basketballjones

So Wilt Chamberlain then...?

I heard they’re really moving around well out there.

#NewProfilePic

No, definitely, I appreciate the conversation. I apologize if my tone is coming across as defensive or argumentative.

Ubel's Freshman Season: Cross's Freshman Season: Less efficient and lower percentages for sure. But more points, rebounds, and assists. Obviously context matters. But both were bad teams (09-10 was 15-18 and 2-14 in the Big 12). He was one of the worst percentage shooters, but he clearly looked like he had the fundamentals and touch to improve over the years. Just my opinion of course, but that's what I saw. Cross had a mature body? That's just incorrect. Much was made about how much he was already making progress wise with as bad as a body as he came in with. I guess I'm not sure what you're arguing at this point. All I am saying is that I think he was going to turn into a very serviceable, versatile player by his junior and senior year. It's not exactly a ridiculous claim or too far out there.

I think he would have gotten a lot stronger and his body would have been cleaned up a lot. But agree, not like he was ever going to be flying high or whatever. In other words, general athleticism wasn't going to change. But I thought he was the type of guy who didn't need to be that, because he seemed to understand shot fakes, changing speed, and body positioning. I really liked KCross. Would never want him to be the 1-2 option on a team, but having him as a multi-position dude as a junior/senior would have been nice. I certainly HOPE Andre's upside is way higher, hahaha!

I mean if you can't see anything in those highlights that show how a freshman could turn into a highly productive Junior/Senior, then I guess we just have to agree to disagree. Because we're not coming to a conclusion.

You gotta see something in here to say this guy could have been a player.

For this season I'd rather have Burke than Wood tbh, as @hhcmatt said. I also wish we could have kept Kevin Cross around. He had potential to be a killer by his junior/senior year.

Can someone answer whether being on "red" or "white" team even means anything or is static throughout practice? Practice jerseys are often reversible and coaches switch guys in and out all practice for drills and live work.

He was one of the best and most impactful players last year during that scrimmage. It was clear he and Banton would have been the best players on the team last year if they were eligible. I imagine he's a lot closer to the top 7 than this board seems to think.

I don't think enough people are talking about Shamiel Stevenson.

I haven't read Jacob's article yet so please don't hang me if all this is proven wrong... But the way those teams are divided up, to me, looks more like he's trying to make "even teams," and not 1's vs 2's.

Same

192 in Feb of 2020 212 in Sept of 2020 Im disgusted with myself.

Ok a few clarifiers - I have yet to watch the video and I haven't read all the replies here so bare with me. But from what I gather is a misunderstanding of the system that is in place and a misunderstanding about what exactly AAU is. I think getting @Jacob Padilla in here on this thread would be massively helpful. I'll do my best to clarify some things that might help understand this issue and where I imagine some misunderstandings are. The example I will use here is OSA (Omaha Sports Academy). All of the teams that OSA puts out are technically AAU teams in name. However, only a few really are. If you are not on their age-related national team, you are just a kid who is paying to be a part of a "YMCA" style league. Your money is effectively paying to make sure "Super Star X" from Omaha isn't paying his way during the summer for his national tournaments. So, yes, there is actually a ton of actual development going on at the levels below these national teams and they do practice and play. So, if you go to these tournaments, especially more local ones with just regional teams - you're going to see all these white kids on different OSA teams, whose parents can afford to pay to have them play in the off season and whatnot (some never even suit up for their hs teams, ever). In other words, I imagine he's comparing apples to oranges. All top, national level teams for any programs are working to get shoe deals, highlight individual kids, and much more focused on gaining attention or whatever. But at these same tournaments, there's always going to be a ton of teams that are under the umbrella of the national team - but they're not. They're pay to play, developmental leagues. So, quite frankly, if you do not have money, you're not going to be playing with an "AAU" team at these tournaments. So that is why you usually only see the African American kids playing on the national teams in types of programs he describes - because unfortunately we do not have enough African-American families that can afford just to pay to have their normal (not nationally talented) student-athlete play in an "AAU" circuit over the summer or off-season. Does that make ANY sense?

I’d echo what Nustudent said about a missing piece. Guess we don’t have a go to shooter that we know of yet.

I would pay to watch this. Love all those guys.

I will be in my room. I need some space.

Arop fits in like 3 of my soft spots of kids I love and have coach/worked with/helped. -Nebraska kids -Inner-city Omaha kids -Sudanese kids So I kinda want him on my team.... ha

At this rate, I do not see how Arop or Cross remain on the team. That's disappointing to me, because I believe a team must have a foundation of players to be successful if you cannot get the 4/5 star talent consistently. But, what the hell do I know?

Dang