Olivier…

#26
#26
ORN showed some skills driving to the rim from the perimeter. He’s really refined his attack versus these junior in-state opponents.
 
#27
#27
Going into this season, I thought Nkamhoua would be the piece holding Tennessee back from a sweet 16. Thru 2 games, he’s become a guy you can’t take off the floor in a pressure situation. We’ll see if the trend continues but I can’t see why it won’t be somewhat similar. Defensive effort has always been there. Rebounding awareness is better. Offensive confidence and awareness are better. The biggest improvement has been his shot. The 3 ball will pull bigs away from the basket, even if it’s just trail shots.
 
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#28
#28
i2amavol said:
Two years ago, I had given up on him. However, last year I saw something in him that gave me great hope. I agree with the poster above, this was just ETSU, but he will likely continue to improve this year. I expect more 20+ point games from him, and more double doubles.

On a team with several 20+ scorers, on any given night, it will likely pay big dividends to have experienced players on this team who can do a lot of the other things. He is one big piece of a potential championship team. I said potential. There is still a lot of basketball to be played.
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I admit that up until this Fall I thought we had wasted a scholarship on him. However, he has proven me wrong. In fact, his play in the first two games this year demonstrates what an outstanding COACH Barnes really is. In fact, Olivier player much better yesterday than BHH in every phase of the game. It is hard to believe how much he has improved. If he continues to play at his current level, Tennessee will be the best team in the SEC this year and go deep in the NCAAs. Our problem last year was we could not compete at the 4 and 5 positions with scoring, rebounding, or defending the lane. We will be able to do that this year, I really believe this is the best team we have had since the Ernie and show. We now have depth that we didn't have back in the days.
 
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#29
#29
VOLINVONORE said:
I admit that up until this Fall I thought we had wasted a scholarship on him. However, he has proven me wrong. In fact, his play in the first two games this year demonstrates what an outstanding COACH Barnes really is. In fact, Olivier player much better yesterday than BHH in every phase of the game. It is hard to believe how much he has improved. If he continues to play at his current level, Tennessee will be the best team in the SEC this year and go deep in the NCAAs. Our problem last year was we could not compete at the 4 and 5 positions with scoring, rebounding, or defending the lane. We will be able to do that this year, I really believe this is the best team we have had since the Ernie and show. We now have depth that we didn't have back in the days.
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Agreed. Quality depth could be the difference this year. We've always tended to have missing pieces somewhere on our team.
 
#30
#30
I think with a player like Fulkerson in there with him it changes everything as the way teams can defend. Fulkerson so much more of a scoring threat than Plav creates a lot of opportunity for Olivier.
 
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#31
#31
The people I trust have said for some time Nkamhoua possessed the physical attributes and honestly in person he looks bigger than 6'8" to me. He's of course still a proverbial "work in progress" but i agree his footwork, positioning and court awareness seem to have elevated nicely. And with the 3 ball an added dimension hopefully he'll continue his upward trajectory.
 
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#32
#32
utkCREW said:
I’ve said for three years now that he has the capacity to be a Grant Williams…. Every year I prayed he would have patience, continue to learn, and not transfer! YAY GLAD TO SEE SERIOUS DEVELOPMENT
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I saw a lot of Grant in his play. I had a "discussion" on this forum a while back about Him being as productive as Fulky on a per minute basis, and got put on blast for it. I said that he has a greater upside and Fulky is who He is at this point in His career, and I still stand by those statements.
 
#33
#33
I’m impressed with ON’s improvement shown so far this season. If it continues, he can be a solid player for us the next couple years. I don’t in any way understand or see the Grant comparison. Different body types and different styles. Also, I sure don’t see ON becoming a 2 time SEC POY. No knock on ON at all
 
#36
#36
tennrich1 said:
The people I trust have said for some time Nkamhoua possessed the physical attributes and honestly in person he looks bigger than 6'8" to me. He's of course still a proverbial "work in progress" but i agree his footwork, positioning and court awareness seem to have elevated nicely. And with the 3 ball an added dimension hopefully he'll continue his upward trajectory.
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I have wondered for some time if his understated play was trying to stay in the lane Coach gave him and now that lane has been redefined. Over and over I kept hearing Coach really liked him and his game. Loved his multiple flying in from the outside, yet under control above the rim rebounds he pulled down Sunday. Had a couple of bobbles under the board on some wraparound type passes, but other than that a pretty impressive game. Hope that is his floor and not his career game. TIME WILL TELL,
 
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#37
#37
GUNTERSVOL said:
I have wondered for some time if his understated play was trying to stay in the lane Coach gave him and now that lane has been redefined. Over and over I kept hearing Coach really liked him and his game. Loved his multiple flying in from the outside, yet under control above the rim rebounds he pulled down Sunday. Had a couple of bobbles under the board on some wraparound type passes, but other than that a pretty impressive game. Hope that is his floor and not his career game. TIME WILL TELL,
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Now, let’s dream a bit more. Can Uros have that same kind of improvement as ON? I have heard some say UP is a wasted scholly, the same comments made about ON. Don’t know his ceiling but we know height can’t be taught. I went to school with Kosmalski and he was definitely a big man, but had a ceiling and we saw it. I read that Boerwinkle was not much except tall in his early career and developed into a solid NBA player. The future is bright again for TN bb.
 
#38
#38
beamerman said:
Now, let’s dream a bit more. Can Uros have that same kind of improvement as ON? I have heard some say UP is a wasted scholly, the same comments made about ON. Don’t know his ceiling but we know height can’t be taught. I went to school with Kosmalski and he was definitely a big man, but had a ceiling and we saw it. I read that Boerwinkle was not much except tall in his early career and developed into a solid NBA player. The future is bright again for TN bb.
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If he were 18 or 19 years old you might see significant improvement from UP in the next couple of years. I think at this point he kind of is who he is. He can help us occasionally.
 
#39
#39
beamerman said:
Now, let’s dream a bit more. Can Uros have that same kind of improvement as ON? I have heard some say UP is a wasted scholly, the same comments made about ON. Don’t know his ceiling but we know height can’t be taught. I went to school with Kosmalski and he was definitely a big man, but had a ceiling and we saw it. I read that Boerwinkle was not much except tall in his early career and developed into a solid NBA player. The future is bright again for TN bb.
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He’s not bad to have on the roster if we face a matchup like a Purdue, but those teams are fewer are further in between…Tamba probably fills that spot when UP leaves assuming he can add some weight, and hopefully he’s a bit more mobile so that we can use him a little more often. It’s just hard at this stage to see UP being able to improve his quickness enough to be a guy that can be played regularly.
 
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#40
#40
Most guys over 7’ aren’t very quick yet somehow many of them manage to contribute. Uros is far from reaching his physical limitations IMHO. Dribbling in the paint is a huge no no for a 7 footer. Not aggressively positioning for rebounding. Trying to finesse shots where he should be attempting to rip down the rim. There’s still plenty of room to grow
 
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#41
#41
walkenvol said:
Most guys over 7’ aren’t very quick yet somehow many of them manage to contribute. Uros is far from reaching his physical limitations IMHO. Dribbling in the paint is a huge no no for a 7 footer. Not aggressively positioning for rebounding. Trying to finesse shots where he should be attempting to rip down the rim. There’s still plenty of room to grow
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How many 7’+ 250lb+ guys that play on an uptempo team and are effective can you think of? If any, they are probably projected lottery picks.
 
#42
#42
Didn’t Arkansas have a 7-4 guy playing last year and they got up and down the court fairly quick. I’m not suggesting UP would become a 25 minute a night guy. He could carve out a 10-15 minute role with a better understanding of how to better utilize his size. Again JMO
 
#43
#43
walkenvol said:
Didn’t Arkansas have a 7-4 guy playing last year and they got up and down the court fairly quick. I’m not suggesting UP would become a 25 minute a night guy. He could carve out a 10-15 minute role with a better understanding of how to better utilize his size. Again JMO
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Yea, weights 215lbs, not 250+…much more mobile than Plavsic, which was my point.
 
#45
#45
Another example is the big dude for Oregon State (Silva 7-1, 265 lbs) who is probably heavier than Uros. Also the big white center for Gonzaga a couple years back (Karnowski 7-1, 300 lbs). There’s more examples I’m sure
 
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#47
#47
walkenvol said:
Another example is the big dude for Oregon State (Silva 7-1, 265 lbs) who is probably heavier than Uros. Also the big white center for Gonzaga a couple years back (Karnowski 7-1, 300 lbs). There’s more examples I’m sure
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Oregon State played at one of the slowest tempos in the country, definitely not even close to uptempo. If it’s that’s hard to find any, and the ones you find don’t fit the criteria, that kind of proves my point.
 
#49
#49
walkenvol said:
Most guys over 7’ aren’t very quick yet somehow many of them manage to contribute. Uros is far from reaching his physical limitations IMHO. Dribbling in the paint is a huge no no for a 7 footer. Not aggressively positioning for rebounding. Trying to finesse shots where he should be attempting to rip down the rim. There’s still plenty of room to grow
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If he was even a threat to get a rebound then I'd think more of his talent.
 
#50
#50
I’m not sure Uros is ever going to make that jump as a rebounder. He has developed offensively and fundamentally, but rebounding seems to be more of a mindset and you see it early from guys who attack the glass. A 7’ center who can’t rebound or block shots at a high clip is a liability on the court, and there’s really no way around that.
 
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