Xavier (MSG), Wed., Jan. 22 , 7p, FS-1

Beasts of the East said:
Great post. Plus he can guard on the perimiter, which pro scouts won't miss.

One of the benefits of injuries is that it gives some guys a chance to prove themselves.

Just about a week ago, a few people on here said we have no depth, and were highly critical of Vince and Reuben's readiness to be in the rotation.

Before the Xavier game some guys were killing Wilcher.

All three played important roles in our win last night.

If we can get to March at full roster strength, who knows how tough we will be in the dance?

Prey not only is a player but has a great temperament on court. Nothing seems to rattle him.
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Was at the game - kid plays his tail off!
 
lawmanfan said:
Only two people think that Ayo is an actual player: Ayo and Marillac.

Ayo's job is to go be an energy and defense guy for a few minutes. And he's wonderful for that. The problem is when he thinks that he should also do anything else (with the possible exception of a layup or dunk). Peter principle in action.
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I love Ayo. Maybe it's the former coach in me. He comes in with no hesitation in his game...he's calling out rotations and plays. He's making guys execute and space on offense. He doesn't add anything, but he almost never hurts you. You can put him in at any juncture and he's going to be steady as hell. He's going to defend, he's going to rotate 2,3,4x without losing his awareness. And he's a solid rebounder. Good outside shooter when he's set. A little rusty taking it to the rim due to his lack of minutes in college.

I write this from the perspective of him being a 9th or 10th guy on the roster. Winning teams have walkons and backend roster pieces like this that add value. Winning coaches obsess over these types.
 
sjc88 said:
I know. It’s just he was a guy in our backyard. My understanding at the time was we didn’t even look at him. 6 foot 6 kids who can shoot aren’t falling from the sky. The only reason I knew about him was a co worker was chiding me that we had no interest.

Eh, water under the bridge at this point. Nice to see him show us some love.
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We got on him but late. There were concerns on both sides and he chose to go elsewhere. His father still shows up at events at the school so if there were any hard feelings, they are long gone.
 
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Marillac2 said:
I love Ayo. Maybe it's the former coach in me. He comes in with no hesitation in his game...he's calling out rotations and plays. He's making guys execute and space on offense. He doesn't add anything, but he almost never hurts you. You can put him in at any juncture and he's going to be steady as hell. He's going to defend, he's going to rotate 2,3,4x without losing his awareness. And he's a solid rebounder. Good outside shooter when he's set. A little rusty taking it to the rim due to his lack of minutes in college.

I write this from the perspective of him being a 9th or 10th guy on the roster. Winning teams have walkons and backend roster pieces like this that add value. Winning coaches obsess over these types.
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Ayo in Queens Gazette today:

“I am very fortunate to have Rick Pitino as my coach, I have learned so much from him about life and basketball. As a player I also benefitted greatly watching perhaps the best guard in the country last year, Dannis Jenkins, a poster of him hangs in my dorm room”
 
paultzman said:
Ayo in Queens Gazette today:

“I am very fortunate to have Rick Pitino as my coach, I have learned so much from him about life and basketball. As a player I also benefitted greatly watching perhaps the best guard in the country last year, Dannis Jenkins, a poster of him hangs in my dorm room”
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Multiple point deduction there. Now let's continue Around the Horn.
 
Marillac2 said:
I love Ayo. Maybe it's the former coach in me. He comes in with no hesitation in his game...he's calling out rotations and plays. He's making guys execute and space on offense. He doesn't add anything, but he almost never hurts you. You can put him in at any juncture and he's going to be steady as hell. He's going to defend, he's going to rotate 2,3,4x without losing his awareness. And he's a solid rebounder. Good outside shooter when he's set. A little rusty taking it to the rim due to his lack of minutes in college.

I write this from the perspective of him being a 9th or 10th guy on the roster. Winning teams have walkons and backend roster pieces like this that add value. Winning coaches obsess over these types.
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Ayo was appointed co captain for a reason. Pitino knows.
 
lawmanfan said:
it's the same reason he played Sean Conway or whoever last year
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I think that is overly reductive. He's probably the best teammate I've seen from a distance and it's clear everyone respects him. He's the first kid to go to someone after they make a mistake and he's the first to celebrate absolutely everyone when they do something well. And it looks genuine.

Being named captain is huge honor for a kid coming into the season with 20 total minutes played in the Big East that projected to be play around 2-4 minutes per game.
 
Marillac2 said:
I love Ayo. Maybe it's the former coach in me. He comes in with no hesitation in his game...he's calling out rotations and plays. He's making guys execute and space on offense. He doesn't add anything, but he almost never hurts you. You can put him in at any juncture and he's going to be steady as hell. He's going to defend, he's going to rotate 2,3,4x without losing his awareness. And he's a solid rebounder. Good outside shooter when he's set. A little rusty taking it to the rim due to his lack of minutes in college.

I write this from the perspective of him being a 9th or 10th guy on the roster. Winning teams have walkons and backend roster pieces like this that add value. Winning coaches obsess over these types.
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Agreed. I mean, we have a grand master as Head Coach, and there is a reason he's consistently stuck with this kid at multiple stops and wanted him on the team.
 
hardytime said:
Agreed. I mean, we have a grand master as Head Coach, and there is a reason he's consistently stuck with this kid at multiple stops and wanted him on the team.
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because you need somebody who when the coach says "run through the wall" will do it so you can hold that kid up as an example to the other kids who you're trying to get that level of commitment out of.

Not a criticism of Ayo, but this isn't 6th dimensional chess or anything.
 
panther2 said:
What I find interesting about our bench is that while they don't score a lot, they also don't give up much on the defensive side of the ball, which is just as important. We are winning games with defense and they are contributing to our defensive minded approach. As such, we have a good bench that will only get better when Smith and hopefully Dunlap return.
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As I said on numerous posts above, I acknowledge the defensive efforts of our bench , especially Prey, Vince, Glover and smith or Wilcher. My point was based on their offensive contributions of which more was expected of Dunlap. I have no issue at all with their defensive contributions and more then appreciate their contributions.

Can you imagine how great it would be if one were to become a strong offensive contributor? Perhaps these games would not be the nail biters that they are.
 
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