Alijah Martin Committed To Gators

Anything can happen, but I don't think that lineup is what Martin signed up for.
"I wanted to stay in the South to play in the SEC, the strongest conference in America," Martin said.
"I wanted a chance to be a primary ball handler and compete for a national title, at a program known
for NBA talent and developing players for the next level."

 

that quote makes me think Martin is working to develop that lead guard game as we speak. Surely he wouldn't just assume his current body of work is enough to warrant a possible look from the next level as a lead guard...

 

very informative, but remember that almost none of that time was as the primary ball handler

 

As long as he makes it he can take his sweet time getting back while they check the ball in

 

I totally agree. Our press break, in bound passing, where we receive a pass, who receives the pass, spacing… it was all very bad.

 

UConn had great spacing on inbounds against pressure. It seemed to me that at least three guys lined up evenly spaced out on the side, whoever threw it in only had a guard waiting for the ball near this end of the court. Once the ball was delivered it seemed like a hook and ladder process. Rarely did Purdue stop it. CTG, please rewatch this game and give this a chance.

 

What Rick said above is EXACTLY what Golden said today. Martin won't be a point guard, but will play on the ball more. Clayton and Aberdeen, too. Don't expect to replace Pullin. The offense will be very different.

 

Bummer. Too bad we can't have both good defense and exciting offense. Just win, baby

 

How did you get that? Different doesn't mean "boring." It actually may mean *more* tempo and *more* transition and early action because you are getting more stops.

 

Not picking on you, so please don't take it like that, but why are people starting to use this "lead guard" term? I noticed it recently. Almost like how all of a sudden "true point guard" became the word of the day. "Lead guard" is a misnomer if it is meant as a direct substitute for "point guard". The lead guard on a team... if that is even a thing, is not necessarily the point guard. It really just kind of means the floor general, and that is not always the point guard (or a shooting guard), as counterintuitive as it sounds. For example, B.J. Armstrong, John Paxon, and Ron Harper were not the lead guards on the Michael Jordan Bulls.

My point is, we'll have to see the dynamic between Martin and Clayton Jr. on the court to know who is the lead guard, but we shouldn't assume that whoever is named PG is automatically the "lead guard".

 

You're right. Too many years of Mike White is still giving me flashbacks. Gonna take a while to recover from that

 

It can mean many things, in our context we probably just mean a guy that can bring it up the court against 1:1 pressure without coughing it up at a worse than avg rate. Something that was questionable last year for all but Pullen. I think busting an actual press is coaching/scheme too since there are ways to do that, but you can’t deny some guys are just generally looser with the ball than others. You want your so called “lead guard” at least to be rock solid, esp if your 2 and 3 guards are a bit loose with it.

Some might use it to mean a guy who always looks to pass first or has exceptional court vision. The so-called “pure point guard” with high assists ratio. Pullen was one of those dudes who was both great with the ball AND could score lots of buckets. That’s why he’ll be hard to replace.

 

Maaaan, you guys grab hold of a narrative and exaggerate like crazy. This is not true.

 

I’m primarily going with eyeball test, and just recollecting Clayton having waaaaaayyyy more crazy turnovers where he literally just kicked the ball away or “allowed” it to get stolen, and that’s with him spending less time w/ that responsibility.

But it’s not just eyeball test. The stats back this up. Clayton turned it over at nearly 2x the rate per 100 possessions (3.9 vs 2.1). Interestingly, Pullens previous years at UCSB were even higher. So it’s possible a guy can cut the turnovers down. If Clayton becomes the primarily ball handler he’ll need to do that. He certainly has the talent. It’s not a talent thing.

I don’t know much about Martin to know how well he’ll do here or how “strong” he is with the dribble. His stats shows not many turnovers (in between Pullen and Clayton), also shows not much passing (only 55 assists all year!). But of course things might translate differently in our system. Have to wait for the eyeball test when he suits up in a Gator uniform.

 

Point guard is a difficult role, and that's why you don't see many freshmen get the job. Pullin was good his whole career but seems to have gotten better each season and had faced every scenario basketball could throw at him. It's quite possible that Clayton can be a very good PG for us this season. But yeah, we haven't seen it yet and I'm reluctant to reduce his scoring opportunities at the 2, which is where he destroys the dreams of Gator opponents.

 

This is a great point, if only because it shows how insanely careful Pullin was last year. He had less than half the turnovers of his previous three years as a starter, while averaging more assists. His assist/to ratio wasn’t even close to those preceding seasons. Pullin didn’t come here as the Pullin we saw. It was a combination of his maturity with a productive offense and his own development as a player.

Some of that also owes to the coaching and system. Lofton had the fewest turnovers and best ast/to ratio of his career, too, despite playing on a pretty poor offensive team that season.

While I don’t think Clayton (or Martin) could ever be the facilitator Pullin was, he can still effectively play the one.

 

I hear ya. PG is the concern right now. OTOH, if we added a starter at PG, it becomes a crowded backcourt. Martin and Headband are playing & probably both starting. That leaves Richard on the bench or transferring. I realize that Aberdeen at PG does the same thing, but adding a PG also potentially stymies Aberdeen & Kublickas's development. Or maybe we run some four guard sets?

 

You beat me to it. This thread is a good read, largely due to the hoops knowledge you, @akaGatorhoops, @rserina, @gatorrick1 and others bring. It's also a testament to polite, mature dialogue among posters with diff perspectives.