I have yet to see a legit breakdown of why the team hasn't been successful so far this season. Context matters and sometimes those knee jerk reactions just don't do it for me. I like to focus on the how and why did we get here. Well, me being the nice guy that I am, I'll break down why the team is somewhat struggling.
His first portal pickup was Tonje. It's safe to assume he was looked at to be a major piece of this team due to how quick Gates snatched him off the market. He's been injured and haven't been able to help the team. He's a big strong perimeter player who can shoot and play off the bounce some when healthy, based on his highlights. His particular skillset is what this team is lacking at the moment. His absence also affects the rotation and more importantly forces others into more expanded roles.
The next problem is Caleb Grill being injured hurts in more ways than his abiltiy to supposedly shoot the ball well. His ability to defend, rebound and just his overall toughness is being missed. Other teams are just imposing their physicality on us and there isn't much we can do to offset that at the moment. We're just way too light in the ass to deal with these strong ass dudes. Caleb is strong as an ox and he ain't getting bullied.
Regarding Honor and Carter. This season has shown us all that they're role players at best. You can't be a really good team if you're counting on them to be top 3 players on your team. If Grill and Tonje weren't hurt, Honor and Carter wouldn't be playing as many minutes as they are.
For those yelling "the season is lost and throw the freshmen out there" are we watching the same game? Pierce and Butler gets manhandled the entire time they're on the floor. Sure they'll flash and do something nice every once in awhile, but their just not strong enough to garner consistent minutes right now. Robinson on the other hand should be getting more minutes. He's our best on ball defender and what I really like about his game is his ability to disrupt the opponents trying to set up their offense.
It seems like folks have amnesia about how last offseason played out. I think Grill, Bates and Tonje were all real solid pickups in the portal. We have to remember, money was held back just in case Kobe decided to come back. Gates couldn't afford to splurge on say the FSU transfer, because had he did and Kobe wanted to come back and we couldn't afford him, the outrage would've been massive. Once Kobe declared, it left Gates scrambling and that's how we ended up with Jesus and Vanover. So, actually Gates didn't do a bad job in the portal considering the circumstances.
It just boggles my mind how quick some of y'all turn on coaches and players for things out of their control. Just like y'all judged Cook knowing he played with a hurt shoulder. In sports, everything isn't always black and white and sometimes it's ok to think about why is this happening instead of just popping off. Sorry, not sorry for the long post because in Gates I trust and someone needed to bring a level of understanding to the board.
His first portal pickup was Tonje. It's safe to assume he was looked at to be a major piece of this team due to how quick Gates snatched him off the market. He's been injured and haven't been able to help the team. He's a big strong perimeter player who can shoot and play off the bounce some when healthy, based on his highlights. His particular skillset is what this team is lacking at the moment. His absence also affects the rotation and more importantly forces others into more expanded roles.
The next problem is Caleb Grill being injured hurts in more ways than his abiltiy to supposedly shoot the ball well. His ability to defend, rebound and just his overall toughness is being missed. Other teams are just imposing their physicality on us and there isn't much we can do to offset that at the moment. We're just way too light in the ass to deal with these strong ass dudes. Caleb is strong as an ox and he ain't getting bullied.
Regarding Honor and Carter. This season has shown us all that they're role players at best. You can't be a really good team if you're counting on them to be top 3 players on your team. If Grill and Tonje weren't hurt, Honor and Carter wouldn't be playing as many minutes as they are.
For those yelling "the season is lost and throw the freshmen out there" are we watching the same game? Pierce and Butler gets manhandled the entire time they're on the floor. Sure they'll flash and do something nice every once in awhile, but their just not strong enough to garner consistent minutes right now. Robinson on the other hand should be getting more minutes. He's our best on ball defender and what I really like about his game is his ability to disrupt the opponents trying to set up their offense.
It seems like folks have amnesia about how last offseason played out. I think Grill, Bates and Tonje were all real solid pickups in the portal. We have to remember, money was held back just in case Kobe decided to come back. Gates couldn't afford to splurge on say the FSU transfer, because had he did and Kobe wanted to come back and we couldn't afford him, the outrage would've been massive. Once Kobe declared, it left Gates scrambling and that's how we ended up with Jesus and Vanover. So, actually Gates didn't do a bad job in the portal considering the circumstances.
It just boggles my mind how quick some of y'all turn on coaches and players for things out of their control. Just like y'all judged Cook knowing he played with a hurt shoulder. In sports, everything isn't always black and white and sometimes it's ok to think about why is this happening instead of just popping off. Sorry, not sorry for the long post because in Gates I trust and someone needed to bring a level of understanding to the board.
