Mason Williams (the guy some of you said will not play)
- Thread starter Beatle Bum
- Start date
You have to believe that most who post here are pretty big basketball fans in general, and so: (1) wouldn’t mind watching some video of a UK commit to get a feel for how he might play at UK; and (2) can pick up enough to get some feel for how well a player might perform in CBB eventually.
But that often doesn’t seem to happen with posters who always reference recruiting service rankings or projected draft pick positions as to why they’re salivating over a player or as their evidence that a player is either good or not. For a fan base this knowledgeable and invested, that feels incredibly thin. They don’t care to understand the basis of the rankings or draft position projections. They repeatedly see instances where those things have no bearing on a players eventual impact on winning vis-à-vis another player. Still, they never seem to learn and just cling to those things like a mindless chanted mantra.
I don't comprehend a reasonable person watching this kid play and coming away feeling contributing as a solid back up is between loopy and overly optimistic.
He seems very solid as a natural point with room to grow to me.
Respectable handle for his age and experience, good shooter, doesn't stop the ball, willing passer, seems to communicate with his teammates, body developing well.
The falling sky routine seems very overwrought and deeply (perhaps wilfully) pessimistic.
"I'm waiting to see what he brings to the table in real games against tough competition", I can vibe with but the hand wringing and morose negativity comes off as little more attached to reality than some wild eyed child of the sun assuming his father's outcome is his floor.
My eyes see a guy that can contribute decent backup minutes right away that over time potentially could grow into more and more.
He seems very solid as a natural point with room to grow to me.
Respectable handle for his age and experience, good shooter, doesn't stop the ball, willing passer, seems to communicate with his teammates, body developing well.
The falling sky routine seems very overwrought and deeply (perhaps wilfully) pessimistic.
"I'm waiting to see what he brings to the table in real games against tough competition", I can vibe with but the hand wringing and morose negativity comes off as little more attached to reality than some wild eyed child of the sun assuming his father's outcome is his floor.
My eyes see a guy that can contribute decent backup minutes right away that over time potentially could grow into more and more.
Didn't watch the video but just a wild guess is Mason will contribute more than Noah Hawthorne and Potter. Dad's a NBA legend and you can tell he has what it takes. I think this guy will be pretty solid especially year two and three
I am waiting to see:
— how Mal develops in year 2
— how Milan does in Pope’s offense
— how OND’s Europe experience translates
— how Wilkins does against the SEC
— how Zoom improves
— whether Noah finds a niche
— if Potter can earn minutes.
— if Franck stays healthy
— how this team gels and plays defense
— Etc
I am reminded by posters repeatedly that this is summer and discuss these things is what we do
I am also glad that we live in a country where no one has to watch anything they don’t want to watch,
Unless they are captured in a public school. <hopefully we won’t get any Hall Monitor or defensive cuck comments about that last little joke>
Cowboy it's a me thing I have been burnt so many times under the mark stoops era and last years pope team that I prefer to see the product on the field and on the court . You and Beetle are adding more to it than what is actually there . No negativity at all I like our team on paper but I will wait for the product to show itself .
Fair enough Brother.
And I get that. But a lot of that for the fanbase is self inflicted. I remember when we smacked Purdue in the scrimmage last season, it sent most of the base overboard with expectations, which led to blind hatred for Pope when we ended up a very average team once we had a few injuries. I think the club is a top 12-15 team, which should equal to a sweet 16. I think better than that is a success, anything less is a bit of a failure
Some of us have seen 40 or 50 years of pre-season predictions of someone being the next Michael Jordan, only to find out that doesn't always translate to regular season effectiveness.
Let's see how the kid does in the real court before we say he is gonna contribute or not contribute.
Let's see how the kid does in the real court before we say he is gonna contribute or not contribute.
Wasnt he a 4* player? I don't think anyone expects him to kill it this year, but it isn't as if he is some scrub.
Yep. I knew about the last point. Didn’t know about the other two. The last point was pretty much all I needed to hear. Kid is a gamer.
No, I didn’t watch a lot of Perry either. My point is every year media is going to put these guys on a pedestal as unstoppable, surprising, exceeding expectations players. It happens every year. They are not gonna sell you something by saying he stinks.
Mason may turn out to be a Fears type player that exceeds all expectations. This article means nothing though. It’s gonna be fluff to suck you in. Don’t get fooled by the media is all I’m saying. This same article was written last year about our backup guys and will be written next year about them.
Some people hold the view that:
- I hate receiving tea leaves from insiders because they are always wrong
- I hate getting summer practice Intel because the media is biased
^ These are pretty much the only things you’re going to be getting in the summer so why even engage during this part of the year? You already know it isn’t for you.
- I hate receiving tea leaves from insiders because they are always wrong
- I hate getting summer practice Intel because the media is biased
^ These are pretty much the only things you’re going to be getting in the summer so why even engage during this part of the year? You already know it isn’t for you.
The surprising thing is no one is saying Mason is unstoppable or the next Michael Jordan. No one. The link is also not an article, but a podcast where they show clips and discuss potential. I have listened to quite a bit of Ramsey, who evidently is a coach. While he is speaking to UK fans about UK, I don’t see him as a fluff guy.
Some people are not students of the game. They just want to watch the games when played. This board probably is not for them in the off-season. Others like to see the potential of our new players in situations where they played against accepted high level talent.
I would suggest watching a bit before you tell us what it is. Skip the first 4 minutes of so and get a flavor before cautioning people about how it will mislead. And, watch the last 5 or so minutes to see the balance given to the discussion.