary Clark's sophomore year. Still think the same. He is skilled and always consistent. But no more brilliance in athleticism than another 6-8 guy. He can dunk.

He dunks pretty much everything when he's around the hoop because he's so quick off his feet, and he's one of the best undersized shot-blockers in the country for the same reason.

His post "moves" consist of one thing: Back a guy down, and a quick-rise baby hook. Everything he does is predicated on his athleticism, while Carlton appears to be much more of a technician.

EDIT: You know who Carlton reminds me of, based on those highlights and the two games I've watched? A right-handed Billy Curley.

 

[Matrim55]

Now I'm talking myself into him being our Nikola Jokic. Obviously that's crazy, but I feel like this thread is good place to dump this link from SI on the dude: The Joker: Nikola Jokic gets serious in Denver

Top 5 fun player in the league to watch, and a perfect example of how a great passing big-man can transform a team. Carlton certainly looks like he's got floor vision far more advanced than any big we've brought in since... really, since I don't know when. Beyond anything else about him, that's what I'm most excited about.

 

[nomar]

Now I'm talking myself into him being our Nikola Jokic. Obviously that's crazy, but I feel like this thread is good place to dump this link from SI on the dude: The Joker: Nikola Jokic gets serious in Denver

Top 5 fun player in the league to watch, and a perfect example of how a great passing big-man can transform a team. Carlton certainly looks like he's got floor vision far more advanced than any big we've brought in since.. really, since I don't know when. Beyond anything else about him, that's what I'm most excited about.

I've been watching a lot of Nuggets games. Jokic is gonna be an absolute top-tier superstar. So fun to watch and he makes his teammates better.