Oriakhi just may be....

[sammydabiz]

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.

Dont get me wrong i'm really not trying to bag on Alex, i just felt it needed to be said. The reason i didnt say much about AD is because he's a freshman, and I havent seen him truly dominate the post yet in his young career. So I cant get pissed at a kid that hasnt shown the ability to do those things. However unfortunately for Alex I HAVE seen him dominate the paint and impose his will on others, no matter the weight difference. Call me crazy but I get frustrated when a palyer doesn't play to his potential. He's way better than what he has shown this season, because he is playing soft.

 

[sammydabiz]

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.

Who's crying ?!?!?
God forbid a fan is unbiased in his opinion, you all are too much, lol Take the blinders off

 

[high-post]

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.

Alex's jumpshot is significantly better now than it was last year. It looks like he's been working on his weaknesses considering he already came in with a fair amount of polish on his post moves. It's his touch around the rim that's actually been the issue, something that is pretty hard for some big guys.
And how often does Alex get to iso 1 on 1 in the low block anyway? He usually gets double teamed. When he does get single teamed it usually results in a trip to the line, bare minimum.
Contrast that with Olander who is a lefty (which in the post is a major advantage) and is being asked to play to his strengths (that open shot around the foul line) and it's not really a fair comparison at all. Olander doesn't receive the ball in the low post with much frequency and he plays a totally different role, offensively and defensively. I like that Olander has become more assertive and aggressive, but it's really apples and oranges considering Olander never plays the center role.

 

[OneManWolfpack]

I won't say he's soft but there was something about him during the game at times that made me question his effort. Idk maybe he was getting a little fatigue banging with the Ark Bigs

 

[SlicinNDyson11]

Alex's jumpshot is significantly better now than it was last year. It looks like he's been working on his weaknesses considering he already came in with a fair amount of polish on his post moves. It's his touch around the rim that's actually been the issue, something that is pretty hard for some big guys.
And how often does Alex get to iso 1 on 1 in the low block anyway? He usually gets double teamed. When he does get single teamed it usually results in a trip to the line, bare minimum.
Contrast that with Olander who is a lefty (which in the post is a major advantage) and is being asked to play to his strengths (that open shot around the foul line) and it's not really a fair comparison at all. Olander doesn't receive the ball in the low post with much frequency and he plays a totally different role, offensively and defensively. I like that Olander has become more assertive and aggressive, but it's really apples and oranges considering Olander never plays the center role.

Disagree when AO goes 1 on 1 sometimes he'll go to the line sometimes he'll throw one of those awkward one handed shots, my point on Olander is when he does get the ball in the post which yes isn't often but he does he's added a solid hook shot that was non existent last year. Does AO get double teamed? yes but he tends to throw up those off balanced one handed side shots too many times when he gets his one on one.

 

[UCHuskies08]

You hate bagging on college kids, but make a thread calling a UConn National Champion the softest big man you've ever seen (and as Gurley pointed out - it's an uninformed opinion to boot).

Makes tons of sense, bro.

 

[Scot-e]

Who's crying ?!?!?
God forbid a fan is unbiased in his opinion, you all are too much, lol Take the blinders off

Unbiased is not the same as stupid. Your post was much closer to stupid then was a "informed unbiased opinion".

 

[sammydabiz]

Unbiased is not the same as stupid. Your post was much closer to stupid then was a "informed unbiased opinion".

theres nothing stupid or uninformed about it...... Until AO plays a full 40 w/o being a "bitch" and starts imposing his dominance on others....the soft comment STANDS. It is what it is

Man up Alex....

 

[caw]

err, dude almost had a double double and worked hard all game. This is a stupid game to call AO out on. He was fine today.

 

[sammydabiz]

err, dude almost had a double double and worked hard all game. This is a stupid game to call AO out on. He was fine today.

Maybe I just have higher expectations for the player he should be. Im not trying to be a , i'm actually quite surprised not many agree with me. I was screaming at him through the screen the whole game....i dont know maybe i shouldnt expect him to be dominate

 

[ctchamps]

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.

I agree with high post. By far and away the best assessment of AO I've read. If you are not nyhuskyfan you have to be related to him. Your analysis has been as good as anyone's I've read.

 

[UCHuskies08]

theres nothing stupid or uninformed about it...... Until AO plays a full 40 w/o being a "bitch" and starts imposing his dominance on others....the soft comment STANDS. It is what it is

Man up Alex....

Maybe I just have higher expectations for the player he should be. Im not trying to be a , i'm actually quite surprised not many agree with me. I was screaming at him through the screen the whole game....i dont know maybe i shouldnt expect him to be dominate

You may not be trying, but you certainly are succeeding

 

[Chief00]

Alex played fine today.

 

[Gurleyman]

I agree with high post. By far and away the best assessment of AO I've read. If you are not nyhuskyfan you have to be related to him. Your analysis has been as good as anyone's I've read.

I'm afraid you cracked the code. Don't live in ny any more, so the old handle doesn't make any sense. But I grew up on Gurleyville Road, so this one works no matter where I live.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm afraid you cracked the code. Don't live in ny any more, so the old handle doesn't make any sense. But I grew up on Gurleyville Road, so this one works no matter where I live.

I'm glad you're back and I'm sure others are thrilled as well.

 

[ctchamps]

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.

He's posting in this thread as Gurleyman.

 

[Gurleyman]

nyhuskyfan (where is he?) said something that I think is important:
In sports, progress isn't always linear.

That saying about an infinite number of monkeys comes to mind. That dude seriously had a few screws loose - he was full of gibberish most of the time, but I guess he managed to say one smart thing.

 

[Ted Kord]

I'm curious why it is AO can't seem to catch a basketball anymore. I've always rooted for him but if I was on the team, I might think twice before giving him the ball in the post. Given the minutes, he'll get his rebounds and play solid d, would've been nice to see him develop a solid post game by now. It's always seemed like he's right on the verge of having one.

 

[champs99and04]

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.

I'm not sure if others have noticed this, but how well Drummond has played thus far has resulted almost entirely on whether he can stay out of foul trouble or not. Today he picked up two early fouls and that just threw him off for the rest of the game, never seeming to get into a rhythm. He's really going to have to eliminate those dumb fouls from his game, otherwise he will probably be inconsistant all year long.

Obviously one rebound in 17 minutes isn't going to get it done, but AD seems like one of thoes guys who can go silent for stretches, and then look like the best player on the court for stretches as well. Hopefully by the end of the season we'll be getting more of the latter.

 

[UCHuskies08]

I'm not sure if others have noticed this, but how well Drummond has played thus far has resulted almost entirely on whether he can stay out of foul trouble or not. Today he picked up two early fouls and that just threw him off for the rest of the game, never seeming to get into a rhythm. He's really going to have to eliminate those dumb fouls from his game, otherwise he will probably be inconsistant all year long.

Obviously one rebound in 17 minutes isn't going to get it done, but AD seems like one of thoes guys who can go silent for stretches, and then look like the best player on the court for stretches as well. Hopefully by the end of the season we'll be getting more of the latter.

That second foul should have been called on Roscoe, too...

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I'm afraid you cracked the code. Don't live in ny any more, so the old handle doesn't make any sense. But I grew up on Gurleyville Road, so this one works no matter where I live.

You ought to join the chat again sometimes....haven't had anything quite like the dynamic duo re-writing history with Joyce about the number of losses by the '99 team. That was a classic.

Also, Gurleyman somehow seems to suit you.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I agree with high post. By far and away the best assessment of AO I've read. If you are not nyhuskyfan you have to be related to him. Your analysis has been as good as anyone's I've read.

Great call there, fleud!

 

[ctchamps]

Great call there, fleud!

I took me a couple of posts. But he had nyhuskyfan all over him. I'm glad he's back. I won't have to strain my puny brain.

 

[LRock34]

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......

If this is what you think of Alex I would love to hear what you think of Tyler O. Please tell.

 

[Waquoit]

I call'em like i see'em.

This reminds me of that old George Carlin bit when he did fake news. His sports guy said, "I call 'em the way I see 'em. And when I don't see 'em, I make 'em up!"