Butler, Tue., Jan. 2, 8:30p, FS-1

[SJU85]

Luis …. Not as impactful as I envisioned.

That didn’t age well. He did get a little shot happy when we built the lead to 17 and they hit back to back 3s.

 

[Alex9045]

Defense coming along. This is a top 25 team once they learn to share the rock more. Luis and Jenkins are sticky with the ball.

 

[Silly Donovan]

That didn’t age well. He did get a little shot happy when we built the lead to 17 and they hit back to back 3s.

He did come on strong as the game progressed but was hesitant early on. He has tremendous upside but still has much to learn.

 

[bamafan]

Dare I say it? Luis looks like a young Julius Irving.

Already called him a poor man’s Dr. J when we signed him.

 

[Marillac2]

Did you watch the game tonight?

Yes. I watched Jenkins rattle one off balance three in out of five attempts. I watched him pull up from 4 feet behind the arc 3 seconds into the shot clock and airball a three…missing the backboard by 5 feet.

He plays exactly like Posh on offense but takes more shots and Posh passes to Dwayne Wayne from A Different World instead of Soriano.

You and Mullins Revenge act like Jenkins is Ray Allen and Posh is Ray Charles from deep. One is shooting 21% and the other is shooting 24%. Mike “White Chocolate” Maher was 40% in Glen Cove.

 

[Jack Williams]

I tweeted at Zach about Taylor and this is what he said

 

[SJU85]

If Soriano goes the whole year without a Tech for rim hanging I'll be shocked.

Refs don’t call it that closely anymore. I am looking at some college highlights on Sports Center and several are doing the same thing. They are not a worried about the rims and backboards breaking anymore and more concerned with guys releasing soon, falling and getting hurt.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Yes. I watched Jenkins rattle one off balance three in out of five attempts. I watched him pull up from 4 feet behind the arc 3 seconds into the shot clock and airball a three…missing the backboard by 5 feet.

He plays exactly like Posh on offense but takes more shots and Posh passes to Dwayne Wayne from A Different World instead of Soriano.

You and Mullins Revenge act like Jenkins is Ray Allen and Posh is Ray Charles from deep. One is shooting 21% and the other is shooting 24%. Mike “White Chocolate” Maher was 40% in Glen Cove.

White Chocolate Maher also made it to the Long Island Finals of I think the Elks Club Free throw Championship ( maybe it was some other organization ) and came in second in like 7th or 8th grade

 

[MugCostanza]

What are sports journalists covering this team getting paid for if no one asked coach why a guy, who has started all season, played only 8 seconds?

Jesus Christ someone give me some credentials

Not sure what's so puzzling. Pitino has been juggling lineups and minutes all season. Sometimes Conway gets decent burn like he did in the Hofstra game, sometimes he gets no burn. For whatever reason Pitino wanted to give Dunlap minutes tonight and those had to come at the expense of somebody, and that somebody was Taylor. Taylor was on the bench and seemed engaged throughout and played the final possession of the first half so it was likely just a matchups/feeling situation.

My guess is Taylor will see burn against Villanova as they will target Dunlap every single offensive possession and they have the dudes to make it hurt. But who knows

 

[Jack Williams]

Not sure what's so puzzling. Pitino has been juggling lineups and minutes all season

He’s been “juggling with lineups all season” but Taylor has been a mainstay in the starting lineup and has gotten a lot of time all year.

And it’s not like he’s been playing poorly the last few games, so it’s an interesting move to take away ALL of his minutes, especially when Dunlap could’ve, I don’t know, eaten into the minutes of the guy who was on a bum ankle?

I just highly doubt this is purely a basketball decision. But whatever sounds like what happened behind the scenes is gonna stay private

 

[Marillac2]

I tweeted at Zach about Taylor and this is what he said

Butler forwards were taller and slower players. I think that’s all it was. Taylor is a very athletic wing who will be needed against quicker teams.

We certainly seem to matchup well against bigger teams.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Not sure what's so puzzling. Pitino has been juggling lineups and minutes all season. Sometimes Conway gets decent burn like he did in the Hofstra game, sometimes he gets no burn. For whatever reason Pitino wanted to give Dunlap minutes tonight and those had to come at the expense of somebody, and that somebody was Taylor. Taylor was on the bench and seemed engaged throughout and played the final possession of the first half so it was likely just a matchups/feeling situation.

My guess is Taylor will see burn against Villanova as they will target Dunlap every single offensive possession and they have the dudes to make it hurt. But who knows

Taylor was very engaged on the bench and honestly that impressed me just as much as any of the players on the court. Gotta love team first players

 

[bamafan]

Drissa never got into the game at all and nobody is showing him any love by asking why.

 

[vegasman2000]

Great win.

Ledlum and Alleyne seem to be finding their "roles" and they can play those roles at a high, high level.

We are going to have to live with the good and bad from Jenkins. No doubt the staff sees what everyone else does. Let's keep hoping for more of the good than the bad.

Don't write-off Dingle. He hasn't been as advertised to say the least, but games like Utah were not a mirage. Struggling with his confidence, and I'm sure missing time this summer with the injury did not help. I have so much faith in Pitino though to "unlock" whatever he can from this group, and that includes Dingle.

Ditto for Wilcher -- oozes with talent. Everyone can see it. Figuring out how to play PG against grown men who can play at a high-level, not undisciplined HS kids. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a "Wilcher game" like we just saw a "Dunlap game".

RJ looks the part of our best wing/guard player and is a big time talent. He's trying to find his game right now and forcing things some on the offensive end, but you can see by Pitino's response he is trying to reign that stuff in, especially with the planted post-game comment about RJ maximizing his passing ability.

No idea why Taylor -- one of my favorites so far -- didn't get more minutes tonight. Perhaps because of how well Dunlap played. I never doubt Pitino with this stuff, but anyone thinking Taylor is now forever-glued to the bench is off base IMO.

Most coaches seem to play lip-service to the "whoever performs in practice will get in the rotation" stuff. But Pitino seems to be driving that point home to try and motivate these games to get better as a whole and make practices as competitive as possible.

I don't see it with Wilcher

 

[vegasman2000]

First...outstanding team win. I hate to be a downer...but early on, Luis looks like this year's Curbelo. Sorry. My prediction is he'll have fewer assists over his career than Zendon Hamilton.

Luis can score 15 every night being the next Curbelo. I will take it.

 

[SJU85]

Jenkins with the airball, ridiculous!! I don’t care how good he’s played tonight. You have 10pt lead with a chance to pull away and he chucks up a forced three for an airball????

It wasn’t a forced three, it was a wide open one but agree at that point of the game, he should have pulled it out and ran a set.

 

[Mullins Revenge]

Drissa never got into the game at all and nobody is showing him any love by asking why.

I think rick wanted offense tonight. That is not the strength of taylor or drissa’s game. Taylor prob plays is brady struggles but brady was on fire so he needed to be on the floor as much as possible.

 

[vegasman2000]

He did come on strong as the game progressed but was hesitant early on. He has tremendous upside but still has much to learn.

Some people are saying "I hope he stays" as if he is an NBA player right now. Not even close

 

[Jack Williams]

Some people are saying "I hope he stays" as if he is an NBA player right now. Not even close

Luis? I think he’s closer than you think

He needs to calm down and let the game come to him, but he has all the tools to be an NBA player

He should stay here longer. But if he has a good rest of the season I could see him popping up on mock drafts. (Note: this is an unbelievably soft draft from what I’ve read)

 

[Marillac2]

Some people are saying "I hope he stays" as if he is an NBA player right now. Not even close

I’ve been throwing cold water on all the Luis preseason love, but the kid looks like a pterodactyl out there. He’s freaking HUGE and he moves like a legit guard. I just hope his actual height doesn’t get leaked because there’s no way he’s not just as tall as 90% of the kids listed at 6’9.

Even Jenkins defers to him!