Jitoboh has improved greatly on the offensive end and has a nice soft touch near the basket, but if our team is going anywhere it will be at the defensive end as our identity. He just isn't fast enough making the O to D transition. And it really hurts that he will be using most of the 94 feet for that transition except on offensive sets where he sets a monster pick at the top of the key. But much better than last season with more work to be done. I like him as a player. He has worked really hard to up his game but has more to go to reach his ceiling.
If he could just get his body right, he could have an opportunity to be a very good player. Kids like him and Stokes come to UF and don’t seem to have S&C success. Not sure what the issue is.
I hope you’re right. All I see are his soft hands and nice shooting touch. No rebounds is alarming and doesn’t show he’s banging inside.
I am beating a dead horse, but when you are in your third year of college basketball, and you have never been in the rotation, you still have a lot to learn. JJ needs to learn to see where the ball is going after the missed shots, and then go get them. That’s the key to great rebounding. You have to know how the ball is coming off the rim or backboard. JJ actually did a pretty good job of that yesterday, but in addition to working on that in practice, you need the actual game experience.
There is no comparison in attitude when comparing Jitoboh and Stokes. Jason is always the bench's #1 cheerleader whether he plays or not. The impact of Covid really hurt Jitoboh's conditioning in 2020. I wouldn't be surprised if he is our starting center next season.
The issue is a lack of “want to” and from the athlete. You won’t have S&C success without the desire and drive to get in the best shape possible. The fact is Jitoboh still has major conditioning issues and has no one to blame but himself.
I love the positivity. He finally contributed and hopefully he is only in the rotation when our "bigs" get in foul trouble once SEC play starts. He is a big body who can't move around, I hope we can all agree that he should be on the floor as little as possible when SEC play begins. No more than 4-5 minutes a game if that
I completely and totally disagree with you. However, your thinking likely is aligned with Mike White’s thinking.
I am thinking Mike White will only want Jitoboh to spell CC in conference play and hope that he can contribute if CC gets in serious foul trouble. So I kind of agree with you that it should be a little bit more than 4 to 5 minutes a game. Should be more like 6 to 8. Of course your post is a dig at Coach White. So is your real name Brad Stevens?
My post is intended to be critical of Mike White. If you don’t play your young players, they are not going to develop, and, chances are, they will leave the program. I would put JJ into the game twice in the first half, and, if he is playing well, once or twice in the second half. I would be doing the same for Reeves, and I would have done it for several players who have left the program.