BTO’s Mississippi State Postgame Report

[sechamp2012]

Right now I see him unlisted in more mocks than I do appearing at all…he’s gonna have to start consistently producing and quick to go from off the board to 1st round lock which is what he’s looking for.

when I see SEC NET. Talking about top 5 SEC freshmen it’s usually Miller. Wallace,Anthony Black, Nick Smith & GG or Traore. JP seems at least right now, not getting a lot of talk in the BB circles. His name is not on a lot of tongues.

 

[walkenvol]

I’m in agreement with this. Awaka and Aidoo provide the best combo in the paint. I get that Uros is a problem for opposing players at the rim but his rebounding needs huge improvement. The production from Awake seems greater and the upside for him is far higher than UP. ON is very inconsistent.

Look at the season stats - UP and Aidoo basically rebound at the same rate. UP scores a bit more whereas Aidoo blocks more shots. UP plays better D. Awaka isn’t ready to place big minutes yet as he still gets lost on D at times and also gets confused with his role is in the Offense setting picks, etc. Why some of you keep throwing shade towards UP is not founded in reality

 

[Volfan1000]

I would agree right now, but I think he's going to play his way down the stretch into that 25-30 range. I HOPE I'm wrong, because I think Phillips could be really special next year.

Phillips would probably get James's minutes and be the focal point of this offense if he returns in 2024.

 

[walkenvol]

Spyre needs to get JP an NIL deal that makes him want to stay. JMO

 

[iVolSoHard]

Maybe the exception for Tennessee, but overall 5-star players ranked between 18-25 who actually go to college play more than 1 year over 50% of the time. Since 2017, there have been 35 players in that recruiting ranking range (247 composite) that went to college (5 didn't go to college).

1-and-done: 15 (and 6 of those went undrafted)
2+ years: 20

If you move the range a bit to guys ranked between 15-17 like Jaden Springer, it starts to move the needle more towards 1-and-done, though the sample size is too small to draw conclusions. Of the 13 players who went to college, 7 left after 1 year.

I haven't pulled the data for guys ranked higher than 15, but would imagine it starts to skew towards 1 and done pretty quickly as you approach the top 10.

As far as using the 18-25 range for your criterion, I almost think that you have to exclude the big men to get a true gauge of what percentage of players are leaving after only one year, as post players almost always take multiple years to develop unless they're already ranked in the elite range of prospects.

 

[joevols89]

JP is probably gone if he can average 12+ ppg the rest of the way.

 

[MackDaddyVol]

Josiah is a point-forward. I think he played PG in high school. Also, I think that Mashack handles the ball better than he shoots it.

Pretty much everybody can move the ball. It might not be as much of a disaster as many believe. To attack the press they’d need to be passing more and dribbling less. Even Uros has pretty good hands as a high post - he tends to be less reliable as a low post.

JJJ ran the point at Porter Gaud. Problem was, he could play every position on the court and there was NO PG in SCISA on his level to push him.

 

[Namorto1]

After the first half we had yesterday, I was frankly shocked we turned things around against a very good defensive team and the manner in which we got hot from the perimeter without either Vescovi or Key. A lot of credit to Zeigler who is one tough gritty player. He is a guy you can trust to perform when it matters in my opinion.

 

[The Vin Man]

Both his handles and shot are weak.

Agree. It seems like his game has gotten worse over time. He can’t hit anything outside of 10 feet. Inside 10 has been equally bad with the wild shots and missed layups. Maybe I’m being too critical of him for the amount of college experience. Just thought he would contribute more by now on the offensive and defensive end

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

I’ll say there’s no reason we shouldn’t be 8-1 going into the Auburn game at home. That’ll be the make or break game for us in terms of keeping up with Alabama. Ideally we need to be a 1 loss team heading into the Alabama game. We win games we are supposed to and we are a 1 loss team with our destiny in our own hands. I think we will get Kentucky back in Rupp too.

 

[cardvolfan]

After the first half we had yesterday, I was frankly shocked we turned things around against a very good defensive team and the manner in which we got hot from the perimeter without either Vescovi or Key. A lot of credit to Zeigler who is one tough gritty player. He is a guy you can trust to perform when it matters in my opinion.

8-9 from three in the 2nd half will turn it around quickly.

 

[Caculator]

Agree. It seems like his game has gotten worse over time. He can’t hit anything outside of 10 feet. Inside 10 has been equally bad with the wild shots and missed layups. Maybe I’m being too critical of him for the amount of college experience. Just thought he would contribute more by now on the offensive and defensive end

His defense keeps getting him minutes.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

8-9 from three in the 2nd half will turn it around quickly.

There were some other factors but I did have that thought, instead of 2-13 or whatever it was in 1st half and 8-9 in second half, what if we go 5-11 in both halves? You’re talking about a much different feel most likely, probably 9-10 point lead pretty much all game.

 

[cardvolfan]

There were some other factors but I did have that thought, instead of 2-13 or whatever it was in 1st half and 8-9 in second half, what if we go 5-11 in both halves? You’re talking about a much different feel most likely, probably 9-10 point lead pretty much all game.

Yeah, I agree. It speaks to the randomness of shooting, per Stats by Will. Many folks truly believe a “properly coached” team or a “truly elite player” can or should somehow be consistent from game-to-game as far as shooting is concerned. It just doesn’t work that way, and it’s never worked that way.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Yeah, I agree. It speaks to the randomness of shooting, per Stats by Will. Many folks truly believe a “properly coached” team or a “truly elite player” can or should somehow be consistent from game-to-game as far as shooting is concerned. It just doesn’t work that way, and it’s never worked that way.

Absolutely, and our fan base because they are locked in to just Tennessee for the most part as “fans” don’t realize that it’s common for teams to have faults, have cold spells etc.

 

[cardvolfan]

Absolutely, and our fan base because they are locked in to just Tennessee for the most part as “fans” do realize that it’s common for teams to have faults, have cold spells etc.

Yeah, it’s frustrating to see the comments, but I’ve come to get used to it.

 

[walkenvol]

Yeah, it’s frustrating to see the comments, but I’ve come to get used to it.

Message boards by design are for comments, good and bad. What’s frustrating to me are the declarations made that are contrary to the actual statistics then others pile on like the erroneous statement was factually correct. Watch the games and then review the box scores so an intelligent discussion can happen, game threads excluded of course.

We used to have over the top Vescovi hate until he kept delivering and getting selected All-SEC although some morons still take shots at him occasionally. Now Uros appears to get an unearned amount of hate which the numbers don’t support. I don’t know if a group of our fans just hate foreign players or if they hate light skinned players?

 

[cardvolfan]

Message boards by design are for comments, good and bad. What’s frustrating to me are the declarations made that are contrary to the actual statistics then others pile on like the erroneous statement was factually correct. Watch the games and then review the box scores so an intelligent discussion can happen, game threads excluded of course.

We used to have over the top Vescovi hate until he kept delivering and getting selected All-SEC although some morons still take shots at him occasionally. Now Uros appears to get an unearned amount of hate which the numbers don’t support. I don’t know if a group of our fans just hate foreign players or if they hate light skinned players?

Yeah, I can’t even begin to address those questions. Possibly so, but I don’t know. As far as people making their absolute statements contrary to evidence, yes, it happens all the time. I don’t understand it, and I don’t know why people do that. But yes, they do,

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Message boards by design are for comments, good and bad. What’s frustrating to me are the declarations made that are contrary to the actual statistics then others pile on like the erroneous statement was factually correct. Watch the games and then review the box scores so an intelligent discussion can happen, game threads excluded of course.

We used to have over the top Vescovi hate until he kept delivering and getting selected All-SEC although some morons still take shots at him occasionally. Now Uros appears to get an unearned amount of hate which the numbers don’t support. I don’t know if a group of our fans just hate foreign players or if they hate light skinned players?

I think the Uros stuff is just that he’s a 5th year senior and people “hoped” for more, I see similar things/dislike with Nkamhoua as well. There seems to be less of the dislike towards Aidoo yet all 3 have their faults, so I’m guessing it’s mostly just that Aidoo is in Year 2 verse the others being upperclassmen.

 

[cncchris33]

I think the Uros stuff is just that he’s a 5th year senior and people “hoped” for more, I see similar things/dislike with Nkamhoua as well. There seems to be less of the dislike towards Aidoo yet all 3 have their faults, so I’m guessing it’s mostly just that Aidoo is in Year 2 verse the others being upperclassmen.

I think this is correct. People view those players as having plateaued and think greater upside lies in younger players like Aidoo and Awaka, which there may be an element of truth to that. I think Uros has shown steady improvement and is clearly playing his best basketball of his career this season, but he has never taken that obvious step forward to become an all-league player, and right or wrong, it frustrates people. His antics annoy some people and his lack of rebounding prowess relative to his size is underwhelming. His propensity to finesse some shots instead of finish with authority irritates others. There’s a lot to like about Uros if you’re objective about him, but there’s also a lot to dislike about him if you go looking for it.

 

[walkenvol]

I think the Uros stuff is just that he’s a 5th year senior and people “hoped” for more, I see similar things/dislike with Nkamhoua as well. There seems to be less of the dislike towards Aidoo yet all 3 have their faults, so I’m guessing it’s mostly just that Aidoo is in Year 2 verse the others being upperclassmen.

You may be right, but Uros while being tall clearly has physical limitations in the quickness/explosiveness department. He’s stuck around and found a way to contribute and is likely player close to the ceiling of his talent. Shouldn’t that endear a player to a fanbase instead of hate?

ON’s criticism comes from his unexplainable inconsistency and apparent lack of focus and effort at times IMO. He’s very talented as demonstrated many times by some outstanding performances. When you’ve shown your abilities and you’re a senior then fans are disappointed in you when you don’t play with consistent effort, focus and intelligence.

JMO

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I think this is correct. People view those players as having plateaued and think greater upside lies in younger players like Aidoo and Awaka, which there may be an element of truth to that. I think Uros has shown steady improvement and is clearly playing his best basketball of his career this season, but he has never taken that obvious step forward to become an all-league player, and right or wrong, it frustrates people. His antics annoy some people and his lack of rebounding prowess relative to his size is underwhelming. His propensity to finesse some shots instead of finish with authority irritates others. There’s a lot to like about Uros if you’re objective about him, but there’s also a lot to dislike about him if you go looking for it.

His last 5 games I would love to carbon copy and say gimme that every night…

18mpg 9.6ppg 4.4rpg 69%fg 80%FT

That’s probably about the best you can realistically hope for from him, maybe another rebound, but if he can give us that the rest of the year that would be big imo.

 

[walkenvol]

I think this is correct. People view those players as having plateaued and think greater upside lies in younger players like Aidoo and Awaka, which there may be an element of truth to that. I think Uros has shown steady improvement and is clearly playing his best basketball of his career this season, but he has never taken that obvious step forward to become an all-league player, and right or wrong, it frustrates people. His antics annoy some people and his lack of rebounding prowess relative to his size is underwhelming. His propensity to finesse some shots instead of finish with authority irritates others. There’s a lot to like about Uros if you’re objective about him, but there’s also a lot to dislike about him if you go looking for it.

You mention rebounding yet he rebounds at about the same rate as Aidoo? Uros doesn’t have the abilities to be all-league IMO. I think CRB is milking the best Uros has to give. JMO

 

[bleedingTNorange]

You may be right, but Uros while being tall clearly has physical limitations in the quickness/explosiveness department. He’s stuck around and found a way to contribute and is likely player close to the ceiling of his talent. Shouldn’t that endear a player to a fanbase instead of hate?

ON’s criticism comes from his unexplainable inconsistency and apparent lack of focus and effort at times IMO. He’s very talented as demonstrated many times by some outstanding performances. When you’ve shown your abilities and you’re a senior then fans are disappointed in you when you don’t play with consistent effort, focus and intelligence.

JMO

To an extent, but fans always feel a player has room to improve, and there is probably some level of truth to that with Uros…but yea, as far as someone being close to their ceiling I would said Nkamhoua is further away that Uros, maybe you miss it but ON definitely received his fair share of criticism as well (more than Uros imo).

 

[cncchris33]

You mention rebounding yet he rebounds at about the same rate as Aidoo? Uros doesn’t have the abilities to be all-league IMO. I think CRB is milking the best Uros has to give. JMO

If we are talking about Uros in a vacuum, it isn’t fair to compare him to Aidoo. My goal was never to compare them, but since you want to, Uros is 2” taller, 20 lbs heavier, and 4 years older. Expecting more of him isn’t exactly radical thinking.

I’m judging Uros against Uros, not against Aidoo because I’m not trying to prop up Aidoo and talk down about Uros. I’m just presenting the arguments some have against Uros and why they see greater upside in someone like Aidoo who has 4 years less experience but still produces at the same rate. I think that’s a relatively fair argument.

I’m not making a case for one over the other, but I understand why some fans are “tired” of Uros for lack of a better term. Even if he doesn’t possess the skills to be all-league, that won’t stop some fans from growing tired of his role and lack of dramatic improvement.

Im fine with Uros, his role, and his progression. Every team needs role players and he plays his role, sometimes even outplaying it.