i can’t speak for what he expressed to UL, but at Florida he wanted opportunity to play pg… and very much expressed a desire to be offensive center piece.
He certainly hinted at it at publicly, but not quite the mandate presented to Florida. Here are few comments relating to his decision to go to UL…. “Just being able to play on and off the ball, being able to you know make my other teammates better….” “Get in good situations for me to be able to make different reads, make my other teammates better, playing on the ball more…”
Interesting. That would be similar to a statement made by Scottie Lewis after he turned pro. I would read that as wanting to be in an offense where you didn’t stand around waiting for someone to stop dribbling and get you the ball with the time and space to make a play. In other words, he wasn’t happy being in White’s cockamamie offense.
You can read it as you wish, but even here he twice mentioned playing “on the ball”. He would have stayed in said cockamamie offense if assured of the role(s) he wanted. Perhaps he will find what he seeks at Providence. I’ve met him a few times and he always seemed like a nice kid. I am rooting for him.
Neither Noah or Scottie could handle the ball well enough to be a PG or have PG responsibilities. If SL did, scouts never would've questioned his ability to create. And if NL did well, he would've been one of the most lethal guards in CBK. A 40% 3pt shooter who can create his own shot and shots for others?
I disagree on Scottie. I think he just needed to get used to being PG, then he would have been fine. He was so used to playing without the ball that when he finally touched it, he wasn’t confident. His game he played at PG in NBA Summer League showed me a lot. He made some very high level passes and showed some impressive handles. He turned it over too much, but that was mostly just poor decisions, which isn’t as bad as lack of ability. He could clean that up. Noah, however, I agree with you on. He didn’t really show me a lot of PG potential.
I watched him in SL, really wasn't impressed with his handle. I think his issue is more focus than anything else. There are times where you can tell he's locked in and then he takes moments and plays off and you wonder what's going on. Felt bad for him with that awful TO that cost them a game against Toronto. Just wasn't focused or paying attention.
He doesn’t have Kyrie, CP3 or Steph handles, but he has adequate handles. We agree on the lack of focus leading to turnovers. I think that can be corrected.
Regarding Lewis, he is now on the professional track. He will either "get it" or he will become one of the "valuable AA players". We shall see whether he finally gets his role.
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