After three games, Noah Locke is getting his high volume of shots but somehow does not have an assist yet this season and still is a liability on the defensive end. After three games, Payne is still a foul waiting to happen and when he is on the floor, turns the ball over too much. It will be interesting to see how the return of Cockburn affects the Illini rotation. Finally, good for Glover to see some success. He was smart to transfer to a mid-major and hope he continues to improve.
Noah Locke is averaging 16 ppg in a little less than 26 mpg of playing time. That is 5 more ppg than anyone else on the Louisville team. He is shooting approximately 86% from the line, 56% from the 2 and 31% from the 3. His defense has been solid in the minutes that I have watched him play. He has no assists, but he has moved the ball. My guess is that he will have a solid season. Payne has a lot to learn. He didn’t develop at all at UF. He is fouling way to much. He is making 87% of his shots from the field, and he is all over the place setting on-ball screens. He obviously will lose his starting spot now that Cockburn is back. It will be interesting to see if he develops and ends up starting next season for the Illini. I am making no prediction on that one. As for Ques, he was always good enough to succeed at UF. It will be fun to follow his college career.Too bad it will not be at UF.
I like Noah Locke and wish he stayed at UF. But he is a one dimensional two guard who can’t defend. I wish him nothing but the best at Louisville but based on what we’ve seen from the three guards who transferred in, UF is better off and hopefully so is Locke.
So Locke’s efficiency went down. He was in the 40s from 3 at UF. Payne hasn’t developed a lick since being at Illinois so I’m not pinning that one on our coaching staff. Looks like their coaching staff hasn’t done any better. IMO most development is on the kid anyway.
they are actually both nice kids. . . But had some silly ideas. And in both cases, folks around them were making the suggestions. Locke is not a pg... he wasn’t gonna be one here, and apparently not at UL, either. He also shouldn’t be the centerpiece of any offense. He is too one-dimensional. Omar has a lot of great physical and athletic attributes... but work ethic has been an issue. Maybe a change of scenery will help. But he wanted assurance of a starting role. That was an absurd request, especially considering who was in front of him, coupled with the fact that he is the last kid who a coach wants resting on assurances.
Tampa have I missed your posts, in the last 3 weeks, talking about our current UF players and how well they are doing? How Castleton continues to improve, Duruji's breakout play so far etc? At least disguise your hatred of coach White just a little bit.
Uncalled for, but not unexpected coming from you. I have only seen one game, which was against FSU. Both teams stunk in the first half. UF played well in the second half. We will get a better idea whether the Gators are legit after they play some tough teams. On your, Things fo look good for the Gators so far, which should be expected when your top 6 players have about 80 years of college basketball experience. Just to clarify, I don’t hate Mike White. He seems to be a nice guy. However, he hasn’t been a particularly good coach so far at UF.
Coming from me? I've given you many props for your contributions to this forum in years past but sadly your focus the last couple years has been nothing but a negative slant.
That depends on your definition of negative slant. My guess is that I have supported the current and former players more than anyone else on these forums. Unfortunately, it seems that many of our players need to go elsewhere to succeed. Nembhard is one of the best point guards in the country. I supported him while others were blasting him, although at some point, I expressed my hope that he would transfer to another program so he could succeed. Same with Glover and Lewis. Why is it a negative slant to support players and not support the coach, when others are doing the opposite? There also is a difference between how the team does and what kind of coaching job was done. Our one really good year in the White era was achieved despite mediocre coaching, in my opinion. It still boggles my mind that Chiozza didn’t start a single game that year, and Canyon Barry started one game. That team should have been in the Final Four. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when White assembled a team that included Blackshear, Nembhard, Lewis, Mann and several other good players. That was one of the worst coaching jobs I have ever seen. Even last year, White didn’t have a clue how to use his players. Glover was and is a good player. Ruzhnetsev was an excellent recruit. Did we put those guys in the rotation? No. Now their gone. Did we get everyone on the floor involved in the action! No. Instead, the offense revolved around having a few guards hogging the ball and trying to make plays. This year’s team might be good enough to succeed regardless of coaching, but that doesn’t make the coach a good coach. We are falling behind other SEC teams in recruiting and coaching. The transfer portal likely won’t make up for that on a regular basis. There is a difference between honestly assessing a coach’s performance and supporting a team that one has been rooting for for the last 50 years.
Tampa we have played 3 games and you have yet to post one comment about our team however you have double digit posts on The play of our players that transferred out. You have so much to offer this board....just wish you could provide a positive spin once in a while.
I’m sure they’re nice. Just felt very aggravating to hear their delusions and ultimatums given to coach. So it partly feels okay that coach was right and they’re showing it.
Ooof... Darris having a tough start at Radford. Lost to navy 47-33 last night. His team had 8 points at halftime.
Omar with one point in just 5 minutes in their blowout loss to Cincy tonight now that Cockburn is back
Is he, though? 5 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds in a 107-54 blowout vs Central Michigan. He's averaging 7.5 ppg, 5.5 apg, and 2.0 reb. Not saying he can't improve, but I can't agree that he's one of the best in the nation. He's solid, though.
His lack of athleticism would seem to preclude an NBA career. But his basketball IQ and court vision are off the charts and better than most NBA PG. Pure PG, but also a decent shooter. Eyeball test: he very much reminds me of Nick Calathes. Similar size, style, heck they even move sort of the same and both a have a set shot instead of jump shot. Statistically though I don’t think he’s ever eclipsed Calathes and doesn’t look like he will at Gonzaga either. I think the problem with both these guys is if you have an elite level NBA athlete defender you just put him on them and that’s it, they’re done. If the game is opened up a bit or with less intense defense, then they can show off their spectacular court vision. This is what always baffled me about how slow of a pace we allowed Nembhard to play at, it allowed the D to match up to him, and if the defender was high quality it could make him disappear.
If only he would have developed at Florida. I think this is the challenge I have with the @tampajack1 reasoning. I want to give it a chance. But when a player transfers out and underachieves, there's a qualification. When a player arrives transfers in and thrives, there's a qualification. It feels like the facts are engineered to deliver a conclusion.
