Boz
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Post by Boz on May 12, 2009 10:51:40 GMT -5
I think all MCI is saying, Omega, is let's actually give Nikita a chance, you know.
One season is really not enough to measure what his Hoya career will be like.
I know there are people on this board who remember how nearly unwatchable Charles Smith was at times as a freshman in 1986. Or how fans would often groan when freshman Dwayne Bryant took the court in 1987. They both turned out pretty well when all was said and done after their four years.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on May 12, 2009 10:56:33 GMT -5
That's nonsense about Nikita. There are great practice players and then they are great game players. Give me and the majority of coaches the great game player! How does a guy who is great in practice and melts when the lights come on help your team. What it does is causes confusion because the coach wants to reward him for his great play in practice so he plays him and he melts when the lights come on. If the version of Nikita we saw in games this year was killing the other players in practice, then that answers why the Hoyas had such a bad year. Rumor has it that Shaq is a great free throw shooter in practice! maybe the NBA should add his practice percentage to his actual game percentage....... Well, you know there's the possibility that he learns to translate from practice to games. These aren't 30 year old, eight year NBA vets we're talking about. These are 18-22 year olds still with a lot of potential improvement.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on May 12, 2009 10:59:04 GMT -5
Here's the reality, though, on both Austin and Nikita. Both do other things, but both have the skill "best skill" of shooting (Austin, as we've seen from gameplay and Nikita from reports). Neither translated it to games last year consistently. This lack of outside shooting -- especially from Austin who can absolutely be a star -- hurt our offense more than anything.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on May 12, 2009 11:11:30 GMT -5
I think all MCI is saying, Omega, is let's actually give Nikita a chance, you know. Its alright. Some folks are just prone to putting down anyone that doesn't pass the first-look test in their eyes. Any thought of actually waiting on a final verdict is laughed off as lunacy because they already know what is written on the final page. And Omega may be right. I can't say for sure. All I know is that there have been guys like Tom Gugliotta of NC State who couldn't even get off the bench his first season and later became such a star that he was a lottery pick after his senior season. And a pretty good NBA player for awhile too. Now I think its obvious that I'm not trying to convince anyone (including myself) that Nikita is going to be that good. To some extent I'm actually doubtful that he'll ever start again. But I'm not willing to dismiss any player after one season. Especially if the head coach sees something in him. In fact III's dad, that Hall of Fame guy, also praised Nikita on his radio show to such an extent that I think he may have even suggested to his son to put him in the starting lineup (that's speculation on my part btw). JT II must have seen something at practice as well to think so highly of the guy because obviously Nikita didn't do much while playing in real games. And I recall that Carlos of HR attended some of those pickup games last spring/summer when Jeff Green, K. Durant, Hibbert and the former point guard of Michigan State were playing against and alongside current Hoyas. From what Carlos wrote Nikita really looked like he belonged out there with the other guys. No, he wasn't at the level of the NBA dudes or players like Chris Wright. But he appeared comfortable and was able to contribute to wins. So perhaps he is simply a better non-gameday performer than he is a gameday player. If so he won't see much time on the court if that keeps up. However maybe he'll surprise some folks and display the skill that led to III offering him a schollie in the first place. I will say this in his favor: there have been good players for the Hoyas over the years who did not have as impressive a game their freshman year on the road against a top ten team as Nikita did against Villanova. And, no, I'm not making Nikita my next RBB or Roy. So don't start any of that business about eating shoes or anything.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on May 12, 2009 12:23:02 GMT -5
I think Nikita is a good player, with great upside. I liked what i saw from him. I hope he improves and has even more success of getting rid of that stage fright. We need Nikita to have success next year. As well as Sims, Vaughn, and Mr. Monroe. ALL of them have room for improvement and much needed development.
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on May 12, 2009 12:32:38 GMT -5
That's nonsense about Nikita. There are great practice players and then they are great game players. Give me and the majority of coaches the great game player! How does a guy who is great in practice and melts when the lights come on help your team. What it does is causes confusion because the coach wants to reward him for his great play in practice so he plays him and he melts when the lights come on. If the version of Nikita we saw in games this year was killing the other players in practice, then that answers why the Hoyas had such a bad year. Rumor has it that Shaq is a great free throw shooter in practice! maybe the NBA should add his practice percentage to his actual game percentage....... He is a redshirt freshman, give him a chance. You are basically writing a guy off for stage fright as freshman . . . really? The kid was thrown into the deep end, the first game he got real playign time was during Big East play.
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Filo
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Post by Filo on May 12, 2009 12:36:54 GMT -5
I think Nikita is a good player, with great upside. I liked what i saw from him. I hope he improves and has even more success of getting rid of that stage fright... oh yeah, Greg is not our best player nor is he the most talented. Greg has the most hype. Greg can do 1 thing well: 1) Pass thats not exactly our best player. Chris Wright can do more things than that. ...
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Omega
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Post by Omega on May 12, 2009 13:37:32 GMT -5
Okay. I'm not writing Nikita off. I too hope he contributes to the Hoyas. My point was/is that there are players who show stuff in practice and they' re players who perform in games. Yes three may have praised his practice routine much like he praised Crawford's practice habits, but you see how much run Crawford got. On a talented team, players who perform well in practice and show very little in the game do not get burn. The fact that III had to use nikita (throw him into the fire) speaks volumes about the state of last year's team.
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richfame
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Post by richfame on May 12, 2009 16:50:39 GMT -5
THIS thread has gotten off course! Anyways are we talking about the same nikita here, the guy that would rack up more fouls than points???!!! He will have to improve his lateral movement to compete of the defensive end so he can stay in the game long enough to launch those impressive threes....
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hoya73
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Post by hoya73 on May 12, 2009 18:21:41 GMT -5
I also support all our players, including Nikita, and would love to see improvement. As others have pointed out, we've had major development in the past by some players who didn't seem, during freshman/sophomore seasons, that they were likely to become reliable starters. I'll add Steve Martin to the list. But for every C.Smith, Martin, etc., we've had 10 players who were what they were throughout their careers. I would never pretend to know more than JT III. I never thought I knew more than Esherick, because I don't. Still, what's the point of a talk board without opinions? Seemed to me Nikita was promoted to starter because Austin was getting torched by 6'7"-6'8" small forwards.( Cf. Seton Hall game). At least Nikita was tall enough that people couldn't just shoot over him all game. Nikita showed much heart, much hustle (sorely needed commodities) and intermittent flashes of "where did that come from" skill. Realistically, though, his upside seems much more likely to be as a 10 minute per game energizer off the bench than as a 25+ minute per game BE performer. I will be the happiest person to be proved wrong., but, since we have workable rotations of 3 bigs and 3 guards, we REALLY REALLY need Hollis (to return the thread) to its title, to be good enough to be the player who gets 25+ minutes at the 3.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on May 12, 2009 18:38:22 GMT -5
With the way last year's team defended, I wouldn't be surprised if the defense was so terrible in practice that Nikita had alll the confidence in the world that he would not be guarded up close and had a field day from the perimeter, thus looking like a star.
Give the kid a break. He did well for a first-year player on a team whose stars underperformed.
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Post by tpk3 on May 20, 2009 20:57:51 GMT -5
I think people forget about Hollis because he green-shirted, but I am ecstatic to have this kid. Hollis is at the 1:05mark:
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Post by HometownHoya on May 20, 2009 21:00:36 GMT -5
I think people forget about Hollis because he green-shirted, but I am ecstatic to have this kid. Hollis is at the 1:05mark: Some great highlights!!! I know there are some further up in this thread but can we compile them all near the end of the thread just to keep everyone happy ;D
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on May 21, 2009 1:33:08 GMT -5
We are the only school in America with a McDonald's All-American level recruit coming in that has practiced with the team for a full half year.
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Post by tpk3 on May 21, 2009 5:00:56 GMT -5
He is a legit 6'7(barefoot). He is up to 205 now but will be 215 by season. He is already the best shooter on the team. He just has to be ready for the big east strength and quickness. He will play mostly 3 this season. But in the future he will be able to play SG also. Hollis has the potential to be the best wing player for Georgetown this decade.
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Buckets
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Post by Buckets on May 21, 2009 7:23:40 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that he's taller than 6'7" -- like in the 6'8"/6'9" range.
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kellycpcm
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Post by kellycpcm on May 21, 2009 7:37:05 GMT -5
I have a picture from the HHC banquet of Hollis standing next to Julian, Julian is at least two inches taller. Julian is listed at 6'9" on the net.
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idhoya
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Post by idhoya on May 21, 2009 8:45:56 GMT -5
grae,
No way he's better than Trez Kilpatrick!
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Post by tpk3 on May 21, 2009 8:56:29 GMT -5
We'll see. I liked trez alot. Thought he was best player on one of those teams. I know staff has given Hollis the challenge to take his obvious individual skill/talent and hone/blend them into the team game. I can not wait to see how he does in actual games. practice/pickup can only tell so much.
re: height i try to hedge on lower side.
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idhoya
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Post by idhoya on May 21, 2009 9:20:03 GMT -5
I was joking. That was the Shenard, Rhese teams right? Or were those the Braswell teams?
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