On Ibe, you said:
Recall the drastic difference between watching Ugonna Onyenso at Kansas State and then watching him in our system. Ibe won’t be that. I don’t think he has the same nose for the ball or anticipation that Ugo did. But he moves well, runs the floor, plays with physicality, and just has massive, massive upside.
I was just a little underwhelmed about the upside. I think part of it is we got spoiled with Ugo and how bad Tang screwed that up. Ugo’s year with Tang now just looks like an anomaly in a career with very promising beginning and a solid upward trajectory.
My issues with Ibe were more stuff that I worry is innate and less fixable. He’s not that fluid of an athlete and he didn’t seem to have a great innate sense for timing, space, or the game in general.
However, he’s huge and long wingspan, and seems stronger and more physical than Ugo and Grünloh. And some of the innate deficiencies will get covered up as he gets more comfortable and the game slows down.
Plus there’s the issue you acknowledged and we have all been discussing: we don’t know how much to read into him being behind Lang in one exhibition, against Carter’s old team.
You answered your own question. He was given the opportunity to play a ton of minutes just like all the other bench players. He got a little extra because it was against his old team. But Carter Lang is NOT in the rotation.
“It can’t be Lang. His presence undermines our defensive advantages at its core.”
-Cuts
Ibe is raw. The tools are absolutely there. He’s mobile and strong and the longest player we’ve had under Odom. (Longest since Ralph?)
He doesn’t have the same anticipation Ugo did… in his first ever scrimmage.
I don’t think he’ll get there to the “we’re used to Ugo” level this year - Ugo was like the best shot blocker in the country… but I think we should hope he’s the backup Center.
I’ll just add this - I doubt Ibe will ever be the same level of defender that Ugo was overall. Ugo’s shot-blocking wasn’t just length and bounce - he was really good at anticipating where to be, how to get the ball, and not biting on fakes.
BUT - Ibe has the potential to be more of that force of nature type who moves bodies inside and engulfs people. The one play where he’s manhandling the one dude trying to lean on his legs and then surprising Barksdale’s man with the shot contest… and then kind of lording over the pile of bigs from the outside on the rebound crash… that’s the kind of stuff I think we’ll get from him at some point in his future with more consistency.
I’m not worried about the drop coverage depths or poor rotations at all right now re: his overall development… but those will be the hurdles toward how much he’s able to contribute this year.
Ibe is huge, long, strong, and most-importantly-has five fouls to give per game
Loved the write up on Elijah. I think he will crack rotation and help us win games
I feel fairly confident predicting our best non Grünloh lineups will be the TDR at the 5 with 2 of Lewis, Adekunle, and Anya (or maybe all 3) that cuts mentioned. But we probably don’t want to use that more than necessary to keep wear and tear + fouls off of TDR. Will be interested to see if Odom and staff try to thread that needle
On the topic of size I’m curious to see how big Harmon looks on the court given he is listed at 6’6. Is he closer to Gertrude and Dixon or Lewis (Adekunle is a bigger human being than Sam Lewis even if they are listed at the same height)?
Important but easy to overlook point imo. Obviously hopefully one of them is an impact player to raise the ceiling but at a minimum Ibe, Anya, and Barksdale looked like functional athletes who can take 15 fouls off TDR and Johan if needed. 20 if we include Adekunle at the 4. That’s a floor raiser if we can guarantee TDR and Johan for the last 3-4 minutes of games
He’s definitely over-listed at 6’6”
He plays strong but not very long.