Singleton, our best ever recruit per some rankings, can not even muster 3 points per game in league play as a freshman. To me, that says just about everything about NU basketball.
Classic NU
- Thread starter SDakaGordie
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Sorry to hear you can’t infer anything.
You already know my views on Collins.
Says a lot about NU’s players relative to other teams’. Unless you are like Bill Russell, the best basketball players tend to score points. We’d be a lot better if our prize recruit (who gets lots of PT) could score (and not foul so much).
Keaton Wagler on Illinois was ranked 150th nationally as a recruit on 247. Singleton was 93rd. Wagler averages over 15 points a game and is playing 30 minutes a game. Did the scouts for 247 just screw up ranking Singleton so highly? Or has Wagler had so much success because his supporting cast is better? Looks to me like Singleton is just struggling for some reason while some other freshmen who weren’t ranked as highly as him are contributing much more.
Totally agree that we’d be better
If he was doing more. And it’s disappointing he isn’t doing more halfway through his freshman season. But I’m not sure it says anything about NUs players(at least as far as using him as an example)relative to other teams as this kid was ranked very high and had offers from all kinds of P4 teams that also wanted him.
Recruiting ratings outside of the top 25 are a complete crapshoot. Singleton has already shown a lot as a freshman, and hopefully he will continue to improve and reach his potential.
Fair points. It could partly be symptomatic of the talent of the other players on your team. I just don’t remember a time we’ve had a big impact freshman - someone who could just fill it up - and that is not true of other BIG teams, including Wagner and Mingo (who we recruited) this year.
Totally agree and it’s very strange. I thought Singleton would be the one to come in and make an instant impact and although he’s shown flashes he just doesn’t look like some freshmen on other teams that come in and make a big impact. He doesn’t look confident. I think he can become a very good B1G player but that instant impact just isn’t there.
He does not look ready. And yes, that means he looks like pretty much every other NU freshman over the years. I wonder with the lack of size he’s playing too much out of position. I’m most worried about his defense and rebounding.
The team has a star player. That star player has been here twice as long as the other players. They defer to him too much. Nick has to make sure the other players understand he can’t do everything. They are showing so much respect that they are sitting around watching the game.
Boo wasn’t Boo when he was a Frosh. He deferred leadership to Nance. Look at the jump he took when Nance departed and he became the man. Singleton is going to be a really good player. In fact, I think there is a real good chance he is NU’s leading scorer next season. West is going to be good too. You can even see glimpses with Kropp. I expect Fish to contribute at some point. Hopefully the big man can do something next year. I haven’t all given up on this Freshman class. In fact, I would play them more and hopefully give a kick in the *** to some of the guys getting more minutes now.
I think Singleton is probably a good all around player and he shows flashes of it sometimes, though mainly against inferior non-conference opponents. I just think his skills don't immediately translate to BIG level play and will take some time to develop.
- He isn't a great shooter, though his shot isn't ugly, so there is potential for him to develop that. If he does, he can be a three level scorer.
- He isn't terribly explosive. I remember watching his highlight tapes after we landed him and I made the comment on here that he looks good, but surprisingly he didn't have any highlights where he was dunking the ball. I got ripped to shreds on here (and I was ok with it at the time). But now that he is here, I notice he just lacks that burst at the rim. He got a nice feed at the rim last night and instead of powering home the dunk, he had to lay it in and it got blocked from behind.
- He has nice size, but he isn't super big or tall. That's not a problem. He actually is one of the few players on our team that looks like a BIG level athlete. All our guys are either too short or too skinny. He has that thickness that other teams seem to have up and down their roster. But he isn't physically dominating anybody yet. Possibly, at someone mentioned above, because he is playing out of position.
Bottom line... I don't know if he was overranked or not, but I am still excited about his potential. I agree with Gordie though that I wish we could land some higher impact freshman. I think West is looking like the most fearless among the frosh. I really think he is going to be good and expect him to be our main ball handler, if not later this year, then next year for sure.
- He isn't a great shooter, though his shot isn't ugly, so there is potential for him to develop that. If he does, he can be a three level scorer.
- He isn't terribly explosive. I remember watching his highlight tapes after we landed him and I made the comment on here that he looks good, but surprisingly he didn't have any highlights where he was dunking the ball. I got ripped to shreds on here (and I was ok with it at the time). But now that he is here, I notice he just lacks that burst at the rim. He got a nice feed at the rim last night and instead of powering home the dunk, he had to lay it in and it got blocked from behind.
- He has nice size, but he isn't super big or tall. That's not a problem. He actually is one of the few players on our team that looks like a BIG level athlete. All our guys are either too short or too skinny. He has that thickness that other teams seem to have up and down their roster. But he isn't physically dominating anybody yet. Possibly, at someone mentioned above, because he is playing out of position.
Bottom line... I don't know if he was overranked or not, but I am still excited about his potential. I agree with Gordie though that I wish we could land some higher impact freshman. I think West is looking like the most fearless among the frosh. I really think he is going to be good and expect him to be our main ball handler, if not later this year, then next year for sure.
Now that gelo and windham have totally regressed Collins has some serious problems with future teams after Nick is gone
Gelo totally regressed? What are you talking about? I see a much better all around player, especially on the defensive end. He also plays well with the offense. The one part of his game that isn't there yet is his shooting, but I see that as something that will come the last two years of his NU career. A lot of people that watch basketball judge a player solely on how many points they score or how they shoot, but he's 100% a better basketball player this year that also has gotten stronger/bigger in the process. To be clear, he's not totally there yet, but there's definitely been year 1 to year 2 improvement.
Well he’s out of the starting line up, to your point can’t shoot threes, and don’t think he will ever be a good three point shooter. But glad you are high on him. I am not holding my breath.
I don’t see him as being a star player at any point, but that’s never been the expectation.
And even though he’s not starting, he’s doubled his minutes per game over last year.
With his shooting, he’s not a natural great shooter. I’ll give you that. It’s something he will need to continue to work on and get better at. There are a million examples of guys like him that significantly improved their shooting throughout their college career.
I’m not sitting here and guaranteeing anything, but I am confident you’ll see a guy who improves his shooting significantly over his last two years in the program.
He is better than last year. My problem is I don’t feel he is aggressive enough on the drive to the hoop. Doesn’t do it nearly enough and that’s a strength. Also, I believe he should be contributing more on the glass. He floats around the 3 point line too much and that’s not great if you aren’t a good 3 point shooter.
Yep, I think that's a fair point, but I wonder if that's more a product of the offense we run and how the coaches are directing them (i.e. placing a higher priority on getting back on defense than crashing the offensive boards) than a reflection of his game. I truly don't know, but it's certainly a possibility.
Just wanted to give my two cents on a couple player evaluations.
Tre: He is a highly rated recruit and, to me, he looks to be that right now, a freshman with real tools who is being thrown into real minutes. The versatility pops immediately with his size, frame, and functional athleticism. He already has a college-ready body, but he is still matching up with guys who have spent two, three, sometimes four years in a college weight program and he is often asked to guard the opposing five. Considering that context, he is holding his own defensively better than most freshmen I have seen at NU. The foul rate is real, but that usually stabilizes with reps and film.
Offensively, the big swing skill is the three. If that starts to fall consistently it unlocks everything else. He has already flashed touch around the rim and some real post feel. Once teams have to respect him as a shooter, the driving lanes, closeout attacks, and post mismatches all get easier. He is also learning role context. It is a major adjustment to go from being the guy in high school, taking a lot of shots every night, to sharing the floor with the Big Ten’s leading scorer and other offensive options. Learning how to pick spots, stay efficient, and impact without hijacking possessions takes time.
Long term, he projects really well. He is not an elite athlete, but the blend of size, movement skills, and poise is very good. I can easily see a three-level scoring profile forming and a versatile defender who can guard up and down lineups. Give him time. The foundation is there. He has the ability to be an impact player at the big ten level.
Gelo: He is the most improved player on the team. If you say otherwise, you are ignoring the defensive end. He went from a negative defender last season to the second-best perimeter defender on the roster right now. The only player in the same improvement tier is Martinelli in my opinion. Gelo is a real plus athlete and now a legitimately good defender at this level. If the three settles in, he turns into a very impactful true three and D guy who fits winning lineups.
Tre: He is a highly rated recruit and, to me, he looks to be that right now, a freshman with real tools who is being thrown into real minutes. The versatility pops immediately with his size, frame, and functional athleticism. He already has a college-ready body, but he is still matching up with guys who have spent two, three, sometimes four years in a college weight program and he is often asked to guard the opposing five. Considering that context, he is holding his own defensively better than most freshmen I have seen at NU. The foul rate is real, but that usually stabilizes with reps and film.
Offensively, the big swing skill is the three. If that starts to fall consistently it unlocks everything else. He has already flashed touch around the rim and some real post feel. Once teams have to respect him as a shooter, the driving lanes, closeout attacks, and post mismatches all get easier. He is also learning role context. It is a major adjustment to go from being the guy in high school, taking a lot of shots every night, to sharing the floor with the Big Ten’s leading scorer and other offensive options. Learning how to pick spots, stay efficient, and impact without hijacking possessions takes time.
Long term, he projects really well. He is not an elite athlete, but the blend of size, movement skills, and poise is very good. I can easily see a three-level scoring profile forming and a versatile defender who can guard up and down lineups. Give him time. The foundation is there. He has the ability to be an impact player at the big ten level.
Gelo: He is the most improved player on the team. If you say otherwise, you are ignoring the defensive end. He went from a negative defender last season to the second-best perimeter defender on the roster right now. The only player in the same improvement tier is Martinelli in my opinion. Gelo is a real plus athlete and now a legitimately good defender at this level. If the three settles in, he turns into a very impactful true three and D guy who fits winning lineups.
