G'day, Mate! Welcome Tai!

Jazzycat

All-Conference
May 23, 2002
16,059
4,626
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Happy to have this versatile PF on board the Wildcat train....will be a fun young man to watch in two years..

This post was edited on 1/25 4:39 PM by Jazzycat
 
Mar 23, 2007
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Has anyone seen him play? What do the recruiting services say about him? What competition has he faced? Are we going to have any Enos Kanter problems because he is playing with professionals. I am a little concerned we only had to beat out Villanova and Texas to get him. Why weren't Duke, NC, Kansas, Arizona and the like not interested?
 
Dec 12, 2007
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Tried to find some clips, but all I could find was some piece about the NZ team tryouts or some such. Didn't see him I don't think, but the overall play didn't look that great. He is only 16, so I suspect it's sort of a Kanter situation, but I doubt he is as good, or with the same issues. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Cal wanted him, so I am ok with it.
 

*dezyDECO*

All-Conference
Nov 9, 2014
7,658
2,469
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Similar to KAT's experience, I like to hear about the young kid getting some play with the older teams. That kind of experience can only help.
 

ok-cats-computer

All-Conference
Oct 5, 2005
5,654
3,677
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G'day Mate!


Let's throw another shrimp on the barbie!!
 

minjo

Senior
Jan 7, 2006
6,107
909
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I'm glad I got my degree in Engineering and not Geography at UK.

New Zealand is located southeast of Australia along with Tasmania. Beautiful mountains and lots of sheep.
Had he committed to Duke instead, he could have been nicknamed The Tasmanian Devil. Fortunately he is ours not dook's.
 
May 4, 2009
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New Zealand is located 1,400 miles southeast of Australia. That's about the same distance as it is from Boston to Kansas City. The two countries are not exactly bedroom communities. There's a lot of ocean between them. I don't even think they say "g'day mate" there. That's an Australian thing. Different English accents from the Australians too.
 

keefsopeng

All-Conference
Mar 23, 2005
5,015
2,068
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Originally posted by Kampus Korner:
Has anyone seen him play? What do the recruiting services say about him? What competition has he faced? Are we going to have any Enos Kanter problems because he is playing with professionals. I am a little concerned we only had to beat out Villanova and Texas to get him. Why weren't Duke, NC, Kansas, Arizona and the like not interested?
were worried about Dante Exum and the fact that we were against Michigan, Indiana, and Oregon for him? Wynard is the youngest player in the history of his country to play for the national team which includes Steven Adams who was a top 10 recruit 2 years ago a beast at Pittsburgh, a lottery pick, and now a starter for the Thunder. Sound like a guy you want?
 

Blueworld_3.0

Heisman
Sep 23, 2008
14,060
11,145
113
I have a friend who is from NZ and his accent is definitely different from Australian. And he HATES it when people ask if he has seen Crocodile Dundee. Gotta trust Cal on this one I guess.
 

mjj_2K

All-American
Jul 11, 2010
12,439
7,007
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Originally posted by miracle7s:

Originally posted by Kampus Korner:
Has anyone seen him play? What do the recruiting services say about him? What competition has he faced? Are we going to have any Enos Kanter problems because he is playing with professionals. I am a little concerned we only had to beat out Villanova and Texas to get him. Why weren't Duke, NC, Kansas, Arizona and the like not interested?
were worried about Dante Exum and the fact that we were against Michigan, Indiana, and Oregon for him? Wynard is the youngest player in the history of his country to play for the national team which includes Steven Adams who was a top 10 recruit 2 years ago a beast at Pittsburgh, a lottery pick, and now a starter for the Thunder. Sound like a guy you want?
The funny thing about Adams is that he was not a beast at Pitt. 7.2 ppg, 6.3 rebounds, on a team that was 24-9. However, he had the physical tools to step into the NBA and immediately play a role- defend, rebound, and crash the hoop on pick and rolls.

Honestly, college basketball has become so different from the NBA (because college basketball has become such slop) that it's harder than ever to project how guys will pan out (or not) once they hit the pros.

With Wynyard, I'm guessing that Cal sees a raw kid with good tools that he might get a few years with to teach almost from scratch- something that's probably appealing. I don't think Wynyard is going to be Adams (maybe, but Adams was a very important 2-3 inches taller), but he might be able to do a lot of the same things.
 

keefsopeng

All-Conference
Mar 23, 2005
5,015
2,068
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Originally posted by mj2k10:
Originally posted by miracle7s:

Originally posted by Kampus Korner:
Has anyone seen him play? What do the recruiting services say about him? What competition has he faced? Are we going to have any Enos Kanter problems because he is playing with professionals. I am a little concerned we only had to beat out Villanova and Texas to get him. Why weren't Duke, NC, Kansas, Arizona and the like not interested?
were worried about Dante Exum and the fact that we were against Michigan, Indiana, and Oregon for him? Wynard is the youngest player in the history of his country to play for the national team which includes Steven Adams who was a top 10 recruit 2 years ago a beast at Pittsburgh, a lottery pick, and now a starter for the Thunder. Sound like a guy you want?
The funny thing about Adams is that he was not a beast at Pitt. 7.2 ppg, 6.3 rebounds, on a team that was 24-9. However, he had the physical tools to step into the NBA and immediately play a role- defend, rebound, and crash the hoop on pick and rolls.

Honestly, college basketball has become so different from the NBA (because college basketball has become such slop) that it's harder than ever to project how guys will pan out (or not) once they hit the pros.

With Wynyard, I'm guessing that Cal sees a raw kid with good tools that he might get a few years with to teach almost from scratch- something that's probably appealing. I don't think Wynyard is going to be Adams (maybe, but Adams was a very important 2-3 inches taller), but he might be able to do a lot of the same things.
Couple things, didn't mean he was beast in the sense that he averaged 25 points or something I meant he was a literally physical beast on the court just like he is right now for the Thunder. However for a guy who played 20 minutes a game at Pitt for a coach who is known for just making games as ugly as possible and not doing anything with freshman those are pretty good numbers. I've not seen a lick of tape of Wynyard but I imagine Cal had him play with the current group of players and if he walked away with a committable offer he must of done something. I hope he is just a brute, I'm tired of having a soft as Charmin team like we have down low the last 2 years. People were scared to bring it in against Boogie, Davis, Noel, hell even Terrence Jones and Josh Harrellson scared people. Willie while an awesome defender strikes no fear into anyone same with Dakari and Towns. Lastly as far as size Adams was 6'10 235lbs in college at 19. Wynyard is listed at 6'9 255 as a 16 year old, so he is listed as all ready being heavier and and only an inch smaller. So I imagine he will end as big if not bigger than Adams.