(EXHIBITION) Towson, Sat., Oct. 18, 2p, ESPN+

logen said:
Pitino is a great coach, no question, his record obviously speaks for itself. But like many ultra successful people, not all, but many, he has an ego to match. He also, like all of us, is not infallible.
Very strong rumor has it that Pitino used the PG position as the hook to land Jackson and to fully disclose, I use rumor because I have heard that but not from anyone I would vouch for. So to me, strong rumor.
If true, I am sure Pitino thought he could convert him so recruiting Darling, whose credentials identified him as a backup at this level, did not upset the Jackson to PG plan. Unfortunately, that did not work out so quickly that it wasn’t even really tried. Frankly, after watching him in 2 exhibitions I would not even venture a guess as to what kind of player he is and it could very well be the PG experiment has something to with that.
It clearly appears on the surface that both Sellers and Jackson were not helped at all by the PG situation. I am not remotely writing them off as players, not remotely, but I judge players by what I see, not reputation, not ranking, not stats, etc.
The fact is Darling is the only PG on the roster. I don’t know how good he will be over the course of the season but I do get a kick out if the posters supremely confident Sellers and Jackson will find themselves and “improve” but Darling, IMO the most effective guard in the 2 exhibitions, is stuck being what he is in their minds, just not good enough.
The undeniable fact is that no one knows what the future holds, which as I have stated many times in many different ways, is the absolute beauty of sports.
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I think we've heard a reliable poster on either here or the discord say the same thing about Ian being a PG as a promised thing in his recruitment. I can be misremembering.

I know I'm one of those posters you're alluding to, and I do think its a bit unfair because it's about the roster construction as much as him. The thing that unnerves me is there's a very realistic scenario where Darling *needs* to be a 30mpg, all-BE caliber guy for the roster to reach its preseason top 10 potential. That is just a really tough ask on him. The "Tyler Kolek" comp is no longer a fantasy or a fun thing, it may be something we need to advance well-into March.

I assume out of Sanon/Sellers/Ian/Lefty, we'll get something out of the 2/3 that will be fine because...ya know, it's valuable to have actual depth instead of relying on one guy.
 
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dk423 said:
I think we've heard a reliable poster on either here or the discord say the same thing about Ian being a PG as a promised thing in his recruitment. I can be misremembering.

I know I'm one of those posters you're alluding to, and I do think its a bit unfair because it's about the roster construction as much as him. The thing that unnerves me is there's a very realistic scenario where Darling *needs* to be a 30mpg, all-BE caliber guy for the roster to reach its preseason top 10 potential. That is just a really tough ask on him. The "Tyler Kolek" comp is no longer a fantasy or a fun thing, it may be something we need to advance well-into March.

I assume out of Sanon/Sellers/Ian/Lefty, we'll get something out of the 2/3 that will be fine because...ya know, it's valuable to have actual depth instead of relying on one guy.
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You are not misremembering.
 
dk423 said:
I know I'm one of those posters. The thing that unnerves me is there's a very realistic scenario where Darling *needs* to be a 30mpg, all-BE caliber guy for the roster to reach its preseason top 10 potential. That is just a really tough ask on him.

I assume out of Sanon/Sellers/Ian/Lefty, we'll get something out of the 2/3 that will be fine because...ya know, it's valuable to have actual depth instead of relying on one guy.
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Understood but I don’t remotely think he has to be all-BE level. He has to play solid D and run the team efficiently. Now, people have knocked his D against Cadeau but I wonder how many of them have tried to man up on a player of that caliber while being run into multiple picks. I would venture to guess none.
My one knock on his D on Cadeau is I would just have insisted he overplay him to the right to see if he could also make plays going left. But again, I’d he didn’t figure that out, not sure why no coach did either. Too busy looking at the stat sheet to monitor guard rebounds I guess.
As for running the team, this team needs a 3 point shooter that HAS to be stuck to so it opens up lanes, if that player or players emerges the offense will be more than fine. There will not be too many games where the team can depend on taking 35 foul shots.
 
logen said:
Understood but I don’t remotely think he has to be all-BE level. He has to play solid D and run the team efficiently. Now, people have knocked his D against Cadeau but I wonder how many of them have tried to man up on a player of that caliber while being run into multiple picks. I would venture to guess none.
My one knock on his D on Cadeau is I would just have insisted he overplay him to the right to see if he could also make plays going left. But again, I’d he didn’t figure that out, not sure why no coach did either. Too busy looking at the stat sheet to monitor guard rebounds I guess.
As for running the team, this team needs a 3 point shooter that HAS to be stuck to so it opens up lanes, if that player or players emerges the offense will be more than fine. There will not be too many games where the team can depend on taking 35 foul shots.
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dk423 & Logen , appreciate the sensible, insightful exchange on our guard challenge inclusive of PG situation. I always enjoy these exchanges and they help me reflect on the angles inherent in such.
 
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