Griffiths
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He took fewer shots tonight, but he definitely has gotten his shots up in the limited minutes he plays. The only players getting up more FGA per 100 possessions than Griffiths are Chol and JWill (2 game sample size). In conference play, he's behind only Chol.
He's still only playing 12.9 min/g in conference games, though - which makes it hard to get in any sort of offensive rhythm. His improved defense should go a long way toward him seeing more minutes, though - he doesn't look lost out there anymore.
he is getting better overall...and first shot he took a 3 was 95% down and popped out
Gavin needed a lot of help on D. So it’s possible that has been his and the coaches’ focus to the exclusion of other things.
So he missed it. It's not horseshoes.
Hebhad a couple in and out. That's a good sign when a shooter is slumping vs balls that hit the outside of the rim and have no chance. We have even seen some airballs
It's like a hitter in a slump who hits a couple line drive outs and then breaks out of the slump. The signs are there that it's coming
He had one in and out. The other 3 were bricks. He may get there but 1 close miss and 3 bricks is not some big sign that it is coming.
If a close miss is a signal...what are the 3 bricks?
I remember two going in and out. From corner and the really deep one - both went in and out.
The kid is making solid strides. The defense while hardly elite is night-and-day better than it was.
I agree with those that he still isn’t playing up to the hype
But if you can’t see that he’s much improved (in various aspects) then you aren’t really watching (basketball is more than just made baskets).
And it’s the reason pike continues to give him minutes .
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His defense and over all tenacity are certainly better. He needs to stop taking off balance jumpers though
Agree that the more noticeable improvement has been in other aspects (eg, defense)
But he’s been improving on the offensive end too - not just camping out in the corner. He puts the ball on the floor, brought the ball up the court a few times, made some passes/ got some assists, been moving around a LOT more.
The shots haven’t been falling yet but he’s been noticeably more active on the offensive end too.
It’s so odd to me that we appear to have fans openly rooting for the kid to fail so they can be proven right in their belief that he’s a bust. To say you haven’t seen improvement is dumb. And he had the best entry pass of the game to Cliff, which incidentally came off of a very nice dribble across the lane.
That is a pretty accurate assessment. I will say for awhile I saw no improvement on D. The last few games I have.
I am sick of having the ball in Simpson's hands so much.....why not try and jump start Gavin a bit and get him in a pick and roll with Cliff on the wing a few times. We have a play we have run 5-6 times.
Cliff should be making friends with Jeremiah and Gavin, they show a willingness of passing him the ball.
You truly believe fans on this site are rooting against Gavin?
He scares me to death when he puts the ball on the floor
The irony of Gavin's season is that IF (I repeat IF) he had lived up to the expectations from the "HS basketball experts" he 100% could have played himself into one and done/2024 NBA draft conversations.
Would be a contender for Freshman Of The Year/All-Freshman Team.
I don't follow the rest of the league much but it appears to be a very down freshman class (Big Ten and nationally).
Are there any real standout Freshman?
In the off season I said that IF (I repeat IF) HC Pike could get Gavin into one and done conversations, it would be a much much more impressive coaching accomplishment than Dylan/Ace going Top 5 in the 2025 draft.
Dylan and Ace could sit out the year and likely still be top draft picks. It didn't matter where they went to school.
But turning Gavin into a potential one and done player? That would have been a great coaching feather in his cap going forward.
Would be a contender for Freshman Of The Year/All-Freshman Team.
I don't follow the rest of the league much but it appears to be a very down freshman class (Big Ten and nationally).
Are there any real standout Freshman?
In the off season I said that IF (I repeat IF) HC Pike could get Gavin into one and done conversations, it would be a much much more impressive coaching accomplishment than Dylan/Ace going Top 5 in the 2025 draft.
Dylan and Ace could sit out the year and likely still be top draft picks. It didn't matter where they went to school.
But turning Gavin into a potential one and done player? That would have been a great coaching feather in his cap going forward.
Scoring in 62-65 range at Maryland (#6 defense in the nation) would not have been a bad total this season.
B1G opponent points at Maryland:
Penn State 75 (OT - 71 in regulation) - this game looks weird in the box score. PSU 19-21 FT, Maryland 30-39 FT.
Purdue 67 (#1 offense in the nation according to Kenpom)
Michigan 57
Michigan State 61
Nebraska 51
We are supposed to get excited about entry passes and point to that as progress. He played half the game on the offensive position where you want to get points. Shot 0-3 and got 1 rebound.
It like saying your 1st baseman goes 0-4 with 3Ks, but he moved a runner over on 1 AB and made a nice scoop on an errant throw from the SS.
Sadly, it's like T-Ball.
I had to tell the kids "Rule #1 No touching the dirt or laying on the ground. Stay on your feet."
Just accomplishing that was a big deal and showed progress.
Gavin is not throwing dirt at anyone else anymore.
It's not like that IMO. Baseball is a team sport made up of mostly individual activities. Like batting. Basketball is like jazz and all the pieces influence all the other pieces. The intangibles matter so much more.
I think we are judging Gavin on 3 things:
1. His shooting accuracy. This is black or white, when he gets a decent look (and he gets quite a few) does he make it?
2. How he performs overall in the offense. Is he a black hole for the ball killing the flow? Is he a turnover machine? Does he screen? Get penetration under control? Make good passes?
3. His D and rebounding.
Based on his HS career and scouting reports and star rating, and looking at how natural his form looks, I think most people expect #1 will come around. I expect that also. #'s 2 and 3 have been absolutely atrocious, and frankly so bad that you have to question if we can give him enough time to let #1 come around. But 2 and 3 have been improving steadily. So now if #1 comes around, and 2 and 3 continue on their trajectory, we are potentially looking at a very good player.
Also, I think it's likely also true that if Gavin has been focusing heavily on his D, rebounding, and intangibles, that's sucking up a lot of his bandwidth and could impact his shooting. And that it's not unreasonable to think that as he gets comfortable in those other areas his shooting will improve.
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He doesn’t scare me. He has some handle and he picks his moments to dribble.
Rewatched Gavin's shots...
The corner one wasn't in and out. It was dead straight just a fraction short. Hit the inside of the rim and bounced straight over to the weak side. Any shooter knows that's a very close miss
Two other 3's were clearly in and out
1 three hit the outside of the rim and is a "bad" miss
3 out of 4 were extremely close. Obviously it doesn't count, but those types of misses point to Gavin getting closer to finding his stroke vs some terrible bricks and even airballs we have seen from him at times
The breakout 3 point game is coming. Wouldn't be surprised if it's the next game
Shooters need a proper sample size to show their craft. Getting about 2 contested looks a game and if you’re not scoring you’re pulled isn’t a good sample size. Meanwhile every single high school event he played he was one of the top shooters in. That isn’t just some flash in the pan thing. I’m not saying we have to cater things to him but I definitely believe if he was on an Iowa or somewhere that could guarantee him at least one open shot a game he would look a lot better.
Another excellent post. You've put up 2 of the best in this thread (which is FULL of crap and "WTF" posts, TBH....). I do believe that A LOT of his issues on #2 can/will be resolved with a high-end offensive minded assistant coach (to be hired, hopefully) this off-season.
The really deep one was a horrible, off balanced shot that should never have been taken. I don’t care if it almost went in (I don’t remember if that’s true or not). It wasn’t a good shot. He barely had it in his hand and chucked it up. Full stop.
I think they need to get him on the sideline and set up a pick and roll with Williams and Cliff. Or even a pick and pop with Griffiths setting the screen. They need to figure out ways to get him open without the ball because defenders are glued to him and he's having a lot of trouble getting open himself.
Exactly this…other ways to create shots rather than waiting for the pass and
Chucking it up
Not Horseshoes where getting close gets you a point. A miss is a Miss. I saw a few bricks that clanked of the rim.
Everybody.wants Griffiths to be good. He will probably continue to be a streaky shooter throwing up bricks but will probably have a few games .where he hits 2 or 3 in a row.
People should Stop making excuses for the guy. He has been a major disappointments so far. The same as Fernandes. Both were expected to be better shooters.
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I do believe some fans would rather be right in their assessment that they believe he's not good rather than Gavin fulfilling his potential. And I get it -- Gavin's progress has been slow but for whatever reason how he performs seems to be a huge talking point after every game. Everything about the kid is dissected. It was months of he's the worst defensive player in the country to now some begrudging acknowledgement that he's improved his defense. At the same time, he takes flack from his own fans for the glasses, looking skinny, apparently not working hard enough, etc. It's ridiculous at times. And, now, it seems the new talking point is that he's a terrible offensive player. It's amazing -- for a kid who doesn't draw attention to himself, doesn't play big minutes and quite honestly hasn't had much impact (positively or negatively) most of the season, he sure does seem to invite significant criticism from his own fanbase.
This is obviously true in terms of points but if you have shooter (A) who you've seen miss three in a row that were in and out and shooter (B) who you've seen shoot three airballs which one would you think is more likely to make their next shot?
Well it was close to 100% of fans thinking Gavin was awesome when he committed so if fans wanted to be right, Gavin being good helps
His performance is a huge talking point bc he was the highest rated recruit we have ever had in the Rivals era. He was known as possibility the best shooter in the nation heading to a team that struggles to shoot
Of course he's going to be talked about. Of course everything is going to be dissected. This is big boy big time bball. Get ready for there to be even more dissecting next season with Ace and Dylan. The bigger the expectations the bigger the microscope. That's just life
His defense was terribleee to start the season. There's no debate there. He's gotten much much better recently. That's awesome. His shooting numbers are obviously extremely disappointing. Ask Gavin and I'm sure he will tell you the same
How many fans here think Gavin won't be good or is a complete bust? Maybe a few. Most posters seem to acknowledge Gavin is struggling while still seeing the potential he has to be a good player in the future and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's a sensible take
Earlier in the year he also had in and out misses in several games. And what happened next? The misses continued.
Wake me up when the ball goes in. That all that matters.
So to be clear your opinion is that there is no difference between (A) and (B)?
The season is now more than 3 months old. He was roasted on this board for the first 8-10+ weeks of the season. And then he barely played in January and he's only now slowly working his way back into the rotation. At this point, I think it's pretty clear he's slotted at 8 or 9 in the rotation. I'm not saying you ignore the kid but he takes a lot of unnecessary hits for a guy that low on the depth chart.
One last thing -- I understand that with the high rating comes higher expectations. I am right there with you and just about everyone else on that. At the same time, let's remember this is the same kid that Pike said never once asked about NIL, has seemingly expressed that he never intends to transfer, etc. In other words, not all highly rated kids are the same and I'd like to think that as a fan base we'd recognize it.
He’s getting better. More in the flow and aware. Still shooting a lot but not as many rapid heaves. I think he’s letting things come a little better. Granted the numbers aren’t there yet and it’s hard to explain but I see progress.
My opinion is C. Make the shot.
Now you answer a question What happened with those close in and out shots he missed in early season games. Did they magically lead to more made shots a few games later ? No, the misses continued.
He needs to take his time and improve his shot selection. Stop rushing up shots as soon as he catches the ball. Then, the shots will have a better chance of falling.
That's not an opinion it's just a refusal to answer the question. Either the distinction between (A) and (B) has some predictive power or it doesn't.
I'm not sure why I should answer your question given that you refused to answer mine, but okay. No, he has continued to miss. However, I am not sure why you've asked this question. No one is arguing that there is some automatic or even "magic" progression whereby if you are close a few times you will automatically start making them later. What we have suggested is that a change from a bunch of complete bricks to better looking shots is a step in the right direction and bodes better for the future than would a continuation of the bricks.
That is true. But I also think his shot selection, while still far from perfect, has improved from earlier in the season.
Lot of work to be done this off season because he has been below average in every area....Dribble, Pass, Shoot and Defend. Well below in most.
And, this is coming from a guy who thought he would be our best offensive player and one of our top scorers. I need to stop watching highlight videos, lol.
And, this is coming from a guy who thought he would be our best offensive player and one of our top scorers. I need to stop watching highlight videos, lol.