Ricky and KFree keep your head up

[Hugo]

I don't think he could defend a guard the way Ricky could. Ricky was, as you said, the best defender of other guards I've ever seen. But step up to a small forward or PF, and Lyman was better. He was a multi-tool defender, capable of covering anyone shy of a David Robinson type on a switch.

Agree that Ricky could defend the 1/2 better than anybody I have seen, but Lyman did a really good job on Dana Barros. In fact he pretty much shut him down and Barros went on to have a decent NBA career. Ricky, Lyman and Emeka were, in MHO, the best defensive players we ever produced.

 

[Excalibur]

It was a mistake by JC, one of his few, to cater to Freeman to the detriment of the team. Freeman wanted to showcase and "prove" he could play the "3" as there were rumors he might transfer for the opp, so he changed his # to 33 and was a pump-faking savant on the perimeter his senior year. He passed up countless open shots to try and get to the rim which destroyed our offensive flow and spacing. That 99-00 should have been much better than 25-10 with Khalid, Mouring, Jake, KFree, TRob, Edmund, Ajou, Souley. We were pre-season #1 and lost to an eventual 14-16 Iowa team in our opening game and got humbled against Tennessee in the tourney with Khalid injured. That was a super disappointing year and put a great deal of the blame on KFree and JC for their experiment.

Part of the problem is that the team had no real "3" -- but it was clear that Freeman could not fill that role.

 

[Hugo]

It was a mistake by JC, one of his few, to cater to Freeman to the detriment of the team. Freeman wanted to showcase and "prove" he could play the "3" as there were rumors he might transfer for the opp, so he changed his # to 33 and was a pump-faking savant on the perimeter his senior year. He passed up countless open shots to try and get to the rim which destroyed our offensive flow and spacing. That 99-00 should have been much better than 25-10 with Khalid, Mouring, Jake, KFree, TRob, Edmund, Ajou, Souley. We were pre-season #1 and lost to an eventual 14-16 Iowa team in our opening game and got humbled against Tennessee in the tourney with Khalid injured. That was a super disappointing year and put a great deal of the blame on KFree and JC for their experiment.

Yet you can make the argument that Edmund was a decent 4 and we had nobody who could play the 3. This way we had serviceable 3 in KFREE and an up and coming 4 in Edmund on the floor together. It just never worked out as expected.

 

[Chief00]

I recall that after Rip left, Calhoun did allow Freeman to play some on the wing, rather than as an undersized power forward, to improve his next level chances. Don't remember him at guard.

Confirmed. He did not have an outside shot or wing skills - so it wasn’t a successful experiment. Jim would never admit it but he did it I think to try to help his draft situation.

 

[businesslawyer]

I agree and have said so many times. I like to compare it to having Deion Sanders in his prime. You could choose one guy on the other side and know that there was no way he was going to affect the outcome of the game.

If you didn't watch the game, and just looked at the box score the next morning, you could easily determine whether Ricky was guarding the 1 or the 2 that day just by looking at their respective numbers.

 

[boog204]

Part of the problem is that the team had no real "3" -- but it was clear that Freeman could not fill that role.

Doug Wrenn should have been an absolute stud here... JC once said (pre-Sticks, but he wasn't a Big East caliber athlete) that he was the most athletic player he ever had.

You are right, but it should have been apparent early on that KFree was barely serviceable and him on the wing was detrimental from a perimeter shooting and ballhandling perspective. That year just never clicked.

 

[Excalibur]

Doug Wrenn should have been an absolute stud here... JC once said (pre-Sticks, but he wasn't a Big East caliber athlete) that he was the most athletic player he ever had.

You are right, but it should have been apparent early on that KFree was barely serviceable and him on the wing was detrimental from a perimeter shooting and ballhandling perspective. That year just never clicked.

They seemed to figure it out by the end, winning their last 3 games and making a run to the Big East finals. Absent Khalid's injury, I think they would have had a shot to get back to the Final Four as the bracket had really opened up for them.

 

[RMoore1999]

Agree that Ricky could defend the 1/2 better than anybody I have seen, but Lyman did a really good job on Dana Barros. In fact he pretty much shut him down and Barros went on to have a decent NBA career. Ricky, Lyman and Emeka were, in MHO, the best defensive players we ever produced.

Yep. Then Thabeet and Boat. And Nadav was the ultimate assassin...

 

[Jaker]

Ricky will end up on Calhouns staff

 

[Deadrody]

Yet you can make the argument that Edmund was a decent 4 and we had nobody who could play the 3. This way we had serviceable 3 in KFREE and an up and coming 4 in Edmund on the floor together. It just never worked out as expected.

Come on. Who was going to play the 3 that year??!?! They did as well as could be expected and who knows how far they go in the tournament if KEA doesn't hurt his ankle.