That's a good point . Teams are really looking for the kick out now .
What Does Cal Do With Hagans?
- Thread starter JimmyWa11
- Start date
I agree. He has to play. If it becomes an issue in the tournament take him out and roll the dice as it fits. But right now we have to roll with it.
This is his biggest deficiency as a Coach Cal PG. Ashton can get anywhere he wants to on the court, but struggles finishing EVERYWHERE on the court, EXCEPT the FT Line. The problem is he doesn't like contact and isn't athletic enough to draw fouls like Rose, Wall, Fox, Ulis or Knight. So he forces shots AND passes EVERYWHERE on the court.
This is the biggest dilemma we face heading into the NCAA Tournament. Ashton HAS TO get "cleaned up" because he's our best option at PG. He is REALLY close, just needs to make better decisions by cutting out the DUMB mistakes. I can live with the aggressive plays that result in a turnover, but the unforced errors are KILLING our ability to put teams away.
It won't take much for Ashton to improve, he just needs to play within himself and STOP trying to do too much.
With only 4 regular season & SEC Tourney games left before NCAA games begin, Cal needs to bench Ashton if his play is erratic & error prone. If he has 2 to’s in first half, bench him like he has 2 fouls. Teach him & don’t just leave him in like everything is ok. No Harrison twins favoritism scenario please.
problem is quickley scores off the ball. even maxey does most of his non-pick and roll drives from the weak side. and all of this requires a pg who can get past the first wave. which hagans can, even without a solid pick. this area inside the arc is where he has lost his way somewhat. amazing since his efficiency in this area was basically our offense for 5-7 games in december/january. no doubt it’s a quandary that needs to be resolved for us to be at our best, but to answer the op i don’t think cal can do much at this point except coach him to down shift once he’s penetrated. he’s gotten to use to the jump passes instead of using his pivot, which was getting him to line a lot back when (he had several games were he already had like 5-7 free throws even before he got extra ones at the end from fouls).
If Hagans stops jumping without knowing what he is going to do with the ball at least half of his turnovers will go away. PG 101. It's an easy fix and one he needs to make happen for us to be able to make a deep run.
Cal sticks with him until he leads us to another premature tourney exit. Which he inevitably will.
I don’t want this to be true, but I’m quite confident that when we are ousted Hagans will be the one who is most responsible for it.
And please do save this post. I’ll be more than happy to eat crow.
I don’t want this to be true, but I’m quite confident that when we are ousted Hagans will be the one who is most responsible for it.
And please do save this post. I’ll be more than happy to eat crow.
Yeah Hagans is a top 35 pick. He has no reason to come back It is like people focus on the 5 bad games and forget all the amazing games he has had this season Now the fact these 5 games have been in 6 of the last games is a cause for concern but like you I think AH will figure it out. And then at the same time even when he has had his struggles he has made game winning plays on D every time so its not like he is playing bad he is playing insane on D and bad on offense. So overall he is playing decent.
I will say the last game was the first time Maxey showed he could run the pg as good or better then Hagans as we always have looked so much worse when he went out of the game. So that is positive .
If Hagans is our worst concern ( he isn't it is refs ) then UK is good shape . People just need a whipping boy to focus their negativity on and he , like Poythress , Briscoe and Andrew Harrison before him , is target of it this season.
Hagans started his downward trend as the SEC schedule ramped up. I think it has a lot to do with playing against familiar foes. They have seen him 3 or 4 times now and know his tendencies. He likes to drive and either finish, lob to Nick or to pass out to open shooters and our SEC brethren have scouted it well and Hagans hasn’t adjusted.
I would prefer that Hagans stop taking 3 pointers
I'd also prefer that he and Maxey don't ever defer to Keion Brooks on offense. Brooks should be crashing the boards and scoring on second chance buckets at this point, not getting passes to shoot from the wing from Hagans and Maxey.
Limit Hagan's options and Hagans will noticeably improve.
But I ain't the coach and Cal isn't interested in limiting Hagans
I'd also prefer that he and Maxey don't ever defer to Keion Brooks on offense. Brooks should be crashing the boards and scoring on second chance buckets at this point, not getting passes to shoot from the wing from Hagans and Maxey.
Limit Hagan's options and Hagans will noticeably improve.
But I ain't the coach and Cal isn't interested in limiting Hagans
Do the math? Look at the recent trends with maxey. Scoring, dishing, getting to the rim and putting up a nice assist to turnover. The last 4 games maxey has had the ball in his hands more and more. I think cal knows hagans killed us last year in the elite 8. Cal hasn’t been afraid to put the call in maxey s hands while the last 3 hagans has been flat at best. If hagans is off his game the ball is going in maxeys hands
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anon_013cn8yrfncx2
Guest
He is what he is ... the Cats PG.
He definitely tried to show out both times against UGA and for the most part did. He has tried it at random other times with less success. Just depends on how much Cal can rein him in in the half court non-transition situations.
He will not improve in a few more games. He WOULD be better as a junior and senior.
He definitely tried to show out both times against UGA and for the most part did. He has tried it at random other times with less success. Just depends on how much Cal can rein him in in the half court non-transition situations.
He will not improve in a few more games. He WOULD be better as a junior and senior.
Folks are giving up on Hagans way to soon! He can do all that is required of him. I believe Cal will get it out of him. I don’t say that it will result in number 9, but I am not saying it won’t!
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I really like Hagans and we all know he gives 100% on defense. His 5 or 6 turnovers a game lately has made most of our games a 4 or 6 point win instead of winning by double digits. There has been a few games we could have won by 20 or more but with the turnovers it hurts us each time. We get on a roll and get a 12-14 point lead and then all of a sudden we have 2-3 straight turnovers from Hagans and the lead is back to 5-6 points.
If we get Hagans to think we are playing Georgia each game Hagans would be outstanding and UK wins by 20 or more. The last 3 games in the last 2 seasons vs. Georgia Hagans averages nearly 20ppg., 5 rpg, 5-7 assists, and only 2 turnovers and 4 or 5 steals. This is an average of the 3 games against Georgia over the last 2 years for Hagans. He has outstanding numbers vs. UGA in all 3 games and 1 of those games he played 36 minutes and had the ankle sprain that no one thought he would play that Tuesday night.
If we can get these type of numbers against everyone else and cut down the turnovers to 2 a game UK has an outstanding chance to get to the Final Four and a Possible National Championship this season.
If we get Hagans to think we are playing Georgia each game Hagans would be outstanding and UK wins by 20 or more. The last 3 games in the last 2 seasons vs. Georgia Hagans averages nearly 20ppg., 5 rpg, 5-7 assists, and only 2 turnovers and 4 or 5 steals. This is an average of the 3 games against Georgia over the last 2 years for Hagans. He has outstanding numbers vs. UGA in all 3 games and 1 of those games he played 36 minutes and had the ankle sprain that no one thought he would play that Tuesday night.
If we can get these type of numbers against everyone else and cut down the turnovers to 2 a game UK has an outstanding chance to get to the Final Four and a Possible National Championship this season.
at this point it’s all about Hagans we just need him to cut down on turnovers and he will take us to the promised land everything else is falling into place Nate Johnny and Keion are all stepping up Nick is a beast EJ is improving every game we just need Ashton to cut down on stupid turnovers.
Hagans was in a slump this time last year and never turned it around. The true test of his maturation this year will be if he can do so by March.
UK has 8 scholarship players they can play.
It's funny how people want to replace half of them in March.
It's funny how people want to replace half of them in March.
They did talk about how Hagans hit a wall last year. Maybe fatigue, who knows. They hinted at maybe giving him a game or two off, which would've been perfect with his thigh contusion. He played his normal minutes. Ultimately, Cal isn't going to sit these guys and lose them the chance to showcase their talent. That's just how he rolls. He's going to ride or die with Hagans (and others).
Hagans is our guy at PG, but he has to play better specifically when it comes to ball security. Hard to understand how everyone can’t agree on that last point.
Hagans is what he is. Anyone expecting him to change at this point is fooling themselves, he needs another year.
If you add in the quick or forced/bad shots and it is like making 7-8 turnovers per game. Prior to the Texas Tech game he was averaging 7.27 Asst per game with games of 12, 11 and 9 (4 times) assist over the first 18 games. Since then he is averaging 4.77 with 1 game of 8 assist and 1 game of 7 assist as his top assist totals over the last 9 games.
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I've quit trying to guess which kids go or stay.
Hagans has NBA defense. IMO, his offense isn't there, his game management isn't there, but the question is - does coming back to UK for another year improve it?
Clearly the answer was yes for Nick Richards and I questioned whether another year at UK would change it for him. So we have a great narrative with Nick and PJ coming back and adding millions into their bank account.
I'd love to see Hagans come back obviously
Hagans has NBA defense. IMO, his offense isn't there, his game management isn't there, but the question is - does coming back to UK for another year improve it?
Clearly the answer was yes for Nick Richards and I questioned whether another year at UK would change it for him. So we have a great narrative with Nick and PJ coming back and adding millions into their bank account.
I'd love to see Hagans come back obviously
As long as we have the five players that are playing the best, that’s who we’ll have to go with at the end of games. Ashton is one heck of a player and has a lot of tools that’s helped us, I think the game has slowed down a lot for him during his time here, but I really think the last few games he’s had a ton of pressure on him with Quickley taking his game to another level. All we need from him is to play like he’s capable of and we’re golden.
Hopefully he can get back on track where he’s not turning it over these next few games, I love our chances when he’s playing smart and valuing the Basketball. I’ve never questioned his heart and will to win! It’s getting that time where everyone needs to put everything together and become one unit, I can see us playing the last game of the tournament if they all do.
Go Cats. I really think he’s going to be fine.
Hopefully he can get back on track where he’s not turning it over these next few games, I love our chances when he’s playing smart and valuing the Basketball. I’ve never questioned his heart and will to win! It’s getting that time where everyone needs to put everything together and become one unit, I can see us playing the last game of the tournament if they all do.
Go Cats. I really think he’s going to be fine.
Quickly, Montgomery and Juzang improving should make the game easier for Hagans, not add more pressure. I think I understand what you mean, but its pretty head scratching that you have more offensive options as a PG and still have challenges with turnovers and decision making
There’s not a doubt in my mind that any player in the country would be unbelievably better if they stayed with Cal for for years. Some can’t because they would be crazy to turn down tens of millions of dollars! Lol. As for Ashton, I 100% think he would help his game tremendously by staying and pushing himself to his limits. This is only his second year so yeah he’d definitely keep improving.
Hagans is pretty well the same as he was last year. His shot has improved a little but that is just about it. Like some of you i cringe when i see him taking that outside shot.
I don't see him coming back next year but it would help him to go higher in the draft if he could consistently hit that outside shot and finish at the rim better.
Do you think he will do better on turnovers when we play in the NCAAT ?
I don't see him coming back next year but it would help him to go higher in the draft if he could consistently hit that outside shot and finish at the rim better.
Do you think he will do better on turnovers when we play in the NCAAT ?
I agree with you, at this point he pretty much looks like the same guy as last year. As to your point about his shot having improved a little, unfortunately the numbers don’t back that up. I’ve seen a couple people make this point recently and sorry to say it’s not true. His fg% is down from 46.7% to 41% and his 3 point shot is a negligible difference from 27.5% to 28.1%. You could technically say that 0.6% is an improvement it’s so minute, it’s essentially flat. So he’s the same outside shooter as he was last season, and his overall fg% has dipped a significant 5 whole % points.
So Hagans fg%, 3P%, are down per game compared to last year but his attempts are up as well as are his TO's. Seems like there are some aspects of his game that has gotten worse instead of better. The stats show that to be his shooting and his handle. The number of shots despite the lower % seem to indicate judgement may be an issue as well.
Good points, i did not look up his stats but have noticed teams don't back off of him like they did last year. Still hate to see him put up those outside shots. Just wish he could hit them a little better. Needs to ask IQ on how to improve that shot.
I think it would help if Cal had a quicker hook on him when he gets out of control. Sit him a minute to settle him down. Seems like it comes in waves.
You should know that you can’t question anything. And when you do you will be ridiculed.
I'd say South Carolina . But I think most people are just afraid his careless turnovers will bite us at a crucial time in the tournament . I think Hagans is a very good player and we certainly have to have him to win . But I don't trust him .
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Lately he hasn't had two forwards hes driving in anticipating the defenders are going to leave the shooters. It's not happening. Turnovers going towards the other teams baskets is automatic two points the other way. What Cal is saying and it's easy to see on film is Hagans has clean looks at the basket on drives take the shot instead of doing some crazy *** ****.
I think that’s far too much of a black and white way of looking at it. The point is, he’s our PG and he has to protect the ball better if we want to advance in March. Can we place any of our current 5 losses on his shoulders? I don’t know. But what I do know is we don’t need him to have a 4 assist 6 turnover game in the elite eight.