Pullin

Got it. However, when I think of ball dominant guards, I think of guys like James Harden, Luka Doncic, Tyree Appleby, etc. who play with the ball stuck in their hands. Generally speaking, I can’t stand guards like that, although you might get away with it if you are a superstar. Pullin moves the ball. His assist right this season clearly seems to me to be better so far because he has teammates who can finish plays.

 

Wait did you really just list 2 of the most talented offensive guards ever and then say “Tyree Appleby” afterwards? Just almost spilled my beverage seeing that.

 

I feel like although Pullin is super talented he needed to be more aware of the situation instead of going to the basket time and time again. It becomes too predictable to opponents and officials that you’re just looking for a foul. Smart teams will figure out your intentions.

 

F how did we lose that?

 

It’s not necessary for you to point out that you are a poor beverage handler. My point is that, at every level of basketball, there are ball hogs. Some of them are superstars. Some of them stink. The common thread, among all of them is that they never win any championships. Zyon Pullin is not a ball hog. He can help teams win championships.

 

Unreal shooting by everyone on the entire Baylor squad. It is one thing if there are one or two snipers that you have to contain, like Pitt had. But when their 46% FT shooting big hits 3 out of 4 free throws and their third string center nails a 3 from the top of the key in crunch time, you just have to shake your head and realize it is just their night. I mean, have we ever scored 91 points in a loss in regulation. That's just crazy.

 

My bad I misinterpreted what you said. I thought you were a really big Appleby fan or something.

 

I don’t like whenever the shot chart is dominated by guards but I suppose Baylor did a good job limiting our inside opportunities. I thought Condon might have a big night. That to me was the difference. 6 points between Condon and Haugh won’t cut it.

 

We scored 91 points. 6 points between then - when scoring 91 points - will result in a victory 99% of the time.

their point total had next to zero to do with the outcome of the game

 

Circling back to Zyon Pullin...
In his three games as a Gator, he's shown that he's the best true point guard we've in quite a while, probably since Chris Chiozza, and possibly even before Chiozza. Andrew Nembhard might have been equal to or better than Zyon, but CMW's approach didn't let that come through.
I just would like to see Zyon elevate his free throw arc a few inches more. Seems like his first free throw each game hits the front of the rim.

 

Maybe if we had Handlogten and could have gone with a bigger lineup Baylor would have had to change personnel and then maybe not hit as many 3s, but I don't know enough about Baylor to know whether they would even do that or just shoot us out of playing big anyway. But you are correct, 3 point defense was the problem, not scoring. Although, we got up enough shots that if we hit even 33 percent of our 3s, we win that game.

 

I’ll respectfully disagree, only because I think Haugh and Condon had a few opportunities that could’ve been cashed in. Baylor’s bigs had some big time shots that did swing the game. But not worth the what ifs. I’m expecting great things from them moving forward.

 

I’ll take Chiozza all day over Pullin, no disrespect to him. Nembhard is the type of PG who thrives on having playmakers around him, so Gonzaga was the perfect place for him.
Agree about his arc. We need to put in more hours on free throw shooting. That’s one area we definitely have to improve on.

 

So, Pullin would have come off the bench for White. As for Pullin’s lack of arc, he still hovers near 80% on his free throws, but he sure needs more arc on his perimeter shot. It’s early in the season, but Pullin looks to me to be an NBA player if he can improve his outside shot.

 

Alright, time to say it. After last night watching the Baylor game, my best comparison for Pullin is Taurean Green. Yeah I know that's rarified air comparing to that team but Pullin now has 17 assists and only 2 turnovers on the official stats page. This is not about size comparisons, but more of the mental game approach. Zyon, as a player, makes other players better while staying calm under pressure. Cheese was different in that he could put the team on his back for long periods of time down the stretch. Pullin and Green let the others round them handle the load by putting them in better opportunities to score. Zyon is not out to lead the team in scoring most nights like Taurean as well, but I do think we will see him make key late game free throws, game after game, to help us seal many victories this year, ala Mr. Green.

Sadly we have no Joakim, Lee for three, or Corey Spiderman Brewer on this team, but I do see lots of Al Horford in Tyrese Samuel with his spin moves and ball control in the paint. As for Handlogten, I'm starting to compare him to a young Colin Castleton in his early time at Michigan. Sure, he didn't start much and as a reserve didn't get many points but he is pesky in the paint and nabs plenty of rebounds that most undersized big men would never have a chance at. Micah and Colin both played tall and needed to develop more muscle to plant themselves inside. So Micah might be ahead of Colin at this stage of his college career, but it remains to be seen if Micah has a higher ceiling than Colin as a senior.

 

It was good to see last night that whenever Zyon went to the bench, he sat by Green, who leaned close and calmly talked him through multiple scenarios, pointing out things on the floor. And Zyon leaned in and listened and nodded. He seems always open to learning and getting better.

I'm hoping we've got some other point guards of this caliber on the transfer radar. We're just a better team when Zyon is on the floor.

 

One other comment about the rest of the season, last night showed us we can play in a 4 guard attack if needed but I wonder what one lineup change might add another dimension to our offense. With Handlogten back hopefully soon, we should be much more balanced in our offense plan and defense that this team needs. I want to see another opportunity open by adding a third big man for a rotation or two during the game. What if one of the freshmen big men came in to pick and pop up top. Both Condon and Haugh have shown the ability to hit from out top if we add add another way to shoot threes while we still keep Tyrese and Micah down low to snag offensive rebounds if needed. That kind of height up top would be very difficult to guard the shot and we still have Clayton or Pullin in the game to handle dribble drives from either wing. The main unknown here is can either freshmen handle the ball and keep the offense flowing in the pick and weave. My guess Haugh would be better at it if given the chance to develop this attack. The best outcome might be better high low action that we use to see from Noah and Horford at their best.
What say you....

 

Appleby was not a ball hog.

Also, many would say that MJ and Kobe were ball hogs. I disagree, but people say it.