socaltownie;842305465 said:

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Have we lost poeltl?

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Not yet.

SiniCal;842305580 said:

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monty is famous for turning two stars into much more, ie the thurmanator.. .. ..

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The Thermoator??? How about Gutierrez and Cobbs?

SonomaBear;842305358 said:

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Sweet!

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Here's Rooks in high school:


HUGE difference between this new guy and Rooks. New guy had a bunch of dunks. Rooks has a bunch of layups. Granted, Rooks has touch and an understanding of the game. But when you are 7' and no dunks. Wow.

I couldn't find hardly any vid on Diallo, but what I did looked real good!
I'd like Diallo and Kravish at the pivots next year, with the new guy as a 3rd, or maybe Rooks could beat him out if he continues to work on his strength. The new guy also needs to work with Rooks. Diallo is set there, however.

CalHoopFan;842305420 said:

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He can really move and seems to have great feet which is wonderful BUT very much like Rooks, he needs a lot more strength in the lower body and seems to be bereft of post moves at this stage. Apparently, he struggled early last season with the speed of US high school game relative to the UK. No idea on his hands, which IMO are among the most important traits for a big.

Rooks is by far, IMO, our best bet to play and play well next year. He has great hands and a very solid understanding of the game. He's had a year to adjust physically and mentally as well.

I like this pick up in the long run but am sad to see Poetl go by the wayside as he could have been much more of an immediate impact player.

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I'll take this guy over Rooks just from watching one video.

jyamada;842305659 said:

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I'll take this guy over Rooks just from watching one video.

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That type of thinking cost me my marriage.

:rimshot

This is so much better than I expected ! Rooks will have to work really hard to start ahead of this kid. I think the Bears will be a much better team next year, and I think Martin will be a huge improvement in recruiting West Coast talent.:gobears:

cmfan64;842305771 said:

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This is so much better than I expected ! Rooks will have to work really hard to start ahead of this kid. I think the Bears will be a much better team next year, and I think Martin will be a huge improvement in recruiting West Coast talent.:gobears:

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Start ahead? How about right next to him with Kravish passing out at the top of the key?

CALiforniALUM;842305829 said:

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Start ahead? How about right next to him with Kravish passing out at the top of the key?

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How's it going to help us if Kravish passes out whenever he gets to the top of the key? 😜

jyamada;842305659 said:

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I'll take this guy over Rooks just from watching one video.

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I watch too many prep basketball player highlights so perhaps I'm jaded but this was not that impressive. I saw size and good feet but nothing else. Shot blocking highlights are meaningless unless you watch a lot of film. How often does he foul, how good is his timing, etc? Does he have hands? Can he catch and hold onto the ball? You can never tell from a highlight video. I saw a lot of dunks but no jump hook, no footwork in the post on offense.

As for his athleticism, I would call his explosion off the floor below average, certainly nowhere near the class of Solomon, Kravish or Diallo and not much better than Rooks.

Rooks understands the game, has good feel for it, has very good hands, can shoot with touch, etc. He is way underrated on this board. 95% of big guys in college take time to develop.

CalHoopFan;842305832 said:

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I watch too many prep basketball player highlights so perhaps I'm jaded but this was not that impressive. I saw size and good feet but nothing else. Shot blocking highlights are meaningless unless you watch a lot of film. How often does he foul, how good is his timing, etc? Does he have hands? Can he catch and hold onto the ball? You can never tell from a highlight video. I saw a lot of dunks but no jump hook, no footwork in the post on offense.

As for his athleticism, I would call his explosion off the floor below average, certainly nowhere near the class of Solomon, Kravish or Diallo and not much better than Rooks.

Rooks understands the game, has good feel for it, has very good hands, can shoot with touch, etc. He is way underrated on this board. 95% of big guys in college take time to develop.

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Seriously?? Perhaps you should really watch the vids again. He has good feet and moves very well. He plays to both sides of the hoop / reacts quickly to the shot / soft touch on the hooks / and, as someone already pointed out, he's not afraid to jump. Rooks can only improve by practicing against this man.

bonsallbear;842305864 said:

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Seriously?? Perhaps you should really watch the vids again. He has good feet and moves very well. He plays to both sides of the hoop / reacts quickly to the shot / soft touch on the hooks / and, as someone already pointed out, he's not afraid to jump. Rooks can only improve by practicing against this man.

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Yep. We finally got some bigs.

CalHoopFan;842305832 said:

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I watch too many prep basketball player highlights so perhaps I'm jaded but this was not that impressive. I saw size and good feet but nothing else. Shot blocking highlights are meaningless unless you watch a lot of film. How often does he foul, how good is his timing, etc? Does he have hands? Can he catch and hold onto the ball? You can never tell from a highlight video. I saw a lot of dunks but no jump hook, no footwork in the post on offense.

As for his athleticism, I would call his explosion off the floor below average, certainly nowhere near the class of Solomon, Kravish or Diallo and not much better than Rooks.

Rooks understands the game, has good feel for it, has very good hands, can shoot with touch, etc. He is way underrated on this board. 95% of big guys in college take time to develop.

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If this kid can develop into a Jordan Bachynski by the end of his career, I'll be happy. I agree that he's more of a long term guy.

I hope Rooks stays. He's probably the most likely of the frosh to bolt.

Cal79;842305831 said:

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How's it going to help us if Kravish passes out whenever he gets to the top of the key? 😜

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Lol.
He'll be passing out shots of tequila!

CalHoopFan;842305832 said:

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I watch too many prep basketball player highlights so perhaps I'm jaded but this was not that impressive. I saw size and good feet but nothing else. Shot blocking highlights are meaningless unless you watch a lot of film. How often does he foul, how good is his timing, etc? Does he have hands? Can he catch and hold onto the ball? You can never tell from a highlight video. I saw a lot of dunks but no jump hook, no footwork in the post on offense.

As for his athleticism, I would call his explosion off the floor below average, certainly nowhere near the class of Solomon, Kravish or Diallo and not much better than Rooks.

Rooks understands the game, has good feel for it, has very good hands, can shoot with touch, etc. He is way underrated on this board. 95% of big guys in college take time to develop.

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I will agree with you in everything that you say. However, I imagine Kingsley's going to be better than Rooks. Just by the basic fact that he dunks and Rooks lets it go 1 foot below the rim.
At 7' tall.
South Bender said he'd be happy when he dunked 1 time, and I do believe IT NEVER HAPPENED all season. And I didn't see any in his high school highlight tape either.

CALiforniALUM;842305829 said:

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Start ahead? How about right next to him with Kravish passing out at the top of the key?

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Are you calling for Kingsley and Rooks at the 4 and 5 with Kravish at the 3? That would mean Bird at the 2 and Wallace/Singer/Rorie at the 1?
No, no. That's not going to happen.

Teams would just run us to death. 5 on 3 every time down court.