In my opinion, the best I have ever seen on a Rutgers big man- even as a freshman. I’ve been watching since the Duckett/Perry days. It’s not even close.
Myles Johnson Hands and Passing
- Thread starter RUSCFORMERLYRULOU
- Start date
He has a lot of potential and we are seeing it now.
I have a lot of confidence that by the time he is a junior he is a 10/8 in 25-26 minute per game option at the center in the way winning teams have their centers get those type of numbers
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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I think alot of people will disagree with your hands assessment at this point in his career. Crazy type of upside if he get develop and mean nasty attitude. He's too nice and soft out there
I don’t want to predict stats - I’m just talking about those two specific skills.
Name a better RU big man’s hands/passing ability since the late 80’s before making blanket statements like that.
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
kadeem jack, gil biruta, eugene just in the past 5 years or so. Myles hands are probably the weakest part of his game right now and that's largely due to a lack of toughness. I anticipate it'll get substantially better but right now he has weak hands
At Court Club meeting, Karl Hobbs was extremely high on Myles Johnson. Said once it starts clicking for him, very high ceiling and a very smart kid (like 3.8 EE major).
I love watching the freshman develop, lots of fun (Mathis, Johnson, Harper, McConnell).
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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i sit in the first few rows pretty much every home game bub and the coaches, jay young in particular is typically on him telling him to "squeeze" the ball and "fight" harder. I don't think there's many that share your opinion here, that is all.
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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agreed. He has crazy high upside but it hasn't all clicked yet. Having good hands has a lot to do with confidence and bravado. Once he develops that and starts bullying people in the post with his size, he'll have a chance to be one of the greats at the 5 in program history, that's how high I think his upside is
Just looking at centers, CJ Gettys had good hands, passing ability, and court awareness, too, as a 5th year. Jack was also solid in those areas as a senior. Johnson is right there with them as a RS Freshman, though, which is great to see.
As far as "bigs" though, if you include PFs, there are several others - Omoruyi, Biruta, Mitchell, Lamizana, Kent, etc.
Myles is a normal big man....it's just been an absence of quality big men over the years for RU, that has people excited about his upside.
Keep in mind, he is not a true big, he has played the wing in HS when he was 6'6, until he kept growing and absolutely then became a PF or C prospect. That's why he looks very comfortable in the high post, swinging the ball and executing the handoff or screens. These are items that most B1G teams have on their roster. I think he has a 15 footer in his arsenal, but the staff probably doesn't want to encourage him drifting away from the basket, when he can be a factor in the paint.
He has a ways to go, but if you can get 1 out of every 3 games like Nebraska the rest of this year, I would take that....then next year, maybe every other game.....then as a 4th year junior and 5th year senior, the hope is becoming a consistent player that gives confidence to the rest of the roster that he will produce every night.
Yesterday was a lift for Johnson, he had a couple of games in a row with a lot of fouls and not a lot of chances....Part of that was Eugene being out and the other was Shaq Carter getting a chance as well.
Carter has a good game or two, Myles a so-so game.....Carter plays a so-so game last night (not his fault), Myles compliments that with a great game as a frosh. It isn't difficult to get into the 70's as an offense, if you can generate 15 points and 15 rebounds between Myles/Shaq Carter.
I know we want shooters, but our bigs are actually getting a little more athletic and have better hands to clean up some putbacks and post ups. 15 from the center, 15 from Mathis, 15 from Baker and 15 from your small forward spot, immediately gets you to 60. Find another few points elsewhere and RU can compete if the bigs score, even if there's limited opportunities.
Keep in mind, he is not a true big, he has played the wing in HS when he was 6'6, until he kept growing and absolutely then became a PF or C prospect. That's why he looks very comfortable in the high post, swinging the ball and executing the handoff or screens. These are items that most B1G teams have on their roster. I think he has a 15 footer in his arsenal, but the staff probably doesn't want to encourage him drifting away from the basket, when he can be a factor in the paint.
He has a ways to go, but if you can get 1 out of every 3 games like Nebraska the rest of this year, I would take that....then next year, maybe every other game.....then as a 4th year junior and 5th year senior, the hope is becoming a consistent player that gives confidence to the rest of the roster that he will produce every night.
Yesterday was a lift for Johnson, he had a couple of games in a row with a lot of fouls and not a lot of chances....Part of that was Eugene being out and the other was Shaq Carter getting a chance as well.
Carter has a good game or two, Myles a so-so game.....Carter plays a so-so game last night (not his fault), Myles compliments that with a great game as a frosh. It isn't difficult to get into the 70's as an offense, if you can generate 15 points and 15 rebounds between Myles/Shaq Carter.
I know we want shooters, but our bigs are actually getting a little more athletic and have better hands to clean up some putbacks and post ups. 15 from the center, 15 from Mathis, 15 from Baker and 15 from your small forward spot, immediately gets you to 60. Find another few points elsewhere and RU can compete if the bigs score, even if there's limited opportunities.
Last night was one of the only games where his hands didn't look weak. You need to look at the whole sample size, not just one game. Johnson has a ton of potential, and I know he will be really good for us, but to say he has the best hands is a stretch
as usual, you over-rotate in your assessments. his hands for a young big man are probably where they should be. there is room for improvement. last night, he made a couple of HUGE plays to squeeze the ball. so we need to be a bit more balanced (not your strong suit kyk
)I do agree his upside is huge. but I don't think he plays soft. he's just not strong enough yet. but he gets in there and mixes it up.
Myles has the potential to be more than just a normal big man. Let’s remember he’s only 18 games into his redshirt freshman year. Big men usually take longer to develop.
While he’s got a lot of room for growth and development, he’s got a length, touch and smoothness you can’t teach. That move where he stepped through 2 defenders in the post last night was not a freshman move.
Ankther year of S&C should go a long way. He also does seem tentative at times. Eugene dished him the ball on 1 play in the last 5 mins he put in the basket but it looked liked he almost didn’t expect to be fed the ball.
Apples and oranges.
Offensively good hands are soft and again to the circumstances.
On rebounding good hands are strong and decisive.
He has the former is working on the latter
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
even in the post, I haven't been all that impressed with his "soft" hands. I mean the chuckssss the ball at the backboard on that hook haha. You know who has soft hands in the post? Shaq Carter, real smooth player down low.
Listen Myles has crazyyyy upside and I think he's going to be great but OP's original post is pure madness
Since he is our only truly big man after this year he is critical indeed. He must continue to improve and stay healthy or we are looking at trouble.
Reminds me of N'Diaye his freshman year, but with better offensive skills. Lots of lost rebounds, loose balls because he doesn't grab the ball, but waits for it to come to his hands. Hope he continues improving like N'Diaye.
LOL a guy who started watching less than a decade ago shooting down a guy who has been watching fir 30 years.
OP makes an excellent point.
OP makes an excellent point.
I think he becomes a legit Big 10 player, if he isn't already. That said, he doesn't have great hands.
Comparing Myles' year to date with the freshman campaigns of other RU 6-10+ centers, going back to 1996:
Johnson: 4.1 pts, 5.2 rbs (through 18 games)
Tenys: 5.1 pts, 1.9 rbs
Diallo: 3.6 pts, 3.4 rbs
N'Diaye: 2.7 pts, 2.9 rbs
Waterstradt: 2.4 pts, 2.5 rbs
Doorson: 1.6 pts, 2.2 rbs
Dabney: 1.6 pts, 2.0 rbs
Sankes: 0.5 pts, 1.2 rbs
We really haven't had a lot of guys with Myles size that have had strong freshman campaigns. Hope he keeps it up and gets even better next year.
Johnson: 4.1 pts, 5.2 rbs (through 18 games)
Tenys: 5.1 pts, 1.9 rbs
Diallo: 3.6 pts, 3.4 rbs
N'Diaye: 2.7 pts, 2.9 rbs
Waterstradt: 2.4 pts, 2.5 rbs
Doorson: 1.6 pts, 2.2 rbs
Dabney: 1.6 pts, 2.0 rbs
Sankes: 0.5 pts, 1.2 rbs
We really haven't had a lot of guys with Myles size that have had strong freshman campaigns. Hope he keeps it up and gets even better next year.
Going by last night only, Myles showed what he is capable of — good hands, passing ability and finishing around the rim with some flashes of excellent footwork. Also his defense and rebounding is good and getting better (that block of Copeland's shot near the endgame was stellar and clutch).
The thing that impressed me most about him last night was his attitude. He looked more aggressive, assertive and just tougher all around. Geo had that look in the second half too. If that was a sign of things to come then we have a lot to look forward to.
The thing that impressed me most about him last night was his attitude. He looked more aggressive, assertive and just tougher all around. Geo had that look in the second half too. If that was a sign of things to come then we have a lot to look forward to.
Miles is 6"10" with extremely long arms. Jack, Biruta and Eugene are all undersized Power forwards by Big 10 standards.
Not even close in comparison to the game that Miles can play at the 4 or 5
Will be the best big man here since Hinson in my opinion and I have been following since Sellers was a freshman.
Rashod Kent and Chuck Weiler May not have been 6’10” but played like they were. Didn’t check their freshman stats though.
I think you need to differentiate "weak" hands from "soft" hands. At times, I agree he needs to squeeze the ball harder so he retains possession, but I would also say he absolutely has "soft" hands in the sense that he has very good hand-eye coordination and catches the ball very well, which is not something all big men do, especially in RU's past. And he's quite a good passer out of the post.
We had lots of shorter guys that played center, too - often as PFs that were forced to play the 5 because there was no one else. Kent was just 6-6 tall, but also seemed like he was 6-6 wide too - he played well above his height in the post with great footwork, positioning, and boxing out. He just took up so much space. As a freshman, he had 8.8 pts / 4.9 rbs.
Weiler was 6-9 and had 1.7 pts / 1.5 rb as a freshman in 1990-91.
Looking at 6-8/6-9 guys who spent time at center and their freshman campaigns:
Echenique - 8.4 pts, 8.4 rbs
Clark - 5.7 pts, 4.2 rbs
Doucoure - 2.8 pts, 3.2 rbs
A. Johnson - 2.6 pts, 2.1 rbs
Wright - 2.0 pts, 1.9 rbs
Joynes - 1.9 pts, 2.0 rbs
Jack - 1.2 pts, 1.6 rbs
Lewis - 0.6 pts, 1.0 rbs
Echenique really jumps off the page as having a great freshman year. Clark also had a really solid freshman campaign.
Just looking at freshman stats, though, he's had one of the best freshman campaigns at center that we've seen here in decades - and watching him play, you have to think that he's got a lot of room to grow, too. Going to be really exciting watching him progress.
Wow, Josh Sankes. This is why I love this board! That’s a name I wouldve never even thought of but brings back the best memories to those billet/Hodgson teams. That was right in my wheel house of growing up and being a die hard fan. Wore 22 in all sports as a kid because Billett.
Soft is a pretty damning comment. I would never want someone who was soft to he on any team I played, even men’s slow pitch softball. I would not put him in that category.
Biruta and Jack weren't really undersized for the Big Ten. Biruta was 6-8/235, and Jack was 6-9/235.
Both suffered from coaching challenges, though. I think if they'd been here under Pike, they'd have been better off and found success in the Big Ten.
What, no Andre Lamoreaux?
Thanks for these additions. I know why you’re trying to restrict the comparisons to fresh campaigns but I don’t think fans see things that way or it’s especially predictive of development.
I think you would need to add 4’s & 5’s because for so many years we often did not have a traditional center or many of the guys you listed were space eaters playing the role more equivalent to what Doorson does. That would add guys like Ollie Bailey, Salvi, Jamal Phillips into the picture and I think you can see why people are excited about Myles- he’s got an NBA body frame and you can’t coach height. His court vision/passing/interest are far superior to all listed IMHO with the exception of Kent. The key question for him is whether he focuses on becoming a dominant interior player or tries to move outside. I hope he focuses on his post game and becomes our version of Tim Duncan.
You're even going down into 6-7 guys, which would include a ton of other players. I'm looking at more true centers, of which we've had very few. As you say, many are/were just space eaters (Doorson, Sankes, Wright) or were PFs forced to play undersized at the 5 (Kent, A. Johnson). To have a player who has true center size (6-10, 264) that is performing this well in his first season on the floor with three more years to develop? It's something we really haven't had around here in a very long time.