It’s possible that I hit an emoji while I was scrolling. You could’ve asked me about it. You will still be hearing from my lawyer.
Clayton is a traditional point guard who can also play the 2 at a high level if asked. I suppose that makes him a combo guard, but that label implies that he is not a high level traditional point guard, so I don't like it. Aberdeen, to me is a point guard, but I won't doubt his ability to play shooting guard without any evidence to support it.
Pitino put Clayton up there in the same grouping with all the best he ever coached at UK and UL. High praise.
I would assume once this kid is done playing in Europe this summer that he will enroll and get announced. Not sure the Foreign players sign a LOI ahead of time.
Well, Clayton did not start or regularly play the one at Iona, so we don't know if he is a "high level traditional point guard"--whatever that actually means. We know he is exceptionally good cutting and moving off the ball and hitting catch-and-shoot threes. We think he can thrive getting the ball up the court, initiating halfcourt sets, handling ball screens, and shooting off the bounce, but won't really know until he does it more regularly in game situations, which he hasn't to this point because he hasn't been expected to.
He was a point guard growing up and in high school, so yes we do know if he was a high level traditional point guard. You are going off of what he was asked to do at Iona vs what he is capable of and has demonstrated. A close family friend who is a D1 starting Point Guard came by to say hello to me the other day. I joked if he wanted to transfer to Florida and he mentioned we had a good transfer coming in that he knew. I asked him if he meant Clayton and he said yes. He said he played against him in high school and he was really good. Also confirmed that Clayton played point. Regardless, you can see it in his film. This is indisputable fact that he has great point guard skills. Edit: I'm not even saying he will play PG here... what I can say is that he has traditional point guard skills. If you watch his tape and don't see it, I don't know what to tell you.
So based upon his prep clips you are certain he will be a high level starting point guard in the SEC? When even Golden said he was surprised at how well he played on the ball in summer workouts? For the record, I thought Clayton was brought in to run the point and was pretty bullish on his ability to do so. But I also recognize he has not done so at the collegiate level, let alone consistently and again high level competition like our league, which can eat guards up defensively. We have no clue how he is gonna respond to that, and no high school film is going to prove it one way or the other.
All of your hypothetical questions can be answered if you watch his highlights. He has high level passing, and dribbling. Can get into the paint and dish. I don't think anyone can be certain how any new player will perform, at any position. What I can say is that he was a point guard before college, and displayed high level point guard skills in college despite not being the main point guard for his team. I can't speak for Golden, even though he and I are best friends. I can speak for myself as a lifelong point guard and I know what it looks like when someone has point guard skills.
What is that even supposed to mean? Clayton could never play point guard again... who knows. What I am telling you all is that he has all the skills of a high level point guard. Whether he plays it again is up to the team need and Golden's decision. It doesn't change the material facts of his skills and abilities.
I would assume a kid like this will enroll in the Fall and get announced. Has not signed anything yet, thus the no announcement.
Most of the transfers we have brought in from what I call minor league D1 teams have had difficulty transitioning to play against quality SEC competition. Bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic. Learning a new system is challenging in a 5 month period as well. On paper we look better than last year. Will team bond in 5 months? Is that enough time to build communication? Who will step up to competition and who will shrink? Will know when SEC play begins after the cupcake schedule.
Far from it. 6 Power 6 teams on the schedule is a lot. Again, I will be happy if we go 11-2, which is far from a slam dunk.
Well, he has a point. Not once have we signed an Anthony Davis after he finishes playing for the NC at a blue blood program. Well, neither has anyone else, but still...
Yeah... the narrative about tougher SEC competition isn't my favorite. If you can ball, you can ball... period. Guys like Appleby were just fine, IMO. There is more to a player looking good than simple talent. Opportunity and team style of play is also important. When we are talking about speed of the game, we are talking maybe fractions of a second difference (if that's really even a thing). That's why college basketball has the greatest playoff system in all of sports. The underdogs can and do beat the favorites. This wouldn't happen if players from lesser conferences couldn't hack it against Power 5 competition. It just depends on the situation. We just came off a year with Miami, San Diego State, and Florida Atlantic in the Final Four. It makes no sense to say that players from lesser conferences can't play against "tougher competition".
I would take 11-2 and run in a heartbeat. Granted, I don’t know much about the team yet but I could see us losing 5/6 games. Would love to be proven wrong. “Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”
Can you arrange a photo with Coach Golden and me? I lost my chance with Coach Donovan when I asked him a question at a Jax gathering that apparently annoyed him.
