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Cal Basketball

Vanover Finds the Range From the Outside

January 11, 2019
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To look for one of the pleasant surprises in what has been pretty much a disappointing season so far for the Cal men’s basketball team, start by looking up

Freshman Connor Vanover (23, above), all seven feet, three inches of him, has become a positive force for the Bears. Pretty much an afterthought in the early going, Vanover has started the four of the last five games in which he has been healthy.

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Vanover Finds the Range From the Outside

8,622 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Genocide Joe 58
Big C
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1:42p, 1/11/19
I don't believe any of us here predicted he would have this much success so soon. It's going to be fun watching his progress the next few years!
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bearister
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2:08p, 1/11/19
Is the fact that opposing bigs score on him like arcade basketball mentioned in the article? The second time it happens to him in a half I would sit him. By Junior year he may be pretty good. Not ready yet.

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EricBear
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2:11p, 1/11/19
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"Not ready yet" for what?
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Genocide Joe 58
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2:15p, 1/11/19
Uh, playing defense?
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bearister
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In reply to EricBear • 2:22p, 1/11/19
EricBear said:
"Not ready yet" for what?


Yes, your point is well taken. Might as well get him road tested since the season is shot anyway? I thought the easy scores on him Weds. were demoralizing to the team(at least it was to me). If the counter argument is that the whole team is easy to score on so what difference does it make then I guess my objection has no validity. He still seems exponentially easier to score on than whoever our second worst defender is. But.....
as I said in a different thread, if his trey and turn around hook are falling with enough regularity to afford us the luxury of his defense then I'm cool.
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Genocide Joe 58
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In reply to bearister • 2:28p, 1/11/19
bearister said:

Might as well get him road tested since the season is shot anyway?
That's my attitude, but one that Wyking obviously won't share
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EricBear
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In reply to bearister • 2:45p, 1/11/19
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bearister said:
EricBear said:
"Not ready yet" for what?


Yes, your point is well taken. Might as well get him road tested since the season is shot anyway? I thought the easy scores on him Weds. were demoralizing to the team(at least it was to me). If the counter argument is that the whole team is easy to score on so what difference does it make then I guess my objection has no validity. He still seems exponentially easier to score on than whoever our second worst defender is. But.....
as I said in a different thread, if his trey and turn around hook are falling with enough regularity to afford us the luxury of his defense then I'm cool.


I just didn't know what you meant by "not ready yet." Are you suggesting he should redshirt? Or maybe in certain games he shouldn't play? If he doesn't play, for example against ASU, who else do we play when Andre goes to the bench?

No doubt his defense needs work. But he also blocks shots, changes others, and creates some problems defensively. So it's not all bad.

Dude needs to play, and I think he has earned minutes.
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bearister
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3:07p, 1/11/19
I defer to your basketball knowledge but I just get frustrated when some guy fakes him left and then goes right for an uncontested gimme. It has me thinking, "He might as well be 5'6 for all it mattered on that burn job." I would go small before I would allow consecutive uncontested shots like Weds. night.
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EricBear
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3:27p, 1/11/19
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That's fair and I hear you.

Yes, he has work to do on moving his feet and taking better angles.
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EricBear
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4:08p, 1/11/19
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As you may recall, Connor originally committed to Memphis when Tubby Smith was there. I confirmed over the weekend that Memphis was not planning to redshirt him. I had been curious about that.
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SFCityBear
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In reply to bearister • 6:30p, 1/11/19
bearister said:
I defer to your basketball knowledge but I just get frustrated when some guy fakes him left and then goes right for an uncontested gimme. It has me thinking, "He might as well be 5'6 for all it mattered on that burn job." I would go small before I would allow consecutive uncontested shots like Weds. night.
I wish you had seen Darrall Imhoff as a freshman. Fortunately, there was a rule prohibiting freshmen from playing in Darrall's day, so Newell could bring him along slowly. As a sophmore, he was not yet ready, and 6'-6" Don McIntosh was the center, even against the likes of Wilt Chamberlaiin when we played Kansas. Imhoff hardly played at all as a sophomore. The fall of 1958 rolled around, McIntosh had graduated, and no one in the stands knew if Imhoff would be ready to play as a junior. He was ready, all right, and the Bears won the NCAA title. Still the best defensive center ever to play for Cal, IMO.

I've only seen Vanover on TV, but right now, Vanover is ahead of Darrall the freshman, IMO.

Have faith, Bearister. Go Bears!
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bearister
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6:58p, 1/11/19
I did have faith until Eric pointed out we rank # 335 in defense. That is a pretty deep hole to dig out of in pursuit of Don MacLean's prediction that this young team will be greatly improved on D by league midway point and become a "tough out."
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oskidunker
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7:41p, 1/11/19
Tough out is the coach.
Go Bears!
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EricBear
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In reply to bearister • 8:38p, 1/11/19
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bearister said:
I did have faith until Eric pointed out we rank # 335 in defense. That is a pretty deep hole to dig out of in pursuit of Don MacLean's prediction that this young team will be greatly improved on D by league midway point and become a "tough out."


You're focusing on the wrong category, my friend.

Although we are now 336 in eFG% through tonight's games, (down from 335 earlier in the week), you are ignoring the much better AdjDE rank: 328 through tonight's games (albeit down from 325 earlier in the week). So there's hope!

Go Bears!
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Genocide Joe 58
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In reply to EricBear • 8:50p, 1/11/19
EricBear said:
bearister said:
I did have faith until Eric pointed out we rank # 335 in defense. That is a pretty deep hole to dig out of in pursuit of Don MacLean's prediction that this young team will be greatly improved on D by league midway point and become a "tough out."


You're focusing on the wrong category, my friend.

Although we are now 336 in eFG% through tonight's games, (down from 335 earlier in the week), you are ignoring the much better AdjDE rank: 328 through tonight's games (albeit down from 325 earlier in the week). So there's hope!

Go Bears!
Once we incorporate the hard foul to start the game, combined with the mouthguards, there's no limit to what we'll be able to accomplish.
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