SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,987
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 8, 2019 11:46:07 GMT -5
Someone here already made the Ben Gordon comparison and I think it's a good one, 6 foot scoring guard who's almost exclusively a point getter. Mac is a pretty good play maker but he's really not required to be with Akinjo. Gordon played for three years at Uconn, and left to go to a much different NBA than Mac would be going to. Again, would love for him to go the NBA especially so soon, but he's doesn't have anything NBA actively seeks other than his athleticism which is countered by his size. He could make himself an NBA player with a lot of work, but we are talking years more work ahead of him, not months. I made the Gordon comp, and I agree. I don't think Mac is Ben Gordon yet; I think his path to the NBA is being similar to Ben Gordon. Maintain athleticism and driving ability; be a good passer for a 2; get much more consistent shooting from outside; win a bunch of games and take a role in the NBA as a scoring supersub or a 2 on a bad team. That sounds negative when I type it, but given his height, the other path is as a full on point guard, and I think it's more likely he becomes a nice NBA scoring threat than transition the whole style of his game. I'm not sure why people worry about this so much, but Josh is by far the most likely to head out to the NBA early (overseas could be something else), but even he is shorter than his skillset plays right now. That can and will change. |
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1789
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 156
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Post by 1789 on Feb 8, 2019 17:27:55 GMT -5
Congratulations! Rivals reporting that Akinjo is the Big East's Assist leader with 6.5 per game. (Govan being number 2 in rebounding isn't too shabby either.)
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Feb 10, 2019 9:32:04 GMT -5
Not a good stretch for James shooting the ball.
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AltoSaxa
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by AltoSaxa on Feb 10, 2019 9:56:54 GMT -5
Does he dribble too much?
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Feb 10, 2019 10:01:01 GMT -5
This kid is learning on the fly. Not many "young" freshmen could move across country and become an instant starter on a team with a high profile coach and be expected to reverse years of futility at the PG position. He is definitely a work in progress, and his shot is failing him now, but his TOs are down, defense is improved and he has handled the pressure fairly well. I think without question he would be one of the three leaders for Freshman of the Year in the BE.
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DanMcQ
Moderator 
Posts: 32,853
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Post by DanMcQ on Feb 10, 2019 10:06:03 GMT -5
Defenses rightly key on him and are intentionally physical with him so he also has to adjust to that. I thought he again played a very solid game limited by a couple of questionable foul calls (the first and the fourth).
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sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by sleepy on Feb 10, 2019 11:01:24 GMT -5
This kid is learning on the fly. Not many "young" freshmen could move across country and become an instant starter on a team with a high profile coach and be expected to reverse years of futility at the PG position. He is definitely a work in progress, and his shot is failing him now, but his TOs are down, defense is improved and he has handled the pressure fairly well. I think without question he would be one of the three leaders for Freshman of the Year in the BE. it's February they are no longer freshman .The book is out on James and it appears to date he's had a hard time adjusting.at under 6 ft he as had a woefully difficult time getting to the basket. Never mind getting to the rim.it sims to have almost regressed over last month.i hope I'm wrong but he also seems to be avoiding contact in the lane never mind what may be a lack of confidence. If we are to do any thing over the next 5 weeks his play to previous. Levels is key to me more so than our senior center |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2019 11:42:18 GMT -5
They're freshman, so they're inconsistent. He'll probably shoot well the next game.
Most important thing is to keep growing into his role as a coach/leader on the floor imo.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Feb 10, 2019 11:42:42 GMT -5
Part of being a freshman is adjusting to the adjustments of other teams. No he cannot get to the basket easily at his height. I think he has been told not to force it and instead to distribute more. He is doing that well since the fiasco of a few games ago. What is more concerning is the loss of his shot from deep. I wonder if he is losing his legs a little from all of the minutes played and the extra work other teams are making him put in bringing the ball up court. His shots from the perimeter are short consistently--off the front rim in many instances.
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Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,656
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Feb 10, 2019 11:46:04 GMT -5
He likes to shoot the three ball from the top of the key. Butler was not giving him any open looks.
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 10, 2019 11:54:30 GMT -5
This kid is learning on the fly. Not many "young" freshmen could move across country and become an instant starter on a team with a high profile coach and be expected to reverse years of futility at the PG position. He is definitely a work in progress, and his shot is failing him now, but his TOs are down, defense is improved and he has handled the pressure fairly well. I think without question he would be one of the three leaders for Freshman of the Year in the BE. it's February they are no longer freshman .The book is out on James and it appears to date he's had a hard time adjusting.at under 6 ft he as had a woefully difficult time getting to the basket. Never mind getting to the rim.it sims to have almost regressed over last month.i hope I'm wrong but he also seems to be avoiding contact in the lane never mind what may be a lack of confidence. If we are to do any thing over the next 5 weeks his play to previous. Levels is key to me more so than our senior center Man, tough crowd... |
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,605
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Post by prhoya on Feb 10, 2019 12:03:58 GMT -5
This kid is learning on the fly. Not many "young" freshmen could move across country and become an instant starter on a team with a high profile coach and be expected to reverse years of futility at the PG position. He is definitely a work in progress, and his shot is failing him now, but his TOs are down, defense is improved and he has handled the pressure fairly well. I think without question he would be one of the three leaders for Freshman of the Year in the BE. it's February they are no longer freshman .The book is out on James and it appears to date he's had a hard time adjusting.at under 6 ft he as had a woefully difficult time getting to the basket. Never mind getting to the rim.it sims to have almost regressed over last month.i hope I'm wrong but he also seems to be avoiding contact in the lane never mind what may be a lack of confidence. If we are to do any thing over the next 5 weeks his play to previous. Levels is key to me more so than our senior center Where do you get that Akinjo is under 6ft.? All sites I have checked have him listed at 6’ or 6’1”. |
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Feb 10, 2019 12:05:40 GMT -5
it's February they are no longer freshman .The book is out on James and it appears to date he's had a hard time adjusting.at under 6 ft he as had a woefully difficult time getting to the basket. Never mind getting to the rim.it sims to have almost regressed over last month.i hope I'm wrong but he also seems to be avoiding contact in the lane never mind what may be a lack of confidence. If we are to do any thing over the next 5 weeks his play to previous. Levels is key to me more so than our senior center Man, tough crowd... Big John used to say this all the time. Also, no moral victories. |
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Post by bornhoya on Feb 10, 2019 12:32:58 GMT -5
He’s hit that freshman wall and he doesn’t have any legs under his shot right now but he’s still leading his team and his defense has gotten better and as a former freshman point guard I understand his pain
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 10, 2019 13:23:51 GMT -5
it's February they are no longer freshman .The book is out on James and it appears to date he's had a hard time adjusting.at under 6 ft he as had a woefully difficult time getting to the basket. Never mind getting to the rim.it sims to have almost regressed over last month.i hope I'm wrong but he also seems to be avoiding contact in the lane never mind what may be a lack of confidence. If we are to do any thing over the next 5 weeks his play to previous. Levels is key to me more so than our senior center Man, tough crowd... Crowds actually much tougher on Jagan Mosely. If Mosely shot 0-8 he would be run out of the building. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2019 13:38:09 GMT -5
Crowds actually much tougher on Jagan Mosely. If Mosely shot 0-8 he would be run out of the building. That's a nonsense comparison. If Mosely ever played long enough to put up 8 shots in a game, we'd have already lost. Akinjo is a top half of the conference PG, on track to be all Big East caliber by the time he's done - and that's not exactly going out on a limb. Mosely is a 15mpg backup who'd probably feature even less if we had a reasonable amount of guards. |
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Post by gatormcclusky on Feb 10, 2019 14:08:32 GMT -5
whenever I get frustrated with James I try to just remind myself he's barely 18 and it's amazing that he's as tough and skilled as he is for such a young age. Growing pains are inevitable, but he's done fairly well overall with some real moments of brilliance showing what he might eventually become down the road.
he's so good with his handle that shaking guys and getting to the rim is a major part of his offensive game, and he hasn't really figured out how to compensate for not being able to finish inside on those drives. I'm hopeful that he will do that before long by focusing more on his pull-up jumper and break out of his mini shooting slump from outside.
one thing I really want to see that will help make him a more effective facilitator is to trust his teammates with the ball earlier in possessions, especially in transition. I see a lot of times where Mac or LeBlanc will take off after a rebound, and James rarely pushes the ball up the court to them and prefers to walk it up himself. I'm sure those guys aren't open all the time but I'd like him to take advantage of their speed more often to pressure the defense on the break.
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sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,079
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Post by sleepy on Feb 10, 2019 16:07:00 GMT -5
Crowds actually much tougher on Jagan Mosely. If Mosely shot 0-8 he would be run out of the building. I'm really not that tough simply pointing out issues that need to be addressed if we are to do much the rest of the year. His outside shot will continue be challenged by pressure primarily because of a weakness attacking the lane. Hope he can make some adjustments. Also he might be 6' in shoes in the end size doesn't matter getting to the rim and finishing is |
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 10, 2019 16:20:20 GMT -5
Crowds actually much tougher on Jagan Mosely. If Mosely shot 0-8 he would be run out of the building. This is a ludicrous comparison |
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tashoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 12,681
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Post by tashoya on Feb 10, 2019 16:48:38 GMT -5
James is going to get a lot of tough love during his time on the Hilltop because his ceiling is so high. With his level of ability, expectations rise and, some of the time, become unrealistic. He's a helluva player and he's only going to get better. Growing pains are to be expected. It's just so tantalizing to wonder what this team would look like if Akinjo played like a junior every game because he's THAT capable. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of guys, it just doesn't work like that. Whenever I get ahead of myself with the younger guys, I think of last year's lack of depth at guard and the options available. We're moving in the right direction and we've upgraded significantly in a very short time.
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