UCF April 3 at 7:00 PM on FS1

[BorisTheCat]

Fouls per minute is also not a valid "how good of defensive player are you".... If it were you would be indicating that Lukosius is a GREAT defender... ummmm... no

[sedz]

Griffith had 18 fouls in 107 minutes

Compare that with:
Hickman 13 fouls in 255 minutes
Betsey 26 fouls in 379 minutes
Lukosius 29 fouls in 875 minutes

Also Griffith played a good chunk of minutes in late game garbage times where the games were decided and, thus, less physical.

3 fouls in 4 minutes twice (Grambling, Oklahoma State)

And that's not unusual for a first year player, but it's one of the reasons freshman typically don't come in and start right away. The other is turnovers, but Rayvon has been very good at taking care of the ball this year - his 8% TO rate tied with Reed for best on the team.

I'm all about athletic wings who can shoot, rebound, and defend multiple positions. Rayvon fits that mold so I hope he stays and earns a rotation spot.

[GoBearcats31]

I don't remember hearing that. I think Rayvon doesn't play because he fouls too much. He's seen the court more in March, and in those games he committed 7 fouls in 33 minutes. That's too much to tolerate, especially for a non post player.

Griffith had 18 fouls in 107 minutes

Compare that with:
Hickman 13 fouls in 255 minutes
Betsey 26 fouls in 379 minutes
Lukosius 29 fouls in 875 minutes

Also Griffith played a good chunk of minutes in late game garbage times where the games were decided and, thus, less physical.

3 fouls in 4 minutes twice (Grambling, Oklahoma State)

[BearKatz]

I don't remember hearing that. I think Rayvon doesn't play because he fouls too much. He's seen the court more in March, and in those games he committed 7 fouls in 33 minutes. That's too much to tolerate, especially for a non post player.

Yeah he does foul a lot! But ok, you don't remember ever saying he can't play defense! Must be another member I'm thinking of!

[sedz]

The fact is, nobody's complaining! Iv'e heard numerous times throughout the season, Rayvon's not playing because he's a defensive LIABILTY!

So are we throwing out defense for 5 Star Recruits and not others? Becuase Rayvon Grffith was never known for his defense in HS! He was known for his scoring ability! Thats my Point!

I don't remember hearing that. I think Rayvon doesn't play because he fouls too much. He's seen the court more in March, and in those games he committed 7 fouls in 33 minutes. That's too much to tolerate, especially for a non post player.

[BearKatz]

To reinforce this, BYU's boosters are paying Dybantsa a reported $8M for his upcoming one year of service. Per Chad Brendel, UC's entire basketball NIL is $6-7M.

Yeah, must be nice to have $8M laying around.

[swilsonsp4]

Boozer and Dybansta are the top 2 recruits on Rivals. Abaev is #22. That's a significant difference. Are we really complaining that our recruits aren't as good as the top two prospects? Like I said, unless anyone has 8 figures lying around, we can't just pick who we want from the McDonalds game. Let's be glad we landed a 5 star at all.

To reinforce this, BYU's boosters are paying Dybantsa a reported $8M for his upcoming one year of service. Per Chad Brendel, UC's entire basketball NIL is $6-7M.

[BearKatz]

The fact is, nobody's complaining! Iv'e heard numerous times throughout the season, Rayvon's not playing because he's a defensive LIABILTY!

So are we throwing out defense for 5 Star Recruits and not others? Becuase Rayvon Grffith was never known for his defense in HS! He was known for his scoring ability! Thats my Point!

[sedz]

Boozer and Dybansta are the top 2 recruits on Rivals. Abaev is #22. That's a significant difference. Are we really complaining that our recruits aren't as good as the top two prospects? Like I said, unless anyone has 8 figures lying around, we can't just pick who we want from the McDonalds game. Let's be glad we landed a 5 star at all.

[zykarious]

Agree! Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer & Dybansta etc.... But UC has had plenty of 2s & 3s in the past who could score 10ft in. All I saw from Abaev the other night was a player just willing to jack up 3s.

Hopefully I'm wrong, and Abaev is an all around polished scorer who can be a threat anywhere on the floor.

I always think it's safe to bet that Freshmen will under-perform fan expectations. Statistically, the odds are strongly in your favor if you bet against a freshman being starting quality on day 1. Of course those odds differ for highly rated 5-stars, but unless a guys a one-and-done type (and maybe even then), he's going to need some polish and have some holes in his game.

I'm hopeful Abaev can contribute 15+ minutes per game in year one, but it's incredibly unlikely he'll step in and be the savior of the team and Wes's career.

[zykarious]

Anyone else catch the in game interview with Wes last night? Really it was just a question or two, sometime late in the first half I believe. What he said sticks with me. He said (paraphrasing) he was "surprised by our lack of intensity, after we played hard in the first game". And I thought, what has he been watching all season? Most fans would say it's a safe bet we wouldn't bring intensity, especially not two games in a row. Maybe Wes thought money would motivate the guys where he couldn't.

[BearKatz]

Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer and Dybansta so that is not a fair comparison. He will play either the 2 or 3 in college where as those two players are 4s or 5s in college. Irrelevant comparison IMO.

We have seem many players over the years who could defend but could not score and never learned to score. Maybe starting with an opposite type of player will have a different result.

Agree! Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer & Dybansta etc.... But UC has had plenty of 2s & 3s in the past who could score 10ft in. All I saw from Abaev the other night was a player just willing to jack up 3s.

Hopefully I'm wrong, and Abaev is an all around polished scorer who can be a threat anywhere on the floor.

[leo from jersey]

I don't recall James Sr. ever saying anything publicly about JJ. He supports his son and does not demand attention. Yes, he is a HOF running back and that attracts attention but I don't believe he is disruptive in any way. Maybe I have missed something.

sure sure -- did you notice how he spoke to CWM after a game and then JJ got the start last year.

[zykarious]

JJ's play was a problem that occurred to begin conference play and now we ended the season the same way. And after twenty + games neither he nor Miller ( and the entire coaching staff apparently) haven't figured out that when he is not producing in any aspect of the game of basketball, defense, rebound, assisting, or facilitating others, to sit his a$$ on the bench and keep him there. He is neither a PG or a shooting guard when he is not scoring. All he does is continually shoot rocks and bricks. He only plays to attract attention to himself. I hate to say this but I hope Miller does let him seek other opportunities else where.

Wes has shown in game and in season, he just doesn't demand accountability. I guess it goes along with his "I'll let you play" recruiting pitch, but letting guys make the same mistakes all season isn't helping them develop and isn't helping the team win.

Say Jizzle didn't have the players around him and had to force up shots all you want. I saw a team that ran pretty good offense with Day Day in and Jizzle on the bench. I saw Jizzle jacking up bad early shot clock shots. I saw a possession where Jizzle dribbled the ball for 25 seconds, nearly lost it and Reed ended up with the ball and had to jack up a bad three.

Mick Cronin would have pulled Jizzle out of the game about 10 times last night (especially when you count his defense issues) and maybe that would have been excessive. But Wes didn't pull him once, Jizzle didn't miss a rotation until late in the second half, it's just no accountability from the coaching staff. Go out there, play as bad as you want, take whatever bad shots you want, don't play defense, you'll still get your minutes because Wes barely makes in game adjustments and it takes him forever to even make in season adjustments for that matter.

[London 'Cat]

Yes we have! Wasn't that the knock on Rayvon Grffith? Has no idea how to defend, and played very little.

I watched Abaev play the other night. He can definetly jack up the 3, but stood around with no idea how to defend. I was hoping for a player who knows how to score around the Basket like Boozer & Dybansta.

This current roster has too many players willing to jack up 3s. Hopefully I'm wrong about Abaev and he's more than just another 3pt shooter. Hopefully Tillery will be the X Factor this coming season!

Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer and Dybansta so that is not a fair comparison. He will play either the 2 or 3 in college where as those two players are 4s or 5s in college. Irrelevant comparison IMO.

We have seem many players over the years who could defend but could not score and never learned to score. Maybe starting with an opposite type of player will have a different result.