Oriakhi just may be....

[sammydabiz]

the softest Big Man i've seen in awhile. Don't get me wrong I hate bagging on college kids, let alone one of my beloved huskies, but enough is enough Alex! Grow a pair, and start taking names and kicking ass, i know he can do it (Texas last year) but he seriously got b!tched by that Abrams guy on Arkansas all day today. thank god he doesnt play football cause the only posistion i could see him play is punter.

PS- Boatright is just siiiiiick, already my favorite player on the squad

 

[3rdbass]

AO played hard lay off the kid. He gave us good minutes. He is what he is a guy who can fight inside and give us a few points. He isn't Kareem or Wilt down low like some people think he can develop into. Every once in awhile when his shot is falling he will have a big game. I like the effort I saw on there and Calhoun rewarded him with the minutes. That guy on Arkansas had him by at least 20 pounds.

 

[tzznandrew]

Get out of here. The kid is a good player. He's dominated teams in the past and come up HUGE in key games.

Right now I think he's struggling with the idea of coming off the bench.

 

[3rdbass]

I like what I saw from him today. Look positive. Not sure what you guys were expecting. Now AD looked lost out there today.

 

[3rdbass]

Also, I loved seeing TO hitting the outside shot at the top of the key. If he can continue to do that he will stay a starter the rest of the year as that is good to have to offset either AO or AD down low.

 

[Vehcoo23]

He played hard today and if he plays like that, i'd like to keep him on the court. Although we got DESTROYED in the offensive rebound category, still happy with him. It looked like the guards were trying to get him involved a little more. The Boatright pass to him was filthy. Hopefully AO is happy.

 

[Gurleyman]

Soft is the wrong word for him. He doesn't mind throwing his body around, and he's going to have days when he dominates the middle. If he has a consistent fault, it's that he just doesn't seem to be instinctual enough - if there's a deflection on a loose ball or a crazy carom, it's usually not going to end up in his hands. He did not miss his calling as a hockey goalie. Similarly, if his first move is taken away on offense, he tends to just stick with that first move and throw something at the rim through the defender.

 

[high-post]

He's getting hacked and slapped by the other team the whole damn game and it isn't called very often. He also gets whistled for physical play that isn't outside the bounds of what's allowed within the rules, especially when you compare it with the physicality of the NBA.
I don't like that he seems to do the whole "raise arms up and look towards official in shock" thing, but I think he played alright today and generally has a pretty thankless job.
I'm more worried about Drummond's apparent cluelessness at this point.

 

[3rdbass]

Like I said guys the effort was there even if the results weren't all that great. That is all you can ask for. He will have a better game if he keeps playing hard like today.

 

[high-post]

Soft is the wrong word for him. He doesn't mind throwing his body around, and he's going to have days when he dominates the middle. If he has a consistent fault, it's that he just doesn't seem to be instinctual enough - if there's a deflection on a loose ball or a crazy carom, it's usually not going to end up in his hands. He did not miss his calling as a hockey goalie. Similarly, if his first move is taken away on offense, he tends to just stick with that first move and throw something at the rim through the defender.

This is probably the best assessment of his game I've seen so far.

 

[SlicinNDyson11]

He made some improvements today but i feel too many on this board give him a pass. He's a junior now and is still struggling offensively and his rebouding this year has regressed. He can still turn it around it's early but i feel like his post moves haven't gotten any better, he's seems like a good kid but i can see why some are frustrated with him.

 

[Rico444]

He's getting hacked and slapped by the other team the whole damn game and it isn't called very often. He also gets whistled for physical play that isn't outside the bounds of what's allowed within the rules, especially when you compare it with the physicality of the NBA. I don't like that he seems to do the whole "raise arms up and look towards official in shock" thing, but I think he played alright today and generally has a pretty thankless job.
I'm more worried about Drummond's apparent cluelessness at this point.

He needs to get angry. When that stuff happens, he seems to pout a little bit. I don't want him having that reaction. I'd rather see him throw his man down to the ground -- I loved it when he did that today! If he can give us 30 minutes of that intensity, he's going to do better.

 

[Rico444]

Like I said guys the effort was there even if the results weren't all that great. That is all you can ask for. He will have a better game if he keeps playing hard like today.

I do agree with this. I don't doubt his heart at all.

 

[sammydabiz]

AO played hard lay off the kid. He gave us good minutes. He is what he is a guy who can fight inside and give us a few points. He isn't Kareem or Wilt down low like some people think he can develop into. Every once in awhile when his shot is falling he will have a big game. I like the effort I saw on there and Calhoun rewarded him with the minutes. That guy on Arkansas had him by at least 20 pounds.

say what you want but the man is soft period....i could care less if his shot is falling, his part on his this team is not to be a scoring threat. His job is to an enforcer plain and simple... and establish his dominance in the paint. He gets pushed aound with ease down low giving up boards that should be his. Jeff Adrian wasnt that big either but he made himself known down low banging with the trees. Like I said before I wouldn't be that critical if i knew he couldnt do it......

 

[tzznandrew]

He's getting hacked and slapped by the other team the whole damn game and it isn't called very often. He also gets whistled for physical play that isn't outside the bounds of what's allowed within the rules, especially when you compare it with the physicality of the NBA.
I don't like that he seems to do the whole "raise arms up and look towards official in shock" thing, but I think he played alright today and generally has a pretty thankless job.
I'm more worried about Drummond's apparent cluelessness at this point.

Last game AD had 12 pts, 10 rebs, 7 blks, and 3 stls. I'm not too concerned about one game.

 

[Scot-e]

He played hard today. I thought he made a good jump forward today. That Abron dude was clubbing him like a baby seal. If any big man looked a little soft it was AD today. I was screaming at my TV "get under the basket" all game. He really did not seem to have his head in the game.

 

[tzznandrew]

say what you want but the man is soft period....i could care less if his shot is falling, his part on his this team is not to be a scoring threat. His job is to an enforcer plain and simple... and establish his dominance in the paint. He gets pushed aound with ease down low giving up boards that should be his. Jeff Adrian wasnt that big either but he made himself known down low banging with the trees. Like I said before I wouldn't be that critical if i knew he couldnt do it......

Sorry. Anyone who has averaged nearly 10 rpg is not soft. Adrien averaged .1 rpg more his sophomore year than did AO (9.6 as a sophomore for AO, 9.7 for JA). The issue is his struggle on offense.

 

[3rdbass]

Scote I agree about AD. He really look like he was just playing through the motions today. No real effort and too many rebounds went through his hands. If you could combined TO with AD you would have the perfect inside man. LOL.

 

[Prezidint]

the softest Big Man . . . blah blah blah

I made a commitment when I reupped here that I wouldn't blast people. I make an exception for you.

Go duck yourself.

Alex was great today. He was hammering with a guy his height and 15 pounds heavier for 30 something minutes and he was close to a double double.

Well done Alex.

 

[Prezidint]

but i feel like his post moves haven't gotten any better

There's nothing in stone that says they should have.
Why must every player show a 20% improvement each year lest they be branded a bust/failure/under-achiever.

He was close to a DD in just over 30 minutes today, and he battled a big goon the whole time.

WELL DONE, and I'll TAKE IT.

 

[tzznandrew]

nyhuskyfan (where is he?) said something that I think is important:

In sports, progress isn't always linear.

Every game won't always be better than the previous. Every season won't always be a certain percentage better than the previous. But that doesn't mean there isn't improvement.

 

[sammydabiz]

I made a commitment when I reupped here that I wouldn't blast people. I make an exception for you.

Go duck yourself.

Alex was great today. He was hammering with a guy his height and 15 pounds heavier for 30 something minutes and he was close to a double double.

Well done Alex.

Woooooow, lmao

Now if Oriakhi, was as half as tough as you are, i wouldnt have a problem. But sadly he gets beat consistently, I dont doubt his heart, I just doubt if he has a pair sometimes..... I call'em like i see'em.

Awesome post by the way, "tough guy"

 

[SlicinNDyson11]

There's nothing in stone that says they should have.
Why must every player show a 20% improvement each year lest they be branded a bust/failure/under-achiever.

He was close to a DD in just over 30 minutes today, and he battled a big goon the whole time.

WELL DONE, and I'll TAKE IT.

No one is saying Alex is a bust but the argument that it is ok he hasn't improved his post game during his time here is questionable, the man doesn't even have a solid hook shot he can go to it seems hes worked more on his jumper than his post moves to me which is frustrating. I agree with you he played much better today but the fact his post moves have essentially improved very little since his freshman year is very frustrating, look at Olander's improvement in a matter of a year i expect Alex to atleast make this type of improvement in his time but i haven't seen it.

 

[3rdbass]

Woooooow, lmao

Now if Oriakhi, was as half as tough as you are, i wouldnt have a problem. But sadly he gets beat consistently, I dont doubt his heart, I just doubt if he has a pair sometimes..... I call'em like i see'em.

Awesome post by the way, "tough guy"

Why didn't you question AD as he looked totally lost out there and rebounds were going through his hands constantly. AO actually played pretty good against a guy who outweighed him by 20 lbs.

 

[UChusky916]

Sammydabiz your posts are pretty non-fact based and then you cry when someone calls u out? you can't expect to make an idiotic post and not get slammed. Prezident is right, AO played well considering they didn't make an effort to pound the ball inside, AO had a fine game.