Jordan McRae is starting to buy in

#1
zjcvols

zjcvols

"On a Tennessee Saturday night."
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#1
"I definitely have had to look at myself and see what I'm not doing,'' McRae said. "I have to fight through the screens and do all the little things that helps our team win.

"So I'm just constantly working on my defense, every day, trying to do what I can to stay on the floor. I just tell myself constantly to get in the gym, get the extra shots. Talent without hard work is dead.''- govolsxtra.com
 
#2
#2
zjcvols said:
"I definitely have had to look at myself and see what I'm not doing,'' McRae said. "I have to fight through the screens and do all the little things that helps our team win.

"So I'm just constantly working on my defense, every day, trying to do what I can to stay on the floor. I just tell myself constantly to get in the gym, get the extra shots. Talent without hard work is dead.''- govolsxtra.com
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i sure hope the light bulb has gone on for this kid, maybe playing 8 minutes against vandy opened his eyes a bit. i hope he puts it together, with him progressing and playing to his potential we are 3-4 wins better IMO.
 
#3
#3
bleedingTNorange said:
i sure hope the light bulb has gone on for this kid, maybe playing 8 minutes against vandy opened his eyes a bit. i hope he puts it together, with him progressing and playing to his potential we are 3-4 wins better IMO.
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I still have high hopes for him and I think he'll do very well next year.
 
#4
#4
We'll see. He had a good game on Saturday. We'll see if he can continue or if he'll fall off like he did earlier this year.
 
#5
#5
zjcvols said:
I still have high hopes for him and I think he'll do very well next year.
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hes a great kid and is always very supportive of all of his teamates and is the first one off the bench everytime. he clearly loves the university, he just obviously needed some time to mature and make the transition, and the coaching change probably slowed that some. this kids offensive potential is sky high and he can automatically make us a better offensive team, the question is just defense, and he has the tools to be a great defender he just needs to find the desire to do it.
 
#7
#7
You almost have to feel bad for McRae. All kids come to a big time school wanting score the basketball, now the stars have aligned for him, he has a team begging him to score, and he can't do it.
 
#8
#8
MadcapLaughs said:
You almost have to feel bad for McRae. All kids come to a big time school wanting score the basketball, now the stars have aligned for him, he has a team begging him to score, and he can't do it.
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he can score thats not the question, he showed this last game. the reason he hasnt been out there was because of his lack of defense, his scoring ability will never be questioned IMO.
 
#9
#9
Shooting only 38% doesn't make you a reliable scorer. One of his problems is his knack for taking terrible shots. Like sit-on-the-bench-because-of-the-stupidity kind of shots.
 
#10
#10
King Webbsticles said:
Shooting only 38% doesn't make you a reliable scorer. One of his problems is his knack for taking terrible shots. Like sit-on-the-bench-because-of-the-stupidity kind of shots.
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well 38% would make him the 2nd most reliable wing scorer behind trae if that means anything. he definitely has taken questionable shots no doubt, but so has tatum and mcbee as well as golden most everyone on our team has. mcrae has a raw scoring ability and an ability to get to the hoop that most on this team do not have. i will get ripped for this but i really dont care, you dont average over 40 points a game in the RTL without being a hell of an offensive player.


espn profile of him coming out:
August, 2009: McRae was easily one of the standouts in this event (Adidas Nations), but I had to list him as the top surprise player because of his consistent play on both ends of the floor throughout the event. He is blossoming into one of the elite pure unadulterated scorers in the country with his ability to score in both transition and half court; the kid knows where the basket is and is developing into a high level offensive player. The future Tennessee Volunteer is a long fluid athlete with some bounce that has become more astute at how to attack a defense. He had some standout games; he uses screens well, has good body control and despite his thin frame can take contact and finish. He showed a floater in the lane when the defense collapsed. He is active on the offensive glass with a quick second jump. He loses his focus at times which detracts greatly from his game. He needs to get a higher release point on his free throw, as his free throw shot is too flat, especially late in games. I really like this kid's potential, but he needs to fill out and gain some strength to take the physical play in the SEC.

*i understand these arent always right and this is just a scout but this guy can score he has a knack to score and just knows how to put the ball in the hoop
 
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#11
#11
Consistency is the name of the game for this kid. Without it, he's just another Cam Tatum.
 
#12
#12
cncchris33 said:
Consistency is the name of the game for this kid. Without it, he's just another Cam Tatum.
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i was thinking scotty hopson but tatum works too. he dominated lesser opponents to start the year, remember the back to back 25 point outings, and then has dissapeared against stronger opponents. as you said he has to figure out how to do this night in and night out.
 
#13
#13
bleedingTNorange said:
he can score thats not the question, he showed this last game. the reason he hasnt been out there was because of his lack of defense, his scoring ability will never be questioned IMO.
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I agree he struggled badly on defense, that's part of the equation for him not to be able to score.

I think his defense might not seem as bad if he was scoring 15-19 a night. Especially when your getting nothing from Cam and Golden.
 
#14
#14
bleedingTNorange said:
i was thinking scotty hopson but tatum works too. he dominated lesser opponents to start the year, remember the back to back 25 point outings, and then has dissapeared against stronger opponents. as you said he has to figure out how to do this night in and night out.
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I hate to use the Scotty Hopson comparison because Scotty was good at getting to the paint and finishing at the rim or stopping for that pull-up 10-footer. If McRae could develop that part of his game, he could be dangerous. Like Cam, he is unable to do that. Unlike Cam, he at least realizes it.
 
#15
#15
MadcapLaughs said:
I agree he struggled badly on defense, that's part of the equation for him not to be able to score.

I think his defense might not seem as bad if he was scoring 15-19 a night. Especially when your getting nothing from Cam and Golden.
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i dont agree with this. he was scoring 20 points a game early in the season but wasnt playing defense. what happened? his minutes got cut down to 8 minutes a game. if you dont play defense you dont play, thats how ccm is period he dont care what kind of scorer you are. if mcrae can play defense like he did saturday then he will get more minutes which will result in more scoring opportunities.
 
#16
#16
cncchris33 said:
I hate to use the Scotty Hopson comparison because Scotty was good at getting to the paint and finishing at the rim or stopping for that pull-up 10-footer. If McRae could develop that part of his game, he could be dangerous. Like Cam, he is unable to do that. Unlike Cam, he at least realizes it.
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this is true and in all honesty scotty was actually a pretty good player more often than not so thats not a fair comparison really. :lolabove::lolabove::lolabove: at the fact he realizes it...

i think the more mcrae starts to play the more confident he will get that he no longer has to look over the shoulder and will become more aggresively offensively. this kid can score every way imagineable, i had the joy of seeing him in hs twice for the atlanta celtics aau team and then many of his RTL games. he is very creative with the ball and can go toe to toe with hopson as far as offensive firepower IMO, he just needs to gain the confidence to be comfortable.
 
#17
#17
I think to Compare Mcrae to a (currently trapped in China) NBA player is J.R. Smith. He is one of those guys who on any given night can go out and drop 20 on any team, but when he's not on he's worthless. When he's on he has good defense and elite level scoring. When he's not he has no defense and NBA D-League scoring. Those ill advised shots won't put him on the bench when he's feeling it and hitting over half of them.

If he can develop a defensive presence at all times, to offset the nights the rim isn't as large, then he will be someone to look out for. I think he definitely has one of the highest ceilings of any player we have offensively, but if he reaches that is another matter.
 
#18
#18
Daloth said:
I think to Compare Mcrae to a (currently trapped in China) NBA player is J.R. Smith. He is one of those guys who on any given night can go out and drop 20 on any team, but when he's not on he's worthless. When he's on he has good defense and elite level scoring. When he's not he has no defense and NBA D-League scoring. Those ill advised shots won't put him on the bench when he's feeling it and hitting over half of them.

If he can develop a defensive presence at all times, to offset the nights the rim isn't as large, then he will be someone to look out for. I think he definitely has one of the highest ceilings of any player we have offensively, but if he reaches that is another matter.
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+1

great post
 
#20
#20
ITSGR82BATNVOL said:
maybe he's getting tired of plucking splinters outta his ass
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Haha

Ccm said he doesn't like to bench guys to make a point but I think McRae was an exception. Playing a season low 8 minutes vs Vanderbilt may have have have him a chance to see what was needed from him.
 
#22
#22
calban said:
He's always talked the talk.
Guess we'll see.
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Another Scotty Hopson trait. He would have a good game against a good opponent and start talking about how e realized what it takes and what he needs to do, he's gaining confidence now blah blah blah and wouldn't come out the next game and was nowhere to be found.
 
#23
#23
He has the worse case of the Scotty Hopsons that I've seen since... Scotty Hopson. Prolific offensive scorer, but all of his ability is tied to his confidence. If he goes out and knocks down his first shot, you could be in for a 20-25pt night. But if that first shot rims out or worse, he hangs his head and assumes Hopson's old position in the corner at the 2 spot with his head down and accepts a quiet 2-4pt night.

Oh, and his ball handling and perimeter defense are atrocious. Much like Hopson.

FYI believe it or not, I miss Hopson a lot. Will never forget his game winning 3 against UF.
 
#24
#24
UTKSenior said:
He has the worse case of the Scotty Hopsons that I've seen since... Scotty Hopson. Prolific offensive scorer, but all of his ability is tied to his confidence. If he goes out and knocks down his first shot, you could be in for a 20-25pt night. But if that first shot rims out or worse, he hangs his head and assumes Hopson's old position in the corner at the 2 spot with his head down and accepts a quiet 2-4pt night.

Oh, and his ball handling and perimeter defense are atrocious. Much like Hopson.

FYI believe it or not, I miss Hopson a lot. Will never forget his game winning 3 against UF.
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it was actually a game winning 2, you clearly forgot it easily.
 
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