Just curious about what you guys think of these players based on their highlight reels. To me it seems that Hall is a very good shooter for a high school forward but doesn't appear to have an overly significant amount of vertical leap. I'm really impressed with Applewhite too...seems like a big time land. Not that the SEC is great like they are in football but I see he started in his last 6 games there as a RS Freshman. My only other analysis is that we need to keep Coach K.
Haven't seen Applewhite's cuz my device sucks but I'm stumped a little on the other two. Hall's doesn't show the usual slamfest stuff which most kids have. He doesn't look that athletic but he is supposed to be that. Same for Stuckey. He seems like a glue guy maybe more than a star but it's hard to tell. I shot the same percentage in my HS highlight video as these guys did. Granted mine is six seconds long and I'm 2-2 but the point is its hard to tell what kind of a shooter Hall is since no one misses in highlight videos. My guess is he's more athletic and very energetic than he appears here but maybe not as much of a shooter. I'll look more closely later-I think Applewhite will be the next Drummond, solid in all aspects.
well, obviously you wanna keep coach k around forever. he's a smart basketball mind who has a great balance of experience and hunger. he's built a good team culture and has solid fundamental principals for his teams. he's built a balanced roster and has guys who go to class and typically enjoy being college students.
as for the recruits, all the tapes are old. hall and mosely were 16 at the time of those tapes. and applewhite is 2 yrs older, has had a major knee injury and played in an sec program since. I like that hall was recruited for a long time. both he and applewhite are the type of versatile swingmen with good ballhandling skills that coach k likes, but both with pretty good size, more like forwards. we have played best this yr when we rely on our ballhandling and movement to get good looks. having 3 new players that are solid ballhandlers fits that model.
I wouldn't worry about hall's vertical. he can get up. might not be weatherspoon, but he looks like a very good athlete. he's had a great sr yr and seems to have a good motor and will help on glass too. mosely is a smooth player with a nice lefty j. I think he will fit. applewhite can use both hands, defend and be aggressive to the rim.
ideally, you'd like to add a 6-8 guy who can jump and bang but the mac doesn't get a lot of those. not sure what aparicio's scholarship situation is but if he is on full ride next yr I don't think we recruit anyone else unless Aubrey Williams were to leave which is doubtful to me cuz he will probably grad early and have 2 yrs to play after 14-15 without losing a rs yr as a grad transfer should he want to go elsewhere.
(02-23-2014 10:32 PM)emanoh Wrote: OK, lets say Aparicio is 100% healthy, who is he going to bump out of the rotation for playing time the next two years?
My impression is he will be a Matt Smith type, lending us some presence at the three point line. Maybe he's much more than that. I'm hoping at least that's more than say, Fernando Righetto.
Love the Fernando Righetto Reference...Dipping deep in the well for that one. Good response to where he might fit in, I've always thought of Smith as more of a back to the basket guy, but it was because we needed him there vs. it being the right spot. But you're right, his height and hopefully his three point shooting prowess follows suit.
It's true that it is tough to find Bigs who can provide a strong offensive and defensive presence down low in the MAC yet we are getting beat up in the paint by players like N'dour at OU, Whittington at Western, Riley at CMU, Thok at Ball St. and Cameron Black at BGSU. That's not all the fault of Boothe and Garber. They need help with defensive rotations and blocking out from the other players but the Rockets could benefit from another low post recruit who can post up and score on offense and defend down low at the other end.
(02-24-2014 12:39 PM)Sleepy Wrote: It's true that it is tough to find Bigs who can provide a strong offensive and defensive presence down low in the MAC yet we are getting beat up in the paint by players like N'dour at OU, Whittington at Western, Riley at CMU, Thok at Ball St. and Cameron Black at BGSU. That's not all the fault of Boothe and Garber. They need help with defensive rotations and blocking out from the other players but the Rockets could benefit from another low post recruit who can post up and score on offense and defend down low at the other end.
Boothe was getting over the flu at OU and was incredibly weak. That is a big reason N'dour had a big game first time around.