Yakwe Funk

paultzman

paultzman

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KY was our team MVP last year as I recall. Granted the squad did not have much, but down the stretch he exhibited a high motor, intensity and ability to do little things like get in lane offensively, rebound adequately, block some shots & run court like a gazelle, often recipient of fast break passes for momentum building scores. All was accomplished as a young freshman, who moved his eligibility up a year.

Watching him struggle last night, granted v a talented Creighton interior, I wonder what the deterioration of his game represents;

1. Was last season's performance a fluke?

2. Is he just a foreign player new to the game, lacking experience & adequate skill refinement, better served by redshirting & learning his first year?

3. Is he just having a "sophomore jinx"?

4. As a player who has no perimeter skills & is only 6'6 is he always going to be pushing the ball uphill v physical interior guys he faces?

5. If PF is indeed his future, can he receive off season "big man coaching" like those Pete Newell camps back when just to get help with footwork & positioning?

6. Did he have better hands last season? I don't recall him fumbling everything like now. Is that just nerves, lack of confidence?

Hopefully he snaps out of it & staff can get him back on track. (And I once again started a unnecessary thread) That said, watching him completely lost last night with zero rebounds or points late in the game was frustrating & IMO costing the team. Certainly more sterile performances like that merit loss of minutes. I know we are limited up front, but getting zero results from KY can't be ignored much longer.
 
He's been a complete non-factor this year. He needs to get stronger and smarter. A few times yesterday he went chasing blocks when he would have been better served boxing out. I'm a little worried about him but after seeing him excel last year I think he will find it again eventually.
 
KY was our team MVP last year as I recall. Granted the squad did not have much, but down the stretch he exhibited a high motor, intensity and ability to do little things like get in lane offensively, rebound adequately, block some shots & run court like a gazelle, often recipient of fast break passes for momentum building scores. All was accomplished as a young freshman, who moved his eligibility up a year.

Watching him struggle last night, granted v a talented Creighton interior, I wonder what the deterioration of his game represents;

1. Was last season's performance a fluke?

2. Is he the typical foreign player lacking experience & adequate skill refinement, better served by redshirting & learning his first year?

3. Is he just having a "sophomore jinx"?

4. As a player who has no perimeter skills & is only 6'6 is he always going to be pushing the ball uphill v physical interior guys he faces?

5. If PF is indeed his future, can he receive off season "big man coaching" like those Pete Newell camps back when just to get help with footwork & positioning?

6. Did he have better hands last season? I don't recall him fumbling everything like now. Is that just nerves, lack of confidence?

Hopefully he snaps out of it & staff can get him back on track. (And I once again started a unnecessary thread) That said, watching him completely lost last night with zero rebounds or points late in the game was frustrating & IMO costing the team. Certainly more sterile performances like that merit loss of minutes. I know we are limited up front, but getting zero results from KY can't be ignored much longer.
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Paultzman, at first glance your thread title sounds like a new band you are reviewing. :)
 
he is still developing. He should be used as a defensive role player but because of lack of our front court he is being asked to play above his head. We DO NOT need him to transfer!
 
KY was our team MVP last year as I recall. Granted the squad did not have much, but down the stretch he exhibited a high motor, intensity and ability to do little things like get in lane offensively, rebound adequately, block some shots & run court like a gazelle, often recipient of fast break passes for momentum building scores. All was accomplished as a young freshman, who moved his eligibility up a year.

Watching him struggle last night, granted v a talented Creighton interior, I wonder what the deterioration of his game represents;

1. Was last season's performance a fluke?

2. Is he the typical foreign player lacking experience & adequate skill refinement, better served by redshirting & learning his first year?

3. Is he just having a "sophomore jinx"?

4. As a player who has no perimeter skills & is only 6'6 is he always going to be pushing the ball uphill v physical interior guys he faces?

5. If PF is indeed his future, can he receive off season "big man coaching" like those Pete Newell camps back when just to get help with footwork & positioning?

6. Did he have better hands last season? I don't recall him fumbling everything like now. Is that just nerves, lack of confidence?

Hopefully he snaps out of it & staff can get him back on track. (And I once again started a unnecessary thread) That said, watching him completely lost last night with zero rebounds or points late in the game was frustrating & IMO costing the team. Certainly more sterile performances like that merit loss of minutes. I know we are limited up front, but getting zero results from KY can't be ignored much longer.
Click to expand...

Paultzman, at first glance your thread title sounds like a new band you are reviewing. :)
Click to expand...

Then we're all in trouble. :)
 
I liked Terry Funk the best of the Funk brothers. Besides being an all time great wrestler I thought he had an academy award winning performance in Road House.

Speaking of entertainment, the only explanation for Terry's younger brother is West World.
Clearly this is the robot version of Yakwe and he has been programmed to suck.
No other explanation makes any kind of sense.
 
he is still developing. He should be used as a defensive role player but because of lack of our front court he is being asked to play above his head. We DO NOT need him to transfer!
Click to expand...

I think the concern by many is that actually he is not developing. No one is pushing the kid out the door, but the concern is justified IMO.
 
He jumps at every pump fake. Villanova will pump fake all day and these kids will be undisciplined and bite at everyone of them.
 
KY relies strictly on his physical skills only. Defensively, He thinks he can block every shot. However, this often puts him out of position. BASKETBALL players and just as physically gifted players will eat him up. Simply boxing him out makes him a non factor. Offensively, he is a dunk only guy. No hands and no perimeter game. Someone should have worked with him years ago and now the clock is ticking.
 
MVP of a 1-17 team. 8-24 overall. Now that we have a talented backcourt you can see just how lousy his hands are. Very clumsy. Our overall improvement in talent has shown just how one dimensional Yawke is. This really shouldn't be surprising to any of us. Good players on a bad team are very hard to assess.

I like Yawke a lot but I don't think he will be satisfied with his new role on this team. He does not deserve to start. Tariq Owens has proven he is our most productive big, and Darien Williams should be ahead of Yawke as well in the pecking order when he can provide minutes.

Do not be surprised if Ellison, Williams and Lovett are the only players left after this season from the 2015 class. Ellison being the only who actually played last year.
 
I am ok with that since we have 2 good guards (Lovette and Ponds) and Bashir, Owens, Ellison, Williams, Freudenberg + Clark and Simon. Add 1 (Brown) or 2 more players and that's a full rotation.
 
Although he has deteriorated badly, I just think it's a case of him being the best of a very bad front line and played last year like there was nothing to lose even as the team lost everything (nearly in sight). This year comparatively, Williams and Owens have proven to be much better, and at the small forward Ellison and Ahmed have contributed much more. I still think there is enough there to be a rotation player, but to me the high hopes of last year were unwarranted and on a good team he is just an athletic kid with limited skills.
 
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