Lol

Ouch. Losing as a #2 does hurt.

It's just laundry.

KoreAmBear said:

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What about Vanover so far 2 mins and DNP. Could have been a star at Cal lol.

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Funny thing is, he STARTED the first game. I believe he got 4 minutes total, but Musselman figured out pretty early on against Colgate he was worthless, took him out before 2 minutes were up, put him back in for another couple minutes middle of the first half, saw him play lousy defense and miss one shot, and he hasn't seen the floor in the tourney since.

Cal8285 said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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What about Vanover so far 2 mins and DNP. Could have been a star at Cal lol.

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Funny thing is, he STARTED the first game. I believe he got 4 minutes total, but Musselman figured out pretty early on against Colgate he was worthless, took him out before 2 minutes were up, put him back in for another couple minutes middle of the first half, saw him play lousy defense and miss one shot, and he hasn't seen the floor in the tourney since.

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Yikes. But at least he got to play in front of his family this season (well not even that due to Covid).

OK enough piling on from me. These kids are free to do what they want. Of course we would have loved for them to use their freedom to play for us.

I don't think he played in the 2nd game at all against Tex Tech

KoreAmBear said:

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What about Vanover so far 2 mins and DNP. Could have been a star at Cal lol.

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Not to mention probably more acceptance for his experimentation in hair styles. What might have been...

https://247sports.com/Article/Darius-McNeill-transfer-SMU-basketball-recruiting-162963346/

And McNeill transferring from SMU. I always liked Darius, hoping for the best for him.

BC Calfan said:

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https://247sports.com/Article/Darius-McNeill-transfer-SMU-basketball-recruiting-162963346/

And McNeill transferring from SMU. I always liked Darius, hoping for the best for him.

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sounds like he wants to play PG, which is where his future probably has to be

he has the handle and shooting, but I felt he had poor PG vision, and run a horrible fast break (but perhaps he's improved that since then)

good luck to him

Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

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This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

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This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

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He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

Last I saw his right hand handle was subpar

BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

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This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

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He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

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Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

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Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

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All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

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All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

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Actually, Smith started over Franklin in his last two games at Cal, including the conference opener against Stanford (where Franklin played 30 minutes and scored 15 with 4 assists and a steal coming off the bench).

At the time I figured Franklin broke a rule or something and/or left the program because of losing his starting job or a disagreement with Montgomery about something. I was more than happy to replace him with Justin Cobbs the following year. In both years I would have played Smith less and Jorge at the point more.

SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

---

All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

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The comparison was more that both had substantial minutes as freshmen at Cal, yet because of their overarching desire to play PG left and their situation did not get any better. I mean if you are playing in a P5 conference and getting as many minutes as you want as an underclassman but still want to transfer for basketball position reasons, it must be easy to upset you. What's so wrong with being a 2 or a combo guard? Just trying to make the league?

KoreAmBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

---

All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

---

The comparison was more that both had substantial minutes as freshmen at Cal, yet because of their overarching desire to play PG left and their situation did not get any better. I mean if you are playing in a P5 conference and getting as many minutes as you want as an underclassman but still want to transfer for basketball position reasons, it must be easy to upset you. What's so wrong with being a 2 or a combo guard? Just trying to make the league?

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I believe that was the case with both players. They both knew their only [long] shot would be at pg. Playing off the ball in college didn't seem to hurt Gilbert Arenas tho.

Civil Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

---

All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

---

The comparison was more that both had substantial minutes as freshmen at Cal, yet because of their overarching desire to play PG left and their situation did not get any better. I mean if you are playing in a P5 conference and getting as many minutes as you want as an underclassman but still want to transfer for basketball position reasons, it must be easy to upset you. What's so wrong with being a 2 or a combo guard? Just trying to make the league?

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I believe that was the case with both players. They both knew their only [long] shot would be at pg. Playing off the ball in college didn't seem to hurt Gilbert Arenas tho.

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NBA has a boat load of 2s and wings. But they have to shoot. Just odd that it's PG or nothing for certain players.

calumnus said:

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SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

---

All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

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Actually, Smith started over Franklin in his last two games at Cal, including the conference opener against Stanford (where Franklin played 30 minutes and scored 15 with 4 assists and a steal coming off the bench).

At the time I figured Franklin broke a rule or something and/or left the program because of losing his starting job or a disagreement with Montgomery about something. I was more than happy to replace him with Justin Cobbs the following year. In both years I would have played Smith less and Jorge at the point more.

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Your are right that Franklin played off the bench in the first conference game against Stanford, and then took a powder and left the team. It might arguably have been his best game at Cal.

Did Franklin or anyone else ever reveal why he left? That was a tough year for Cal, especially when Franklin did not pan out. At that point, Cal's roster was extremely thin. They had a 5 man team plus the freshman Solomon, and that was basically it. That meant that Montgomery had to play Smith at the point, because he needed Jorge's scoring at the two guard. Playing Smith at the two would mean very little scoring from that spot. You could move Crabbe to the two spot, and play Solomon more, sliding Kamp to the 3, but Kamp was no outside threat, and Solomon was not ready for major minutes. You had only one other player, Powers, who could play the two, and score, but he could not play many minutes, due to being slow and not a good enough defender. A one trick pony. So I would disagree with playing Jorge more at the point and Smith less in 2011. I'm glad Montgomery was the coach, played Smith, and with perhaps 4 D1-ready players, somehow cobbled together a winning season and a 4th place finish in the PAC10.

In 2012, was easier to choose who plays the guard spots, because Cobbs had become eligible, and Smith could go back to the bench. I don't know that I'd agree that Jorge play point more in 2012. Both Cobbs and Jorge were combo guards and neither was an outstanding point guard. I think whoever Montgomery chose to play point should have gotten the majority of minutes there, leaving Smith to be the backup, unless the game situation called for some scoring from the point, such as the final minutes of a close game. Cal just didn't have a backup 2 guard, except for Powers. The roster had lost MSF, but added Kravish and Rossi. Rossi, a fine shooter who was projected to play either wing spot, got injured on the pre-season trip to Europe, and never was able to contribute, eventually transferring, becoming ill, and retiring from basketball. A real tragedy. The Cal roster became thin again, especially at the guard spots, but the team had a better season, finishing 2nd in conference. I feel Montgomery usually made the right decision as to who plays what position and when.

KoreAmBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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BeachedBear said:

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BC Calfan said:

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Quote:

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"I want to play for a coach who will let me showcase my talents," says McNeill on what he will factor into his decision. "I want to have the ball in my hands, make plays, show my abilities, and most importantly have fun."

---

This is hard to read. Will be very interesting to see where he winds up.

---

He says I/me/my five times in two sentences and doesn't really say anything else. Sort of re-inforces what I observed when he was here. Excellent skills & athleticism, but not so much a team facilitator on the court.

---

Feel for kids like him. Looks like he's going the Gary Franklin Jr. route.

---

All McNeill has done was enter the portal, which is legal, normal, and usual. Last I looked, 40% of college players transfer at least once. Twice is rarer, but one has to go a long way to match Franklin, who left Cal right before the conference season began, leaving Montgomery without his starting point guard, and worst of all, letting his teammates down by leaving at that precise moment, leaving Cal shorthanded for the conference. Fortunately, the previously often maligned Brandon Smith was equal to the task, and was a serviceable point guard for Cal the rest of the season.

---

The comparison was more that both had substantial minutes as freshmen at Cal, yet because of their overarching desire to play PG left and their situation did not get any better. I mean if you are playing in a P5 conference and getting as many minutes as you want as an underclassman but still want to transfer for basketball position reasons, it must be easy to upset you. What's so wrong with being a 2 or a combo guard? Just trying to make the league?

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I misunderstood what you were implying, maybe because I thought that Franklin was advertised as a point guard and was recruited to play that position. Maybe I was wrong. At Cal, Franklin sure didn't play like a player who had a desire to play point guard. He sure took a lot of shots, and made very few attempts at setting up teammates for shots. He averaged 9 shot attempts, and 6 three point attempts a game. He averaged more three point attempts than Allen Crabbe, and he averaged only 2 assists a game. It looked like he was a player who wanted show how well he could shoot, and he sure proved that he could not, at Cal anyway. He could not even make free throws, shooting 44%. I think his elbow injury caused him to use an unorthodox style of shooting. He averaged only 29% on threes. Again, his football injury was a real setback for him, if he had been a good shooter prior to that. I'm not sure what Montgomery saw in him, or what the recruit ranking services saw in him. Did he ever say why he quit Cal?