Even Boyle needs talent - we will finish 7-11 or worse in the PAC 12

[cubuffs85]

The thing I have about spencers draft-ability is the payday. He's said before if he's first round he will leave, if not he will stay.
We are nowhere near march right now, and who last january thought that michigan had 3 first round picks on the floor?

Kids who shine in march can change things on draft boards - unfortunately, spencer wont have a chance to do that this year.

Good chance I think he'll still leave if he can get drafted, who knows if he can regain his draft status? He might just want to cut his losses here instead of possibly becoming undraftable.

 

[Goose]

I guess my approach with freshman is and probably always will be, they have to prove it at this level. Top 100 guys don't always work out as expected. I mean look at Jabari Parker right now with Duke, a top 10 recruit. Started off the season hot, but teams have figured out his tendencies and as a freshman, he lacks the experience to know how to adjust at this level. He will likely make the adjustments and finish out the season with good numbers and be a lottery pick based on his potential. There is a reason Coach K has been putting in players with more experience than him in crunch time.

I have no doubt that Dom is a good player, and I have no doubt that he will be a great asset to the team, I just dont expect a huge impact from true freshman. I expect solid minutes and maybe if you are lucky they take over a game or two.

That's fair, but we're also not talking about Dom playing 30+ mpg like Jabari is. We're talking about Roughly 70 minutes of playing time to be divided amongst XT, Dom and JHop. Two of them will get roughly 25 mpg, the third will get 20. Odds are, XT is the odd man out in that situation.

 

[cubuffs85]

Wouldn't surprise me honestly. It'll be like Dre - he may sneak in, but he won't go undrafted or anything.

The thing that I keep coming back to is the fact that all of his comments have made it sound like he's done here. He "wanted to ride out with a P12 championship", he "feels like he let everyone down", etc.. He's closing the door. And I don't blame him. This is a kid who was thinking about coming out for LAST year's draft. So he's spent the last year mentally preparing to be done with CU and moving on to his next step. A step that has been a dream for his entire life. I've seen people say things like "but NBA teams won't be able to see him work out". There were 26 NBA scouts in Boulder for the CU vs Kansas game. You don't think those guys had seats to practice to watch him that week? You don't think those guys know what he can do? Workouts can help, yes, but more and more it's so staffs can see what the kid's mental makeup is more than anything else now. Also, there was word yesterday that Spencer is already back up to 90% range of motion in his knee and his surgery may actually be moved up to this weekend.

Finally, I keep going back to the fact that the Phoenix Suns have four first round picks this year. They have a GM who is one of the "new school" guys who loves analytics (a department where Spencer absolutely glows). They have a medical staff that is widely considered the best in the NBA BY FAR. It would not surprise me at all for Phoenix to draft him and then pay him to rehab.

I've said this before (as have others) -- but it just takes ONE team to fall in love with a player to make them a first rounder. I didn't give 'Dre much of a chance to be a first rounder.

 

[Eggon]

I think this will accelerate the growth of the young guys and create a good chance Spencer returns next year. I can see a scenario where '14-'15 becomes a very special year.

As my BBALL hangover from last night relinquished to some sunshine this morning, I am having similar thoughts to this. In the meantime, this team can make significant progress and make some waves this year in conference.

Frankly these are kids and it showed last night. The impact of losing a team leader and friend weighed heavily on them. It was just "off kilter" at the CEC last night.....

What they can control is possession of the ball, effort, and attitude. I expect all of these to be better as the some of the shock wears off. Offensively we are just going to have to see who can develop confidence either at the rim, or hopefully a shooter or two to help Ski and Josh carry the load.

Control what you can control against USC. Get back up on your feet and win this game. Pressure is off in terms of expectations, so let's become a team that nobody really wants to play because of our efforts....

 

[sackman]

Typical drive-by post by Hendo. Kind of like his columns - inflamatory, contrarian, and without a shred of actual working knowledge of the subject.

 

[azbuff]

I see us doing a little better than 7-11. We'll very likely win Sunday, putting us at 4-2. I don't see us going 3-9 the rest of the way. Especially with the three home games in a row against UW, WSU and Utah. I still see us getting at least two of those (likely Utah and WSU). That's six wins right there, with TEN other opportunities to pick up a few extra wins. Even if we go 2-8 in those ten games (doubt it), we'd finish 8-10. The ceiling for this team is lower now, but I'm hard pressed to see how they don't get to 9 or 10 wins.