bearister said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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bearister said:

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" What a ridiculous thing to say." What charm school did you attend? I would like to enroll. When Vanover was on the court it was 5 on 4 basketball when Bears were on defense. He was the Pac 12's version of Shawn Bradley (as an NBA player).

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Is "What a ridiculous thing to say" out of bounds? Was I supposed to call the poster a "moron" or a "clown" like some of the posters on this board.

Right now with Lars on the court its 4 on 5 when we have the ball. Again Texas he missed a 1 foot shot on the right baseline. And its interesting that you compared Vanover to a player that was good enough to play in the NBA.

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Is What a ridiculous thing to say" out of bounds? Was I supposed to call the poster a "moron" or a "clown" like some of the posters on this board.

Response:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that based on any reasonable objective standard that my assessment of Lars is not "ridiculous" (nor clownish or moronic had you used those adjectives). It would have been ridiculous if I had said Lars is going to average 25 points this year or Cal is going to contend for the Pac 12 Championship. What is fair is that you don't scout Lars as positively as I do and you may turn out to be right.


Right now with Lars on the court its 4 on 5 when we have the ball. Again Texas he missed a 1 foot shot on the right baseline.

Response:

I disagree, but if that is true then it is the fault of his teammates not feeding him the rock inside. Defensive players will be very tempted to hack Lars down low because of his touch.

And its interesting that you compared Vanover to a player that was good enough to play in the NBA.
Response:
Note I was careful not to compare Vanover to college Shawn Bradley. Shawn Bradley was a soft doofus and makes most lists of biggest busts in NBA history. He was cute in Space Jams, however.

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Bearister,

I think maybe they are trying to slowly work Lars into the offense and give him more shots. He took one shot in game one, 2 shots in game two, 3 shots in game 3, none in game four, 6 shots in game five, and 8 shots in game six. It is a slow process, but I think I like it. He shoots OK, and just needs more touches, as you said. He will need to learn a couple more shots as time goes by, and get more aggressive on the offensive boards to give himself some putback opportunities.

Very interesting stats you came up for Cal Big men SFCB. Many here are too young to have seen the parade of ham fisted centers we have suffered through.

Thanks for doing all of that.

Just seeing MSF's stats brought back memories of what a fun team the 2009-10 Bears were.

They run plays for Lars but allot of the times the pass doesn't get there or he doesn't catch it. Maybe try bounce pass. Not sure why we cant get it to him.

bearister said:

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I am much higher on Lars than most on this board. He is coordinated, well proportioned and has a nice touch around the basket. Give him a couple of years. Vanover was horrible and always will be. How much did his 3 ball help in the 16 consecutive losses?

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For the record folks, and then I will let it rest. My "ridiculous thing to say" comment was referring to the comments about Vanover, not Lars. I apologize for not making that clear from the start.

oskidunker said:

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They run plays for Lars but allot of the times the pass doesn't get there or he doesn't catch it. Maybe try bounce pass. Not sure why we cant get it to him.

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Seriously? A basketball player that has to have special types of passes fed to him?

It will be interesting to see how Lars' and Vanover's college careers compare. But it will take another 3 1/2 years before we know the result.

RedlessWardrobe said:

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oskidunker said:

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They run plays for Lars but allot of the times the pass doesn't get there or he doesn't catch it. Maybe try bounce pass. Not sure why we cant get it to him.

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Seriously? A basketball player that has to have special types of passes fed to him?

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Yes, seriously. Some players can catch a rifle shot from 6 feet, others can't. Great passers (e.g. Jason Kidd) know their teammates and delivers passes they can handle. Others (e.g. Gene Ransom) may wonder why their teammates have so many turnovers.

RedlessWardrobe said:

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oskidunker said:

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They run plays for Lars but allot of the times the pass doesn't get there or he doesn't catch it. Maybe try bounce pass. Not sure why we cant get it to him.

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Seriously? A basketball player that has to have special types of passes fed to him?

It will be interesting to see how Lars' and Vanover's college careers compare. But it will take another 3 1/2 years before we know the result.

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You are going to lighten up on Lars about the same time Greg Papa and Cris Collinsworth lighten up on Goff. Yes, the pass from Bradley was overcooked but Lars should have caught it. Perhaps he will next time. He is raw. He was 2 for 2 from the field. He bricked 2 FT at the end but my guess is he was gassed. We are all speculating at this point whether he pans out. For the Bears' sake, I hope I'm right and you are wrong.*

* My player scouting skills can be crammed up my rear next year if Vanover turns out to be a good player for Arkansas.

stu said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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oskidunker said:

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They run plays for Lars but allot of the times the pass doesn't get there or he doesn't catch it. Maybe try bounce pass. Not sure why we cant get it to him.

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Seriously? A basketball player that has to have special types of passes fed to him?

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Yes, seriously. Some players can catch a rifle shot from 6 feet, others can't. Great passers (e.g. Jason Kidd) know their teammates and delivers passes they can handle. Others (e.g. Gene Ransom) may wonder why their teammates have so many turnovers.

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Hey, I'd take Gene Ransom back in a microsecond. Players can be taught how to pass the ball effectively. Ransom didn't have a good coach at Cal. He had Dick Edwards.

59bear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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bearister said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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bearister said:

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" What a ridiculous thing to say." What charm school did you attend? I would like to enroll. When Vanover was on the court it was 5 on 4 basketball when Bears were on defense. He was the Pac 12's version of Shawn Bradley (as an NBA player).

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Is "What a ridiculous thing to say" out of bounds? Was I supposed to call the poster a "moron" or a "clown" like some of the posters on this board.

Right now with Lars on the court its 4 on 5 when we have the ball. Again Texas he missed a 1 foot shot on the right baseline. And its interesting that you compared Vanover to a player that was good enough to play in the NBA.

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Is What a ridiculous thing to say" out of bounds? Was I supposed to call the poster a "moron" or a "clown" like some of the posters on this board.

Response:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that based on any reasonable objective standard that my assessment of Lars is not "ridiculous" (nor clownish or moronic had you used those adjectives). It would have been ridiculous if I had said Lars is going to average 25 points this year or Cal is going to contend for the Pac 12 Championship. What is fair is that you don't scout Lars as positively as I do and you may turn out to be right.


Right now with Lars on the court its 4 on 5 when we have the ball. Again Texas he missed a 1 foot shot on the right baseline.

Response:

I disagree, but if that is true then it is the fault of his teammates not feeding him the rock inside. Defensive players will be very tempted to hack Lars down low because of his touch.

And its interesting that you compared Vanover to a player that was good enough to play in the NBA.
Response:
Note I was careful not to compare Vanover to college Shawn Bradley. Shawn Bradley was a soft doofus and makes most lists of biggest busts in NBA history. He was cute in Space Jams, however.

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Bearister,

I think maybe they are trying to slowly work Lars into the offense and give him more shots. He took one shot in game one, 2 shots in game two, 3 shots in game 3, none in game four, 6 shots in game five, and 8 shots in game six. It is a slow process, but I think I like it. He shoots OK, and just needs more touches, as you said. He will need to learn a couple more shots as time goes by, and get more aggressive on the offensive boards to give himself some putback opportunities.

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IMO he's looked less "mechanical" every time out. I expect to see steady improvement over the course of the season. On defense last night, he changed a shot (miss) just by holding position. I think in game 1 or 2 he'd have lunged into a foul. Baby steps.

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I'd agree. There was a play in the Duke game, I think, where a Duke big was driving to the basket, and Lars stayed with him all the way and bothered the shot, caused a miss, and the color guy on the broadcast complimented Lars for really good defense on that play. After seeing Lars up close in his first game against Pepperdine, I've been pleasantly surprised by how fast he seems to be coming along. I'm also pleased with Mark Fox and his assistants and the job they are doing with Lars. By the time the conference games begin, I think he will be ready to give a good performance.