Can't remember where or what national program I was listening to, but the subject was about EJ and the reporter said EJ was as completely different person this year. They said, he learned what it takes to be a better player during the NBA workouts. Said, he was really focused and working harder to obtain his goals. Has anyone else heard anything like this about EJ. I caught this right at the end of the interview.
E J Montgomery
- Thread starter Cobb4uk_rivals287622
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You think maybe Coach Cal could help him learn what it takes to be a better player? Hard for me to wrap my head around how a guy can spend 9 months with Cal, but then suddenly learn everything he needs to know about becoming a better player in a month of NBA workouts.
EJ hearing these things from objective people will hopefully pay huge dividends for UK. Cal saying it carries a lot of weight, but folks who are decision makers for the NBA adds a whole other level to it.
Everything is there for the taking for EJ.
Everything is there for the taking for EJ.
We will just have to wait and see if he can prove it on the court.
Cal can’t write him a check for millions. Money talks
I’d say it has more to do with seeing that everything Cal has been preaching about effort and intensity isn’t just smoke. It’s like being a teenager and your parents (authority figure) can tell you something a million times and it’s just nagging but hearing it from another source that you admire or look up to and it suddenly resonates.
Also, a lot of kids come out of high school and realize that what they thought was 100% effort is really 70-80% at the college level and it takes time to learn to play at 100% at all times. Some kids get it faster than others.
Lastly, one year of maturity in general from 18 to 19 can go along way, not only physically but especially mentally. That 18-22 range is when ppl start no longer being kids and mentally developing into adults (for the most part. This generation is doing its best to delay that). I mean, the human brain isn’t considered fully developed until 25ish.
Last year he was like your little brother, watching and having to play behind a more mentally and physically mature Washington and Travis. Like many little brothers, they sit back thinking they can play with them and even become jealous or pouty. Now big brother has left and he is big brother. It is time to grow up and I think he will!
Hoping Tayshaun's double has a terrific year:basketball::basketball::cool2::scream::joy::joy::sunglasses:
Maybe he saw what PJ was able to do with an added year and decided that will be him next year. Perhaps that's why KBj decided to opt for Florida.
I can believe it. He has major upside. Some freshmen don't adjust as fast as many of Cal's have.
PS-Amazing how may Cal freshmen have hit the floor ready to kill almost seamlessly.
Member when Nick Richards had improved to be 10 times the player and had developed some crazy offensive repertoire? Yeah not buying it
I also remember when Jodie Meeks, Darius Miller, Jorts, WCS, etc went from being absolutely nothing to stone cold killers over one summer. 13th post this decade, eh?
I will say this. This offense will be spread out and we will see a lot of lob dunks from EJ and Nick this year. And UK will have some great facilitators in Hagans and Maxey
It's like the guys in baseball every spring training "I am in the best shape of my life"
100%. I've heard EJ Montgomery's "gotten it" for 5 years now. When it happens, I'll be a believer.
Makes perfect sense as we could all see him start to come out of his shell late last year. He was sort of lost the first half, then started learning that he could be a board banger and defender the second half, then towards tournament time started showing flashes of an offensive game and making some confidence plays that showed he was starting to get it losing that freshman tentativeness. It takes some a while to shake that but you can see all the talent behing EJ waiting to burst through once he does. That's why i've been so vocal about his jump in production his sophomore year.
So 5 years ago he was what a 9th grader?
#1 player in class and destined to be........and still waiting to see anything remotely close to the hype. Talent is there, but I ? the guy's motor and that is not anything a coach can fix-you either have that or not. I also don't believe for a second he was told he'd be a 1st Round pick by an NBA team and I can tell you one of the teams he worked out for told him he'd go undrafted and to go back to school. So one of his first chances to be right and real he worried about ego and said some BS to the media. Not the worst crime out there, but you won't ever get where you need to get unless you are real with yourself and was hoping for sign of him getting message. Hope this changes in offseason and into next year.
To put myself on blast, I had doubts about PJ Washington too-and thought he was playing like garbage 3 games into SEC play and wondered if he'd "Get it", but can say for PJ he never lied about where he was projected and handled the process honestly. Impressed by his improvement and consistency and happy for him it resulted in a big reward this year. Always hope a guy figures things out, rather be wrong and see people achieve then be correct in doubts. Doesn't mean doubt doesn't creep in though and EJ is one I've got to see to believe. Same description has been used....and how long does a prospect get by with that talk instead of having to produce?
I remember last year in the Bahamas they were talking about EJ being the best NBA prospect on the team. I think him being a phenom at a young age has kinda warped his sense of reality, he clearly wanted to go to the league badly. Lets hope whatever was really said to him by NBA people lit a fire under him!
EJ scored zero points in our last game. He is nowhere near NBA ready. Naz Reid was ten times better than EJ last year and didn't get drafted. EJ has a LONG way to go before getting any realistic NBA looks. Nothing wrong with that as most guys are not ready after year one.
Bingo, I think you're correct. ThroughBlue said, Cal can't write him a check but I think he realized the NBA can and It's motivated him.
Because kids and parents are informed enough now a days to understand that man trying to obtain ur services as a basketball player has lots of reasons to slant things to his benefit plus sometimes a coach and a parent are sometimes the same my 20 year old does way better and buys in a lot faster when someone else is telling him something as opposed to me
EJ has the skills to be a dominant 4. He just needs more playing time and to build up the that confidence as shown in the video above.