10 pts., 8 Rebs (5 offensive), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal! The big man showed his mettle and their center couldn’t believe he blocked and took the ball in one motion, unbelievable great Rueben. Keep improving big guy, we need more! Someone post a pic of sign language “More”. Codon put up 10 rebounds 1 block and seven pts and three assists. These two are tough and improving guys, but late season if both of them are in double figure in points and rebounds, we will go far in the NCAA tournament. Seth Greenburg was gushing over Rueben and said both our bigs are tough rebounders! Seth loves the Gators it seems and is always complementary of great performances.
I have not scoured NBN post UK game but thanks for pointing out Rueben’s performance. He was very physical and dominant and shot with finesse yesterday. I was very pleasantly surprised he did this on the huge stage at Rupp. He could well play a huge role for us this year!
And he made his free throws! I thought he should have played more minutes down the stretch. The way he seals off defenders to give our guards easy buckets is beautiful to watch.
Is there a reason why he never plays more than 21 minutes, even when he is not in foul trouble? Especially with Alexis only playing 5 minutes at Kentucky, you would think he would get a bigger share of the 75 remaining minutes allotted to our two bigs.
I think some of it was foul trouble, some of it may be that he is a little limited offensively, some of it is just stamina. A guy that size is gonna wear down at the pace we play. Gotta remember he was only about 12 mpg last year. You also can’t play him much in certain combinations (like with Alexis and Aberdeen on the floor). If he can stay fresh and active at around 20 mph, that would be perfect.
If I didn't know the outcome and you told me these numbers, I don't care where we played, I would have bet we won.
I was at first disappointed with him but boy has he turned it on. Big time get down low. Wish Alexis would learn a thing or two from him!
We had no answer for Williams when he was out. They had no answer for him when he was in. He was cleaning up on the glass.
Chins gets a little better each week. I like the arc I'm seeing. If he's still getting better in March, watch out.
Alexis got pushed around against KY, besides Rueben they all need about 10 lbs of solid muscle still.
Alexis is a very young junior—younger, in fact, than Haugh and Condon. And he was playing against two super senior transfers (one who carved up Samuel last year, another who we loved in the portal).
Alexis was fine. They let Amari bull his way all the way to the hoop and then called the foul on Alexis, who did exactly what he was supposed to.
Did the same to Condon, hooked him on one play and threw an elbow at him on another. Condon got called for a foul after he was elbowed. It would be nice to say our guys just need to be tougher and not get pushed around, but we got called for fouls when we pushed back. Shaq made a living backing guys down, but I’m fairly certain you aren’t allowed to do that in college ball.
He is THE surprise this season. I knew he was stout, but I did not see the quality of the blocks and he can score around the basket. Now what we need is a more efficient offensive performance from Condon and this is one nice team. Auburn who?
Love his passion! It feels like he has a higher ceiling. Looking forward to seeing him grow. Next year with him, Haugh, Condon, Handlogten... Whoah Nellie! And if Rioux can earn his way on the floor... holy cannoli!
Yep, and he's still getting better. His play was not so impressive to start the season, but the guys were all saying, just wait, once he transfers what he'd been doing in practice to the games, he's going to be a beast. We're seeing that in recent weeks.
His hands have really improved. They still may not be his best quality, but I think this improvement reflects mental maturation.
