Play Skal at the 4

[etowncatfan]

He is not a 5. Let Lee be the 5. He will be a 4 in the NBA!!

 

[WildMoon]

Skal should learn to rebound first...

 

[kyhillbilly1]

Let him be a 9 and play that bench.

 

[Randy Bob]

Lee , Poythress, Willis, and the Hump more, thank Skal might be here another yr or so, but he may come along by the end of the season..

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

It really doesn't matter. What, is the 4 gonna all of a sudden make him rebound? Put him in easier rebounding positions? No. Will it make posting up easier? No.


He's not even a NBA 4. He can't shoot the 3-ball or defend the perimeter. He's a 5, which is a big red flag since he's really weak.

 

[Longtrip]

Failure to hit the weights and learn to play more aggressive around the basket (and rebound) is going to cost him some serious cash. No question, though with his offensive skills he will develop into a great pro. Doubt it can happen in one year at UK.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

Failure to hit the weights and learn to play more aggressive around the basket (and rebound) is going to cost him some serious cash. No question, though with his offensive skills he will develop into a great pro. Doubt it can happen in one year at UK.

Doesn't matter how much he hits the weights. He has a thin frame, an ectomorph. He'll likely get toned but not gain any serious muscle weight.

 

[Rod Crandler]

At some point Cal is going to need to sit down with the kid and tell him it's just not going to happen this year. Tell him he is going to be a great player it's just going to take longer than everyone that has been whispering in his ear have told him. He needs to come off the bench like any other project and work at least a couple years on getting better. Cal needs to forget the hype as well and start planning for the year with the weapons we do have. Fans need to do the same thing and forget the hype and give him a break which I think 99% will. I really like the kid and he seems like a great person and if we want to put players first, this is what he needs imo. I'm sure Cal knows it as well.

 

[Stonewall12]

Let him be a 9 and play that bench.

Why Humphries is not playing more is beyond me. 10 mins at least.

 

[4UK]

Poy is our 4. He's better than Skal, plain and simple. If he's OK getting backup minutes at the 4 fine, but by no means should he take Alex's minutes.

 

[Nubb16]

Poythrees needs to play the 4 and we need to pray to god wynyard can pick up the slack at the 5

 

[pharm727]

Start Skal out at the free throw line he is not physically strong enough to play down on the blocks. Post Poythrees down low. Skal is a great free throw shooter, but a very poor rebounder. This would solve both issues! Cal is waiting his time trying to make this man a physical 5, he is simply not strong enough.

 

[pharm727]

The last post should have said Cal is wasting his time trying to make Skal a physical 5.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

Skal can play facing the basket. But, back to the rim, physical interior play and aggressive rebounding are not part of his skill set right now. Hard to believe he will get drafted based solely on potential but, it will happen. He says he will not be back next year under any circumstances.

 

[westerncat]

Skal can play facing the basket. But, back to the rim, physical interior play and aggressive rebounding are not part of his skill set right now. Hard to believe he will get drafted based solely on potential but, it will happen. He says he will not be back next year under any circumstances.

He needs to learn the old saying "never say never".

 

[CalCat57]

Skal's guardian set him back 2 years by removing him from high school ball and playing on that crappy team he created. I was at the game today and concentrated on Skal. He doesnt even attempt to block out. He just stands there and grabs. I really feel for the kid. If he doesn't find a mean streak he will continue to struggle.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

Any chance at a title depends on Skal turning the proverbial corner. Lee has played great but I can't see him carrying us the whole way on his own.

 

[CATSrock_rivals215465]

Skal's guardian set him back 2 years by removing him from high school ball and playing on that crappy team he created. I was at the game today and concentrated on Skal. He doesnt even attempt to block out. He just stands there and grabs. I really feel for the kid. If he doesn't find a mean streak he will continue to struggle.

Totally agree with this. I kept a close eye on Skal and rewound several times to see him leave his feet on defense, stand around on rebounds, not block out, not hustle for loose balls, etc.. I could not imagine this kid in the NBA next year given his current basketball IQ, skills and thin frame. But hey, who am I to tell a GM/owner not to piss away millions on a project? ;-) Skal could be a really good one but he has a long way to go.

 

[irishcat1965]

Let him be a 9 and play that bench.

Spoken like a true hillbilly.

 

[qwesley]

Do 4's in Cal's system not rebound or defend? If so, yeah.

 

[UK90]

He is not a 5. Let Lee be the 5. He will be a 4 in the NBA!!

Fine, we'll start Lee at the 5, but then the problem is he's still not been nearly as good of a 4 as Poythress (or even Willis) has been thus far. You've still got the basic problem of starting a guy who plainly looks worse than his backups.

And let's not get carried away trying to guess what his NBA position will be. So far he hasn't shown the capability to play any position at that level.

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

I was at the game today and concentrated on Skal.

Therein lies the problem for Skal at the current moment. The entire Big Blue Nation is "concentrating" on him. He's an 18 year old kid that grew up in an impoverished country and happens to be a FRESHMAN. Sure, he possesses the skills to be a great basketball player but imo, he's overwhelmed with all of this scrutiny. Try putting yourself in his situation. Grown a** men ridiculing him because he hasn't developed at the pace they want him too. Leave the kid alone. He'll come around. Why can't everyone focus on the success we're having without Skal being a major contributor? That should be encouraging.

 

[UK90]

Therein lies the problem for Skal at the current moment. The entire Big Blue Nation is "concentrating" on him. He's an 18 year old kid that grew up in an impoverished country and happens to be a FRESHMAN. Sure, he possesses the skills to be a great basketball player but imo, he's overwhelmed with all of this scrutiny. Try putting yourself in his situation. Grown a** men ridiculing him because he hasn't developed at the pace they want him too. Leave the kid alone. He'll come around. Why can't everyone focus on the success we're having without Skal being a major contributor? That should be encouraging.

Well this is just completely unrealistic. You really expect the BBN--known as perhaps the most crazed and passionate fan base in all American sports--not to concentrate on and discuss our starting big man who was being widely hyped at season's start as the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft? You might as well wish for the moon to be made of cheese.

If a player doesn't want the attention and fan scrutiny then he shouldn't choose UK. Comes with the territory.

 

[westerncat]

Skal needs to come back for another year of coaching under Cal, it would benefit him greatly and make him a much better player. This "one & done" is not for everyone". As other posters have said it really did hurt Skal by not playing against great players last year. I just do not see him turning the corner this year.

 

[SosaUK]

The last post should have said Cal is wasting his time trying to make Skal a physical 5.

You realize that we got this thing called an edit button?

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

Well this is just completely unrealistic. You really expect the BBN--known as perhaps the most crazed and passionate fan base in all American sports--not to concentrate on and discuss our starting big man who was being widely hyped at season's start as the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft? You might as well wish for the moon to be made of cheese.

If a player doesn't want the attention and fan scrutiny then he shouldn't choose UK. Comes with the territory.

Who said he doesn't want the attention or scrutiny? Like Cal has said on numerous occasions, these kids aren't robots.

 

[CatsIndy2010]

I think with the type of build skal is we need to focus on getting him to play like Lee. But again its hard to teach some of the skills that Lee has. Lee is somewhat scrappy around the basket. Kinda reminds me of Dennis Rodman. Not saying Lee is as good as Rodman at rebounding, just saying He has developed a better sense of where to be around the basket for making plays.