So there's our second point guard. No 5th year player. Looks like he has a nice game. Not Rome's speed and could be a nice contrast as he and Rome compete for minutes.
Looks like he prepped a couple years ago at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian in Georgia.
If we get Malin then that air fare to Istanbul for a recruiting tournament may have been well spent.
I've seen him listed in more than a few places as 6', or 185 cm. Who knows what FF will list him at? Some of the heights listed have been a little questionable.
19 year old playing behind a 26 y.o. point on a .500 team - tough to judge. played 15.7 minutes per game. he shot 25% from 3 - 19-75. shot 62% from the line. assist to t/o ratio - 2.6 - 1.8
19 year old playing behind a 26 y.o. point on a .500 team - tough to judge. played 15.7 minutes per game. he shot 25% from 3 - 19-75. shot 62% from the line. assist to t/o ratio - 2.6 - 1.8
Yes, hard to tell. But playing and practicing nearly 50 games vs. guys in their late 20s is a nice apprenticeship.
So one more time: Kavaliauskas, Cobb, Jerry Johnson, Segura, Nelson. Marcus, Smith, Kirkland, Degnan, Sidibe, Coleman Johnson, Malcolm Gilbert, Kasibabu. IMO, if Milin comes, Malcolm is out. He graduated last year.
Post by nashvillestag on May 17, 2015 18:59:29 GMT -5
First impressions from watching the film (and that's a LOT of film)is that he may be a cut above the average PG as far as finding the open man. Great feel for working with other players on the floor. In other words, a REAL PG. And with scorers in Marcus, Tyler, hopefully Cobb, Kirkland, etc., someone who can get them the ball in the right position at the right time might make all the difference in the world as far as scoring the ball and making the offense flow. And it also looks like he can take the ball to the hoop and score on drives. However I do hope that he has an outside shooting game. Not enough proof from the films, and someone has posted that he had rather poor 3-Pt. and free throw numbers. Maybe that was a small sample however. Also, can he defend? Doesn't seem overly strong or quick. Big question IMO. Actually his game reminds me somewhat of Phil Gaetano who just graduated from Sacred Heart. He was a PG who was great at getting people the ball in the proper position, and indeed the Hearts could always score a lot of points. Problem with them however was they could never stop anyone, therefore the kid never was much of a winner. But I loved his basic game which was basically a "throwback" style. I have high hopes here.
What we wanted is a "true" PG and we got him. Looks like he can pass and run the team..... most of of all he looks like he will make every one better. Last true PG since Jon Han
Post by stagmaster on May 17, 2015 19:39:00 GMT -5
What I like about his game is he is very fundamentally sound. Good handle. Just shifty enough with his change of speed and direction. He plays with good pace. He is tough. I like that he always has his head up AND he is very good with making split second decisions.
The ability to make that correct, split-second decision is not something that can taught. Either you have that ability or not. And he has it. He has excellent court vision and makes the correct pass without getting too fancy. And he does seem to have the ability to get into the paint and finish..
His game reminds me a lot of PG Sean Kennedy of Marist (although he is shiftier than Kennedy). This kid is a true point guard. And he is 19 and not 17. I see him as getting the ball to Nelson, Marcus, Cobb, etc at the right time and position on the floor.
He is going to help us at the point this year in MAAC play.
I like how, on paper at least, we have solid guard balance. A classic floor general, a shooter and scorer in Nelson, a big, smooth scorer in Cobb, a speedy penetrator with Rome and a strong, scoring 2G in Johnson. You do have to wonder about defensive matchups against quicker, stronger players if we go with Aidas and Tyler. (I didn't notice too much defensive intensity in those videos.) But that is to be determined. I think we will see lots of 3 guard looks now.
And let's hope this kid can make his foul shots.
Maybe someone who knows Euro hoops can comment on the level of his league.
However, the star of the games was Aidas Kavaliauskas (Lithuania) who played point guard for one of the 4 teams. He looked as mature as a solid college player and clearly has pro potential. He shot very well, was excellent passing all over the court, rebounded well from his guard spot and was excellent in starting fast breaks. His teammates appreciated his assists and listened to his direction as he ran the offense.
