He simply is - or at least is on the cusp of becoming - a damn good college basketball player. In other words, he's about as good a player as you are going to find who is pretty much a lock to play four years. It will remain to be seen how good he gets, but for now he's definitely a player I could see being in the mix for all-conference in a league like the A-10. He'll probably be third or fourth in the pecking order here, for this season at least, but he's just a really solid all-around player who knows the game and can put the ball in the basket.
I don't really think ten threes is too many for him so long as they're within the flow of the offense - there were maybe one or two tonight you'd have preferred he hold off on, but one of the bad misses was late in the shot clock and you have to give your guys at least a little freedom to find their rhythm. As much as you want your offense to be a methodical machine that churns out A+ shots every possession, you're not going to be able to censor every thought or instinct your players have.
Tangentially, I find that he and Adams complement each other better than do Adams and Gilbert. Adams and Vital are more comfortable together, plus their skill sets simply align more at this point in time. Vital is more somebody who spots up - and has grown subtly adept at drifting to open space in concert with Adams' drives - and can take you off the bounce as a one cut, single read guy from the perimeter. Gilbert is more wired to have the ball in his hands and probe until an initial rift opens up. They'll figure it out in time, and I'm certainly not suggesting that they can't play together, but I don't think it's a coincidence that we made our run in the first half with Adams/Vital/Anderson/Larrier/Carlton. Roles are more solidified with that group on the floor.
