OT: Lukas Kisunas recruiting update

[intlzncster]

You brought up the Carlton to Nolan comparisons, not me. Carlton is not as whimpy as you make him out to be (@ 6'9 & 240 he's not starving). Comparing Josh Carlton to JA makes no sense. Completely different players. Scratch that out. JA was great. Totally different bodies. AO showed up @ UConn a bit chubby but a "5 Star" recruit & was in foul trouble equally as Carlton. AO was more athletic than Carlton may ever be but AO never lived up to his potential & left on a sour note. Carlton already shows more touch than AO ever had. Again different players.... Carlton needs to work on his body, yes, but it's more to tone up, than bulk up.

He looked small against the vast majority of front courts this year. And he got pushed around. How does he not need to work on his strength/size? If he doesn't he'll be an after thought again.

Not once this year did I say to myself, "man, Carlton is manhandling those guys down low".

 

[superjohn]

Yeah, I mean I'm surprised at the pushback. I guess compared to Brimah, Facey, and Durham we are good.

Maybe it was just me who watched him get pushed all over the court last year.

He got pushed off his spot constantly and so many times he would have the ball and another guy would get their hands on it and Carlton would just crumble. Strength is a huge issue for him right now, it's been a problem for the whole team in recent years. Fixing that is a major priority for Hurley.

 

[EastConn'er]

He looked small against the vast majority of front courts this year. And he got pushed around. How does he not need to work on his strength/size? If he doesn't he'll be an after thought again.

Not once this year did I say to myself, man, Carlton is man handling those guys down low.

6'9" & 240 looks small to you? Really? He got into foul trouble, because he was out of position often, not because of his size. He didn't get pushed around because most teams don't have players bigger than him. News Flash: At age 19, he will not grow any taller. He can develop his body to become more athletic & quicker. He doesn't need more weight at 6'9" & 240 lb.

 

[Horatio]

That's not exactly a high bar (Brimah, Chuck O and crew...).

But when you compare to damn near every other decent team, it's a different story.

I know but no program has gotten more out of " twigs" than UConn. Deandre, Rip, Amida, Charles O, Nolan, etc. we're all twigs but all champions.

 

[80shusky]

I love Phil. Carlton has more potential as a post player. Of course he could use more strength to hold position. He has nice moves around the basket offensively and should get better. In games when they actually threw him the ball in the post he aquitted himself well. Granted a lot of that was in junk time when we were getting blown out but with some seasoning I think he'll make a nice post player if the guards give him the darn ball in a position to score.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

That's not exactly a high bar (Brimah, Chuck O and crew...).

But when you compare to damn near every other decent team, it's a different story.

Let’s see Brimah was the best Big post JC . So an upgrade from him is not bad.

 

[intlzncster]

6'9" & 240 looks small to you? Really? He got into foul trouble, because he was out of position often, not because of his size. He didn't get pushed around because most teams don't have players bigger than him. News Flash: At age 19, he will not grow any taller. He can develop his body to become more athletic & quicker. He doesn't need more weight at 6'9" & 240 lb.

I'd like him at 250. Cut 10lbs, and then add that 20lbs of muscle. Again, that's because he needs more strength. If you didn't see him getting pushed off the spot, like @superjohn said above, then we weren't watching the same games.

There were plenty of guys his size or bigger. Especially on the better teams (MSU, Zona et al). Nobody cares about the Tulane's of the world.

You see Patric Young here? He was 6'10 247 in the picture to the right. And no, I don't expect Josh to look exactly like him, but that relative level of transformation is what I'd like to see.

 

[EastConn'er]

He got pushed off his spot constantly and so many times he would have the ball and another guy would get their hands on it and Carlton would just crumble. Strength is a huge issue for him right now, it's been a problem for the whole team in recent years. Fixing that is a major priority for Hurley.

Half of Carlton's foul's were offensive because he extended his arms to far into the defender, which is why he ended up on the bench so early most games he started. The other half of his fouls were defensive because he was out of position. He didn't get into foul trouble because he was pushed around.

 

[intlzncster]

Half of Carlton's foul's were offensive because he extended his arms to far into the defender, which is why he ended up on the bench so early most games he started. The other half of his fouls were defensive because he was out of position. He didn't get into foul trouble because he was pushed around.

Nobody's talking about fouls. We're talking about controlling space, out muscling guys, not getting backed down, ripping balls out, bulldozing through fouls, etc etc.

 

[EastConn'er]

I'd like him at 250. Cut 10lbs, and then add that 20lbs of muscle. Again, that's because he needs more strength. If you didn't see him getting pushed off the spot, like @superjohn said above, then we weren't watching the same games.

There were plenty of guys his size or bigger. Especially on the better teams (MSU, Zona et al). Nobody cares about the Tulane's of the world.

You see Patric Young here? He was 6'10 247 in the picture to the right. And no, I don't expect Josh to look like him, but that kind of transformation is what I'd like to see.

Wow, just Wow... So now Carlton needs to look like MMA fighter to an effective college basketball player for UConn? My bad. I didn't realize we need a Body by Jake & MMA skills to be a skilled college Post Player! I guess I thought we needed a player to rebound, score in the paint, not commit fouls constantly... You win this one!

19 yo Carlton has A LOT of work ahead of him.... It's nice we keep judging a 19 yo kid to 24 yo's who graduated from college 2-3 yo's ago...

 

[superjohn]

Half of Carlton's foul's were offensive because he extended his arms to far into the defender, which is why he ended up on the bench so early most games he started. The other half of his fouls were defensive because he was out of position. He didn't get into foul trouble because he was pushed around.

Haven't said a word about his propensity to foul, just that he's physically weak and it hurt his game this season. If you couldn't see that I don't know what to tell you.

 

[EastConn'er]

Nobody's talking about fouls. We're talking about controlling space, out muscling guys, not getting backed down, ripping balls out, bulldozing through fouls, etc etc.

Right.... try watching the games again. Are you talking about him getting backed down by players who weigh less than him? Comical!!! His fouls are because he's always out of position, not because he's strong enough. He's been a magnet for touch fouls... Geezzzz...

 

[Walker11]

This is hilarious that we can't even agree if Carlton, a guy we watched all year, is actually small or big. Count me in the camp that thinks he needs to put on a lot of girth. Here's a free hint to a certain poster - listed heights and weight do not equal actual heights and weight. Go by what is obvious to the eye, not what you read. Another hint - we all really like Carlton so stop taking this as a slight.

 

[intlzncster]

Wow, just Wow... So now Carlton needs to look like MMA fighter to an effective college basketball player for UConn? My bad. I didn't realize we need a Body by Jake & MMA skills to be a skilled college Post Player! I guess I thought we needed a player to rebound, score in the paint, not commit fouls constantly... You win this one!

Nobody said any of those things, nor close to it, but ok.

19 yo Carlton has A LOT of work ahead of him.... It's nice we keep judging a 19 yo kid to 24 yo's who graduated from college 2-3 yo's ago...

In 2013, Patric was 21 years old. So that's Josh 2 years from now.

 

[EastConn'er]

Haven't said a word about his propensity to foul, just that he's physically weak and it hurt his game this season. If you couldn't see that I don't know what to tell you.

LOL - He's not weak, @ 240 lbs, he's been the biggest guy we've had in a while (minus Cobb & DO weight). He just gets into foul trouble easily because he's constantly out of position on defense (and often offense). Please explain a simple instance he got into foul trouble because he was weak. Foot speed, quickness & ups are Carlton's biggest weakness. He needs to improve his foot work & redefine his body, but his strength is there at his weight. Heck, 3/4th of the 2018 NBA draft players are weaker than Carlton.

 

[superjohn]

LOL - He's not weak, @ 240 lbs, he's been the biggest guy we've had in a while (minus Cobb & DO weight). He just gets into foul trouble easily because he's constantly out of position on defense (and often offense). Please explain a simple instance he got into foul trouble because he was weak. Foot speed, quickness & ups are Carlton's biggest weakness. He needs to improve his foot work & redefine his body, but his strength is there at his weight. Heck, 3/4th of the 2018 NBA draft players are weaker than Carlton.

How many times do I have to tell you I think he's physically weak. You can talk all you want about Carlton being bigger and stronger than pretty much everyone we play and being stronger than 3/4ths of players in the draft and I can think you don't have a clue what you're talking about.

There was a video at the start of the season and putting up 155 lb. was a struggle for him.

Also why do you keep bringing up foul trouble when neither myself or intlzncster ever once mentioned his lack of strength being a reason he was foul prone?

 

[EastConn'er]

Nobody said any of those things, nor close to it, but ok.

In 2013, Patric was 21 years old. So that's Josh 2 years from now.

I'm at a loss why you continue to bring up college basketball players that are nothing like Josh Carlton. Nolan? Adrien? Now Patric Young? Carlton will never be an athletic player, but he has offensive skills. He's a grinder, he's a banger. He has flaws, but he needs to get better foot speed & not get lost on defense. He can improve on that. Time to stop making Carlton into something he's not (or can ever be), but time to seeing his potential to someone he can be....

 

[champs99and04]

Diarra is only 6'6. My point was Oriakhi looked like a bodybuilder compared to Carlton. Josh's big problems are lack of explosiveness and he's physically weak. All our bigs are projects.

I know, but A) he was a freshman, and B) if we're using Oriakhi as our reference point, that's going to be true for a lot of players.

Perhaps we differ on the term project. A project is not somebody who is physically weak as a freshman. A project is somebody like Majok who can be concussed by the ball at any time.

Everything about Carlton - from how he was recruited to how he should develop - seems normal. He's almost the exact opposite of what I would consider to be a project.

 

[EastConn'er]

How many times do I have to tell you I think he's physically weak. You can talk all you want about Carlton being bigger and stronger than pretty much everyone we play and being stronger than 3/4ths of players in the draft and I can think you don't have a clue what you're talking about.

There was a video at the start of the season and putting up 155 lb. was a struggle for him.

LOL - You are crazy! Doubt Carlton struggled to put up 155 lbs. but please share it. I'm intrigued. You love to run your mouth on here. Let me guess, Kevin Durant sucks too because he struggled to lift 155 lbs too! LOL Strength is not Carlton's issue. Foot speed is, especially with today's touch rules.

 

[AntG168]

LOL - You are crazy! Doubt Carlton struggled to put up 155 lbs. but please share it. I'm intrigued. You love to run your mouth on here. Let me guess, Kevin Durant sucks too because he struggled to lift 155 lbs too! LOL Strength is not Carlton's issue. Foot speed is, especially with today's touch rules.

Kevin Durant isn’t effected because he’s s 6’11 shooting guard

 

[Huskybass]

LOL - You are crazy! Doubt Carlton struggled to put up 155 lbs. but please share it. I'm intrigued. You love to run your mouth on here. Let me guess, Kevin Durant sucks too because he struggled to lift 155 lbs too! LOL Strength is not Carlton's issue. Foot speed is, especially with today's touch rules.

Josh is a player with a lot of promise. He needs to learn how to avoid getting in foul trouble AND he needs to get stronger if he wants to succeed against the bigs on tournament caliber teams. That shouldn't be that hard to understand.

 

[superjohn]

LOL - You are crazy! Doubt Carlton struggled to put up 155 lbs. but please share it. I'm intrigued. You love to run your mouth on here. Let me guess, Kevin Durant sucks too because he struggled to lift 155 lbs too! LOL Strength is not Carlton's issue. Foot speed is, especially with today's touch rules.

Your posts are making less and less sense.

 

[intlzncster]

LOL - He's not weak, @ 240 lbs, he's been the biggest guy we've had in a while (minus Cobb & DO weight). but his strength is there at his weight..... Heck, 3/4th of the 2018 NBA draft players are weaker than Carlton.

Weight is not equal to strength. Dennis Rodman was one of the strongest players in the NBA during his time and he was 6'7 220.

I'm at a loss why you continue to bring up college basketball players that are nothing like Josh Carlton. Nolan? Adrien? Now Patric Young? Carlton will never be an athletic player, but he has offensive skills. He's a grinder, he's a banger. He has flaws, but he needs to get better foot speed & not get lost on defense. He can improve on that. Time to stop making Carlton into something he's not (or can ever be), but time to seeing his potential to someone he can be....

I never brought up any of those guys regarding skill, or style of play, or fouling. You did. I never even brought up JC's skills at all.

I'm talking purely about physique and strength.

Carlton is not an athlete, nor is he a finesse player. I'll use your words he's "a banger". He's going to have to rely on fundamentals and physicality. He needs to seriously improve that physicality. A long with all the other stuff.

 

[intlzncster]

I feel like we need some of the ol' Chief "power strength" thrown in here for good measure.

Josh needs more "power strength", not yoga and scientific theories.

 

[Ewekon]

Looks like the Blaze strategy is making its way to the desert.

The blaze strategy existed in 1 person's mind.