I fully agree. Last year he was the poor man’s Kody Stattman, this year he’s the poor man’s Ty Jerome. That’s a significant change. Said differently, he probably had the worst season of anyone getting regular minutes in the ACC last year. This year he is playing in the upper half of ACC guys, well enough to start for half the teams. He is far from the same guy.
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My usual reminder that, a decade ago, Rohde would’ve come from being the Summit League ROY to redshirting as a 2nd year, playing a 6th man role as a RS Soph, and then being an ACC-ready starter as a RS Jr and then RS Sr.
Instead because of the transfer portal, immediate eligibility, and Bennett’s inability to construct a better roster, Rohde was thrown into starter’s minutes last year that it wasn’t his fault he wasn’t ready for.
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St Thomas has $$$$$$ compared to their conference foes
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I always thought they ran good stuff. Not sure if it would work at this level, but it was good. Kept everyone involved
Notable difference this year in his shooting mechanics… he now has a quicker release and shoots on the way up, which gives him easier range.
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That makes a lot of sense actually.
Got stuck with a terrible nickname and could not overcome it? Had to sit behind a guy with the back of a 73-year old non-union longshoreman?
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Funny - we watched a bit last night and my son goes - hey Sahara isn’t sweating as much!!!
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I thought about what he would do if bigger schools came calling, but I think he’s in a good spot in a place he loves (even if I hate them and their stupid amounts of money). He was an assistant for their legendary coach before him so he’s been there a long time and I’m sure it would take a lot to pull him away. Plus, they’ll have a new arena for next year.
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The only one I could think of was Justin Anderson between his Sophomore and Junior seasons (pre-injury).
Improved his three-point shot from 29% to 45% - which is actually two percentage points more than Rohde’s 26% to 40% and, while he was a much more impactful player his 2nd year vs. Rohde’s first with the program - his third year was the single most efficient season by any UVa player under CTB pre-injury (and might have been anyway, I’d need to revisit).
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This exactly. I saw him at St. Thomas and thought he’d be a perfect big guard for TB. The kind that can take a good team to a great one. Ty Jerome, upperclass Devon Hall, Malcolm. Unfortunately that didn’t work out but I’m thrilled to see him playing with confidence and joy for the game. I really hope he sticks around.
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Let’s also not forget that the ACC conference is absolutely not the same caliber of competition as even last year’s teams. I believe the opposition talent level has subsided down more to his level of play that he is more comfortable with as well. Yes, he has improved but at the same time he is not faced with playing against NBA type talent night in and night out. I dont think this would be a conversation if we were playing in the SEC right now.
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Yeah this is probably the one. The other comparison I had in mind was Devon Hall junior to senior season. Shooting improvements not quite as dramatic, but comparable increase in O-Rtg, and just got better everywhere across the board.
The thing that’s a little unique about Rohde’s improvement is that he got better in both efficiency and usage at the same time. There’s usually a tradeoff there.
He didn’t even have the worst season of anyone the team. That goes to Dante by a mile.
Also Rohde last season was better than Morsell as a FR or TJ Power this year.
Funny but your picture actually shows Rohde with a worse PRPG
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To my untrained eye, his defense seems to have improved as well. He is able to stay in front of his guy and even has some tips when they shoot. Still, it could be the level of competetion we are playing.
I’d like him to stay next year.
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He was the only guy that kinda sorta stayed in front of Burton the night we all went to ND game
Use your length and move your feet Rohde
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Hopefully that game was the low-point of the season.
This season might actually play out the way a lot of us expected before CTB retired - young team that hasn’t played together taking some tough losses but making some noise in February.
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I agree with you about the improved D. He seems to move agressively and really plays hard.
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