Houston 2/10 4:00 ESPN2

[BearKatz]

nobody is a hater/ I do hate that cliche though. It seems in today's world that if anybody has a different opinion than another, then it isn't a logical discussion and so they must be haters. Learn how to talk about the game and not the posters. This generation has lost the ability to discuss issues in a mature manner. Now I will say that none of the bigs puts a body on any, but VIK keeps slightly moves away from the action under th rim instead of forcing his weight in there. I firmly believe his ever dwindling stats attest to that and not an opinion. You try hard at whatever position the coach puts you and not whine by your playing. Effort is independent of position- Skill perhaps, but at least put up an effort. You can't be quick to the rim when you are off balanced leaning back from the rim. Watch the replay and I think you will see that.I know of some former coaches who would give you the select position of the bench - wait CWM is starting to do that. Rufus backed up his comments with stats and not whining.

Totally agree, no one is being a hater. We're just giving our opinion's like everyone else in this Forum. Yo can either or agree or disagree, bottom line!

[Rufus]

I'm not a statistic or analytics spectator. So excuse my exaggeration in the earlier post. However Vik scored 17 and 17 on BYU and Texas respectively. Of those he was 2-3 and 1-3 from the arc. Since then, he has scored 5 then 8, then missed the next because of illness, I believe. Somewhere since then he has decided he don't want to play the 4 or five slot. Anyone who watches them play can see he is not the player he was last year or even in the beginning of this year, that he wants the ball out of the paint area. So whether it's a refusal on his part to play out of position or can't because of recuperating, and don't have the strength or stamina is anyone's guess. It was necessary for everyone to show up ready to play in order to boost our tournament resume and so, not to point fingers, the same person who has been lost the last " few" games, played out of position again. He only played thirteen minutes last night. I'm not a coach, never have been but I can see that he is struggling mentally, physically, disciplinarily, or all three. It's just too obvious

[leo from jersey]

I'm not a statistic or analytics spectator. So excuse my exaggeration in the earlier post. However Vik scored 17 and 17 on BYU and Texas respectively. Of those he was 2-3 and 1-3 from the arc. Since then, he has scored 5 then 8, then missed the next because of illness, I believe. Somewhere since then he has decided he don't want to play the 4 or five slot. Anyone who watches them play can see he is not the player he was last year or even in the beginning of this year, that he wants the ball out of the paint area. So whether it's a refusal on his part to play out of position or can't because of recuperating, and don't have the strength or stamina is anyone's guess. It was necessary for everyone to show up ready to play in order to boost our tournament resume and so, not to point fingers, the same person who has been lost the last " few" games, played out of position again. He only played thirteen minutes last night. I'm not a coach, never have been but I can see that he is struggling mentally, physically, disciplinarily, or all three. It's just too obvious

Here is some name dropping. I took one of my boys to Parisi Speed school when he was entering HS. His coach there gave him a tip on how to get playing time. He said whenever the coach calls for a replacement in practice, regardless of position , come running. Then give it your total effort, even if it isn't the position which you have skill for. The coaches want this and are willing to work with you (instruction and playing time.) I forget his name. but he played 2 years in the NFL. Not a superstar, but he did great with his physical gifts.

[Gmann]

I'm not sure what has happeened to Lakhin the last couple of weeks. It's clear though that when he gets the ball inside defenders just swarm him and tie him up or he just loses the ball. He doesn't pass the ball out of it to an open man and make them pay. He fancies himself as having the ball skills to dribble out of it but that is not the case. Of course, if he's outside the 3 pont line they will let him shoot it wide open. We know what a lost cause that has become.

I feel bad for him because he has stuck with the program through the tough times. Regardless of the reason for his funk we do not have the luxury of letting him play his way out of it. Every game is critical and we need our most productive players playing the lion's share of the minutes. Iowa State is extremely aggressive on defense like Houston. We better be strong with the ball or we are in big trouble.

[Carthage World]

Vik's last 5 games have been particularly bad. Here's some numbers:

21 minutes/game
3.2 points/game
5 rebounds/game
1.8 turnovers/game
14.3% FG (4/28)
0/11 3FG

It's no coincidence that we're 1-4 over that stretch. Not all of the blame falls on Vik, obviously. If he's going to be on the floor, the coaching staff needs to do a better job of integrating him into the offense.

[leeraymond]

Vik's last 5 games have been particularly bad. Here's some numbers:

21 minutes/game
3.2 points/game
5 rebounds/game
1.8 turnovers/game
14.3% FG (4/28)
0/11 3FG

It's no coincidence that we're 1-4 over that stretch. Not all of the blame falls on Vik, obviously. If he's going to be on the floor, the coaching staff needs to do a better job of integrating him into the offense.

Isn't it weird that since Miller has become the coach, the big men do not appear to progress much within his system. Think about Hayden Koval, Abdul Ado, Kalu Ezikpe, Sage Tolentino (in his 2nd year and has had very little playing time), Oguama (who has BIG 12 ability but Miller will not play him), Aziz (has NO offense other than ally-oops and struggles on the defensive side of the ball), and now Lakhin is going backwards. What is funny is that Lakhin has been with the program longer than Miller. Lakhin SHOULD BE dominating people this year. Instead, the guy is a head case. No conclusions can be made about Reynolds yet (the one big man that UC has that is well suited for BIG 12 inside play). I cannot think of one big man who has come into the program under Miller and has continuously shown some sense of solid progress over their duration in the program. Can you? Think about it.

Big men recruits may begin to really examine Miller's record with big men and may decide to go with a program that knows how to develop big man talent. So far, from what I have seen, the big men in Miller's system take a back seat to the guards. Since conference play has started, Miller has made this program all about the guards. Check out the conference stats. We all saw yesterday against Houston what happens when UC's big men are NOT prepared to play. They got pushed around AT HOME by three 6"7 / 6"8 guys. Where does the front line go from here? Miller needs to figure out something fast because Iowa State is going to take UC's lunch money if they do the same thing the same way on Tuesday night. Miller may want to start by playing Oguama significant minutes.

[sedz]

Isn't it weird that since Miller has become the coach, the big men do not appear to progress much within his system. Think about Hayden Koval, Abdul Ado, Kalu Ezikpe, Sage Tolentino (in his 2nd year and has had very little playing time), Oguama (who has BIG 12 ability but Miller will not play him), and now Lakhin has hit the skids. I cannot think of one big man who has come into the program under Miller and has continuously progressed. Can you? Think about it.

Koval, Ado, and Kalu were all in their 5th seasons. I wouldn't expect progression from any of them. Sage was never a high level recruit and in the action we have seen the game is too fast for him.

Ody has definitely improved every year. He's not as good as Aziz or Jamille at the 5 and Skillings has become our primary backup 4. But he's still a much better player than he was at Wake Forest. His foul rate, block rate, turnover rate and defensive box plus minus are all at career highs.

Vik has also improved every year, he's in a big slump right now though. His foul rate and assist rate are much higher this year than they ever have been. His shooting numbers have regressed due his current slump.

As a whole I don't think the progression of big men under Miller has been especially good or bad. It's been typical.

[Gypo O'Leary]

I'm not a statistic or analytics spectator. So excuse my exaggeration in the earlier post. However Vik scored 17 and 17 on BYU and Texas respectively. Of those he was 2-3 and 1-3 from the arc. Since then, he has scored 5 then 8, then missed the next because of illness, I believe. Somewhere since then he has decided he don't want to play the 4 or five slot. Anyone who watches them play can see he is not the player he was last year or even in the beginning of this year, that he wants the ball out of the paint area. So whether it's a refusal on his part to play out of position or can't because of recuperating, and don't have the strength or stamina is anyone's guess. It was necessary for everyone to show up ready to play in order to boost our tournament resume and so, not to point fingers, the same person who has been lost the last " few" games, played out of position again. He only played thirteen minutes last night. I'm not a coach, never have been but I can see that he is struggling mentally, physically, disciplinarily, or all three. It's just too obvious

17 on Texas with their starting center out.

[leeraymond]

Koval, Ado, and Kalu were all in their 5th seasons. I wouldn't expect progression from any of them. Sage was never a high level recruit and in the action we have seen the game is too fast for him.

Ody has definitely improved every year. He's not as good as Aziz or Jamille at the 5 and Skillings has become our primary backup 4. But he's still a much better player than he was at Wake Forest. His foul rate, block rate, turnover rate and defensive box plus minus are all at career highs.

Vik has also improved every year, he's in a big slump right now though. His foul rate and assist rate are much higher this year than they ever have been. His shooting numbers have regressed due his current slump.

As a whole I don't think the progression of big men under Miller has been especially good or bad. It's been typical.

Koval, Ado, and Kalu were experienced players that should have excelled with their advanced knowledge of D-1 basketball. In other words, they should have been able to be fairly productive without a great deal of coaching. Neither one of these players were productive enough to help UC win games. We are talking about a 7"1' forward (Koval), a 6"11 forward (Ado), and a fairly athletic 6"8' forward (Kalu). Neither one really was productive in Miller's system.

Why recruit a guy like Sage if you cannot play him? That does not make sense to me. Ody is better than Aziz. Check out the numbers. Every game this season that Oguama has started or played over 15 minutes, UC has won except for the Xavier game. When Aziz was still on the sideline because of eligibility issues, Oguama started those games. UC never lost any of those games. It is when Aziz started games that UC started having all types of problems with its defense. Who do think started the Howard game when UC had so many problems getting stops? Aziz is a rebounder and an ally-oop specialist. He can block shots at the rim if he is playing against a more traditional big man. Look at what happened to Aziz in the Dayton game and yesterday's game. He could NOT defend the rim.

Oguama does not have the offense of Reynolds, but he does not make as many defensive mistakes as any of the other big men. He is the best defensive big man on the team and Miller won't even play the guy. Also, he shoots about 51% from the field.

Lakhin is a mystery. He is NOT a Miller recruit. Lakhin was at UC when Miller got there. However, Lakhin is NOT a stretch 4 or 5. His capabilities suggest he is a 5. Why not play him as a regular 5 without trying to make him a 3 point shooter which is hurting the team.

In closing, if I am a big man recruit, I question what I am going to gain by playing under Miller. With their size, the big men in Miller's system should be more productive than there are.

[longtimefan]

I seem to remember an interview some time back, with Wes saying Vik projected as a forward at the next level. Is it possible he’s grooming him for a pro career?

[leo from jersey]

I seem to remember an interview some time back, with Wes saying Vik projected as a forward at the next level. Is it possible he’s grooming him for a pro career?

While puttin guyss in the pros would be great for the program, winning games is more important.

[sedz]

I'm not sure what we're talking about anymore. First it was Wes Miller's bigs don't progress. Now it's that the one big he recruited and developed for three years is so good he should be playing more than impact transfers.

[longtimefan]

While puttin guyss in the pros would be great for the program, winning games is more important.

In Vik’s case it might be go pro or go home. That’s a unique situation.

[SKell82155]

[QUOTE=longtimefan;n411526]I seem to remember an interview some time back, with Wes saying Vik projected as a forward at the next level. Is it possible he’s grooming him for a pro career?[/QUOTE

Expressed this thought a week or two ago but it
got no play. He’s infatuated with the NBA
(recall his citing of a play he saw last year when
he screwed up) and fancies himself as a 3 point
shooting forward maybe like Doug McDermott ?

[leeraymond]

I seem to remember an interview some time back, with Wes saying Vik projected as a forward at the next level. Is it possible he’s grooming him for a pro career?

Does Lakhin really look like a pro player to you at this phase of his development? Maybe overseas. He is not quite an NBA caliber of player. He cannot guard on the perimeter and he is too soft inside the paint. He would get "posterized" nightly in the NBA. However, with that said, I think under the right coaching system, Lakhin may have a chance to develop into a bench player in the NBA; maybe.