In the early season, these two caught a lot of flack. They are pretty rare player types in the modern game. Each of them is unselfish, plays complimentary basketball every night, and encourages teammates when they make mistakes, or even when they take minutes away. I tend to land in the camp that believes Fulk is suffering from the physical toll of six years of injuries, two bouts of COVID, and the general wear and tear that comes with high mileage. JJJ is the same player on defense every night, boxes out taller guys, plays help tremendously well, and challenges shots and rebounds out of his zone. Great players don’t shoot well every night. Great players hold their other stats well on bad shooting nights. I heard Lunardi whine about our lack of leadership, and rain on our ncaa chances because we aren’t the same team as the Grant/Adimiral team. It’s a ******** dichotomy. That team was genuinely a team that was built for a Final Four, with a shot at the championship. We were every bit the team UVA won (with). We were beaten by a freak shooting night by Purdue that wasn’t repeated again. While this team is not that team, and does not have two veterans with a scoring capacity of 25+, this team has leadership, sense of team, and they play better together every night. The 19 team matched up with anyone on any night. Not true this year. There are certain blends of big athletic guards that play physical perimeter defense that are going to give us fits. Frankly, I think Barnes playing Aidoo and BHH now, is a smart hedge for later. Santi, ZZ and Chandler are a great scoring combo, they provide space for one another, and there D improves as a unit every night. They might be easier to love than Fulky and Josiah. That said, those two guys are great leaders, calm consistent contributors, and forces of stability when the game gets tight. We don’t have 19 tourney talent or experience, but the tournament is about draws. The right draw, and we might go far. If we do, these two will make big contributions.
