Hes not the first or 2nd option with Sr guards Indy. He needs some work and will get more aggressive but hes not a 7'1 lottery pick and first option, nor will he be relied on heavily too often if we play well. Have a feeling we will see him in the post more, but he handles the ball well. Turnovers were lazy. 1st game. Hes got 2 years at least to work on his game.
But hes strong af already. If Barnes pulls some fire out of him watch out, and ill take a pg with 6 rebounds in limited time all day. Which either kept possession or flipped. Feasibly net +12 to 18 should we score soon after on those orbs or change of possession. He needs to watch some Maymon film on ways to finish when you cant shoot. Little lefty hook and up and under would do him well and hes currently an all lefty player.
Of course he's not our 1st or 2nd option, but is he our 3rd? Or is it Pons/Fulk/Johnson/one of the other freshmen? I sure hope not. Your "he's not a 7'1 lottery pick" comment shows that my point is being misconstrued. I didn't say he should have dropped 40 with 15 assists. I said 2 points against UNCA is concerning for a guy we were hoping could be good enough to be 1 and done.
I'm concerned about the box score more than my feelings, but all I'm getting from you and others is excuses about him being a freshman or it being his first game. I wasn't aware Butch Jones joined the forum.
Well see what pons does against more length but he looked like the best player on the floor at times. His blocks from help d were absurd and his work inside and on boards was smoother than expected. JJ is a guy to do a little bit of everything for the team this year and he can do a little of everything. Its his team next year, but they are gonna lay off him on the perimeter so Barnes needs to use his Kevin Punter magic and revamp his entire stroke. Hard to do in season.
Gaines had some bad ballhandling and is far away from a pg but plays with some confidence. Reminds me of a young lefty Jordan Mcrae.
I’m a little concerned JJ is still on scholarship after that debut. Barnes just complacent, disinterested, and accepting failure now? Not a good sign for program, guys.
He's closer to Robert Hubbs than one the star top 10 recruits. He was starting to trend towards more of a high 4 star as the recruitment season winded down. If you're looking for an impact star then Keon Johnson and Jalen Springer will be a lot closer to that level from the very start.
I like Corey Walker’s game a lot from the few highlights I’ve seen. Very long and knows what to do with the ball. Not an overly explosive athlete. I think he’ll be a good one though.
He already has better handles and awareness than Hubbs and is a better rebounder and defender. Hubbs was a SG and never played point.
this is what this year will look like quite a bit. Grant, Bone, Bowden Lamonte, Uros, Pons, Fulk, JJJ woulda been a fun year