Improving every game. We should be hard to handle by tournament time.
Bediako and JD
- Thread starter rsb111
- Start date
Bediako has surprised me more than any player in quite some time. He is still a bit of an odd fit in a 5 out offense but Bama can make it work if he plays hard and the other guys make shots.
Most weirdly to me, JD’s handles are still pretty shakey…he is a crazy athlete in the strength and vertical department, but I cringe watching him in traffic a lot more than I would expect from a true PG. If he tightens those up and becomes even a fraction of the ball handler that Q is then he will be dangerous, if he develops a reliable outside shot to go with it then he will be virtually unstoppable.
***Also, I think we can see tonight how much JD benefits from guys making shots too…opens up space for him to use his athleticism.
JD is playing really fast, same as Kira when he came to Bama. He’s still getting the feel for the college game. The ball handling should get better each game.
JD is the true pg that will create open 3s for Quinerly, Shackleford, and Ellis to make while Bediako's inside outside stuff is sweet. JD also pushes tempo.
I don't think this team will be great until JD becomes great and everyone else realizes he will make them better and the team better. Simply put JD can make everyone more open, including the other guys drives to the basket.
I don't think this team will be great until JD becomes great and everyone else realizes he will make them better and the team better. Simply put JD can make everyone more open, including the other guys drives to the basket.
I know JD played AAU but in high school, he played a lot around the basket. He’s still a baby in a lot of ways.
JD has improved every game. This was his breakout game to me because (as the announcer on ESPNU said:
"He can get anywhere he wants to be on the court, whenever he wants too."
JD is the future of this team this year.
"He can get anywhere he wants to be on the court, whenever he wants too."
JD is the future of this team this year.
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Really exciting to see their growth. Agreed about how surprisingly solid Bediako is out of the chute. When we had Donta Hall, he was a guy in the lane that guards could throw it up to and finish with a big dunk. Now with guards like JD and Quinerly bursting through defenses, there are going to be a lot of dunks. JD makes some really bad decisions, but he also creates a Wow about every other time he brings it down the court. That kid puts fear into the other team. Love our team and where this is headed.
I worry about Bediako against some of the more physical post players he'll see regularly in the SEC and tougher non-conference schedule we have upcoming. For a 7 footer he seems to get pushed around fairly easy.
He is what 18 or 19 years old? He should be getting pushed around. Hopefully over time he develops where he understands his own game and how to play against guys that are going to try to bully him around. For whatever good AAU ball does for these kids development it does not prepare them to go against 23 year old 6'7" 265 "men" who know how to ball.
Not really sure how many 265lb 23 year olds play college basketball, but I know he's shown tendency to get pushed around in these few games so far, and the schedule only gets tougher from here.
May be a bad analogy. My point being his measurables won't help him one bit until he matures and figures out how to use it.
I don't get the tone of the convo on JD. Is it just cool to act like you see alot of shortcomings in his game or what? That kid is legit RIGHT NOW. He should be on the court as much as possible. Not many teams will have anybody to match his juice on the court.
If he can continue to make some open shots he’s unstoppable. If he regresses it really harms his ability to get to the basket.
Jd seeing a few go in against the Zags is going to be so big for his confidence. I really think that’s the main problem with his shooting so far. Coming from SUCH a small school, it’s going to take a little time for him to adjust to the speed of D1 college basketball. I honestly think that was just the breakthrough that he needed. From now on I think he’ll play much more freely and open. The offense is going to start running through him and we’re going to have almost the exact same situation as last year with JQ coming off the bench. JD is going to provide a huge spark off the bench and also be in the game at the end during crunch time. We’re just scratching the surface of how ridiculously good he’s going to be.
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