Post by victor2111 on Jan 23, 2015 14:31:28 GMT -5
Jan 23, 2015 14:02:45 GMT -5 @jtrbucks said:
Vic is spot on with his postings. This team is simply not that good. Russell is being asked to do much more than he should be. Scott, Thompson, and Amir are big disappointments. This team simply doesn't have weapons. Russell is the only true scoring option we have and he's a freshman meaning he is going to have his ups and downs. It only makes sense that against good teams he struggles because they are...well...good teams which means they are better at making things more difficult for him. This is a painful team to watch.
+1 JTR.
Scott, Thompson, Amir, and McDonald.... will go down as one of the most disappointing classes in tOSU history. Just not good. They didn't "improve" their game. Scott is very solid defensive player, Thompson is athletic and can dunk, Amir is tall, and McDonald is big body. That is it though. None of them developed other parts of their game. I had high hopes for Scott & Thompson this year. Sadly, still haven't delivered. I gave up on Amir/McDonald long time ago.
In Matta era, I don't know if I would rank any of these guys in top 20 players in his history. I would take Jamar Butler, Jekel Foster, JJ Sullinger, Ron Lewis, etc over them. Amir Williams makes BJ Mullens look good.
You hit it perfectly when you said Russell is asked to do too much. 18 year old freshman, ask to carry the team, every game. He is going to have moments. Freshman do, especially one who is the only legit scoring option.
This team is painful to watch, just like last year team. I'm still not giving up, yet. If they can finish strong, and play to a #6 seed, I think they have a chance to make a small run in tourney. Anytime you have a scorer, like Russell, who can put up 30....you'll have a chance. We've seen it happen before in the NCAA tourney. Teams struggles(UCONN), scorer gets hot at the end of the year, and they make a big run.
I would play Tate more. I think he is still a little raw but he plays strong. Rebounds, gets to the line, etc. Loving needs to get more involved. And hopefully by the end of the year, the seniors are playing their best basketball with their career on the last string. It is a lot to ask, but anything is possible. Getting to the NCAA tourney might be the tougher part in this equation.
But this team, will only go as far as Russell can lead them to.