I know Riley has disappointed in how he hasn’t lived up to the NBA performance level expectations. What I don’t understand is how some folks want to write him off. He’s anywhere from 6-7 in the rotation. If Will is having a good game, I just don’t see the minutes there for Riley. Clearly, there seems to be something going on behind the scenes, but RK doesn’t appear to be causing problems with the team or his teammates. If that was apparent, then I’d better understand some of the sentiments expressed. Until TG says something, I’ll trust he’s got a handle on it. Again, RK is just a sophomore. If he stays for his junior season, which I hope he does, that’s a win for us. Hopefully, he’s watching & learning leadership from watching ZP, Walter & Samuel. Remember, he came here when other top HS players were going elsewhere. Let the season play out. If something is going to happen, it’ll be in the off-season….i can wait.
Yep, during the SECT we'll need a deep bench. Riley, Denzel, and Tommy will all need plenty of minutes.
Kugel is needed to give important minutes and he needs to be a good team player during that time and not force offense or turn it over excessively. Otherwise, it places too much strain on starting guards and Aberdeen does not look appear to be ready for too much prime time action this year.
I think maybe Kugel is in shock after losing his starting role after being hyped in pre-season as 1st Team All-SEC and a 1st round NBA pick. His raw talent is off the charts, but the cohisiveness that Pullin, Clayton and Richard have developed is hard to duplicate. Richard had an off night tonight and Clayton fouled out with 15 minutes left in the game. An opportunity for Riley to rise and shine and he didn't do it. I feel bad for the kid, as he seems to still be engaged on the bench, cheering his teammates on. But he's not contributing near as much as everybody, including Kugel himself, thought he would. The team is going to need him to make a run in the NCAA tournament, IMO.
This was telling to me. Also - has anyone observed RK's free throw shooting form? I don't know if it's consistent, but his angle and overly stylized shooting form gives pause. He went to the line for two tonight and I was certain he would miss the first, just from his approach. It's hard to imagine that he will break out of the soph slump, but maybe come tourney time.
I have been one if Riley’s bigger critics, but the game swung back to us when he replaced Aberdeen in the second half. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but he was solid on both ends. One of his more mature performances when we really needed it.
He was a 3* HS player as I recall, not exactly a "top HS player". maybe he's just playing to his ability and the end of last year was the out-lier.
He was a high 4-star rated player coming out of high school. Composite rating of .9672. https://247sports.com/Player/riley-kugel-46102477/high-school-252556/
I was just happy when he caught that pass from Clayton going to the rim he didn't try an up and under move or crazy scoop layup and flushed the dunk strong with two hands.
When he plays fast he excels, when teams zone us in the half court, he gets a little hesitant. If he sticks around I hope he has a Prather level jump in production.
Riley took a heat seeker 3 from 24 and CTG promptly benched him until well into the second half, playing Aberdeen. Message from Golden there perhaps?
K does some incredible things. Consistency is his problem. He’s the absolute best in space, becomes a turnover machine in traffic. Fairly regularly makes an unnecessarily lazy pass and takes a weird, “I can be the hero” shot. He’s still young, needs to be mature enough to take advantage of, learn from, the true senior talent he’s got right there playing alongside.
Yeah, that shot had me offering some unpleasant advice. He was outside NBA range with a guy covering him and early in the shot clock. Not the time or place to launch ATACMS. You can take that one when the clock is winding down.
It looked like he had gained confidence from his flush earlier, thought he was feeling it, missed badly, lost all confidence which made him pass up an open look from the left wing, and just went passive. To the bench. I feel he is lacking confidence first and foremost. A better handle will help him gain that. He fumbled a low pass (from Clayton?) on a backdoor cut that he should have handled. Little things like that seem to make him timid and dissappear.
Riley is fine. I think many expected too much from him. There’s no shame in being a solid bench player on a talented team. If Riley leaves next year, plenty of teams would start him. He’s almost certainly a starter here next year, but the transfer portal is a crazy thing. Who knows what players will see a young and energetic Coach Golden and jump ship to Florida. If we have a deep tournament run, I could see us become a top choice destination for the best free agents. Yes… I called them free agents. Is what it is.
This is spot on. He will often hesitate and think about what type of move he wants to make instead of just getting the ball and going straight in for the jam. Riley's primary flaw, and it was apparent last year as well, is he is just too loose with the ball. His shooting form is not great either, but others have compensated for bad form and still been productive. But if you are careless with the ball in terms of dribbling, taking it to the hole, or passing, you will never be successful. I said last year when people were talking about him jumping to the NBA or being all SEC this year he was not going to progress unless he got better with his ball handling and passing. You can see that he is a smart player and knows where to go with the ball when playing, but his passes are not always catchable. He really needs to work on that aspect of his game the most to become a great player.
Doubt he will be a junior , hope I am wrong. Trying do to much on his own. One bad shot, try to due too much to fix
