Looking for Pons to be the biggest surprise of 2019-20 season

#51
#51
SweetDaddy said:
Anyone who thinks Pons is half the player Johnson is isnt paying attention.

Pons needs to focus on being a defensive stud and watch what John Fulkerson does while he's on the court.
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Works both ways. Johnson isn't half the player Pons is on one end of the court
 
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#52
#52
DTallmadge95 said:
Just to state facts Barnes is not a developmental coach. That’s never been his reputation people are putting way to much into grant Williams development. Barnes’s reputation is for underachieving with talented recruits.
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Trolls emerge.
 

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#55
#55
kiddiedoc said:
I'd never count a guy with his type of athleticism out. Hard work and good coaching could result in a dramatic improvement in his game. I'm optimistic.
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Yes...at this level I learned a long time ago not to give up on or be surprised by dramatic turn arounds from one season to the next. With Barnes working him in the off season I think he’s shown he knows how to break down someone’s game and rebuild it. We shall see and I’m pulling for the kid. After all we are America’s..,we always bail out the French 😂😂.
 
#56
#56
LAVol1 said:
Pons will improve in all areas of his game, and with his incredible athleticism, he'll be the star of the coming season. A Clyde Drexler type player.
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Drexler was Drexler before he became a senior. And Pons will still be Pons. Kinda like everyone in the football forum going gaga over because he was slinging around undersized players in Juco.

He may improve, but he wont be Drexler like. Simply because we don't have a Akeem Olajuwon, a Benny Anders, or a Larry Micheaux. And had there been a shot clock back then, we would have a hard time remembering who Jim Valvano is.
 
#57
#57
Pons will have a good season if he is moved to the 4. He has no discernable guard skills so it would take massive improvement for him to have a big season playing outside.
 
#58
#58
tennrich1 said:
Yes...at this level I learned a long time ago not to give up on or be surprised by dramatic turn arounds from one season to the next. With Barnes working him in the off season I think he’s shown he knows how to break down someone’s game and rebuild it. We shall see and I’m pulling for the kid. After all we are America’s..,we always bail out the French 😂😂.
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Still paying for their help in Revolutionary War. If Pons fails we owe them nothing else.
 
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#60
#60
Truth is no one knows. He could kill it next season or he could be exactly the same. Odds are in favor of exactly the same, but no one knows. I never would have guessed Jordan Bone would ever score points like he did. Sometimes people improve.
 
#61
#61
rdk4121 said:
All pons really needs to work on is becoming a knock down 3 point shooter. We should always be able to find him as a cutter given how athletic he is. Defensively he just needs to be a little smarter, but that's not really a surprise. If he can average 8 points per game, given how he contributes in other areas, than he will be a solid piece.
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No. He doesn’t handle or catch the ball well. His off ball skills are bad. His defense isn’t strong either and that’s his biggest asset at this point. This is why his minutes evaporated later in the year. You accept the offensive liability with the amount of scoring options UT had, if you are a great defender and rebounder. He was neither.
Against better teams he was a turnover waiting to happen.

So, regarding the OP, yes, it would be a total surprise.
 
#62
#62
While there is some truth to your post, you’ve made the harshest evaluation possible. He was a 4* recruit and is obviously very athletic. All reports have been he’s a hard worker. I expect improvements, but it’s certainly a wait and see situation with Pons
 
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#63
#63
I think the broken face bone is what made him really regress.
 
#64
#64
Maybe it made it worse, but I thought he regressed prior to the injury (2/7/19) IMHO. Again, I’m optimistic he will show improvement. Just how much is to be seen.
 
#65
#65
Roustabout said:
No. He doesn’t handle or catch the ball well. His off ball skills are bad. His defense isn’t strong either and that’s his biggest asset at this point. This is why his minutes evaporated later in the year. You accept the offensive liability with the amount of scoring options UT had, if you are a great defender and rebounder. He was neither.
Against better teams he was a turnover waiting to happen.

So, regarding the OP, yes, it would be a total surprise.
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My hope is he doesn't have to handle the ball that much. He catches it fine, but he can improve. Either way, he's a good defender that makes too many mental mistakes. On offense, if he can literally just catch a pass and shoot, or cut to the rim and finish, he'll be fine. He needs to work on the rest of his game as well, but we have other people that can score. He just needs to become not a liability on offense, that's why he didn't play. Because he would catch the ball and not know what to do with it, hence the turnover part.

Defensively he was really good at times, he was never the primary or secondary rebounder, but he was fine there as well. Rebounding isn't something we asked him to do, because we wanted him to run in transition to utilize his only real strength on offense.
 
#66
#66
This is what I said last season, I was excited at the start of the year. Then he really regressed, he wasn't even playing good defense by the end of the year.
 
#67
#67
I say turn pons into an undersized Kenneth faried type player. With some work in the post he is strong enough and athletic enough to be that type of player. I mean the 2 aren’t very dissimilar body type wise
 
#71
#71
cardvolfan said:
Upside is tremendous here. All one has to do is look at his film prior to coming to the US and you can see that he IS a basketball player. As noted, development is a big key, and he could be a huge factor for us.
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I think he played where you could drive without much resistance.
College defense is intense and you have to really be able to handle the ball. He looked helpless trying to penetrate.
 
#72
#72
cncchris33 said:
Lol...I know you’re trolling, but all the same...throw GW out of the mix, which is stupid, but then you have to account for Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, Lamonte Turner, and Jordan Bowden, among others, who have all improved tremendously under Barnes teaching.
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Not to even mention how he completely revamped Kevin Punter's shot. You can see right now how much positive impact it's had for him.
 
#75
#75
Pons can score at will in the low post with a mismatch. Get it to him high and let him lay it in.
 
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