Yeah, you can see why Tony was iffy about the redshirt. His athleticism even coming off the injury is elite. He’s a willing rebounder and can be a great defender with more time in the system. But you can also see why a redshirt was even discussed in the first place. His shooting is a problem right now and not in a good way. Teams are going to start backing way off him soon and have an extra defender playing zone if he can’t shoot the ball, much like how teams backed off Reece his first year. That would mess up our gravity big time. I’m hopeful that nerves played a part in his first two shots but had several other open looks but looked unwilling to shoot. Tony also said that is an area that needs to improve. Seems pretty obvious that was the reason for the redshirt (or prospect of not much playing time). His two free throws looked good though.
Hopefully he can get to be a 35% ish shooter over time from 3. With his other assets and abilities that could make him a really incredible player here.
And, after watching the game a couple of times, once again my favorite moment comes after the whistles have blown. In the first half, after McKneely hits the three from the tip of the mid court sabre, Syracuse calls a time out. The enthusiasm of the players as they congratulate Imac on his score is great. There is real joy there. I especially liked Bond’s greeting. Now, there is nothing out of the ordinary about a player being greeted in such a manner in these circumstances, but, for whatever reasons, this occasion seemed a bit different to me. A little more special.
Please share where you’ve heard that TB redshirted Elijah because of his shot.
For a program that has started freshman that have been historically bad shooters (Reece, Kihei, Casey), I’d be shocked if TB would redshirt because of a jump shot.
I obviously (to anyone not obsessed with taking a shot at me) confused them with NC A&T.
Not really sure why my opinion on something leads to such an obsession with some posters. I really don’t consider my opinion anything other than just some fan attempting to make an objective evaluation. You and a few others act like it’s a crisis of program shaking proportions, you keep bringing it up.
The actual ending margin was irrelevant to me. It was what I saw on the floor. I don’t care about the Vegas betting lines. That was several games ago of course. What I saw yesterday was quite different. IMac and Rohde being more assertive on offense is an important key for this team.
Something I have noticed year over year Reece!!s handle has really tightened up. I always though he was kinda loose with it even though that doesnt reflect in TOs at all.
He seems to be more daring and assertive and making Kyrie type handle plays in tight spaces.
Just for giggles - go check out why EG got so open on that dunk. It hard to see who is who, but I think Chris Bell is just trotting back way too slow while EG zooms by him. Bell gets in the way of Copeland who sees they’ve missed EG and shoves Bell to giddy up. Bell promptly starts stumbling, and by the time he starts sprinting back it’s way too late.
Also has added more change-of-pace and wiggle to his drives. He had one play yesterday where he drove into traffic, gave a hesi and a head fake, then finished at the rim. It was positively Ty-eseque.
He also seems to be more assertive looking for a midrange shot when his drive his cut off. That’s a huge plus for the offense if he can make those consistently.
Agree with you and @DFresh11 Reece’s handles look a lot better. Previously I felt he always relied on athleticism to get to the rim but as you mentioned now he has a few moves and a bag as the kids say.
The assertiveness and shot hunting is very welcome and he seems to have a good feel for when to press.
I think it’s the embodiment of draft feedback and developing a more NBA friendly game.
I mean, Tony said his shot needs to improve. And what we saw in HS and in 2 games doesn’t dispel that. if you want to say we can’t know that’s the reason for the redshirt that’s fine, but it’s a pretty good guess and it’s obvious he needs to improve his shot.
PS Kihei shot 34% his freshman year from 3 and 37% in conference. It would be awesome if EG could do that. That’s all he needs
I’ve long thought Elijah was a potential RS candidate even before his injury. His offensive game in HS wasn’t exactly refined. His shot is what it is; it’s not why we recruited him but it’s not as bad as we’ve seen the last 2 games. He’ll likely be a Reece-caliber 3pt shooter (low to mid 30% on low ish volume). Upside is obviously high but it will take some time for him to carve out an offensive identity, imo. I liked how he looked at the 1, though. That was unexpected as he’s never really played PG due to who his teammates have been. I love having a player like him on the roster even if the offense never clicks. Our teams get into trouble when we have minus athletes whose offense ends up falling short of expectations (aka Kody, BVP, etc)
