Where is the player development?

#51
#51
1985Vols said:
Nice recap of player development. Anosike was a huge mistake by Barnes and staff. Would have preferred to see them take Mac McClung vs. a big that doesnt contribute. I think it would be a completely different season had they done so since we would have a go to scorer
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Fair enough but many big time coaching staffs would have made the same mistake if Anosike had chosen them and I am not going to fault the staff for working to fix our greatest need (I can only imagine the gnashing of teeth on here had they went after another wing player only to have that not work out...lol).
 
#52
#52
TNBV said:
Not hating on him but if you look at Fulk, I believe coach has developed all that can be developed out of a moderately athletic, short (for position), slight, moderately skilled local playing post in the SEC. When he and and Pons (yes I know Pons can jump but he is still 6,6) are your inside presence, you have no true PG and your shooter's are all streaky this is what you get. Fulk is a scrambler/junk ball guy, but not the focus of a top 20, SEC team. I blame Barnes in recruiting more than development. Our current team top 7 includes 6, 2s/3s and 1, 4(four). Not sure next year looks much better other than the obvious PG situation. Fulky could come back but he needs about 20lbs of bulk to play the way we need him to play. Pons has developed a little bit of a shot but I can not remember him driving to the basket at all this year. Not sure who is to blame for that. The 2 Freshmen are progressing well in my opinion, Vescovi is doing what he can being placed out of position. JJJ has become a pretty good rebounder but is obviously still inconsistent on offense. If we had either a true PG or a true 4/5 than everyone would look a hell of a lot better. Fulk might be first team SEC with a functional 5 in the lineup.
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This is a good point and one that often gets missed around here: improvement isn't always guaranteed or linear. I know we preach to our kids that they can work hard enough to achieve anything, but in the world of athletics (and academics) that simply isn't true. There are ceilings and limits to this improvement thing and how far you can go.

We got really spoiled with Admiral, Grant, and Bone all being together and they all benefitted from each other as well. Grant Williams is the exception and not the rule, yet suddenly we expect all of our 3 and 4 stars to develop into All-Americans and NBA first rounders.
 
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#53
#53
BreatheUT said:
This has some merit but then again Fulky played the 5 last year as well. I just wonder if we must play Plas out of desperation to see if Fulky can perform better at the 4 position. I have my doubts.
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Are you suggesting we start Uros?šŸ˜¬
Iā€™ll take my chances with Fulky.
GBO!!
 
#55
#55
The Kentucky game was disappointing from a standpoint that it looked like we didn't want the win as badly as UK did. They played harder. We don't seem to have a guy that can call his teammates out and lead by example. The freshman probably have that mentality more than most but it is probably hard for them with so many older players around.
Fulky- probably had too high expectations this year based on a couple of really good games toward the end of last season. Still he is underperforming this year. Hopefully he can get healthy and regain some of his aggressiveness come tourney time.
Pons- A major disappointment imo. Someone earlier posted about his rebounding numbers. (Vescovi has more rebounds than Pons. )That is will and mindset and he seems to be lacking in both right now. I know he is nicked up and hope he can turn it around.
JJJ- He remains my favorite player on the team due to everything he does well. Unfortunately he is also a quite leader and we need someone that can get in peoples faces.
Vescovi- I think he gets too much criticism on this site. He lacks athleticism but still does a lot of things well. He is a good 6th man moving forward.
Keon and Springer- Inconsistent freshman that need to grow up quickly for the team to have a successful postseason. They have the most ability and we need them to show it moving forward.
ON- showing small incremental progress these last few games. We don't need too much from him and hopefully he continues to gain confidence.
Anosike- I don't blame Barnes for this. Lots of big time programs wanted him but he has been a disappointment.
Gaines- Unless he can get a lot stronger I am questioning his ability to be a contributor moving forward.
No one else on the bench really worth mentioning. I hope they are developing but we do not have the depth I had thought we would coming into the season. Some may be due to lack of practice and Covid issues but every team is dealing with that.
The season is not over and I am hopeful we see some guys turn it around and can make a run in the SEC an NCAA tourney.
 
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#56
#56
TNBV said:
Not hating on him but if you look at Fulk, I believe coach has developed all that can be developed out of a moderately athletic, short (for position), slight, moderately skilled local playing post in the SEC. When he and and Pons (yes I know Pons can jump but he is still 6,6) are your inside presence, you have no true PG and your shooter's are all streaky this is what you get. Fulk is a scrambler/junk ball guy, but not the focus of a top 20, SEC team. I blame Barnes in recruiting more than development. Our current team top 7 includes 6, 2s/3s and 1, 4(four). Not sure next year looks much better other than the obvious PG situation. Fulky could come back but he needs about 20lbs of bulk to play the way we need him to play. Pons has developed a little bit of a shot but I can not remember him driving to the basket at all this year. Not sure who is to blame for that. The 2 Freshmen are progressing well in my opinion, Vescovi is doing what he can being placed out of position. JJJ has become a pretty good rebounder but is obviously still inconsistent on offense. If we had either a true PG or a true 4/5 than everyone would look a hell of a lot better. Fulk might be first team SEC with a functional 5 in the lineup.
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This post sums up precisely the real problem with our basketball team. Great post!
 
#58
#58
Here's a thought for consideration, on a possible side-effect of player development:

Teams "gel" when the players know each other and what each other does well--like where they like to get the ball and where they like to set up or take their defender.

What if this team has been "un-gelling" because the freshmen are developing? What if it's the fact that their game--their tendencies, instinctive moves, strengths--have been changing over the past few months that has kept this team from achieving confidence and consistency?

Is it possible that two or three person's progress up the learning curve can become a curve ball to their teammates?
 
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