Gabriel up to No. 9 overall in class of 2016 rankings
- Thread starter preacher_tom
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He IMO will be much more ready to be a big time scorer in college then Bam as Bam is limited offensively. Bam might average 12 rebounds a game a few nasty dunks but SKJ is the overall more talented player.
I hope SKJ can put on a little muscle. Reminds me of Jules Camara's frame. Like 6'11", 145 pounds.
I realize we're currently dealing with whatever's going on with Skal, but one thing I love about Cal is that he has always been very good at spotting big men that are about to make the leap and landing them before everyone else realizes just how great they truly are. Happened with Davis. Happened with WCS. Happened with Towns. SKJ is in that mold, IMO. All have similar qualities as basketball players. Tall, long armed, rim protectors that can run the floor. SKJ is crushing it right now in high school and the sky is the limit for him. Our fans are sleeping big time on him.
IDK, he looks solidly built to me and there's plenty of room for him to be even more so, especially for a lean, athletic, floor running, shot blocking big man. Those types are almost always going to have a slimmer frame. He's got solid definition in the shoulders, if anything he should work on strengthening the lower body. Anthony Davis always had a solid base and strong legs even for a "skinny guy" and it's one thing I think helped him keep his position defensively and prevented him from getting bullied around on the court. SKJ should never be built like a hulking brute like Cousins or Bam or guys like that, wouldn't suit his game.
I can understand them being cautious on Giles. They screwed up on Tatum and Bam. SKJ is progressing to about where I thought he'd be, he is good and getting better.
If weynen and skj come in and remind anyone of skal there will be hell to pay. Both are barely over 200 pounds. One thing I've learned so far this year is if you have a guy of skal's stature you better have a guy that can bang down low and do the dirty work. We all thought poythress would be that guy which could still happen. If bam catches a case of the poythress disease our dream season could be just that. The one thing skal can do is hit that 15 ft jumper. I know weynen can shoot a little but can skj? Durant didn't weigh 200 pounds but he could stoke it, and with Davis he was an amazing defender who could post up for rebounds and could shoot. I'm just looking at next years team which may have one guy we depend on to do the dirty work and if shots aren't falling we could get knocked around again. Lastly, No way in hell is skal, ulis, or briscoe nba ready yet and if you think a team would take one of them in the first round your crazy. Skal is soft. You know the knock on ulis plus he's not having a stellar season. Briscoe makes the guy for louisville who shoots free throws granny style look like jj reddick. It's going to be interesting what cal does if Atleast one of those guys do indeed come back.
If he needs stay here two or three years while building up his physique it won't bother me one bit.[winking]
With bigs, its better to look at their legs, IMO. Davis was slight up top but had some pretty good trunks underneath. Same with WCS. Guys like John Henson and Skal with twigs are the ones you need to worry about when it comes to the physicality of the college game.
SKJ is so long and athletic he makes rims seem like they're 9ft. Bam Makes them seem like Nerf goals. Fox and Monk makes them seem like well.....easy
Haters better get it all out this season. They won't have **** to say next season.
Haters better get it all out this season. They won't have **** to say next season.
Hey- not sure if you heard, but we also signed this Adebayo kid who has a decent build inside.
As I look at that picture and a couple others, I may stand corrected. I watched one of his videos recently and I remembered thinking he just seemed kinda lanky. But at a closer look it does seem that his wiry frame has a solid build to it.
IDK, he looks solidly built to me and there's plenty of room for him to be even more so, especially for a lean, athletic, floor running, shot blocking big man. Those types are almost always going to have a slimmer frame. He's got solid definition in the shoulders, if anything he should work on strengthening the lower body. Anthony Davis always had a solid base and strong legs even for a "skinny guy" and it's one thing I think helped him keep his position defensively and prevented him from getting bullied around on the court. SKJ should never be built like a hulking brute like Cousins or Bam or guys like that, wouldn't suit his game.
If you read what I said I mentioned bam. I absolutely think he will be a stud down low. I mentioned if bam plays like poythress rather than a guy like towns or randle then what?
For the love of god if Bam is our lowest rated recruit we are going to be unbelievable next year.
I am sure it is not unjust as I rarely, if ever, follow high school prospects outside of individuals likely to commit to UK, but I was very surprised to see Tatum drop so far.
I don't believe Tatum dropped. Every recruiting service except 247 has him as a top three recruit. He's been around 10 on 247 for a while and I believe he was as low as 14 there earlier in the year.
BAM at #16 is crazy. There just isn't people who can physically contain him 1 on 1 in college right now. I don't care if he is limited offensively. If he can get offensive rebound, he can score double digit just from put back. He's going to be insane.
It's not about balance, it's sometimes doing one thing better than everyone else that they can't stop. Bam has that probably more so than any other player. He should be easily top 10.
It's not about balance, it's sometimes doing one thing better than everyone else that they can't stop. Bam has that probably more so than any other player. He should be easily top 10.
UK's rebounding woes will be solved the moment the 2016 class sets foot on campus.
Some people might not want to believe that, because they enjoy wallowing in despair, but rebounding tends to translate from different levels more than a lot of other things. Bam and Wenyen Gabriel have consistently, no matter the level of competition, been dominant rebounders, and SKJ was solid in AAU ball, and is now trending up.
That was not the case with Skal. Look at his Nike Hoop Summit performance, and look at some of his games last year against higher profile HS teams. It was pretty common for him to put on an offensive show in those games (thus his ranking), but it was not common for him to dominate the boards. No one suspected he'd struggle as much as he has, but no one (being realistic) looked at him and said "oh, he's going to dominate the boards". The 2016 guys, specifically Bam and Gabriel, are the exact opposite.
Some people might not want to believe that, because they enjoy wallowing in despair, but rebounding tends to translate from different levels more than a lot of other things. Bam and Wenyen Gabriel have consistently, no matter the level of competition, been dominant rebounders, and SKJ was solid in AAU ball, and is now trending up.
That was not the case with Skal. Look at his Nike Hoop Summit performance, and look at some of his games last year against higher profile HS teams. It was pretty common for him to put on an offensive show in those games (thus his ranking), but it was not common for him to dominate the boards. No one suspected he'd struggle as much as he has, but no one (being realistic) looked at him and said "oh, he's going to dominate the boards". The 2016 guys, specifically Bam and Gabriel, are the exact opposite.
You are 100% correct that rebounding will not be an issue with next year's team and rim protection will also be much improved. We still need a legit low post scorer though which is why getting Bolden is A LOT more important then many realize. This year taken in conjunction with 2013 has been illuminating that Cal's offense simply won't work well without a consistent low post scorer.
Not sure why Adebayo couldn't be a consistent low poster scorer. While he's not Cousins or Towns, I'd imagine he'll have a more developed low post game than Poythress and Lee do even as seniors. Plus I think Humphries will be a much improved player as a sophomore.
Yeah I didn't see that posted much. Most posts were "What's going on???" "Why are we missing on all these recruits???"