|
Post by beaverstever on Oct 13, 2021 8:42:12 GMT -8
OSU was picked to finish 4th by the media (https://osubeavers.com/news/2021/10/11/mens-basketball-beavers-picked-to-finish-tied-for-fourth-in-preseason-media-poll.aspx) which is as high the expectations for our WBB team. That's really pretty remarkable, especially since this should not be a particularly weak year for the conference. UCLA is a title contender out of the gates, and USC and uo will very likely be ranked early. UA looks to be down a bit, but overall the conference seems to be trending upwards. I guess we'll see if they have their typically non-conference disasters or not. There's a ton of chatter and excitement about our WBB team's prospects (which is very justified), but we have an Elite 8 team returning much of it's core with a raft of inbound transfer talent that even has the media with expectations we haven't seen around OSU since they were a regular basketball powerhouse in the early 1990s!
OSU has two pre-season all-conference selections in Alitishe and Lucas, which is as much representation as anybody on the list out side of UCLA and uo (https://pac-12.com/article/2021/10/13/media-selects-preseason-2021-22-pac-12-mens-basketball-all-conference-teams). [BTW - shoutout to Jared, who some fans here thought he was a waste of a scholarship out of HS in that his game/athleticism wouldn't translate, and here he is an all-conference selection] However, OSU has a full roster that passes the eye test for the first time that I can remember. 13 players on the roster are juniors or seniors, which is very odd because we hardly know many on this roster. But it makes for a very deep, experienced roster that has size, strength and maturity - just not largely on the same team until this year.
We don't know if this team will come together to be much better than the sum of their parts, but I'm very excited to see it. This is a team that should not get bullied, has the roster to adjust defensively to about any matchup, and can go both very big or very quick.
The big question is if they have enough scorers? I believe we could beat lesser teams simply with defense and scoring easy buckets with turnovers. We should see some dunk contests in the preseason games. But in conference we'll need to find scoring. We were an efficient half-court offense last year late in the season last year, but that had a lot to do with Ethan. We will still be able to get Lucas going off screens and feed Alatishe in the post, and both should be better. Calloo will also be a matchup nightmare, and if he commits to getting better on defense, he's a huge asset. Silva has committed to getting into shape and also causes defenses big problems with his post-game. If he's in better conditioning, he should be less foul-prone and able to handle more minutes. Hopefully Gianni will make a leap forward as a leader and distributor as an upperclassman, and I think his game more than any could benefit from not having Ethan on the court, as their styles didn't mesh well. Hopefully Andela's game has also improved, as he is a load for teams to deal with; more than anything he needs experience playing at a higher level, and it sounds like he got some of that this summer. That's a pretty solid returning core, so what of the new guys? We will see, but I believe it's clear that they are Pac-12 athletes from their videos - if some of them are Pac-12 caliber players, this could be another really fun season!
|
|
|
Post by beavs6 on Oct 13, 2021 8:50:10 GMT -8
How dare you start to fan the embers of "The Orange Express!" that have been stagnant for 30+ years. Man I hope we can be good/in contention all season long.
|
|
|
Post by beaverstever on Oct 13, 2021 9:17:02 GMT -8
How dare you start to fan the embers of "The Orange Express!" that have been stagnant for 30+ years. Man I hope we can be good/in contention all season long. I am surprised there's not more excitement actually. I mean, since Valentines day last year, the Orange Express went 10-3 to close the season. Those three losses were all very good postseason teams, including 1 win and 1 loss to Final Four teams and 7 of the 10 wins were vs. NCAA tournament teams (very much of the the non-scrub type). Of the 3 non-tournament team wins, one still had a top-10 NBA draft pick playing for them. I think some fans are still thinking we just somehow caught lightning in a bottle and that won't continue. But in retrospect, that kind of run simply cannot happen with just luck. It happened by executing a formula that works, and having the players able to execute it. I don't know if this roster will actually execute in the same fashion, but on paper they look as able as last year's squad to replicate what worked well.
|
|
|
Post by Judge Smails on Oct 13, 2021 9:49:12 GMT -8
How dare you start to fan the embers of "The Orange Express!" that have been stagnant for 30+ years. Man I hope we can be good/in contention all season long. I am surprised there's not more excitement actually. I mean, since Valentines day last year, the Orange Express went 10-3 to close the season. Those three losses were all very good postseason teams, including 1 win and 1 loss to Final Four teams and 7 of the 10 wins were vs. NCAA tournament teams (very much of the the non-scrub type). Of the 3 non-tournament team wins, one still had a top-10 NBA draft pick playing for them. I think some fans are still thinking we just somehow caught lightning in a bottle and that won't continue. But in retrospect, that kind of run simply cannot happen with just luck. It happened by executing a formula that works, and having the players able to execute it. I don't know if this roster will actually execute in the same fashion, but on paper they look as able as last year's squad to replicate what worked well. I'm excited for this year. Also concerned about filling the scoring void left by Ethan. In addition, worried about the PG position. I know Ethan wasn't the quickest facilitator, but he was a calming presence on the floor. We need some of the new guys to step up and score and I'm hoping Davis can bring something to the PG position. We also need Gianni to play within himself and slow down a bit. I like that Silva has lost quite a bit of weight and should be able to play some more minutes. Also hoping that Calloo can bring it on the defensive end, so he can play more. We have to incorporate a lot of new faces, so it may take some time for the team to gel and for Tinkle to figure out the rotation.
|
|
|
Post by rgeorge on Oct 13, 2021 15:43:38 GMT -8
How dare you start to fan the embers of "The Orange Express!" that have been stagnant for 30+ years. Man I hope we can be good/in contention all season long. I am surprised there's not more excitement actually. I mean, since Valentines day last year, the Orange Express went 10-3 to close the season. Those three losses were all very good postseason teams, including 1 win and 1 loss to Final Four teams and 7 of the 10 wins were vs. NCAA tournament teams (very much of the the non-scrub type). Of the 3 non-tournament team wins, one still had a top-10 NBA draft pick playing for them. I think some fans are still thinking we just somehow caught lightning in a bottle and that won't continue. But in retrospect, that kind of run simply cannot happen with just luck. It happened by executing a formula that works, and having the players able to execute it. I don't know if this roster will actually execute in the same fashion, but on paper they look as able as last year's squad to replicate what worked well. Well... you really can't blame the "lightening in a bottle" crowd. As we all know the Covid year+ was tough on many, and athletics was not an exception. Without looking, OSU might have had some of the fewest starters' minutes missed. They benefited from teams not having consistent lineups, AZ not in Pac12 tourney and so they moved up a seed. OSU played the hand dealt and won. But, even the most ardent of fans must admit, they won unexpectedly. So, this season is sort of a wait and see process. As for the lineup, Ethan proved to be the go to guy and was an extremely difficult matchup for teams. As of now this roster doesn't have that guy when it comes to nut crunching time. Lucas is basically a one trick pony. He makes some fantastic shots, and can score in bunches. But, he's not a guy you can count on to score in multiple ways. Plus, he doesn't have that calm demeanor of a go to guy. Ethan was rock solid steady no matter how he had played previously. Silva is solid inside when a hoop is needed. But, again fairly limited as the "guy". Everyone else has had moments, but need to step up their overall games for this team to finish 4th. Although, with the influx of new blood you never know what OSU will get?? Until we see different, this is a bit of a rudderless ship until someone takes firm control of the tiller.
|
|
|
Post by beaverstever on Oct 13, 2021 21:52:03 GMT -8
I am surprised there's not more excitement actually. I mean, since Valentines day last year, the Orange Express went 10-3 to close the season. Those three losses were all very good postseason teams, including 1 win and 1 loss to Final Four teams and 7 of the 10 wins were vs. NCAA tournament teams (very much of the the non-scrub type). Of the 3 non-tournament team wins, one still had a top-10 NBA draft pick playing for them. I think some fans are still thinking we just somehow caught lightning in a bottle and that won't continue. But in retrospect, that kind of run simply cannot happen with just luck. It happened by executing a formula that works, and having the players able to execute it. I don't know if this roster will actually execute in the same fashion, but on paper they look as able as last year's squad to replicate what worked well. Well... you really can't blame the "lightening in a bottle" crowd. As we all know the Covid year+ was tough on many, and athletics was not an exception. Without looking, OSU might have had some of the fewest starters' minutes missed. They benefited from teams not having consistent lineups, AZ not in Pac12 tourney and so they moved up a seed. OSU played the hand dealt and won. But, even the most ardent of fans must admit, they won unexpectedly. So, this season is sort of a wait and see process. As for the lineup, Ethan proved to be the go to guy and was an extremely difficult matchup for teams. As of now this roster doesn't have that guy when it comes to nut crunching time. Lucas is basically a one trick pony. He makes some fantastic shots, and can score in bunches. But, he's not a guy you can count on to score in multiple ways. Plus, he doesn't have that calm demeanor of a go to guy. Ethan was rock solid steady no matter how he had played previously. Silva is solid inside when a hoop is needed. But, again fairly limited as the "guy". Everyone else has had moments, but need to step up their overall games for this team to finish 4th. Although, with the influx of new blood you never know what OSU will get?? Until we see different, this is a bit of a rudderless ship until someone takes firm control of the tiller. You make some fair points, but I'll counter some of them for the sake of the discussion: On the Covid impact, we can use total games played as a proxy for impact; conference and postseason tourney runs obviously need considered in these totals: Total games played: USC: 33 OSU: 33 Colo: 32 UCLA: 32 uo: 28 Cal: 28 UA: 27 Stan: 27 WSU: 27 UW: 26 ASU: 25 Utah: 25 Of course there were teams impacted across the country, but for the teams we generally played, they mostly got their games in. Nobody in our conference experienced anything like our WBB team that got in 20 games total, 15 of which were not in the post-season. So I don't think we can chalk up OSU having any distinct advantage here. On the UA post-season ban benefit, yes, that clearly helped and likely made the run possible. But it only put them on level footing with their opponents in the Pac-12 tourney, and it also resulted in them first drawing an angry UCLA team about to go on a final 4 run. On Ethan and his impact, I saw him repeatedly benched with foul trouble in post-season, and subsequently seeing OSU extend leads. He was their go-to in the clutch for sure, and his FT shooting was extremely valuable. However, I also recall that same approach result in a bunch of 1:1 fade-away bricks in crunch time vs Portland that enabled them to lose to an absolutely terrible team in OT, so that certainly wasn't an answer we had throughout the season. The team defense and distributed scoring was the big difference during the run. On Lucas, you only need one trick if you can't stop it. And because he's also a very, very good FT shooter and has developed such a quick release, he's become a major matchup problem for teams. He's a pre-season 2nd team selection for a good reason. One other thing I'd say about our late run; we did it largely without Alatishe playing well offensively. He was arguably our biggest matchup challenge for opponents, and he had some rough games during that winning streak. After dropping 22 vs. UCLA, he only reached double figures in 2 of the next 6 games, and it was barely at that (12 and 10). I was expecting he would have to carry us to have any postseason success, and the team survived him shooting 20% and scoring 4 points vs. a good Tenn team, and 6 vs. a very good OkSt team. Ethan was consistent for most of that stretch on the stat line, but had some big droughts during games, and was not effective at all in the Colorado game ... still won. This team didn't win games via a few players; somebody always seemed to step up out of nowhere. Not that Ethan will be easy to replace; his ability to get to the line and make in particular was critical in several games. Do we have someone else who will be able to do that? It's definitely in the realm of possible. Was it unexpected? Very much so, I can still hardly believe it. However, I also believe that it didn't happen because of dumb luck, but rather the team finally committed to doing what they could do well; in particular, a variety of defensive approaches that were very well executed and could be switched seamlessly in real time. Looking at the type of players WT has brought in during the off-season, it looks like he's doubling down on that formula. That specifically is what has me excited that we might again turn out to be pretty formidable in 2021.
|
|
|
Post by rgeorge on Oct 13, 2021 22:07:49 GMT -8
Well... you really can't blame the "lightening in a bottle" crowd. As we all know the Covid year+ was tough on many, and athletics was not an exception. Without looking, OSU might have had some of the fewest starters' minutes missed. They benefited from teams not having consistent lineups, AZ not in Pac12 tourney and so they moved up a seed. OSU played the hand dealt and won. But, even the most ardent of fans must admit, they won unexpectedly. So, this season is sort of a wait and see process. As for the lineup, Ethan proved to be the go to guy and was an extremely difficult matchup for teams. As of now this roster doesn't have that guy when it comes to nut crunching time. Lucas is basically a one trick pony. He makes some fantastic shots, and can score in bunches. But, he's not a guy you can count on to score in multiple ways. Plus, he doesn't have that calm demeanor of a go to guy. Ethan was rock solid steady no matter how he had played previously. Silva is solid inside when a hoop is needed. But, again fairly limited as the "guy". Everyone else has had moments, but need to step up their overall games for this team to finish 4th. Although, with the influx of new blood you never know what OSU will get?? Until we see different, this is a bit of a rudderless ship until someone takes firm control of the tiller. You make some fair points, but I'll counter some of them for the sake of the discussion: On the Covid impact, we can use total games played as a proxy for impact; conference and postseason tourney runs obviously need considered in these totals: Total games played: USC: 33 OSU: 33 Colo: 32 UCLA: 32 uo: 28 Cal: 28 UA: 27 Stan: 27 WSU: 27 UW: 26 ASU: 25 Utah: 25 Of course there were teams impacted across the country, but for the teams we generally played, they mostly got their games in. Nobody in our conference experienced anything like our WBB team that got in 20 games total, 15 of which were not in the post-season. So I don't think we can chalk up OSU having any distinct advantage here. On the UA post-season ban benefit, yes, that clearly helped and likely made the run possible. But it only put them on level footing with their opponents in the Pac-12 tourney, and it also resulted in them first drawing an angry UCLA team about to go on a final 4 run. On Ethan and his impact, I saw him repeatedly benched with foul trouble in post-season, and subsequently seeing OSU extend leads. He was their go-to in the clutch for sure, and his FT shooting was extremely valuable. However, I also recall that same approach result in a bunch of 1:1 fade-away bricks in crunch time vs Portland that enabled them to lose to an absolutely terrible team in OT, so that certainly wasn't an answer we had throughout the season. The team defense and distributed scoring was the big difference during the run. On Lucas, you only need one trick if you can't stop it. And because he's also a very, very good FT shooter and has developed such a quick release, he's become a major matchup problem for teams. He's a pre-season 2nd team selection for a good reason. One other thing I'd say about our late run; we did it largely without Alatishe playing well offensively. He was arguably our biggest matchup challenge for opponents, and he had some rough games during that winning streak. After dropping 22 vs. UCLA, he only reached double figures in 2 of the next 6 games, and it was barely at that (12 and 10). I was expecting he would have to carry us to have any postseason success, and the team survived him shooting 20% and scoring 4 points vs. a good Tenn team, and 6 vs. a very good OkSt team. Ethan was consistent for most of that stretch on the stat line, but had some big droughts during games, and was not effective at all in the Colorado game ... still won. This team didn't win games via a few players; somebody always seemed to step up out of nowhere. Not that Ethan will be easy to replace; his ability to get to the line and make in particular was critical in several games. Do we have someone else who will be able to do that? It's definitely in the realm of possible. Was it unexpected? Very much so, I can still hardly believe it. However, I also believe that it didn't happen because of dumb luck, but rather the team finally committed to doing what they could do well; in particular, a variety of defensive approaches that were very well executed and could be switched seamlessly in real time. Looking at the type of players WT has brought in during the off-season, it looks like he's doubling down on that formula. That specifically is what has me excited that we might again turn out to be pretty formidable in 2021. On your point of total games played, my topic was centered on key players missing games, or being less than full strength on their return. OSU seemed to handle protocols much better than some teams and it helped. I'll only add a completely subjective component that I myself experienced. I see WT as a far better coach than when Tres was playing. I don't think his x's and o's are necessarily better. But, I do think there is a "freedom", less tense approach. There are subtleties in dealing with your own son that effect how other players see a coach and perform. I just see players accepting coaching and it actually showing up in their play. Could be the newer crop of players? But, I think it's a combo of both.
|
|
411500
Sophomore
Posts: 1,968
Member is Online
|
Post by 411500 on Oct 14, 2021 7:49:58 GMT -8
Really good comments and observations by beaverstever and rgeorge.
I've watched each of the final six games of the season about 10 times each during the past few months and I am really having trouble getting a handle on how good this team was at the end of the season and how good they are likely to be this year after such a spectacular finish to last season..... For me, after each game there is kind of a "I can't believe they won that game." Yet, when you look closely, every game was won fair and square, in a way that most coaches would be very proud of.
We commonly hear that some teams are greater than the sum of their parts - and that seems to fit perfectly the OSU team at the end of the season. In the NCAAs Tennessee, Ok. State and Loyola all had pretty terrible shooting games - Loyola almost embarrassingly so for the first 30-35 minutes. But that doesn't happen by accident -so obviously there is quality defensive talent on the roster...
Whether the Beavs find a go-to guy this year will play a big part in their success. But maybe, instead of one really good go-to guy, they will end up with 2 or 3 fairly good go-to guys. As near as I can tell, Tinkle has his most physical team and the most athletically talented roster of his career and that's gotta be a good thing.
The team lacks individual star power. Right now, I'd guess that Alitishe is the only player who might earn first-team all Pac honors. But it's got a lot a true talent just below star power. Whether that can collectively add up to having a great team is hard to figure - at least for me it is.....
Right now, what most encourages me is the impressive athletic prowess of this team, its ability to play really good defense, its depth, and, if Callou develops, its perimeter shooting.
I think this will be the year that Coach has the chance to demonstrate whether he's an elite coach. The pressure will be on him, because he has a lot of talent to work with, and if he maximizes it I think the Beavs are looking at a great season. GO BEAVS!!
|
|
|
Post by Henry Skrimshander on Oct 14, 2021 8:21:31 GMT -8
What happened, happened. We earned it. I choose to enjoy it, rather than minimize it.
|
|
|
Post by shelby on Oct 14, 2021 9:13:27 GMT -8
I agree on the WT coaching change - this team, last year, actually ran 'SET PLAYS ', rather than playground basketball ! Ethan was very much up and down, great when he has a defensive mis- match- but could shut down pretty quickly if he was well defended ! He dribbled around a lot , which I don't criticize , but see him doing when he was trying to light a spark ! I appreciate quick ball movement and the movement of every player on the floor to create the best shooting opportunities ! That creates a defenders nightmare and wears them down , to our benefit ! I am very excited about this coming year - specifically the following ; True shooting threat at point guard, to go along with speed and passing skills Can Lucas add some mid range and lay in shots to his three ball expertise Did Alatishe amp up his shotmaking skills Can our Center ( SILVA, Choi? ) , outrebound the competition and feed a fast break opportunity and can they block up another teams inside game ? Can one of the new guys become an effective piece on both the offensive and defensive side ? On paper , the athleticism and length - plus bench strength is awfully darn exciting ! The question is if they can play at or above their true potential . GO BEAVERS
|
|
|
Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Oct 14, 2021 12:05:34 GMT -8
You make some fair points, but I'll counter some of them for the sake of the discussion: On the Covid impact, we can use total games played as a proxy for impact; conference and postseason tourney runs obviously need considered in these totals: Total games played: USC: 33 OSU: 33 Colo: 32 UCLA: 32 uo: 28 Cal: 28 UA: 27 Stan: 27 WSU: 27 UW: 26 ASU: 25 Utah: 25 Of course there were teams impacted across the country, but for the teams we generally played, they mostly got their games in. Nobody in our conference experienced anything like our WBB team that got in 20 games total, 15 of which were not in the post-season. So I don't think we can chalk up OSU having any distinct advantage here. On the UA post-season ban benefit, yes, that clearly helped and likely made the run possible. But it only put them on level footing with their opponents in the Pac-12 tourney, and it also resulted in them first drawing an angry UCLA team about to go on a final 4 run. On Ethan and his impact, I saw him repeatedly benched with foul trouble in post-season, and subsequently seeing OSU extend leads. He was their go-to in the clutch for sure, and his FT shooting was extremely valuable. However, I also recall that same approach result in a bunch of 1:1 fade-away bricks in crunch time vs Portland that enabled them to lose to an absolutely terrible team in OT, so that certainly wasn't an answer we had throughout the season. The team defense and distributed scoring was the big difference during the run. On Lucas, you only need one trick if you can't stop it. And because he's also a very, very good FT shooter and has developed such a quick release, he's become a major matchup problem for teams. He's a pre-season 2nd team selection for a good reason. One other thing I'd say about our late run; we did it largely without Alatishe playing well offensively. He was arguably our biggest matchup challenge for opponents, and he had some rough games during that winning streak. After dropping 22 vs. UCLA, he only reached double figures in 2 of the next 6 games, and it was barely at that (12 and 10). I was expecting he would have to carry us to have any postseason success, and the team survived him shooting 20% and scoring 4 points vs. a good Tenn team, and 6 vs. a very good OkSt team. Ethan was consistent for most of that stretch on the stat line, but had some big droughts during games, and was not effective at all in the Colorado game ... still won. This team didn't win games via a few players; somebody always seemed to step up out of nowhere. Not that Ethan will be easy to replace; his ability to get to the line and make in particular was critical in several games. Do we have someone else who will be able to do that? It's definitely in the realm of possible. Was it unexpected? Very much so, I can still hardly believe it. However, I also believe that it didn't happen because of dumb luck, but rather the team finally committed to doing what they could do well; in particular, a variety of defensive approaches that were very well executed and could be switched seamlessly in real time. Looking at the type of players WT has brought in during the off-season, it looks like he's doubling down on that formula. That specifically is what has me excited that we might again turn out to be pretty formidable in 2021. On your point of total games played, my topic was centered on key players missing games, or being less than full strength on their return. OSU seemed to handle protocols much better than some teams and it helped. I'll only add a completely subjective component that I myself experienced. I see WT as a far better coach than when Tres was playing. I don't think his x's and o's are necessarily better. But, I do think there is a "freedom", less tense approach. There are subtleties in dealing with your own son that effect how other players see a coach and perform. I just see players accepting coaching and it actually showing up in their play. Could be the newer crop of players? But, I think it's a combo of both. My personal take that no one cares about: Big G was also team cancer and finally graduated in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 teams have been all the better for it. Big G was always too talented not to play and too big of a whiner/complainer/bellyacher/selfish prima donna/backstabber to actually play.
|
|
|
Post by beaverinohio on Oct 14, 2021 13:47:45 GMT -8
I think being picked 4th in Pac 12 is reasonable. Team had a great run in post season that was very enjoyable to watch. But they’ve got question marks going into this season. Have to fill the void left by losing your best player in Ethan. And that goes beyond just stats. I found Ethan’s play frustrating at times, but for the most part he was the go to guy and leader. Whose going to take over those roles as well as fill others is up in the air. The second question for me is can Tinkle get the same kind of buy-in and performance this year as we saw in the post season? For that to happen likely goes beyond Tinkle and requires the leaders from last year to keep that culture intact this year and get that buy-in from the new players. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure who those leaders are and if they’re still on the team. I can guess who they might be, but don’t really know the inner workings of the team well enough to know for sure. With this many new comers, an underlying culture needs to be there and has to be more than just the voice of Tinkle and other coaches.
|
|
|
Post by beaverstever on Oct 14, 2021 14:31:23 GMT -8
On your point of total games played, my topic was centered on key players missing games, or being less than full strength on their return. OSU seemed to handle protocols much better than some teams and it helped. I'll only add a completely subjective component that I myself experienced. I see WT as a far better coach than when Tres was playing. I don't think his x's and o's are necessarily better. But, I do think there is a "freedom", less tense approach. There are subtleties in dealing with your own son that effect how other players see a coach and perform. I just see players accepting coaching and it actually showing up in their play. Could be the newer crop of players? But, I think it's a combo of both. My personal take that no one cares about: Big G was also team cancer and finally graduated in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 teams have been all the better for it. Big G was always too talented not to play and too big of a whiner/complainer/bellyacher/selfish prima donna/backstabber to actually play. That's a pretty hot take - the reason the "Fathers and Sons" era of WT underperformed is that Big G was a cancer? I guess my initial reaction to that is that he'd have to be pretty cancerous to have that much impact on the on-court outcome give his minutes...
|
|
|
Post by qbeaver on Oct 14, 2021 16:01:42 GMT -8
Just make the big dance and hope to get on a run. That is what we did last year. Confidence has to be sky high. Lucas is a great weapon. Alitisha is a stat sheet stuffer,he can score...rebound...get a key steal...block a shot...do about anything without having to feature him. Unselfish talent...this year could be fun.
|
|
|
Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Oct 14, 2021 22:00:36 GMT -8
My personal take that no one cares about: Big G was also team cancer and finally graduated in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 teams have been all the better for it. Big G was always too talented not to play and too big of a whiner/complainer/bellyacher/selfish prima donna/backstabber to actually play. That's a pretty hot take - the reason the "Fathers and Sons" era of WT underperformed is that Big G was a cancer? I guess my initial reaction to that is that he'd have to be pretty cancerous to have that much impact on the on-court outcome give his minutes... I think that he was a malcontent. Based on my independent research, you could trace 95% of the reports of poor team chemistry or players not buying in or Tinkle losing the team in that period to Big G. In other news, Big G is still playing ball in Montenegro for Mornar Barsko zlato in the Adriatic (Yugoslavian) League. I understand that he leads that team in steals.
|
|