What are your thoughts on Aidoo probably going to Arkansas?

[BernardKingGOAT]

I became a fan when he decommitted from Marquette and signed here. Still doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s mediocre at best for 1.3 million. Does Aidoo understand the amount of scrutiny his play is gonna get for 1.3 million?? He couldn’t even handle getting benched for playing scared against Edey. Arkansas fans are gonna be pissed when they realize they paid 1.3 million for a guy who only plays well when he’s playing against JAGs or scrubs

I hope your speculation is inaccurate. I hope he does well there. My hope is that we beat them by 10 but Aidoo has a good game

 

[Rocky Knocksville]

Such a dumb Josh overreaction. Get over it. We probably traded up anyways. Leave the kid alone.

Thanks for your dumb “triggered” overreaction. Since we “probably traded up anyway”, how about you leave the kid alone.

and this “kid” you referred to is now a PAID athlete, which IMO opens him up to be criticized like any other paid athlete (see Lebron James).

 

[EaglesVols91]

So Aidoo made the All-SEC defensive team as selected by the coaches yet “he plays no defense”. Obviously you know what you’re talking about and VN should pay close attention to your posts.

Aidoo folded and fell to pieces whenever he went up against someone who was also physical, same height or taller

 

[SGidds]

Already looking forward to the Okpara vs. Aidoo matchup next year.

 

[mackievol]

Already looking forward to the Okpara vs. Aidoo matchup next year.

Doesn't look this is a match up. Knowing Aidoo's shortcomings that cost us a final four run, I'm not worried

 

[KTrain]

IMO he played well against kids, say UK they had some great players but they were young. Then when he played vs Miss State dude Tolu, he was a man & Edey that type of player Aidoo was sub par. When we played against teams with finesse young skinny players he was very good.

 

[GoVols1998Yeah!]

Rick Barnes reacts to Jonas Aidoo's decision to commit to John Calipari and Arkansas

Jonas Aidoo elected to transfer from Tennessee to John Calipari and Arkansas this offseason. Here was Rick Barnes' reaction to the decision when asked about it at the Big Orange Caravan.

247sports.com

"We obviously have great love and respect for Jonas," Barnes said. "I don't want to sound crass about it, but you move on. It's where it is and you feel like your approach has to be, when you lose somebody, your mindset has to be, 'well, maybe it gives us a chance that we can improve somewhere.' Whether it's that position or somewhere else.

"What we believe in, we believe in the University of Tennessee and what we have there. We know this, there's a lot of people that want to play for us because of what we've got going on there. So you really have to take the approach that 'hey, we've got the chance to reconstruct our roster and how can we get better from what we had.' That's what we feel like we've done."

"We watched him grow in our program," Barnes said. "He felt like he might want to play a different style, a different way... It is what it is."

"It hurts," Barnes said. "It always does when you feel like you've really worked hard with a young person, you get them to a point, but you also understand it. Believe me, we really understand it. I don't think we're caught off guard by any of it anymore because we go into every offseason and we try to talk about it in our meetings with our guys, our exit-type meetings each year. We try to get a feel for it and understand where they might be, but it's the climate of college basketball right now and college athletics. You have to adapt to it."

 

[OrangeInKy]

Bye Judas. Enjoy your job at Walmart next year after you graduate…

He’s making over a million bucks at Arkansas and then will make more money playing overseas then most of us will ever make. I know inflation is bad, but he’s gonna be ok.

 

[VAVol85]

There are some analogies:
- Integral part of the team
- Left for more money (allegedly)
- Went to an in-conference rival
Good luck to Aidoo but I can’t really say I’m going to be a fan.

 

[HalfullVol]

IMO he played well against kids, say UK they had some great players but they were young. Then when he played vs Miss State dude Tolu, he was a man & Edey that type of player Aidoo was sub par. When we played against teams with finesse young skinny players he was very good.

same analogy I would mention.

soft for 6'11" 245lbs - same size as Tolu Smith.

 

[feathersax]

IMO he played well against kids, say UK they had some great players but they were young. Then when he played vs Miss State dude Tolu, he was a man & Edey that type of player Aidoo was sub par. When we played against teams with finesse young skinny players he was very good.

Excellent analysis.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Aidoo probably thinks he’s a perimeter player that was misused. Cal will let him jack up 3s and keep him from posting up players more physical than he is. Maybe it works for him, maybe it won’t. All I know is it’s a burned bridge. I won’t lose sleep over it but I’ll forget him as a Vol same as I did Toto.

 

[therickbol]

Aidoo probably thinks he’s a perimeter player that was misused. Cal will let him jack up 3s and keep him from posting up players more physical than he is. Maybe it works for him, maybe it won’t. All I know is it’s a burned bridge. I won’t lose sleep over it but I’ll forget him as a Vol same as I did Toto.

I suspect it is more "defensive philosophy" that he wanted to get away from. Cal has probably sold him that he will let him defend the perimeter more. Defend the 4 position. Not force him to be a post defender on the block.

 

[GoodTimeVol]

I suspect it is more "defensive philosophy" that he wanted to get away from. Cal has probably sold him that he will let him defend the perimeter more. Defend the 4 position. Not force him to be a post defender on the block.

Lol Aidoo defending the perimeter will be fun to watch, honestly this is just a money grab we didn’t think he was worth a million so we parted ways and used it on other resources

 

[VAVol85]

Lol Aidoo defending the perimeter will be fun to watch, honestly this is just a money grab we didn’t think he was worth a million so we parted ways and used it on other resources

I still struggle to believe that $1 million number. Even during the regular season when Aidoo was fun to watch, I don’t see how you can make that case.

Maybe Cal negotiated a startup package of $5-10 million to buy his first team and Aidoo was the best option on the market.

 

[turbovol]

I can't take college athletics seriously anymore. It's absurd.

 

[joevols89]

I mean I’m happy for Aidoo for swindling Arkansas into actually thinking he’s a top big man in the country. I’m honestly just jealous and bitter that I can’t fool people like that

There’s not a lot of good big men in the portal compared to guards and wings, so you gotta over pay.

 

[walkenvol]

There’s not a lot of good big men in the portal compared to guards and wings, so you gotta over pay.

What did we pay for Felix? Was it overpaying also?

 

[turbovol]

Paying millions to, er, I think they're supposed to be college students, in the hope that they'll help your COLLEGE sports team win games?
Only in America.

 

[Mccage]

These Kids are probably getting advice from every corner. The”What have you done for me lately” attitude is the norm these days. It’s not just athletes. Of course I came from the fried pies in the warmer era.

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

JA scored a lot of pick and rolls with ZZZ and Barnes ran offensive sets to get him shots in the post. Calipari tends to run a guard dominated offense. My bet is JA scores less next season than he did this season.

Cal runs that dribble drive offense. He isn’t a good X and O coach and will struggle to get Aidoo the touches he needs in the right position.

I agree JA averages a lot less this upcoming season.

 

[joevols89]

What did we pay for Felix? Was it overpaying also?

No clue. But teams like Arkansas and Kentucky are also in bigger desperation mode since they had to build a whole new roster.

Aidoo feels like more of a mercenary than Okpara since he has connections here. We probably still ended up paying him more than what Aidoo got here last year.

 

[FeelVol]

Calipari will let Aidoo jack up 3 pointers.

I’ve wondered if Aidoo sees himself as a stretch four and wanted to expand that part of his game while at UT but was hesitant.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Paying millions to, er, I think they're supposed to be college students, in the hope that they'll help your COLLEGE sports team win games?
Only in America.

Yes...we know you are a huge proponent of indentured slave models based on all of your posts and you see no issues with the corruption and exploitation. You can stop gaslighting everyone now.

 

[Dougie_D]

I view these situations just like a job since kids are getting paid.
I’m never gonna tell a coworker to not take the same position at a different company if it pays better or gives them more/less hours to do whatever.
If Aidoo was getting paid to flip burgers at McDonald’s of TN for 14.50/hour for 30 hours a week with an amazing manager and then gets an offer at some BBQ joint in AR making sandwiches for 18.50/hour for 22 hours a week with an obnoxious manager and accepts…then I guess that’s whatever for Aidoo.