Zuby “Beast II”

dk423 said:
I also expect Zuby to play 25 minutes — maybe a 10/15 split between the four and five.

But the roster was really flawed last year. We had no third string center. Zuby could not have played the four, I think in large part, due to that + the team workload of learning a second position in year one under Pitino. This full offseason will make a huge difference in unlocking him.

Think of the other “offensively challenged” big men in our history. Zuby is immensely more talented than all of them. Him hitting threes in real game situations in February and March IS different than instagram stories of shooting in an empty gym
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Who are some of the other offensively challenged guys? Were they asked to play the 4? The 4 has gotta be able to face the basket and attack off the dribble. I think he is miles away from being able to do that. Especially if it’s against another teams 4 and not a 5.
 
Amaseinyourface said:
Who are some of the other offensively challenged guys? Were they asked to play the 4? The 4 has gotta be able to face the basket and attack off the dribble. I think he is miles away from being able to do that. Especially if it’s against another teams 4 and not a 5.
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The ball handling is definitely the fairest concern. He had a couple of one off examples but it’ll have to be more consistent. I don’t think he’s miles away but, I’d also say the burden of proof is on my side since he’d be the one switching positions.
 
dk423 said:
The “Zuby is offensive challenged” was an unfair trope from the preseason that never looked to really be the case. He was a pretty good FT shooter, showed flashes of being able to put the ball on the floor, and even a quality jump shot by end of the year. Add his defense, and I think he will surprise most people.
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Kind of like the “Dunlap can’t play defense” when obviously he made huge strides there over the course of the year.
 
Beasts of the East said:
I'm not speculating. Zuby has been promised the 4 by Rick with backup minutes at the 5. It is why we are targeting starting 5's in the portal. If this wasn't true Zuby would be gone. As a junior he wants starter minutes and plenty of programs would give him that. At the very least he will be given that opportunity (starting 4).. Maker is considered a project.

Ledlum and Dingle returning is considered a very long shot, but I'd bet Ledlum would see time at the 3 and 4.

With the portal, too many variables but when the dust settles virtually guarantee Rick will be talking Zuby as a 4. I'm pretty sure he has mentioned this already.
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I don’t think Pitino promises players anything before the season starts but we’ll see. Can’t see a combo of Zuby and Vince on the floor for long stretches and a successful season. Agree that ledlum coming back is a long shot.
 
-Zuby didn’t show flashes of being good…he flat out looked special for 2-3 minute spurts. It was actually ridiculous at times.

-Let’s not be naive about him being promised minutes at the 4. If we bring in Vince we will likely see a Vince get 15-20 starts against bigger teams and 18-24 mpg over the course of the season.

-He’s a fast twitch guy so he’s not going to wow you with smooth moves and great hands but he will be averaging double figures and he will be able to get a few buckets with his back to the basket. He showed that at the end of last season.

-We will have to find money to retain him after his season.
 
dk423 said:
The “Zuby is offensive challenged” was an unfair trope from the preseason that never looked to really be the case. He was a pretty good FT shooter, showed flashes of being able to put the ball on the floor, and even a quality jump shot by end of the year. Add his defense, and I think he will surprise most people.
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Agree his ft shooting was pretty good and he hit two or three open jump shots. But the kid struggled to hit an open layup and is clearly not comfortable around the rim. I didn’t see much of him putting the ball on the floor.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a high energy mobile big and I’m glad we have him. I just don’t see how we can pair him up with a non-scoring center and expect to be successful.
 
Knight said:
Pitino is a complete coach, and a great one at that--Recruiting, Player Development, Game Preparation, Game Management, Employer, Confidant, etc.
I think he can up-coach a player; and with Zuby, he knows what he has and can expect.
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I like Zuby. He hustles, plays hard and seems like a really good person. I hope he has a fantastic season next year. But if you look at the successful teams in the NCAA Tournament, except for Houston, and even in the Big East, these teams had big men who could score. Hell, just look at UConn the last two years. At this point, I don't see St. John's potential roster of big men coming any where close to the teams mentioned above.
 
MainMan said:
If you get scoring from 1, 2, 3 + the bench then you can afford to have two lunch pail players at the 4 and 5.
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Zuby averaged 1.8 offensive rebounds in 11 minutes. That’s a little over 4 over 25 minutes. He also runs the floor better than any 5 in the country — with the only possible exception being Samson Johnson — and will get him some very easy dunks from that.

He’ll get some alley oops in sets out of timeouts and some drive and dumps from the PG.

He’ll sleepwalk his way to 10 ppg if we put athletes around him.
 
Marillac2 said:
Zuby averaged 1.8 offensive rebounds in 11 minutes. That’s a little over 4 over 25 minutes. He also runs the floor better than any 5 in the country — with the only possible exception being Samson Johnson — and will get him some very easy dunks from that.

He’ll get some alley oops in sets out of timeouts and some drive and dumps from the PG.

He’ll sleepwalk his way to 10 ppg if we put athletes around him.
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And his style of play is conducive to drawing lots of fouls which he actually makes a decent percentage of. I see Zuby as one of our top 5 or 6 guys next year and that in no way makes me pessimistic about team's potential.
 
NCJohnnie said:
And his style of play is conducive to drawing lots of fouls which he actually makes a decent percentage of. I see Zuby as one of our top 5 or 6 guys next year and that in no way makes me pessimistic about team's potential.
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Unfortunate side of that coin is he also commits fouls himself at a high rate.
 
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