Nicholson vs Roper in high school

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

A video from December 2019 where high school senior Matt Nicholson faced off against high school junior Julian Roper in a battle of the top two teams in Michigan.
Game starts just after 1:55 mark in the video.
Both NU recruits had plenty of good moments. Roper is player #1 for the team in red and white.
Nicholson is difficult to miss.
Also featuring Lorne Bowman (Wisconsin freshman), player #11 in red and white.

*** FOR ACTUAL NU BASKETBALL FANS ONLY ***

 

[EvanstonCat]

Nicholson actually looks pretty good here. Had a ton of blocks. Passed pretty well, cleaned up and had some post moves. Based on this he looked like he could help.

Favorable comparison to what I remember of Dan Kreft and Aron Molnar who got their share of time on the court.

 

[NJCat]

Nicholson actually looks pretty good here. Had a ton of blocks. Passed pretty well, cleaned up and had some post moves. Based on this he looked like he could help.

Favorable comparison to what I remember of Dan Kreft and Aron Molnar who got their share of time on the court.

Being the second coming of Dan Kreft isn't a high bar for performance......

 

[catcrazy]

It would be better if he was more like Ryan Young

 

[CSCatFan1]

Nicholson actually looks pretty good here. Had a ton of blocks. Passed pretty well, cleaned up and had some post moves. Based on this he looked like he could help.

Favorable comparison to what I remember of Dan Kreft and Aron Molnar who got their share of time on the court.

Kreft and Molnar? Are you freakin’ kidding me? LOL.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Kreft and Molnar? Are you freakin’ kidding me? LOL.

Hey, all I'm saying is he is not worse than some of the bigs we've brought through, the bar being what it is. And yeah, Kreft and Molnar got extended playing time at some point in their careers here, so why can't Nicholson?

 

[Hungry Jack]

Cher Ajou, where are you?

 

[NJCat]

Hey, all I'm saying is he is not worse than some of the bigs we've brought through, the bar being what it is. And yeah, Kreft and Molnar got extended playing time at some point in their careers here, so why can't Nicholson?

So Kreft averaged 11 minutes a game in his last two seasons on teams that went 5-22 and 7-20.............

I'm hoping Matt is a better contributor on better teams.

 

[CSCatFan1]

Cher Ajou, where are you?

I’ll take 7-footers that can’t play for $200 Alex.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

So Kreft averaged 11 minutes a game in his last two seasons on teams that went 5-22 and 7-20.............

I'm hoping Matt is a better contributor on better teams.

He will be a major contributor somewhere.
Nicholson was rated 54th at center in the class of 2020 by 247.
The guy who was rated 44th (Steven Crowl) is now starting for Wisconsin.
They guy who was ranked 76th (Zach Edey) played well for Purdue last year.
7 footers who "can't play" tend to be much lighter than the 255 lb Nicholson.
Or they simply are too big to get up and down the floor.

If you actually watch video of Nicholson or watch him in person, you are aware that he can play.
Thus, the Chier Ajou comparison is ridiculous.
Hopefully that was just an attempt to be funny, not an expression of basketball knowledge.

I liked the video because it also showed that Julian Roper is very skilled and competitive.

As for Dan Kreft, he's out there doing God's work...

https://sevenfootapologist.com/about

 

[PURPLECAT88]

If you actually watch video of Nicholson or watch him in person, you are aware that he can play.

The word "can" is doing a lot of work here. The fact that he's even jokingly compared with Kreft and Ajou says a lot about Nicholson. I'd love to see him improve, but...
1) He's easily the worst of the 12 scholarship players on the team.
2) He's nowhere near as good as Young was in his first game as an RS Freshman (FY)
3) Right now I'd say he's closer in ability to Kreft and Ajou than he is to Edey
4) He looks awkward on virtually every play and has not shown even the slight flashes of talent that would lead one to believe he's destined for better things.

I respect your passion and consistency in shilling for Nicholson, and nothing would make me happier than to eat crow on this (I'm not one of those guys on the internet who has to be right), but I've been watching bad big men at Welsh-Ryan for a long damn time. Nicholson seems right there with them.

 

[Catreporter]

Crowl looked very raw against Providence last night.

 

[elgatoloco_rivals308553]

I was at that game, which also featured Fletcher Loyer, a 2022 SG who signed with Purdue and is a candidate for Mr Basketball in Indiana; Jason Drake, an outstanding 2022 who transferred to Ferndale and has several MAC offers; and Kareem Rozier, a 2002 PG who'll likely will end up D1.

I'll maintain now as I did then that Nicholson has the raw physical skills -- including footwork, shooting touch near the basket, ability to find open shooters and to get up and down the floor -- required to be an effective high-major center. I'll also maintain that I believe Nicholson's main potential is as a rim protector and facilitator in the post.

But he isn't there yet. The game highlights are nice but a 7-footer should get plenty of blocked shots against a lineup of 5'8"-6'3" players (and a defense that filters these players into the lane) and a 6'8" player who was extremely raw (and is a PWO at Michigan State).

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

If you actually watch video of Nicholson or watch him in person, you are aware that he can play.

The word "can" is doing a lot of work here. The fact that he's even jokingly compared with Kreft and Ajou says a lot about Nicholson. I'd love to see him improve, but...
1) He's easily the worst of the 12 scholarship players on the team.
2) He's nowhere near as good as Young was in his first game as an RS Freshman (FY)
3) Right now I'd say he's closer in ability to Kreft and Ajou than he is to Edey
4) He looks awkward on virtually every play and has not shown even the slight flashes of talent that would lead one to believe he's destined for better things.

I respect your passion and consistency in shilling for Nicholson, and nothing would make me happier than to eat crow on this (I'm not one of those guys on the internet who has to be right), but I've been watching bad big men at Welsh-Ryan for a long damn time. Nicholson seems right there with them.

White Boy’s schilling for Nicholson reminds me of Wrassler with Jordan Ash. How did that work out? I felt bad for Ash because the nonsense that Wrassler was spewing on Ash inevitably ended up with rebuttals criticizing Ash way more than he should have got criticized for. I am hesitant ultimately go down the path for poor Nicholson. However, it is obvious to anyone that has seen him this year (not his HS tape) that he is not going to provide a lot of help in meaningful games this year. It’s just another arrow in the quiver to support CCC is awful. Like you, I hope to be wrong, but I am confident I am not wrong for this season. He still has time to get better and wouldn’t doubt that he could, but he will be nailed to the bench this season barring injury.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

If you actually watch video of Nicholson or watch him in person, you are aware that he can play.

The word "can" is doing a lot of work here. The fact that he's even jokingly compared with Kreft and Ajou says a lot about Nicholson. I'd love to see him improve, but...
1) He's easily the worst of the 12 scholarship players on the team.
2) He's nowhere near as good as Young was in his first game as an RS Freshman (FY)
3) Right now I'd say he's closer in ability to Kreft and Ajou than he is to Edey
4) He looks awkward on virtually every play and has not shown even the slight flashes of talent that would lead one to believe he's destined for better things.

I respect your passion and consistency in shilling for Nicholson, and nothing would make me happier than to eat crow on this (I'm not one of those guys on the internet who has to be right), but I've been watching bad big men at Welsh-Ryan for a long damn time. Nicholson seems right there with them.

Well I appreciate your perspective. Ryan Young is an underrated player with a variety of "old school" offensive moves and solid fundamentals. I like him and have stated repeatedly that the team succeeds when he is playing. He should be starting. However, Young is not cut from the "rim protector / defensive rebounder" mold that Nicholson appears to be.

"Easily the worst of the 12 scholarship players" is rather provocative. Worst in what way? Shooting 3 pointers? Dribbling the ball? His job should be to rebound, alter shots, defend the post because thats what he is good at. He is not the point guard we've been lacking. Nor is he as good as Ryan Young overall. Of course, I never said he was.

He has had zero opportunity to prove his value. On the other hand, you are giving a free pass to scholarship players like Ryan Greer, Robbie Beran, Brooks Barnhizer, Chase Audige, Casey Simmons, Julian Roper and Elyjah Williams, who have yet to prove they can compete effectively in the Big Ten, or in some cases, have proven they cannot.

Lastly, I'm not "shilling" for Nicholson. My evaluation of the team is that Young and Nance MUST start and play a lot of minutes. Therefore, we need a backup for Young. Nicholson is the only guy on the roster who plays that position. The coach should give him minutes to develop his game. Its called "preparation."

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Thanks for the feedback. The difference is that I have seen moments of D1 or even B1G level competence from all of those other scholarship players (except maybe Barnhizer although he did have a few good moves in the exhibition game). I have not seen that from Nicholson.

It's always fun to root for the back-up and lament that he never gets the chance, but as we have learned over the years, when a guy can't get onto the court/field/diamond, there's usually a pretty good reason why.

 

[1830 Sherman]

He will be a major contributor somewhere.
Nicholson was rated 54th at center in the class of 2020 by 247.
The guy who was rated 44th (Steven Crowl) is now starting for Wisconsin.
They guy who was ranked 76th (Zach Edey) played well for Purdue last year.
7 footers who "can't play" tend to be much lighter than the 255 lb Nicholson.
Or they simply are too big to get up and down the floor.

If you actually watch video of Nicholson or watch him in person, you are aware that he can play.
Thus, the Chier Ajou comparison is ridiculous.
Hopefully that was just an attempt to be funny, not an expression of basketball knowledge.

I liked the video because it also showed that Julian Roper is very skilled and competitive.

As for Dan Kreft, he's out there doing God's work...

https://sevenfootapologist.com/about

Interesting find on Kreft. I remember when he was blogging (or whatever it was called in the early/mid-'90s) while playing for Byrdsong. In fact, IIRC, he got into a bit of hot water over it. Interesting character, for sure. I don't think he saw the court much, tho.

 

[CSCatFan1]

White Boy’s schilling for Nicholson reminds me of Wrassler with Jordan Ash. How did that work out? I felt bad for Ash because the nonsense that Wrassler was spewing on Ash inevitably ended up with rebuttals criticizing Ash way more than he should have got criticized for. I am hesitant ultimately go down the path for poor Nicholson. However, it is obvious to anyone that has seen him this year (not his HS tape) that he is not going to provide a lot of help in meaningful games this year. It’s just another arrow in the quiver to support CCC is awful. Like you, I hope to be wrong, but I am confident I am not wrong for this season. He still has time to get better and wouldn’t doubt that he could, but he will be nailed to the bench this season barring injury.

Reminds me of @EvanstonCat and Easy Ed McCants. Now that was a man crush to end all man crushes.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Reminds me of @EvanstonCat and Easy Ed McCants. Now that was a man crush to end all man crushes.

Let me know when you post something worth reading.

 

[freewillie07]

Let me know when you post something worth reading.

Gotta go to The Rock for that.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Interesting find on Kreft. I remember when he was blogging (or whatever it was called in the early/mid-'90s) while playing for Byrdsong. In fact, IIRC, he got into a bit of hot water over it. Interesting character, for sure. I don't think he saw the court much, tho.

From those blogs, there was a guy Kreft used to make fun of named Mouli. I ended up meeting him later where he was working in Silicon Valley. Actually a really good guy, but it took some time for me to connect the dots. Byrd should have given him a chance like they gave Tony Ling.

 

[pschatz25]

Interesting find on Kreft. I remember when he was blogging (or whatever it was called in the early/mid-'90s) while playing for Byrdsong. In fact, IIRC, he got into a bit of hot water over it. Interesting character, for sure. I don't think he saw the court much, tho.

I'm just here for the Dan Kreft content as he was on the team when I was starting to follow NU basketball. He actually averaged about 11 minutes per game in both 94-95 and 95-96. Unfortunately he didn't make much of an impact as he averaged about 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a block.

 

[Catreporter]

Kreft wore Bob Lanier sized shoes and I got him to sign one for a Christmas present for my dad back in the day. Really a nice guy.