key for being better than good

[ksu_FAN]

i'm in no way saying Denis isn't a good player, he is.  my biggest point is that he's also very limited in what he can contribute to the team and a lot of posters here don't seem to realize that.

I can see that.  I'm probably overplaying what he can do.  I just think the combination of ability to score to go along with a decent FG% for a guard and solid assist numbers makes him pretty good right now.  I think he was 2nd team all league for a reason.  And like I said above, he definately has some limitations, but lots of really good college players have limitations.  If he makes some improvements, no reason he couldn't go beyond "just" a good/really good guard in this league.

[steve dave]

Plyers rated in amount of Good by sd:
Denis - Pretty Good
Jake - Pretty Good
Jamar - Kinda Good
Sutton - Kinda Good
Colon - Not really Good
Merriewether - Not Good at all
Wally - Hopefully really Good
Kelly - Hopefully pretty Good
McG - Hopefully Good
Russell - Hopefully Good
Jordan - Hopefully Kinda Good
Martavious - Hopefully Kinda Good

[pissclams]

Plyers rated in amount of Good by sd:
Denis - Pretty Good
Jake - Pretty Good
Jamar - Kinda Good
Sutton - Kinda Good
Colon - Not really Good
Merriewether - Not Good at all
Wally - Hopefully really Good
Kelly - Hopefully pretty Good
McG - Hopefully Good
Russell - Hopefully Good
Jordan - Hopefully Kinda Good
Martavious - Hopefully Kinda Good

i like it.
rate them not in terms of where they are now, but where they could go.

imo Jamar/Wally could both be very good/great players.  jamar needs to bulk up about 15-20 lbs of muscle mass.
denis has topped out and probably isn't going to get better than he is.  could work on shot selection.
jake could improve his strength, finishing at the rim, game management, and shooting %.  his growth has been cool to watch.
luis, terrible, won't improve.
CK should fit in with the Jamar/Wally posse at very good/great but we have to see.

rest of freshman too early to gauge.

[catdude33]

Doesn't anyone agree that depth at guard is a huge question mark right now?  One that could make or break the season.  If CM is getting any significant minutes at all we are kind of screwed.  Nick and/or Rod stepping up and contributing is essential now that fred is gone, right?  Would like some more discussion on this point, ok.

[steve dave]

Doesn't anyone agree that depth at guard is a huge question mark right now?  One that could make or break the season.  If CM is getting any significant minutes at all we are kind of screwed.  Nick and/or Rod stepping up and contributing is essential now that fred is gone, right?  Would like some more discussion on this point, ok.

Yeah, I agree.  Why didn't you say something about this earlier

[catzacker]

Doesn't anyone agree that depth at guard is a huge question mark right now?  One that could make or break the season.  If CM is getting any significant minutes at all we are kind of screwed.  Nick and/or Rod stepping up and contributing is essential now that fred is gone, right?  Would like some more discussion on this point, ok.

we also lost our two "best" 3point shooters.  although pullen usually goes for quantity over quality.  that's kind of a concern to me.

[Legore]

Doesn't anyone agree that depth at guard is a huge question mark right now?  One that could make or break the season.  If CM is getting any significant minutes at all we are kind of screwed.  Nick and/or Rod stepping up and contributing is essential now that fred is gone, right?  Would like some more discussion on this point, ok.

we also lost our two "best" 3point shooters.  although pullen usually goes for quantity over quality.  that's kind of a concern to me.

I agree i wasn't crazy about either Brown and Awaji but maybe it would have been nice to keep one of those guys around.  Awaji had some size and could shoot it I would like to have him off the bench this year.   

From the sound of it Nick Russell is looking good so maybe he's the frosh guard that steps up for us.  I also tend to think that Wally could be a little better then what people are saying.  He's not proven at this level but guys that get ranked where he was are generally good players and generally can help out right away. 

I find it interesting that teams in Europe made Dom the focal point of their defense.  Not sure if they were just basing this on who looked like they'd be the best scorer.  Would be nice if he could get some consistency on the offensive end of the floor.  He's never going to be a great shooter or scorer but he can and should improve.     

[steve dave]

I find it interesting that teams in Europe made Dom the focal point of their defense.  Not sure if they were just basing this on who looked like they'd be the best scorer. 

I don't.  Did you see that roster?  It was Jake, Dom and a bunch of guys that I could D up. 

[Dick Knewheizel]

The funny thing about this thread is that a lot of the more critical posts presume we're always in a half court offense. 
This presumption is used to an absolute fault.  Obviously Frank prefers to get up and down the floor and push the tempo.  Pressure D, high risk plays, etc.  The expectations of anything to the contrary are insane, any players with that skill set have been in the NBA for three years.

Clemente is about as good as it gets running the floor, pushing the tempo.  The bigs we have on our roster now are very fleet of foot and cap leap.  The team is built to run the floor and defend and have enough athleticism to score in the half court, some way some how, often by a weakside rebound on a missed J (aka chuck a shot at the basket).

Of course it would be nice to have all the other crap everyone is whining about not having.  But let's be realistic, not many teams have a post that can consistently score using his "moves" and when he's doubled kick it to a guard who hits 40%+ of the tre's and also has the body to slash and score while being the perfect court visionary (any 'tard uk fans lurking, Aldrich can't catch a pass w/o traveling and Collins is as inconsistent as Denis).

How did ya'll get so spoiled???   

[yosh]

I find it interesting that teams in Europe made Dom the focal point of their defense.  Not sure if they were just basing this on who looked like they'd be the best scorer. 

I don't.  Did you see that roster?  It was Jake, Dom and a bunch of guys that I could D up. 

Doubt they (European teams) spent a lot of time scouting all the individual US players.  If you defend Dom straight up with a small forward, he'll drive on you.  It's when you back way off of him and force him to shoot that he loses effectiveness.  Dom would love it if big 12 SFs played tighter D on him.

[wildcat79]

From where I sit KSU has fielded the strongest most athletic team I've seen perhaps in last 25yrs. If they develope chemistry as a team the upside is great imho. Not say ku talent but then, they could win it all. Looking very much forward to seeing this team and how they work to make each other better.