(10-16-2017 01:42 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote: [ -> ] (10-16-2017 10:49 AM)70shawk Wrote: [ -> ]http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sthespodcas...lexrileysn
Every minute worth listening to. Some insights I've never heard before, particulalry about the new strength and conditioning coach.
That's fine, except, they call us UNC wilmington........ Ehhhh
I get it.
(10-16-2017 03:01 PM)70shawk Wrote: [ -> ] (10-16-2017 01:42 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote: [ -> ] (10-16-2017 10:49 AM)70shawk Wrote: [ -> ]http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sthespodcas...lexrileysn
Every minute worth listening to. Some insights I've never heard before, particulalry about the new strength and conditioning coach.
That's fine, except, they call us UNC wilmington........ Ehhhh
I get it.
I agree with you though, it was a good listen
I really like Alex, but he did Cacok a disservice. He made Donte's dunks sound very simple. But most of his dunks were highly athletic. Many of which he was snatching the ball out of the air and bringing it home. If it was that easy more big men would be scoring at an 80% clip. McGrath said he has coached high end players in his 18 years, but Cacok is one of the most athletic players he has ever seen.
I thought the same thing Sea33hawk he absolutley didn't give Cacok the respect he deserved for what he did last year.
(10-16-2017 07:19 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote: [ -> ]If it was that easy more big men would be scoring at an 80% clip.
Cacok's 80% mark might end up being like Pete Maravich's 44 PPG career mark. It might not ever be broken.
(10-17-2017 11:35 AM)70shawk Wrote: [ -> ] (10-16-2017 07:19 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote: [ -> ]If it was that easy more big men would be scoring at an 80% clip.
Cacok's 80% mark might end up being like Pete Maravich's 44 PPG career mark. It might not ever be broken.
The previous record stood for nearly 40 years, and he pretty much shattered it. The difference between 74.6 % and 80.0 % is massive. And you have to hit a certain number of attempts to be eligible to set the record.
Maybe some school in a crappy conference will get a completely dominant 7-5 guy some day who just dunks over everyone. But if it was that easy, someone else would have figured out how to do so in the last 35+ years.
And he set the record as a sophomore! Good lord...
If you folks have not noticed yet, Alex is not a UNCW reporter. He is a beat reporter for high schools in the area and UNCW. He has no loyalty to UNCW so we can't expect him to be pumping our team up. Not saying anything is wrong with that, because reporters are supposed to be unbiased.
(10-17-2017 12:56 PM)surfsalot Wrote: [ -> ]If you folks have not noticed yet, Alex is not a UNCW reporter. He is a beat reporter for high schools in the area and UNCW. He has no loyalty to UNCW so we can't expect him to be pumping our team up. Not saying anything is wrong with that, because reporters are supposed to be unbiased.
Ehhhh, i don't think i agree at all. I think he does plenty to promote UNCW with his good coverage. While he's not a homer, i think he certainly pulls for and promotes UNCW.
It has nothing to do with pumping up the team. Don't want him to be that kind of Homer. It has everything to do with giving credit where it is due. It was not an easy accomplishment. Not the way he did it especially.
(10-17-2017 03:22 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote: [ -> ]It has nothing to do with pumping up the team. Don't want him to be that kind of Homer. It has everything to do with giving credit where it is due. It was not an easy accomplishment. Not the way he did it especially.
I agree with you i think he kind of undersold it. My comment was in general i think Alex does a fine job
Speaking of a UNCW reporter. It's 2017. Is the student newspaper online? That's where you could really get an up and coming journalist with a passion for sports to cover UNCW, and really get excited about what Cacok did. Although, any sports reporter including the bigs at ESPN/FOX Sports, etc should be covering that a bit more.
Furthermore, what Cacok did was so extremely rare and exceptional, that he should be a household name for college basketball. We've discussed in other threads how "fair" the system is. And the media likes to harp on how unfair the NCAA is, yet they don't see how they do the same thing. If Cacok was at UNC, UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, etc and pulled that off as a sophomore? He'd have hundreds of reporters tripping over each other trying to get near him before a game, and he'd have so much attention he probably would be a lottery pick.
I also think Alex does a fine job. Strike that. He does an exceptional job. Before him, who got UNCW fans hyped on social media?
Alex brings passion to his unbiased reporting, that sometimes... sometimes you can't tell if he's a local beat reporter or a fan himself. Go back and watch the post-season videos he put up. Dude was amped.
Keep up the great work Alex!
(10-17-2017 06:27 PM)CoastGuardHawk06 Wrote: [ -> ]I also think Alex does a fine job. Strike that. He does an exceptional job. Before him, who got UNCW fans hyped on social media?
Alex brings passion to his unbiased reporting, that sometimes... sometimes you can't tell if he's a local beat reporter or a fan himself. Go back and watch the post-season videos he put up. Dude was amped.
Keep up the great work Alex!
Pre game pod casts, post game pod casts, weekly podcasts. As someone who doesn't live in town anymore i rely heavily on what Alex brings to the table to follow the hawks!
Appreciate the shout outs and critiques (I take both in stride). And yes, I do contribute to high school football coverage or help out if something big rolls into town (like the PGA golf tourney or Iron Man Triathlon), but my focus is always UNCW. The business card says "UNCW beat writer." Unfortunately, in today's age you can't just do one thing at a newspaper. You've got to help out with a little bit of everything, which is why you see my byline on other stories. But once basketball season starts, it's all UNCW all the time.
Getting back to the Cacok stuff, I hope I didn't come off like I was disrespecting what he did last year. Quite the contrary - I thought his effort was amazing. I've been fortunate in my career to be around some really special sports moments, and Cacok's season one definitely one of them. What I was getting at was it's easier to shoot 80 percent when a majority of your shots come from a close range over shooting from distance. I doubt the day is coming when we'll see a 3-point shooter put up those type numbers. A lot of Devontae's attempts came at or within 3 feet of the rim last year. It's not easy to shoot above 45 percent in basketball from any spot on the floor, but it's easier if you are shooting "higher percentage shots." That said, I think his overall numbers offensively will be better this year. I think he'll average more points per game, more touches, etc., but it would be foolish to think he'll shoot for 80 percent, especially if he starts taking shots away from the rim, which I think he's going to do.
Also, I don't have any stock in what UNCW does in any sport. Win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter to me. That said, I've learned it's a while lot easier to cover a winning team than a losing one. Plus, activity on our stories, Facebook posts, Twitter updates, etc., are better when the team is winning, so their success helps us as a paper have success. Last year was certainly fun to cover, never boring and I'm hoping to have some great stuff to write about this year for you guys.
Thanks for reading/listening/following/liking and so forth!
Alex,
I respect very much what you do and hope you continue the good work. I am sure it is a thankless job. But it did come across to me that you were down playing his accomplishment. And, in most cases, I would pretty much agree with what you said. It's just that so many dunks were from lobs. I just have never seen any other player complete the play like Cacok did. With the best big man hands I have seen in my nearly 50 years of attending Seahawk games, I have never witnessed the athletic ability to finish even errant passes. I still think he would make a great tight end in the NFL. With that said, I am very happy to see him working and improving on other aspects of his game.
I truly believe his number will hang in the rafters in Trask some day. And he will be able to come back and show his children and grandchildren that accomplishment. An opportunity that Bryce forfeited by transferring. Something he will not be able to do at State. I do understand that CJ did what he felt was best for his NBA aspirations. But I don't think he has any better chance at that than if he stayed.
Cacok has a much better chance of playing in the NBA than Bryce and I think Bryce is really but the deal is basketball is covered up with good 6-4 players at all levels.
Cacok is a freak of nature and reminds me of the kid from Morehead St-Faried.
I think Cacok could be better with the right coaching.
(10-18-2017 01:57 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote: [ -> ]Cacok has a much better chance of playing in the NBA than Bryce and I think Bryce is really but the deal is basketball is covered up with good 6-4 players at all levels.
Cacok is a freak of nature and reminds me of the kid from Morehead St-Faried.
I think Cacok could be better with the right coaching.
Truth from The Mullet....
The thing is, alley oops and dunks have been around forever. And for those who play around the rim, they should be easy...but they aren't. Other teams KNOW what you are going to do and try to stop it. Cacock presented a huge problem because he could run the floor end to end and had several guards who could deliver a pass on the drive or on the break. His freakish ability and our fast pace and pressure created the perfect storm of high volume dunk opportunities. Almost half of his FG attempts were dunks which is unheard of. Shack did the same thing at LSU with dunks, but didn't have the athleticism to grab alley oops and finish with dunks.
The distance he placed between what he did and the previous record is almost unbelievable. I simply cannot imagine another player going over 80% for the year again. Even Cacock.