Yakwe Funk

I suppose this is the consequence of getting a high-caliber "athlete" who could dominate in high (prep) school against smaller and certainly less talented opponents. When he reaches a Div. 1 program, he/we realize there's not that much basketball talent there at all. Or even awareness or knowledge of the game. On two separate occasions last night (and I'm sure there were others that I missed) St. Jean and Lovett were screaming at him to get into a certain position for a particular play. Even if his BB IQ is low, he surely should remember where he should be on the floor during a play. And when the ball is in his hands (if he can catch it) I'm holding my breath. I feel badly for the kid; he looks lost out there most of the time.


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.
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He was my favorite player in an otherwise dreadful season in 15-16. Now, he looks like he's never touched a basketball in his life. Hands of stone. Horrible body language. Guys hit free throws and he's not even feeling inclined to slap them five. Doesn't look like he wants to be here. If that's the case it makes you wonder if him and Sima were boys and had similar disenchantment.
 
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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If we did not see him play last year would anyone think he had potential?
Just based off this year he is one of the worst starting forwards we have had. And I watched Aaron Spears
 
Hope Diakete from OSNA is not a duplicate. We need high BB IQ players.
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I get the feeling that if Yakwe is unhappy and leaves, Diakite re-opens his recruitment.
 
Hope Diakete from OSNA is not a duplicate. We need high BB IQ players.
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Does anyone know if Diakete and Yakwe have the same 'handler'?
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I think Paulz said yes. But if not, I'm sure he or Happy definitely know the answer, so we'll have it once one of them reads your post.
 
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.
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Dory Jr. certainly lacked Terry's personality but he was a great tactician. Old school.
 
I wish someone would please wake Yakwe up and tell him
he is on the court and there is a basketball game taking place all around him.
 
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.
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Dory Jr. certainly lacked Terry's personality but he was a great tactician. Old school.
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And both of them have better hands than Yakwe
 
Hope Diakete from OSNA is not a duplicate. We need high BB IQ players.
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As my buddy Moose has often said, OSNA kids can be a challenge, athletic, but raw. Not to mention some eligibility hurdles with some of their kids.
 
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.
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Dory Jr. certainly lacked Terry's personality but he was a great tactician. Old school.
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Terry Funk once told a story how he was visiting someone that gave him a bagel for breakfast. He had never seen a bagel before. Then they handed hm, unopened, one of those thick squares of cream cheese with a knife to spread some on. Apparently, he never had cream cheese either. So he took off the wrapper and put the whole thing of cream cheese between both halves of the bagel and ate it.

To stay on topic, I think Yakwe, and Owens, need to put more cheese on their bagels to facilitate weight gain. Also, Yakwe could spread some on his hands to enhance his grip on the basketball. As for his regression, the most common explanations are 1.physical issues, 2. personal problems, or 3.an upgrade in competition. Since we can rule out 1 and 3, that leaves personal issues, which could include a general unhappiness with his surroundings or a lot of other possibilities. In general, extraordinary athletes that are young and have limited basketball experience get better and not worse. He definitely needs a big man camp. All in all, this seems all too similar to Sima. Let's hope it doesn't end the same way.
 
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.
Click to expand...

Dory Jr. certainly lacked Terry's personality but he was a great tactician. Old school.
Click to expand...

Terry Funk once told a story how he was visiting someone that gave him a bagel for breakfast. He had never seen a bagel before. Then they handed hm, unopened, one of those thick squares of cream cheese with a knife to spread some on. Apparently, he never had cream cheese either. So he took off the wrapper and put the whole thing of cream cheese between both halves of the bagel and ate it.

To stay on topic, I think Yakwe, and Owens, need to put more cheese on their bagels to facilitate weight gain. Also, Yakwe could spread some on his hands to enhance his grip on the basketball. As for his regression, the most common explanations are 1.physical issues, 2. personal problems, or 3.an upgrade in competition. Since we can rule out 1 and 3, that leaves personal issues, which could include a general unhappiness with his surroundings or a lot of other possibilities. In general, extraordinary athletes that are young and have limited basketball experience get better and not worse. He definitely needs a big man camp. All in all, this seems all too similar to Sima. Let's hope it doesn't end the same way.
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My Westworld scenario still seems to be most plausible explanation
 
Who operates as our "big man coach" in practice and development?
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Matt A :)
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Ha! He certainly would provide a unique perspective on having to play bigger than your size for our undersized player who is the subject of this thread!

In all seriousness, does anyone know who is the primary coach working with the big men in practice?
 
You can't rule out #3. For the first 10 games Sima was still there. Williams was injured last year, and now he's also practicing against Marvin Clark. Plus Owens is on the floor not just at practice. And Ahmed is playing the position Yakwe is best suited for size wise, if not skill set wise. All this is more competition than presented by Christian Jones last year. So #3 is a big factor and the threat of losing minutes due to this situation is probably getting into his head where as last year he could just play freely since there really was nobody else. Oh, and Amar same same.
 
Random thought: If Matt A comes into my living room to recruit my 6'7" son, I might chuckle a bit. He must be one hell of a salesman.
 
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