Kugel already on 1st round NBA radar

Why are the press clippings not impacting his defense?

 

yeah he just looks like he's thinking way too much with the ball in his hands. Last night was actually a lot better though to me, he didn't force things and shared the ball pretty well - if his three starts falling he'll be in good shape moving forward.

 

It’s none of this. He’s in a shooting slump. It’s that simple. He’s not in his legs when he’s going up and leaving everything short. If he was shooting 40% from 3, we’d all be talking about him being basketball Jesus.

 

He’s buying into the defensive philosophy and that means more to me than any offensive slump. He was really making things difficult for Carrington. Playing basic defense doesn’t require a whole lot of energy, but getting in an aggressive stance and harassing dribblers does. We’re playing stellar defense right now. The most impressive thing has been our team defense.

 

I was one of the ones critiquing his body language and even his help defense in early games. I decided to focus on watching him on defense in the last game. He's very engaged, physical getting over screens.

 

Kid just pulled 3 boards missing 2 bunnies. sometime as an athlete the hole just looks small. Give the kid time!

 

Looked like an NBA player today. 25/9 with plenty of hustle.

 

He shut down Walter to start the game (2 points in 6 minutes, and that was off a screen where he didn't have help), then Walter proceeded to score 8 points in the next 4 minutes to get them back into it.

Finally got out of his offensive slump, which is great to see. Plenty of energy, aggressiveness, confidence. If he can figure out a way to finish at the rim more efficiently, he will take a major step forward. No one can guard him off the bounce.

 

Yea Kugel is a fiery competitor. I think he likes the challenge of shutting down someone “better”. He takes it upon himself to say no I’m actually better.

 

I’m interested to hear from the folks who talk with Kugel regularly. Does he still seem like he is “pressing”, “pouting”, “think he is Superman”, or “believing his press clippings”? What has caused this psychological epiphany for him where he stopped having his “ego dictate his role”? ;-)

Good for the kid to see the ball to go in the hole and how about that defense! And maybe some fans will wait to bag on the commitment/attitude of a multi year Gator after just a few games.

 

As a note, Riley said in a PC yesterday that he was pressing. Would you like to hear from him?

 

Did he say his ego dictated his play? Or he read too many press clippings? Has his body language change - your critique?

Riley was struggling and saying he “pressed” because he cares so much is fair. That is a fine positive spin. That is not what I was addressing and if you read the post you will see that. Using him saying he was pressing as a rationale to defend those who attacked his commitment (pouting) is disingenuous.

 

You...didn't read anything about the press conference. Here's one of the quotes: ""I kind of played selfish a little at the start of the season, thinking all about me maybe at the start."

While I'm sure you can find one or perhaps two people who "attacked his commitment", for the most part...I'm calling straw man. You want a fight, and I'm not falling for it.

Instead, I'm really interested in seeing him succeed, after critiquing what I saw. I now watch games and focus on defense, and focus on him. It's fun seeing him take some of the toughest assignments.

 

While you may think he played selfish, I will go with Coach Golden: “"I want to say something about that. I don't think he's playing selfishly, to be honest.”

We all want the best for the kid. I objected to jumping his shit 3 games in. I find it dubious that you (or others) saw his selfishness or mindset. You feel justified in what you saw. Happy he is playing well whatever the case.

I’m not interested in a fight either. Weird you assume I want one?