Coach Pikiell is...

[higgins3]

If you view a project as someone who will not be able to contribute this season, I do not see him as a project. He will fill in for at least 10 minutes this year.

 

[PhilaPhans]

We know he's an incredible smart and hard working kid (4.0 GPA). We know very little about the development of his game at the 4/5. A couple years ago, he was a 6'4-6'5 G/SF. He missed his entire junior season. He needs a lot of work to turn his body into a productive one. Mind you, that means he isn't even close to reaching his potential (which is good, considering he doesn't look that bad even now), but he is indeed a complete question mark as a center.

Have you watched any tape on him? You love to see players that are bigs that were once guards. It means they come with an atypical skill set. He has a couple months to get his body weight down. I have watched at least a half hour over the past months and I do not see him as a project. Great get.

Yes, I've watched his video. I'm not down on him like I was a Diallo or Doorson. I'd probably compare his perceived production to that of Greg Lewis. Nice HS career, but when he got to college, he had a ways to go. Do you think he'll be able to do things at the college level like he did in HS? Not right away. I think he has a ways to go to develop, and I'm happy we have him. I think it's a sin we have to throw him to the wolves right away instead of slowly integrate him in (like we can sort of do with Geo).

 

[PhilaPhans]

If you view a project as someone who will not be able to contribute this season, I do not see him as a project. He will fill in for at least 10 minutes this year.

My view is ... would he be on the court for 10 minutes a game his frosh year for Maryland? Mich State? Minnesota? Etc.

Ideally he'd play very little as a frosh if we had anybody else to play the 5. Sa isn't a 25 minute guy. Doorson isn't one. Freeman is the only 4/5 worth playing real minutes on the roster right now. We will have to count on Johnson a ton this year while he learns the position and develops his body.

 

[higgins3]

My view is ... would he be on the court for 10 minutes a game his frosh year for Maryland? Mich State? Minnesota? Etc.

Ideally he'd play very little as a frosh if we had anybody else to play the 5. Sa isn't a 25 minute guy. Doorson isn't one. Freeman is the only 4/5 worth playing real minutes on the roster right now. We will have to count on Johnson a ton this year while he learns the position and develops his body.

Never looked at Grew Lewis's tape. Definitely not right away. I would not think he will be like Greg Lewis in his Rutgers career. More like a Gettys without all the enthusiasm. I also would not compare him to where he would be on other teams, as that is pointless. He will also drop weight quicker than Thiam will gain it. I think Johnson and Sa will end up splitting time by mid-end of the season.

 

[DirtyRU]

Great find @DirtyRU great find indeed

Ha, yeah... when you said no AC, nobody wants to travel there, etc. that's all I could think of was that scene in Blue Chips. BTW it's been a minute since that came out... early 90s... they should remake that movie with up-to-date storylines, actors, etc. I like the original, and it would be hard to top Nolte's performance, but would still be cool to see. I guess in a way, He Got Game was kind of a newer version, only it was focused on one recruit instead of a coach and a team of recruits.

 

[RUChow]

Generally speaking college coaches are pretty secretive about certain things.

Most of them have closed practices and workouts. Which is one reason coaches want practice facilities that are dedicated just to basketball so that they can control who comes in.

I've talked to coaches who, when they find a kid who is under the radar, secretly hope he doesn't play well in his next AAU Tournament so that other coaches don't see how good he is.

Years ago I asked a coach which AAU tournament he was going to. He wouldn't say, he just told me the city he was going to be in (there were at least 3 tournaments in that city that week). Then he said:

Please don't publish. Other kids get offended if you aren't where they are.

Those are just some of reasons some coaches don't want people to know what tournament they're at and who they're watching.

Most coaches know how good a kid is even when he doesn't play well. Can't hide talent.

 

[Russ Wood]

Most coaches know how good a kid is even when he doesn't play well. Can't hide talent.

No doubt.

Btw, just last night I was talking to the director of the Team Knight AAU program. We were talking about one of their players Caleb Catto and how well he's been playing and picking up mid-major offers.

Then he mentioned that the kid hurt his ankle last Wednesday and didn't play the rest of the week but still picked up offers. He added that and assistant coach of Florida Gulf Coast call him and half jokingly said Catto should just shut it down and not play during the third live period.

In other words he didn't want any more schools to see Catto.