T Awaka production

#52
#52
cncchris33 said:
He’d have had one yesterday if he plays more than 17 minutes. He’s the kind of kid I’ve been publicly begging for going all the way back to our pursuit of Oscar Tshiebwe. Goes out and gobbles up rebounds like his next meal is riding on it.

Perhaps most impressive, yesterday, was his ability to defend without fouling. His foul rate is highest on the team, but it seems skewed because of his sparse playing time. In his first game of extended minutes vs Maryland, he managed 8 rebs, a steal, and a block while only committing 1 foul. That’s impressive for a freshman with limited playing time to come into such a physical game and maintain his own composure in that physical environment. I only wish he had a little bit more lift/explosion around the basket (something Tshiebwe lacks, as well), but his strength and nose for the ball makes up for a lot of his physical limitations.

Obviously a small sample size, but his rebounding rate per 40 minutes and per 100 possessions is significantly ahead of Oscar’s, now, let alone as a freshman, so hopefully we’ve found our monster after he gets his feet wet and a year of development.
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I think Awaka's minutes will increase over the season and Plavsic's minutes will decrease.
 
#57
#57
walkenvol said:
And when Awaka is in the game, Barnes should demand guys drive the lane and put the ball on the rim to provide offensive put backs if they miss. When Awaka’s man leaves him to provide weak side help on drives was when Awaka had a couple put backs
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I watched several replays of some of his offensive rebounds. Awaka does something most just don’t do. He begins clearing space before the ball ever leaves a player’s hands who is shooting. It’s interesting, for sure. He anticipates really well, and he doesn’t rebound to one cylindrical area, but rather to a larger area. Of course, with his engine going 100%, he’s hyperactive. The guy has so many intangibles and it seems he’s just built to rebound. Of course, the other positives add up to more points as well.
 
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#58
#58
cardvolfan said:
I watched several replays of some of his offensive rebounds. Awaka does something most just don’t do. He begins clearing space before the ball ever leaves a player’s hands who is shooting. It’s interesting, for sure. He anticipates really well, and he doesn’t rebound to one cylindrical area, but rather to a larger area. Of course, with his engine going 100%, he’s hyperactive. The guy has so many intangibles and it seems he’s just built to rebound. Of course, the other positives add up to more points as well.
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Agreed! I don’t see practice and I’m not knowledgeable enough to know how well he understands his defensive assignments yet. He’s a great student so the intellectual aspect shouldn’t likely hold him back. Personally, I’d love to see how he would develop with a consistent 15+ minutes a night.
 
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#59
#59
We didn’t think so at the start of the year, but we’re going to need Awaka. Those were big minutes for him against Maryland. Productive minutes, and good growth. With JJJ and Santi nursing injuries, the young guys will have to step up quickly.
 
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#60
#60
TheMookieMonster said:
We didn’t think so at the start of the year, but we’re going to need Awaka. Those were big minutes for him against Maryland. Productive minutes, and good growth. With JJJ and Santi nursing injuries, the young guys will have to step up quickly.
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Also, Aidoo is pretty slender with a history of knee issues. The odds of him not getting nicked up in conference play are probably not great.
 
#61
#61
Awake reminds me of Admiral Schofield when he was a Freshman. He's not as polished as Admiral was and certainly not as good on the offensive end at this point but he has the tools.
 
#62
#62
Sometimes the best offense/defense in the middle is not scores/blocks, but presence. When a defender makes other players uncomfortable in the lane, it changes the game on both ends. His own offensive opportunities will also increase as more players learn it’s no fun getting knocked around by him. Players like OT, get so many points on garbage putbacks because defenders don’t want another elbow to the top of the head, or shoulder in the mouth. I think Awaka is going to make offensive space soon. That’s when this will get exciting for him, and for drivers.
 
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#63
#63
Stoerner Fumbles said:
Sometimes the best offense/defense in the middle is not scores/blocks, but presence. When a defender makes other players uncomfortable in the lane, it changes the game on both ends. His own offensive opportunities will also increase as more players learn it’s no fun getting knocked around by him. Players like OT, get so many points on garbage putbacks because defenders don’t want another elbow to the top of the head, or shoulder in the mouth. I think Awaka is going to make offensive space soon. That’s when this will get exciting for him, and for drivers.
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You know the status of JJJ and Vescovi for tomorrow’s game?
 
#66
#66
Willy14 said:
You know the status of JJJ and Vescovi for tomorrow’s game?
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Everything BTO said is accurate. I’ll add that SV is still sore. They been practicing JJJ 2 days off 1 on to try to give him 2 off before the game in hopes that he can play too. I think the cautious approach is out the window. They’re trying to play both.
 
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#67
#67
P
Stoerner Fumbles said:
Everything BTO said is accurate. I’ll add that SV is still sore. They been practicing JJJ 2 days off 1 on to try to give him 2 off before the game in hopes that he can play too. I think the cautious approach is out the window. They’re trying to play both.
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Do you know if Santi had shoulder issues in the pre-season? He has been short on his misses this year, so I wondered if the shoulder injury wasn’t more of a re-aggravation than a new injury.

It could also be that he gets guarded higher up and is taking deeper shots than he is used to
 
#69
#69
omghulkhands said:
P


Do you know if Santi had shoulder issues in the pre-season? He has been short on his misses this year, so I wondered if the shoulder injury wasn’t more of a re-aggravation than a new injury.

It could also be that he gets guarded higher up and is taking deeper shots than he is used to
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I don’t know the answer now, but will try to find out.
 
#70
#70
omghulkhands said:
P


Do you know if Santi had shoulder issues in the pre-season? He has been short on his misses this year, so I wondered if the shoulder injury wasn’t more of a re-aggravation than a new injury.

It could also be that he gets guarded higher up and is taking deeper shots than he is used to
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There was actually no reported information that Santi had any existing shoulder or other health issues prior to the season launching. His injury supposedly came towards the end of the McNeese State game. As to his shooting, you might recall that he started off less-than-stellar last year during the pre-conference schedule. He picked it up significantly as the season progressed. I think his shooting results this year had the same trajectory as last year to this point.
 
#71
#71
I’m glad to hear Santi is playing tomorrow. Our chances increase by a lot if he plays. Still, I hope his shoulder heals up soon. We need him for the long haul not just tomorrow night.
 
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#72
#72
TheMookieMonster said:
I’m glad to hear Santi is playing tomorrow. Our chances increase by a lot if he plays. Still, I hope his shoulder heals up soon. We need him for the long haul not just tomorrow night.
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His gravity helps with our spacing even when he’s not shooting and his ball handling/decision making are pretty huge against pressure. The drop off behind him is unfortunately sharp
 
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#73
#73
cardvolfan said:
I watched several replays of some of his offensive rebounds. Awaka does something most just don’t do. He begins clearing space before the ball ever leaves a player’s hands who is shooting. It’s interesting, for sure. He anticipates really well, and he doesn’t rebound to one cylindrical area, but rather to a larger area. Of course, with his engine going 100%, he’s hyperactive. The guy has so many intangibles and it seems he’s just built to rebound. Of course, the other positives add up to more points as well.
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A great find by coach Barnes. And it appears he is a multi year player. Tennessee hit the Jack pot when they hired him.
 
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#75
#75
Freshmen are freshmen for a reason. I thought last night game with the environment and officiating prove that. They can only get better from it.
 
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