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NevaLost

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Posts posted by NevaLost

  1. 1 hour ago, ztejas said:

    The AAU stuff is overblown. There are shitty AAU coaches and teams that play the wrong way and there are AAU teams that will run you off the court if you don't show up locked in. Almost every high school team worth a shit (in school play) is going to play disciplined on both sides of the ball and look for good shots. 

    There are more and more international players and international superstars simply as a function of the game being more popular. The best international players aren't the best because they play the "right way". Around 75% of the league's players still come from a country sporting about 3% of the world's population. 

    Jokic - passing savant. BBIQ on both ends off the charts. Huge frame and strong as shit and does everything on and off the court the right way. There is no "coaching" guys like that. And he was a late 2nd round pick and really honed his game in the states - not playing in Europe. Just won a title with a bunch of great American players around him.

    Giannis - athletic freak that can't shoot for shit. Fairly fundamentally sound player but mainly relies on raw talent, feel for the game and athletic ability.

    Luka - plays like a shitty AAU coach's wet dream. Minimal effort on D. Shows up out of shape every season. Slows the game down and runs iso plays and ball screens to death. Another guy that is just straight up ridiculously talented. Amazing player but not because he "plays the game the right way".

    Embiid - total US product. Didn't start playing the game until 15 - was in the states by 16.

    Then you have guys like Sabonis who is a classic Euro prototype player that got exposed in the playoffs by American defenders playing under an American coach. 

    The Miami Heat team that just made the Finals as an 8 seed didn't have an ounce of Euro on it. All Americans being coached by an American. 

    International players are getting more and more representation because more and more internationals are picking up a basketball at an early age, and on top of that they do coach and develop well and in a lot of instances play the right way. That doesn't mean that Americans aren't also being developed and coached in the right ways - and at the end of the day we still completely dominate the NBA landscape. The American share of the league will continue to decline as a basic function of world population.

    We still won the last Olympics despite throwing together an awful roster last minute and asking the best American player to drag them to the medal. We can't keep relying on that - but the talent gap is still massive. 

    AAU does have some serious issues, but, to add to your point, players are showing up in the league with more developed skill sets and better defensive awareness than players ~15 years ago. Now that's not all attributable to AAU, but I think the crying about AAU's effects on American player development is overblown (the injury concerns are real). 

  2. 1 hour ago, Stunns38 said:

    Seems like Klay Thompson hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries physically and definitely mentally…but the Lakers are quick and long on defense. I didn’t think this would be a bad matchup for the Warriors. That SAC series took a toll as well.

    This could still go 7 but I don’t see GS having the energy to win that last game.

    Not being able to use Looney in this series kills GSW. His minutes go to a bunch of subpar, mostly undersized wings. It's brutal for any team to match up with LeBron/AD playing 43 minutes each, especially when the matchup necessitates that you go small. I don't think there's a great solution on this GSW roster other than (i) run even more Steph PnR to wear out AD and keep him away from the rim and/or (ii) hope Klay hits shots. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
  3. 2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

    Why should their defense be excellent? They lost critical talent and they’re replacing it with guys that played sparingly or freshmen. 

    My thinking was a few first-round type kids returning + the raw talent they've been stacking on that side of the ball + the floor for Saban's Alabama defenses has still been very good. Now that I'm looking closer at that roster, it does look like particularly linebacker and safety could be pretty green and they're oddly lacking high-end guys on the interior. 

  4. 2 hours ago, ztejas said:

    The Rui tough guy act was adorable. 

    Idk who wins GS/SAC but I like them over the LA team that's likely going to win this shitfest. 

    And I think sans major injury DEN/PHO is going to settle the West. 

    If Davis stays healthy, and that's a major if, I think LAL are likely favored in the second round regardless of who comes out of that series. What Davis is doing defensively is special. Will certainly be contrasting styles and a very interesting matchup either way. 

  5. 2 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

    Alabama QBs shit the bed in the Spring game

    Acknowledging the Alabama defense should be excellent next year, I think it's wild that they opened up more than a touchdown favorite. We're demonstrably better at every position group on offense and watching the QB play during their spring game reminded me a bit of the King/Johnson/Weigman disaster class from last spring. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. 5 minutes ago, texifornia said:

    Give Captain Obvious over here a Pulitzer, what a unique and unexplored story. 

    That's Ari Wasserman's MO. He somehow landed a national job by writing story after story about the novel concept that teams full of 4/5 stars win more and then taking victory laps every year when Georgia/Bama/OSU win. The guy brings virtually zero knowledge of scheme and has no personality. 

    • Hook 'Em 3
  7. 18 hours ago, Red Five said:

    We'll be comparable to last year at DT. Better just about everywhere else. The D should be very good.

    Now we're bemoaning the loss of Ovie? Lulz.

    Not bemoaning the loss of Ovie. He was an exceedingly average P5 player, and we're better off with younger players getting his reps. However, there's no real indication that we'll get better production from any individual on this year's roster. The defense was very good last year - my point was that I expect it to be similar this year with weaknesses in late down situations. 

  8. 38 minutes ago, OB3 said:

    IT Humidor

      Reveal hidden contents

    Following Thursday’s team work the defense continues to get the best of the offense. That’s a good thing, normal, and will likely continue well into August camp. The flaw on defense, though not fatal, remains Edge pass rushing. Two reasons it’s not fatal, the Edges are going up against great bookend tackles, and Ethan Burke is getting more and more reps at Buck in large part due to his ability to rush the passer. Burke is stronger than he was a year ago. He and Finkley are likely to find themselves in a timeshare at this point.

    Overall, depth on the defense is another team strength. Cornerbacks are a good example of that depth. Malik Muhammadwas really good both in man coverage or zone. He also had a really good blitz on Arch Manning, and he was active on running plays as well. He’s the total package and probably the most advanced freshman of the 14 enrollees at this point. He would start at most (all?) Big 12 schools this Fall. 

    The Kitan Crawford noise we’ve been reporting made its way into Steve Sarkisian‘s Thursday Zoom with the media. We’ve known since he was in high school he’s really fast, but now he’s playing fast. He can really cover space and close windows. Terrance Brooks also made plays on Thursday, getting his hands on a couple of passes. 

    Up front the run defense by the D-line was very good. We know the first team, but on the second team they had Kristopher Ross, Alfred Collins, Aaron Bryant, and Justice Finkley together a lot and there weren’t many places for the running backs to go. Bryant is good at holding his ground and Collins made a few plays where he’d get into the backfield. The linebackers had a good time behind them and they’re also getting really good at timing their blitzes. Jett Bush is a much better pass-rusher from linebacker than as an end. He will be credible depth behind Jaylan Ford.

    We don’t know if the D-line’s base pass rush from the edges is great but their blitz package has a chance to make up for it.

    It was tough on the quarterbacks in full team scrimmage. Manning was hounded a lot but he did hit a deep corner route to a tight end that was really impressive.  

    CJ Baxter definitely looks the part, he can run with some lean and be a problem to tackle. He had a score on an outside sweep behind Cameron Williams. He’s a smart runner.

    Quinn Ewers is definitely a lot more comfortable in the passing game. He was able to get the ball out quickly and to open targets in the passing drills but he did have to check down a lot in team. There is no battle for starting quarterback but Arch is obviously talented and Maalik Murphyhas a decent idea of what he’s doing.

    AD Mitchell‘s comfort in the offense improves by the practice and he’s mostly with the ones now. 
    The O-line remains consistent with Kelvin Banks–Hayden Conner–Jake Majors–DJ Campbell–Christian Jones. Williams is the swing tackle and has received some looks at guard. Both Neto Umeozulu and Payton Kirklandcontinue to receive praise. Texas will have no problem being 8-9 deep this season, but this group needs more time together, specifically in the interior, before they start to play to their talent level.

     

    Based on the various practice reports, it really sounds like the defense will be about the same as last year. I expect the secondary to improve but worry that even for all their shortcomings, linebacker and EDGE play will stay the same or even regress slightly with the loss of DMo and Ovie. Interior defensive line play should once again be high level. It could be huge if Catalon is healthy for even a few of @Bama, OU, @TCU and KSU. All this should absolutely be enough for us to play in the Big 12 CG. 

     

    • Like 1
  9. 4 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

    Yeah I agree, this should be the year to do it IMO.


    I was listening to Gerry and either Bobby or Justin Wells talk about something the other day with regards to the new class and last years class. It was about how smooth and fast they were with their movements and bodies. They said they haven't seen a Texas team look like that on the practice field since 2000s Mack. Just effortlessly smooth athletes essentially.

    My sources are telling me that spring practice reminds them most of 2013 Florida State. 

    • Haha 2
  10. 2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

    I’d be pretty happy with Cruz at a composite of .93-.95. He might the best OL in the state, Flood sure as hell thinks so, but the services knock down centers. 
     

    Creed Humphrey kicked more ass than Roadhouse in his high school film, and he was an .8962 in his composite and .93 on 247. 
     

    This is one of many things that I don't understand about the rankings, a top 5 center will be ranked behind ~25 offensive tackles. I suppose the recruiting analysts say that they're ranking based on NFL draft projections, so it makes sense on that level - but I'd certainly rather have the kick-ass center on my team at the college level. 

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