We haven’t had a real big with hands and footwork in a minute and now I feel like we have a few.
I will be referring to this as “Filming a Fleming.” Please respect my decision
This part got me excited:
He functions well within a team offensive system, looks to make the right pass, is unselfish… but can and will call his own number as well. He plays with fire. Will flex on you. Will gas up a teammate. Will react to a call. Will be frustrated when he makes a mistake but won’t let it throw him off his game.
I was wondering how much of a cog-in-the-machine he was at Bilbao and what his potential would be to be in a more primary role. Agree with the Taylor Funk versatile forward comp, with a splash of Jack Clark grab-and-go in transition. I think TDR dribble handoffs are going to be an important shot creation engine, especially when literally everyone else can spot up around it when Grünloh is the 5 (and maybe all the time if the Ugo shooting glow-up is real).
The TDR-Darrion Williams comp is interesting; I tend to agree with the way you are putting it. My thought experiment is: Where would Darrion Williams have slotted into in Liga ACB last season? Probably not a starter for the big teams (Real Madrid, Barca). Maybe not even for the mid-table teams, guys like Chris Duarte, Sam Dekker are starting for those teams.
I’m glad that came across because people often get caught up in the direct player comparison and I’m not trying to say that the two offer exactly the same things.
Basically just, I think TDR can be as impactful for us as Williams will be for N.C. State, if not more - but Derrion is a big driver in the N.C. State noise where our noise has seemed to stay mostly the same both pre and post De Ridder. But if De Ridder was viewed, correctly in my opinion, as that top of the portal talent, I think you’d have seen a big jump in the way our class is viewed.
One of the things I’m going to enjoy seeing I think with the NIL era, is guys like Dekker possibly sticking around. I feel like he was just outside the lottery? Guys like that who can stay 2-3 years instead of taking the money and running will be great to watch. He would have been a disgusting player as a Junior.
“In a world where we’re, and correctly so, hyped about our incoming portal class – I think it’s more correct to view the addition of Thijs De Ridder as if we landed a top 5-10ish portal guy”
Oh baby!
We probably won’t have him but one year but I’m looking forward to it.. He’s definitely going to be All ACC..He’s got me excited for this season. Go Hoos!