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KD Johnson will apparently be headed to
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Last: 3 yr ago by Monkdawg
Sweaty Bruce is cherry picking players
Good. He can fight with the Kessler kid over who gets to jack up the most 3's.
It's also probably the only place he can stay academically eligible.
It's also probably the only place he can stay academically eligible.
Auburn will have talent cetainly. Whether they gel is another question. I wouldn't want my 7'2" center standing outside shooting 3s, I can tell ya that. KD will have to improve his shooting %. But honestly, I could care less about what Auburn will do. I'm more focused on what we can do to get better.
WHY ARE THESE PLAYERS LEAVING UGA? THAT'S A CONCERN TO ME.
Welcome to the club
I think KD may have lost interest in class after the season and was not working out with the team. It was a struggle to get him eligible in the first place. I don't think he could have stayed had he wanted to. It will be interesting to see what Auburn has to do to get him eligible.
Also, I think each of the players has a different reason for leaving. I never got the feeling that there was much of a "team" feeling with last year's squad. Wheeler was listening to his dad more than the staff, and he thinks he's NBA material, so he went to UK, where he thinks he has a better chance to make it to the league. I don't see it. His minutes and production will decrease, and he can't shoot to begin with. Camara had become a headache for the staff; you can only babysit a guy so much. Fagan I'm not sure on; I suspect he was told he would not start next year and he would be a 6th man type. He's just not a bona fide starter in the SEC at SG; he's a very solid back-up, but he's not good enough offensively to be a real starter.
And, frankly, losing the other guys is just no great loss. Grad transfers Kier and Garcia were OK but not great; they weren't expected back anyway. Brown and Walton were very subpar. Starks? Completely wasted scholarship. Am I missing someone? That's 9, but really only 3-4 of any consequence. I wouldn't mind seeing a 10th, honestly. Ned gave us nothing. I like the guys we have coming in better than the guys going out, particularly if we get, as I suspect, 2 more additions.
Also, I think each of the players has a different reason for leaving. I never got the feeling that there was much of a "team" feeling with last year's squad. Wheeler was listening to his dad more than the staff, and he thinks he's NBA material, so he went to UK, where he thinks he has a better chance to make it to the league. I don't see it. His minutes and production will decrease, and he can't shoot to begin with. Camara had become a headache for the staff; you can only babysit a guy so much. Fagan I'm not sure on; I suspect he was told he would not start next year and he would be a 6th man type. He's just not a bona fide starter in the SEC at SG; he's a very solid back-up, but he's not good enough offensively to be a real starter.
And, frankly, losing the other guys is just no great loss. Grad transfers Kier and Garcia were OK but not great; they weren't expected back anyway. Brown and Walton were very subpar. Starks? Completely wasted scholarship. Am I missing someone? That's 9, but really only 3-4 of any consequence. I wouldn't mind seeing a 10th, honestly. Ned gave us nothing. I like the guys we have coming in better than the guys going out, particularly if we get, as I suspect, 2 more additions.
Crean gets a bad rap if you ask me. We have improved every year he's been here.
It is disheartening to lose some of the guys we lost, but we have some guys coming in that can play.
I think that Crean is as nimble as any at cobbling together on a roster. That will pay dividends in today's climate
He certainly won't redshirt guys that are on the end of the bench like the previous coach.
It is disheartening to lose some of the guys we lost, but we have some guys coming in that can play.
I think that Crean is as nimble as any at cobbling together on a roster. That will pay dividends in today's climate
He certainly won't redshirt guys that are on the end of the bench like the previous coach.
41 - 49 Lol
Monk - I don't disagree with your individual assessments. You appear to have info much deeper than mine 
I think there is a possibility that every player we have brought in is better - or no worse - than what left.
My angst is the results to date, and the appearance of chaos that Crean has created.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Wheeler was our engine. He was also our anchor. And I liked Kier as a back up PG. the minutes he played there I thought he was.....stable. Less frantic.
Hope springs eternal.
I think there is a possibility that every player we have brought in is better - or no worse - than what left.
My angst is the results to date, and the appearance of chaos that Crean has created.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Wheeler was our engine. He was also our anchor. And I liked Kier as a back up PG. the minutes he played there I thought he was.....stable. Less frantic.
Hope springs eternal.
Overall, we are a better squad today than we were, what, 2-3 months ago. We are deeper with players who I think will be able to make an impact. There were not many - a few but not many - on last year's team who were impactful.
One thing I hope with these guys is that they want to be coached. Many on last year's team did not. There was just no chemistry on that roster.
I agree with you on Wheeler. He could impact a game - but he had a number of weaknesses in his game. Not a good shooter, too many TOs, ball dominator, and he was listening more to his dad than to the staff. As I said before, he is not irreplaceable. Neither is Camara. Those are the 2 best players we lost. I forgot to mention KD. KD has, to put it kindly, issues. There are reasons kids bounce from school to school in HS and transfer in college. For his sake, I hope he matures.
Look, Crean would not have been my choice, but he's the guy we got. He has won at every stop. While past results are no proof of future success, but it is an indication that he can win in the right circumstances. Of course, we want to have more wins, particularly in conference. Crean is not stupid; he knows he needs to win. He wasn't gonna win this year with last year's roster. He has a chance now, if the team is coachable and develops chemistry.
One thing I hope with these guys is that they want to be coached. Many on last year's team did not. There was just no chemistry on that roster.
I agree with you on Wheeler. He could impact a game - but he had a number of weaknesses in his game. Not a good shooter, too many TOs, ball dominator, and he was listening more to his dad than to the staff. As I said before, he is not irreplaceable. Neither is Camara. Those are the 2 best players we lost. I forgot to mention KD. KD has, to put it kindly, issues. There are reasons kids bounce from school to school in HS and transfer in college. For his sake, I hope he matures.
Look, Crean would not have been my choice, but he's the guy we got. He has won at every stop. While past results are no proof of future success, but it is an indication that he can win in the right circumstances. Of course, we want to have more wins, particularly in conference. Crean is not stupid; he knows he needs to win. He wasn't gonna win this year with last year's roster. He has a chance now, if the team is coachable and develops chemistry.
I think maturity can help being coachable. About half of next season's roster will be between 22 and 24 years old.
Yes. That's why most often the teams that do the best in post-season play are generally older with more experience. Freshman-dominated teams, like UK and like we were 2 seasons ago, while very talented, often don't have the success you would expect given the talent level. Maturity has a lot to do with it. I have heard Crean has lamented having so many freshmen on that team 2 years ago. He has said he would never go through that again. What's the old saying about the best thing about freshmen being that become sophomores? So, all these roster moves do serve one very important purpose - we are an older, more mature team now.
41-49 is, of course, the bottom line, but, if you dig deeper, you can understand why those numbers are what they are. Crean was left with a crap roster, except for Claxton, when he got to Athens. He wasn't going to win - John Wooden wouldn't have won - with that roster. Hammonds got numbers against bad opponents but disappeared in big games. The next year Crean brought in a boatload of freshmen, including Anthony Edwards, but Claxton went pro, and Ngumeze was nuts. Had Claxton stayed, that team would have been much stronger. Still, our record improved a bit.
Last season, with COVID and all its complications, we had a team that was pulled in a lot of directions. They didn't listen to the staff or want to accept coaching, and many of them played well below their so-called "star" ratings. Walton and Brown were basically flops. KD was late getting eligible and missed something like 5 SEC games. We were already behind the 8 ball when he began playing. Wheeler, while an exciting player at times, had deficiencies. Camara showed flashes but was inconsistent. The 3 grad transfers were pretty good but not great. Still, our record improved and has done so each year. But that roster wouldn't have done much differently in the coming season. They had no team chemistry. Crean knows he needs to win, so he had made big changes on the roster, making us older, more mature and spreading out the roster some. I think he's given himself a chance. We have to see how it plays out.
Last season, with COVID and all its complications, we had a team that was pulled in a lot of directions. They didn't listen to the staff or want to accept coaching, and many of them played well below their so-called "star" ratings. Walton and Brown were basically flops. KD was late getting eligible and missed something like 5 SEC games. We were already behind the 8 ball when he began playing. Wheeler, while an exciting player at times, had deficiencies. Camara showed flashes but was inconsistent. The 3 grad transfers were pretty good but not great. Still, our record improved and has done so each year. But that roster wouldn't have done much differently in the coming season. They had no team chemistry. Crean knows he needs to win, so he had made big changes on the roster, making us older, more mature and spreading out the roster some. I think he's given himself a chance. We have to see how it plays out.
Can't use COVID as an excuse for not winning. The whole country was in the same boat and teams still found a way to make it to the tourney and win. I don't like hypotheticals, as for Fox's guys, Crean basically sandbagged his team when he made the statement about not keeping anyone from Fox's roster. No one will play for someone like that. If Crean wins with this team, he will stay. If he tanks another year, Brooks better go ahead and start the search.
As for COVID, I will say that we had to postpone no games, so the players and coaches handled that part of it - the isolation and staying safe - very well. But, we don't know how all that affects individual kids. I just know the some of the coaches have complained about last year's team not being coachable. That's not coming from Crean, but he probably agrees with it. They were pulling in different directions.
As for what Crean said, I don't recall the specifics, but I remember thinking that he was right about what he said. Honestly, players shouldn't pay much attention to what coaches say to the public anyway. You may call it "throwing them under the bus", but I would call it telling it like it was at the time. And that statement came late in the year as I recall.
That team had almost no talent beyond Claxton (and Hammonds on the few occasions when he decided to play) and Ogbeide. Turtle just wasn't an SEC player; Crump and Harris (sadly, because I like both of them) never played up to their potential; Hightower was athletic but raw and had too high of an opinion of his ability; Edwards and Ngumeze were disasters; Wilridge was very limited in his ability; Toppin was a freshman headcase; Fagan was a freshman, though a decent player. That's just not an SEC roster. It's not most of those guys' fault; they didn't recruit themselves to UGA; they just didn't pan out. To me, Crean was right to criticize their performance. Good players will take that criticism to heart and play better, while others will whine and mope, which probably wouldn't change their poor performance. That team might have won some with better guard play, but it just wasn't there.
As for what Crean said, I don't recall the specifics, but I remember thinking that he was right about what he said. Honestly, players shouldn't pay much attention to what coaches say to the public anyway. You may call it "throwing them under the bus", but I would call it telling it like it was at the time. And that statement came late in the year as I recall.
That team had almost no talent beyond Claxton (and Hammonds on the few occasions when he decided to play) and Ogbeide. Turtle just wasn't an SEC player; Crump and Harris (sadly, because I like both of them) never played up to their potential; Hightower was athletic but raw and had too high of an opinion of his ability; Edwards and Ngumeze were disasters; Wilridge was very limited in his ability; Toppin was a freshman headcase; Fagan was a freshman, though a decent player. That's just not an SEC roster. It's not most of those guys' fault; they didn't recruit themselves to UGA; they just didn't pan out. To me, Crean was right to criticize their performance. Good players will take that criticism to heart and play better, while others will whine and mope, which probably wouldn't change their poor performance. That team might have won some with better guard play, but it just wasn't there.
The teams returning lots of veteran starters didn't get hurt much by no summer coaching/workouts. Crean had mostly freshmen returning as sophs, along with grad-transfers coming in. He really could have used an off-season not shutdown.Dawg-E-Dawg said:
Can't use COVID as an excuse for not winning. The whole country was in the same boat and teams still found a way to make it to the tourney and win. I don't like hypotheticals, as for Fox's guys, Crean basically sandbagged his team when he made the statement about not keeping anyone from Fox's roster. No one will play for someone like that. If Crean wins with this team, he will stay. If he tanks another year, Brooks better go ahead and start the search.
That's a great point that some overlook. You know who else struggled last year - Duke and UK. Why? Because they were young (as usual) and didn't get their normal time to develop as a team. The one and done dominated teams, while talented, are still young. And we have been pretty young since Crean's second year, though older last season than the one before. And that difference in maturity showed in our final records.blackmountaindawg said:The teams returning lots of veteran starters didn't get hurt much by no summer coaching/workouts. Crean had mostly freshmen returning as sophs, along with grad-transfers coming in. He really could have used an off-season not shutdown.Dawg-E-Dawg said:
Can't use COVID as an excuse for not winning. The whole country was in the same boat and teams still found a way to make it to the tourney and win. I don't like hypotheticals, as for Fox's guys, Crean basically sandbagged his team when he made the statement about not keeping anyone from Fox's roster. No one will play for someone like that. If Crean wins with this team, he will stay. If he tanks another year, Brooks better go ahead and start the search.