2021 SG Keisei Tominaga - Juco - LOI

[jayschool]

39 minutes ago, Navin R. Johnson said:

 

Set picks for him and let him run around until he has a shot.

[hhcmatt]

54 minutes ago, TheKamdyMan said:

Sounds like he got the memo that he needed to step things up with that game and then 7/7 from 3 in the next game.

 

 

[49r]

What really strikes me is 54.4% is only good for 15th best nationally.  Good Lord almighty!

[49r]

to contrast, 54.4% would be good for #1 in Division 1 by a very VERY large margin:

 

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/143

[hskr4life]

Two things I liked about that video that isn't just putting the ball in the hoop.

 

1.  Range- Some of those were really deep.  If you can make shots from that deep, it'll either get you more looks OR pull your defender out further.

 

2.  Spacing- Kesisei always seemed to be in the right place and found open gaps for shots.  Very Thor-esque movement around the floor.  His basketball knowledge of knowing where to be to find a shot for him seems to be pretty high!

[Bugeaters1]

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

3 hours ago, hskr4life said:

Two things I liked about that video that isn't just putting the ball in the hoop.

 

1.  Range- Some of those were really deep.  If you can make shots from that deep, it'll either get you more looks OR pull your defender out further.

 

2.  Spacing- Kesisei always seemed to be in the right place and found open gaps for shots.  Very Thor-esque movement around the floor.  His basketball knowledge of knowing where to be to find a shot for him seems to be pretty high!

and a quick release!  

[throwback]

In the 11-for-16 game linked earlier, I like how it was a close, competitive game. Those 3s meant something. It's not like they were ahead by 25 and coach told him to jack it up each time he touched it so he could make 11 3s and they could create some social media buzz. Good sign.

 

Also he seemed to catch passes from a multitude of origination angles on the floor, yet he always was able to square himself to the basket and let it fly quickly. He didn't always need the inside-outside pass to have his feet set and to square up to the basket. Another good sign.

 

Almost have to wonder if he wasn't nicked up a bit at the start of the year or had covid or something that was not made public. Just seems odd that he's suddenly turning it on and becoming the focal point of the offense without some sort of reason that it didn't happen earlier.

 

[HB]

Everyone is way out over their skis on this one.  And yeah, I’m happy to see how this post ages.  Talk to me in a year, and if he’s here, and good in the Big, I’ll own it.  

[Fullbacksympathy]

1 hour ago, throwback said:

In the 11-for-16 game linked earlier, I like how it was a close, competitive game. Those 3s meant something. It's not like they were ahead by 25 and coach told him to jack it up each time he touched it so he could make 11 3s and they could create some social media buzz. Good sign.

 

Also he seemed to catch passes from a multitude of origination angles on the floor, yet he always was able to square himself to the basket and let it fly quickly. He didn't always need the inside-outside pass to have his feet set and to square up to the basket. Another good sign.

 

Almost have to wonder if he wasn't nicked up a bit at the start of the year or had covid or something that was not made public. Just seems odd that he's suddenly turning it on and becoming the focal point of the offense without some sort of reason that it didn't happen earlier.

 

 

Think about Kobe in the NW game.  I think Keisei is going to be like that 5-7 games a year.  That's pretty significant.  

[49r]

1 minute ago, HB said:

Everyone is way out over their skis on this one.  And yeah, I’m happy to see how this post ages.  Talk to me in a year, and if he’s here, and good in the Big, I’ll own it.  

 

For the record, I'm kind of with you on this.  Not gonna trash a kid before he even gets on campus, but (and especially given our recent history with JUCO kids) put me in the "believe it when I see it" camp.

 

I really hope I have to eat my words in a year from now.  I can see how my posts above could be seen as chugging the hype, but it really is just wondering about whether any defense at all is played in JUCO.

[HB]

3 minutes ago, 49r said:

 

For the record, I'm kind of with you on this.  Not gonna trash a kid before he even gets on campus, but (and especially given our recent history with JUCO kids) put me in the "believe it when I see it" camp.

 

I really hope I have to eat my words in a year from now.  I can see how my posts above could be seen as chugging the hype, but it really is just wondering about whether any defense at all is played in JUCO.

And I’ll support him if he gets here.  And hope I’m wrong as rain.  

[Norm Peterson]

5 hours ago, 49r said:

What really strikes me is 54.4% is only good for 15th best nationally.  Good Lord almighty!

 

And, so you wonder, "if *he's* 15th, who's ahead of him?"

 

And the answer would be (among others) his teammate from Ranger, a 6'4" guard by the name of Jorell Saterfield, who is shooting nearly 60% from 3 while averaging over 18 ppg, and who has an interesting connection to, well, just watch ...

 

 

[Bugeaters1]

14 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

And, so you wonder, "if *he's* 15th, who's ahead of him?"

 

And the answer would be (among others) his teammate from Ranger, a 6'4" guard by the name of Jorell Saterfield, who is shooting nearly 60% from 3 while averaging over 18 ppg, and who has an interesting connection to, well, just watch ...

 

 

The kid has it between the ears.

[B-town hoopsfan]

I could be wrong but keisei doesn’t have any personal baggage that we know of like some of our recent JUCO misses does he?

[basketballjones]

1 hour ago, HB said:

Everyone is way out over their skis on this one.  And yeah, I’m happy to see how this post ages.  Talk to me in a year, and if he’s here, and good in the Big, I’ll own it.  

Agreed. He’s going to have a tough time guarding anyone in the big ten. Also... it he’s 6’+, I’m 6’5”. 
 

Hope I’m wrong - this guy has a lot of potential to be fun!

[The Polish Rifle]

1 hour ago, 49r said:

 

For the record, I'm kind of with you on this.  Not gonna trash a kid before he even gets on campus, but (and especially given our recent history with JUCO kids) put me in the "believe it when I see it" camp.

 

I really hope I have to eat my words in a year from now.  I can see how my posts above could be seen as chugging the hype, but it really is just wondering about whether any defense at all is played in JUCO.

The good part is we won't be leaning on Keisei like we were Jervay and Teddy. We needed both those dudes to immediately carry the scoring load in order for us to be successful. Keisei just needs to knock down open looks. Still I get it, cautious optimism. 

[jimmykc]

And he will be our first Japanese player. I remember being skeptical about Ichiro living up to his hype when he joined the Mariners (too small and frail) and he seemed to work out pretty well.

[hhcmatt]

11 hours ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

I could be wrong but keisei doesn’t have any personal baggage that we know of like some of our recent JUCO misses does he?

 

I think he was in Juco because of academics.

[hhcmatt]

Guys who tend to be superior in size, athleticism and shooting tend to be in demand. Gonna have to give up something to get some shooting in here and let's see what we can do with the Far East Minden Cary Cochran 

[Fullbacksympathy]

12 hours ago, The Polish Rifle said:

The good part is we won't be leaning on Keisei like we were Jervay and Teddy. We needed both those dudes to immediately carry the scoring load in order for us to be successful. Keisei just needs to knock down open looks. Still I get it, cautious optimism. 

 

This.  A completely different need is being met here.  Keisei is supposed to come here, run around, and shoot threes.  That's it.  He just needs to be dangerous enough to extend the defense, even if he never scores.  But I wouldn't count him out from being a decent contributor based on that stroke.  His dad was an international pro to boot, so I don't think he'll be scared of the moment.  He looks like a playmaker in general on offense to me.  Good passer.  

[Art Vandalay]

I agree that there is some concern on his size and who can he guard. However one thing in his favor is that Billy Clyde Gillespie thinks he is a P5 guy and he has recruited a lot of great major conference players in his time. Worth a flyer IMO especially since we will probably add 2-3 more guys

[Navin R. Johnson]

 

[hhcmatt]

All of their games are on facebook

 

https://www.facebook.com/RangerCollege/videos/267258391663916

 

I watched the first 10 minutes of this game I felt like he was a shorter but more offensively aggressive version of Thor.  Defensively he can't keep anyone in front of him but there is effort, buy-in, and communication so that might work here. Offensively he's almost always moving, always looking to break down the court, seems crafty around the rim , seems to have a high basketball iq.  

[Fullbacksympathy]

35 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

All of their games are on facebook

 

https://www.facebook.com/RangerCollege/videos/267258391663916

 

I watched the first 10 minutes of this game I felt like he was a shorter but more offensively aggressive version of Thor.  Defensively he can't keep anyone in front of him but there is effort, buy-in, and communication so that might work here. Offensively he's almost always moving, always looking to break down the court, seems crafty around the rim , seems to have a high basketball iq.  

 

Man... he is efficient.  I didn't see much of a liability on defense--way less than I thought I would, and he has a knack for steals.  

 

Offensively, the kid is just a player.  He scored 14 points with one missed shot and had zero turnovers.  The Thor comparisons are apt, but I think this kid is a much better player offensively.  Just having him out there completely changes the driving lanes.  You can't leave him, and if you guard him close, he knows exactly when to cut.  Effort is all out on both ends.  Can't wait to see him here.