Second-half for NU vs. Bradley

[Jonny2TheP]

Yeah he’ll have his fair share of good games I totally agree. Definitely exceeded my expectations entering the year. I just think he’ll have some games (especially early on ie this year when he’s still early in development) where an athletic B1G center makes him look a bit silly by blocking him 2 or 4 or whatever times and people will be thinking back and overreact too far in the other direction and say “how did we ever think that this guy could be good enough to play against Big Ten competition?” When that happens I think he has the right attitude to just keep plugging away and come back for the next one...He’s a RS freshman so plenty of room for growth!

This is pretty much exactly where I am at with Young. First of all, he's so beyond what my expectations were for him that I'm ecstatic he's as skilled as he is. So he's already blown my expectations out of the water- it's obvious he's worked extremely hard on his game. But what we will see over these next four years is whether or not he can continue to improve and become a really good player or if we are already pretty close to his ceiling. That's what I think no one can really know. He's got good size and he's a really good basketball player, but he is limited athletically compared to most other big men at this level. Like the Loyola center, like an Ethan Happ, you have to be really skilled at this level to overcome that natural athletic difference. If he continues to improve and refine his game, he could be a really good player in this conference. He's far from Ethan Happ at this point, but that's a guy who showed that you don't have to be able to jump out of the gym to be a 1st team All-Conference player if your basketball skills/IQ are really high.

Very excited about how well he has played and to see how he develops over this season and his NU career.

 

[ricko6543211]

I think Ryan took some mid range shots on the Europe trip and looked good.

We're all just sort of accepting that he's doing what he's doing. But he's essentially a freshman. He's averaging about 12 pts and 7 rebounds. He doesn't foul out and plays effective post D (he stays on his feet all game). What he does on D hugely facilitates guys like Nance and Beran being able to cheat a bit, block shots and get rebounds.

He's is so beyond what we had any right to expect.

Similarly, Spencer is scoring double digits and has a 2.5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. He has a handle that seems to get a bit better each game. He also has an elite gear as he showed on a couple drives last night. A month ago the book on him was that he can play basketball and will definitely get minutes and "help."

What Spencer is doing should be a national story. It's cover of SI stuff....60 Minutes stuff. It is unbelievable.

Personally, I though Collins would start him a couple games and then ease Boo Boo in. That's not what's happening.

Spencer and Ryan combined are averaging 22 - 23 pts a game. Who called that? How ridiculous is their pick and roll five games in. How crazy is Young's post passing.

You are absolutely right about Young’s defense. He just uses his body and length well. Disrupts shots without fouling too much. Reminds me of Wisconsin bigs year 2 or 3, it was always miraculous how they manage to coach guys up that are 6’10” without much athleticism into being useful players. Young is absolutely on track for that. And to the point I was discussing with Johnny on comps - I watched some of the Richmond Wiscy game last night and Golden on Richmond was another guy who is about 6’ 10-11”, not that quick, but has developed into a very good college player. Reavers on Wiscy a good one that has a better shooting touch than Young as of now (hopefully he can develop). Plenty of templates for him to continue to develop. Good work by Ryan Young and the coaches, keep it up.

Btw re the interior passing - that slip pass inside, underneath the defenders’ arms to Nance was a thing of beauty.

 

[DaCat]

He's far from Ethan Happ at this point, but that's a guy who showed that you don't have to be able to jump out of the gym to be a 1st team All-Conference player if your basketball skills/IQ are really high.

The funny thing is, Spencer is a guy who can proverbially "jump out of the gym", it has been stated by teammates that he has a ridiculous vertical jump

 

[Gladeskat]

I had a good feeling about Young after seeing his highlight videos coming out of high school. He showed decent offensive moves in the low post - reverse layups, hooks, up and under moves, etc. I didn't think he'd be this good from the start, though, with a nice jumper out to 12-15 feet, and such high energy on defense. He shoots free throws pretty well as well, though he's a bit inconsistent with them at the moment. He's gonna lose some rebounds and get a few of his shots blocked in the B1G but I think he'll adjust his game and be effective for us. Teams cannot ignore him. Presumably, he's already benefitted from a year of playing against Dererk Pardon. He shows similar energy to Dererk on the court. He plays hard.

I think Smithee is on to something regarding Benson seeing the writing on the wall. Young isn't going to be pushed around into awkward positions like Benson was all the time on offense.