If Fudge turns out to be a future NBA player,we will be dang good. CC, Reeves both all SEC players first or second team. Loften, Kugel, Lane, Felder, Richard. I really like this team. Don't forget JJ also. Long time we have been this deep.
Read an article on Reeves being 6’8” now with a 7 foot wingspan. Think we have a few forwards with similar profiles now.
Been high on Kugel every since Aberdeen committed and started watching Dr. Pepper play. Thought he was consistently the best player on the court. I'd imagine he really blew up this year shown by his drastic rise in the rankings. Think he's too good not to get some time next year and set up to be the man his sophomore year. Thrilled he's a Gator and very impressed how Golden brought in 5 transfers and recruits with at least 3 years of eligibility while keeping the key players from last year and a stud pg in Lofton.
I thought that Kugel outplayed Nick Smith at the City of Palms. Smith is a top-5, one and done high school player heading to Arkansas. There is a reasonable chance that Kugel is dramatically underrated.
In the latest rankings Nick Smith is ranked: #1 by 247-- #3 by ESPN-- and #2 by Rivals. We're talking about as elite a prospect as there is in the 2022 class. I thought Kugel certainly played even with him for most of the game. Here's the love that Kugel's getting: #49 @ 247-- #62 @ ESPN, and Rivals graciously bumped Riley up 12 spots to #138 (about 25 spots behind Denzel Aberdeen). Either Kugel had a really good game against Nick Smith, or the services have missed badly again. Kugel's Composite ranking is 79th. According to Tampa and some others on here it's the latter.
Wow. Where was that? If he has a halfway decent season with those measurements, he could be a lottery pick.
Why isn’t Kugel a top-10 rated player? Here’s my analysis, which assumes that the data I found is correct. Riley scored 13 points in his junior year, not 13 ppg, 13 points total. So, going into Riley’s senior year, he wouldn’t have been on anyone’s radar. At some point, Riley had a growth explosion. In his senior year, Riley averaged 16.5 ppg, shot 75% from the free throw line, 40% from 3 and 68% from 2. He got better as the year went on, and he also excelled in the other aspects of the game. So to take him from not being rated after his junior year to elevating him into the top-10 or so very quickly was unlikely. That’s my theory.
Not sure if I said it here or elsewhere, but he added 2 inches and 15 lbs before before his senior year, and he had been point/combo guard before developing into a wing. There were apparently some qualification concerns, too. Whatever his ranking, the kid is a smooth as can be wing who can handle, pass, finish, and shoot. We won’t need him much as a freshman due to our depth at the 2/3 spots, but if he can continue developing his body and his shot this year, he could expose as a sophomore, just like most expect Reeves to this season.
Reeves should have been in the rotation from day one and then working his way into starting. From what I have seen of Kugel, he’s a better high school player than Reeves was. Richard is one more year advanced than Kugel. Kugel has already said that he wants to develop over a few years, but I won’t be surprised if he becomes elite early on.
Late bloomer. Not exactly like Corey Brewer but similar I think. Sometimes late bloomers are real diamonds in the rough. From what you and @wdcurtis4 have found and told us I'm even more excited he's a Gator!
ET, you can find on YouTube truncated versions of a whole bunch of Dr. Phillips games. Each one is about 16 or 17 minutes long. Also, you can look at the City of Palms box scores on the City of Palms website to see how Riley played against the best teams in the country. As an aside, I also think that Denzel Aberdeen is way underrated. He is a very solid point guard with really good size. I expect him to develop into an excellent player. Let’s hope we are not harmed by the outgoing side of the portal down the road.
ET. Corey Brewer averaged 29 points and 13 rebounds per game while also being an elite defender in HS. Tenn Mr Basketball, McDonalds All American and Parade All American in HS. Was one of the top recruits Billy signed from HS ranks along with Mike Miller, Donnell Harvey, James White, David Lee, Kwame Brown, Chris Richards, …. Kugel may be playing great basketball as season ended, but did not have a Teddy Dupay type HS career. Like the Mr Basketball types in States Kudos to Golden for signing him late as a top 70 kid, but a long way to go to sign a class like Beard at Texas Tech
Thanks @INGATORSWETRUST . . . I would have sworn Corey Brewer was a late bloomer and it may be in my old age I’m thinking about him in middle school. LOL! I’m pretty sure I remember that he shot up several inches between seasons. I could be thinking about somebody else though. I do appreciate the correction.
My point about Kugel is that he only played one year in high school for all practical purposes. Cory had a great senior year in high school and was a Mickey D. I don’t know what Cory did in his earlier years, but if Billy signed him in the early signing period, then he would have been a highly rated player before his senior year. Kugel simply exploded onto the scene out of nowhere.
