Slow starts have not been an issue for us, though. Just the opposite—we’ve started fast, then struggled after some of the starters sat. I’m more interested in who is better playing the last 4 minutes. That obviously changes every game based upon how things have gone, but Pullin was in there along with Clayton last night, while Kugel and Richard rotated.
How many floor general point guards who achieve complete command of their teams come off the bench? If he's the man, then start the man. Aberdeen gives him a rest now and then. I found it so odd he didn't start game 4 that it might be Golden sending a message about the suspension. Or maybe he's tinkering. Intriguing, whatever the reason.
While we are on the subject, I am pissed off about the suspension. Pullin declared for the NBA draft. The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is an important event for players who have declared for the NBA draft. Why the hell should the NCAA suspend a player for playing in that event?
I hear you. The issue with the Portsmouth Invitational is that it is a non-sanctioned event for whatever reason.
It does make sense. He got extra coaching and playing time that other players did not get. The NCAA does allow a team to take a foreign preseason trip on occasion (every three years? Do they still do that?) but other than that the idea is to have every player get the same amount of coaching and games played. He got extra games so I does make some sense. Do they still exempt games in Alaska and Hawaii? What ever happened to the Alaska preseason tournament (Great Alaska Shootout IIRC)?
At no point did Kyle Lofton exhibit strength. That is a key in this type of physical guard. Lofton had some skill, but he was not physically strong or tough like a Pullin or Chiozza type.
What would the message be? He played in a basketball tournament before he even committed to us. It’s not like he got in trouble.
The message would be don't do anything to get suspended and hurt your team but maybe not starting your best point guard has some other explanation.
But he declared for the draft, and hundreds of NBA scouts attend the Portsmith invitational tournament. That event probably is the best place to determine whether you might get drafted and whether to stay in or withdraw from the draft.
He wasn’t part of our team when he did what he did to get suspended, and it wasn’t really a disciplinary issue that caused the suspension. Punishing him for that makes little sense. Could it not just be that we had to prepare to start the season without him and now that he’s back, he’s being worked in to the rotation? He’s getting starter-ish minutes, isn’t he?
Love Pullin's game! He's not as gifted a passer as Nembhard, but he's a very good passer and his ball security is amazing so far. My stress level over our ball security dropped big-time within a couple minutes after Pullin debuted for us.
Would be curious to know what our turnovers look like with him in the game vs not. I know we had quite a few early turnovers last game and only ended up with 8.
Last game, we had five in the first 10 minutes, two in the next 10, then only one in the second half. Really was the story of the game, to some degree. What’s curious is that Pullin didn’t have exceptionally good turnover or assist rates at Riverside. He was a ball dominant scoring guard. That may simply have been because of the talent around him. But 12 assists against 2 turnovers and only 14 total shots is the definition of a traditional point guard. Heck, we brought him in as a high usage rate guy and he (ofc very prematurely with just two games) has the lowest usage rate since his freshman year.
Dude has a lot of Iverson qualities. Highly effective scorer, tougher than nails, just a dog. Both equally talented football players.
He was a point guard at Riverside and the ball wasn’t stuck in his hands. I watched a few of his games.
I know he was point guard. “Scoring guard” hasn’t been a positional description in 40 years. But his usage rate was high, and that’s why we targeted him.
