UCF @ Iowa State happening right not. Iowa State is a Final Four contender, UCF is not.
UCF @ Iowa State
- Thread starter PaulsDriveIn
- Start date
Points in the paint: 54 to 22.
We seem to be fine playing any team without paint presence. Our 3 ass-kickings came to teams that just dominated us in the paint.
We seem to be fine playing any team without paint presence. Our 3 ass-kickings came to teams that just dominated us in the paint.
Mikey is gonna be good. Creates space and can shoot n pass. We need a nice PF to go with Thiam. U r right we r too small with no depth there. Guard wise we r good. Actually played better then the score, too many turnovers
Dawkins has a style that fits the Big 12 with the physical defense that will give us a few close games that we will blow bc we can’t hit free throws(Houston). then a few games that the bottom falls out where the end result is another NIT.
The question is should we expect better ? it is a different conversation than football. I do prefer to watch a more open style like what FAU ran under May. it is a grind watching the games sometimes, I stopped watching at Halftime.
We should be thrilled to finish with a middle of the pack Big12 finish/NIT invite every year.
Mikey has a lot of potential. But you keep insisting that Thiam's a C...he's not...he can block a few shots but that's the extent of his D. He's a PF. We need a big enforcer type to plug up our hole in the middle. At the start of the season I suggested that Johnny's got 2 other big guys and he needs to communicate their role to them. I don't think he has and if it's because he doesn't think that either can do that job then he needs to use this offseason to get the right big guy(s).
Thiam can be a forward because he shoots so well, but if you put a power forward next to him, that’s a space eater, it helps. Thiam definitely needs to be utilized at the back end of the press, because of his block shotting ability . I don’t care if they put him at center or they put him at forward, but we have nobody else that could play center. The transfer from LaSalle is extremely limited and I don’t see anybody else who can play center on the roster imo. U r right a space eater should be a priority this off season.
He’s 7’2”. He’s a Center. You aren’t going to move him to PF for a 6’10” guy. In a zone he plays middle. Man, he guards the other teams tallest player. In NBA, they don’t use Centers down low much anymore. They play along perimeter and set picks and shoot 3s. Like I said earlier in year , Jocius is a defensive liability. We don’t have a backup C. We go small ball.
who are these nba centers (and it has to be the vast majority with the way you described it) that fit the description you're talking about?
it's certainly not the joker or embid when he's healthy or houston's sengun, or even cleveland's jarrett allen and utah's walker kessler who i don't think can even shoot 3s. and many more.
the closest to fitting that description is the bucks brook lopez who takes like 9 shots a game and 5 are threes but he makes close to 40% of them. that works for them because giannis doesn't have a great perimeter game so the center not clogging up the low post gives him better driving lanes and he's a great rebounder which helps make up for the center not being in low post rebounding position.
and wemby is a whole different kind of player, he can shoot from wherever he wants.
it's certainly not the joker or embid when he's healthy or houston's sengun, or even cleveland's jarrett allen and utah's walker kessler who i don't think can even shoot 3s. and many more.
the closest to fitting that description is the bucks brook lopez who takes like 9 shots a game and 5 are threes but he makes close to 40% of them. that works for them because giannis doesn't have a great perimeter game so the center not clogging up the low post gives him better driving lanes and he's a great rebounder which helps make up for the center not being in low post rebounding position.
and wemby is a whole different kind of player, he can shoot from wherever he wants.
Agree. I just have this feeling that until we have boatloads of money, we have the Johnny Dawkins record each year, .501
Johnny cannot recruit more than one big guy at a time (that can play). We're much smaller than the top teams. Maybe we're not there yet (at the risk of repeating myself for 6 years).
Yeah, the LaSalle xfer is almost useless (nothing personal). Slow, can't dribble, not powerful. Thiam will be great! He's just out of high school (if we can keep him). Why on earth do we have scholarship players that don't even belong in div I ???? Agree with you on the extra big men!
When you can't hit your shots or free throws, small ball loses every time!
If you think Jokic and Wemby are like Tacko, you haven’t watched the NBA. Embid shoots 3s. There aren’t true Centers lije Shaq anymore. Tacko would be in league 30 years ago.
Jokic has 160 three point shots this year and it’s not ASB yet. His game hs 3 point line extended. Pick and roll or pick and pop.
This reminds me of my golf game, gotta reduce of the number of blow up holes (bball blowouts) and then you can be competitive.
For the first 3 to 5 years here, I agree. Right now we are way under funded compared to other programs. That changes next summer when the payouts happen.
being more skilled and being able to shoot from deep doesn't mean you aren't a true center. jokic is not a sit behind the 3 pt line and set screens player, you don't win MVPs that way. tacko isn't a center like shaq. i don't even know what's your obsession with tacko, why should such a limited player even be in the league. that's not a negative.
this is from last night ... not even close to the player you're describing on here.
and not everyone is judged against one of the best big men ever. jarrett allen is a starter in the nba, so is walker kessler and clint capela. you don't have to be a unicorn to play center in 2025. you just can't be slow and unskilled at the same time.
Joker is a pure f'n beast and he seems to do it so effortlessly.
The question I ponder at night in bed when I'm masturbating is, will Tacko ever see the NBA again?
Not close to proving your point. He was a PG in most of that. Not much true center play.
Allen is 6’9”. Would not have been a center in nba 20 years ago. PF more than likely.
barefoot measurements are reported now, the nba switched in 2021. they use to report height with shoes on which add 1"-1.5". someone like zo mourning was also 6'8.5"-9". dwight howard was also 6'9" without shoes.
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the vast majority of his points scored were in the post. that he's skilled enough to create for his teammates like a point guard doesn't change the fact that he scores in the paint with his back to the basket with big man moves.
You all can go back and forth about modern centers all-day, but I think the narrative got lost a bit in this thread. It seems like all the talk above is about offensive skills for centers.
Back to the original point, interior defense has been the major problem for UCF this season. Who cares how you define a center in the modern game if all you're going to reference is offensive skills? Yes, a back-to-the-basket offensive skill-set is not required in today's game where modern bigs play more on the perimeter. But I referenced this before (even with some of the posters in this discussion/thread), that doesn't mean those centers don't still have to be solid interior/paint defenders.
And that's where Thiam is struggling right now. Yes, he's just a freshman. In a more perfect scenario, I would have preferred he came off the bench this season (or at least played in much less of a core/foundational role). But unfortunately, there are few other quality "big" options on the roster. Thiam has very little ability to hold position, he just lacks the requisite core and lower body strength. His elite length and instincts help him block shots, but blocking shots has little to do with actually defending the interior. The kid needs to live in the weight room (and the cafeteria) this offseason.
Back to the original point, interior defense has been the major problem for UCF this season. Who cares how you define a center in the modern game if all you're going to reference is offensive skills? Yes, a back-to-the-basket offensive skill-set is not required in today's game where modern bigs play more on the perimeter. But I referenced this before (even with some of the posters in this discussion/thread), that doesn't mean those centers don't still have to be solid interior/paint defenders.
And that's where Thiam is struggling right now. Yes, he's just a freshman. In a more perfect scenario, I would have preferred he came off the bench this season (or at least played in much less of a core/foundational role). But unfortunately, there are few other quality "big" options on the roster. Thiam has very little ability to hold position, he just lacks the requisite core and lower body strength. His elite length and instincts help him block shots, but blocking shots has little to do with actually defending the interior. The kid needs to live in the weight room (and the cafeteria) this offseason.
If Thiam was bigger and more polished, he doesn’t come to UCF. We get projects. It would be nice if our guys learned technique and boxing out. No one boxes out.
I'm impressed with Thiam so far. His defense will improve and then so will our overall interior D. The whole team is overachieving though if you ask me. Everybody has us in their current tournament projections. I'm very satisfied with that year 2 in the Big 12. Especially when considering our resources compared to other conference mates.
We're already adding value on the basketball side. Those wins over A&M and Tech were humongous. Losing to UH in the fashion we did by 1 point will help us considering how they're demolishing everybody else in conference by 20 and 30 points.
We're already adding value on the basketball side. Those wins over A&M and Tech were humongous. Losing to UH in the fashion we did by 1 point will help us considering how they're demolishing everybody else in conference by 20 and 30 points.
Yep and, back to the narrative, we need a space eater force in the middle in addition to Thiam....if we had one this year, along with our offensive skills, we would be ranked and in the top handful of teams in the conference.
I think we all should just hope with great positivity that is here next year. These complaints about what he doesn’t have as a 17 year-old freshman are really premature.
I love him this year, but next year could be real special
