Hey, I know he’s had a few rough outings, but I just want to send a gentle reminder that we need to be respectful. He’s a young guy trying to figure out his game. Extremely talented and we will need him down the stretch. Let’s not start saying out of pocket stuff about him and show him the support he needs as a fellow Gator. I didn’t like what I saw some of you post last week about desire, mental state, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
Agreed. He wants it. It’s hard when you’re pressing. He’s extremely talented and let’s see how he adjusts.
Driving to the basket and getting it blocked is regrettable, as well as missing shots and overthinking what to do (see the inane dribbling). But bring your defensive energy and try to avoid the lazy/silly pass. AND... stop with the poutiness when things aren't going the way you think they should. Otherwise, let's have some fun!
Last night he played great defense and knocked the ball loose in a late game stop, at the time we were about to go ahead. Overall, I think he played better with in the team concept. His poor shooting in the first half shows he doesn’t have any confidence in his shot. Last year he didn’t hit a high percentage on threes but he could hit a couple in a row. CTG is letting him try to come out of the shooting funk he is in. I was glad he hit a two point mid range shot in the second half. I don’t know what they have him doing in practice, but it’s not working in his approach to threes. I hope the best for Riley and would like to see him smile more.
Even when the shots aren't falling, there are other ways to make an impact. Keep your head in the game and your hands up, good thing will happen.
Our offense seems to be built around “ Shoot the three or dump it down to the post”. Neither plays to Riley’s strengths. I think he could help and produce more in mid-range offense, but we don’t run much of that yet. I thought he was very active, defensively. I also liked that he went for the dunk, even though it was blocked. Just my 2 cents from my chair.
We need to pull back individual expectations. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. His role and circumstances have changed. He is not needed to score 17ppg; won’t be asked to do so. He is coming off the back end of last year in which our offense became, “Riley- go make something happen”. And he is capable of doing that… but it’s not winning basketball for a team with the pieces this one has. i think he will kinda struggle all year, as he is a guy who is best when creating offense and playing in isolation. We are in a different place this season. Still, he is an important piece… even if not “THE piece”.
He does bring good effort and intensity on D. He misses shots in part because he takes very difficult shots. Either they're circus layups or very quick release, often step-back or off quick dribble, then releases it quicker than Steph Curry. I don't think with his elevation that he needs to release the ball so quickly. It might just be a matter of slowing down a little and following through on his shot. When I watch him shoot I'm amazed any go in because they are very, very difficult shots to make
that's waaay over-simplified. All of the guards drive for lay ups or pull up for floaters or short jumpers. We put it away last night with the driving guards in the 2nd OT
Agreed. We run screens down in the paint where Handlogten, Samuel, or Clayton seal off their guy and let Clayton and Pullin get all the way to the hoop. We need to run that specifically for Kugel to see if it will get him going.
He runs in there and throws up some wild layup though. He need to finish hard and finish high, instead of tossing wild balls up from his waist. A lot of those shots he puts up inside the paint, he’s either throwing up a prayer or just hoping to get fouled. They’re cool when they go in, but they’re not very efficient.
Probably is an overly simplified statement. One of my hopes, offensively, is that we attack the mid-range area of the floor. It’s sort of a lost art in today’s game. I think it was UCONN who killed us with it last year. I do think it’s something Riley could excel at. I know he’s not a knock down, 3 Ball shooter at this stage of his development. It’ll be interesting to see how he does moving forward. I’ll trust TG & staff to get what’s needed from Riley.
Exactly right. I like the kid and he is a winner but he’s struggling right now. He was out of control last night at times. I think he’ll come around and will adjust his game accordingly. He is not needed to score a ton of points this year; the points can come from any number of players we have. He just has to understand his role and play within himself and I believe he will. If not, he will be getting some bench time.
I don’t see him pouting or anything which is very encouraging. He is one of our better defenders and he has made some good passes which shows me he is still involved and just trying to figure out how he fits. He desperately needs to tighten up his ball handling and he needs to figure out how to make shots and be involved in the offense if he’s not just asked to go isolated 1 on 1.
After the first game (a win over Loyola MD), I had folks on this site posting at me that Riley Kugel was UF’s best player since Brad Beal. I said then, “Slow your roll, bro” (and mentioned Scottie Wilbekin to their dismissal) — and I’ll say the same thing now to the bashers. Understand this: You have no clue what these guys deal with day to day behind the scenes. It’s “The Process” and it’s different for every kid because every situation is different. Riley is dealing with adversity. The coaches are dealing with his adversity too. Plenty of time to see it through (remember Riley last Christmas?). We’ll see where this lands.
Coach has been patient. Maybe he only thrives when he is better than everyone else on the floor. In addition to not knowing what to do when the ball is in his hands he is also missing open shots. We have a bench thankfully. It's possible he's disrupting our space-time continuum. I want to see how how the team performs with him watching for awhile. When he gets in the game it's for defense, passing and open looks only until he gets his confidence back. Isn't that what BD would do? He needs therapy, not bashing.
It's so rare that a DI player finds & maintains their shot early on. Have seen it so often where a player takes two to three years to really get it going. It's naturally developmental, even for the really good players.
I am not bashing Riley, but I don't know why Julian Rishwain isn't getting at least some of his minutes. He is a guy we need taking some 3pt shots to get our average at least average. He is probably our best 3 point guy and seemed to be a heady player when he was playing, but he hasn't played significant minutes since the Florida A&M game.
