Over on a Duke Rafters I’ve never seen so many grown men whine about refs two full weeks before a game.
Sound skeeered.
Sound skeeered.
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Duke vs Virginia Union
- Thread starter IPSYCHOSIS
- Start date
I thought the SAME thing! Already making excuses JUST IN CASE!! LOL
You know, Zion's pretty good at the collegiate level considering he only played against non-athletic white boys in high school. Imagine what he could do if he wasn't fat.
Man....(thou shall not say his name) has me holding my breath every time he touches the ball.....but other then that I mean there’s to much to type about this game lol. Just glad basketball is here and we stayed healthy.
You're from Kentucky just as I am, which means you know that UK has never actually lost a game. They've been robbed some because all refs/coaches/NCAA/deities/universe are against Cal and want to see him fail because he's just so good and tells it like it is, but they've have never lost.
I want to have a real conversation. RJ is a star and Zion is a walking highlight. But a lot of Duke fans overlooking depth. Kentucky has bodies and will play with speed. I'm not sure how many of you played basketball. But this will be the first big game for these freshman and playing anyone under those big lights will have you sucking for air in the first 3 minutes out of excitement. Kentucky can go the bench and keep the pace up pressing full court as well. Do ya'll see this as an issue or not? Side note: I went to a couple Zion games in H.S. and AAU and keeping his pace was always the biggest issue I saw with him. He will make big plays and then have to take plays off.
So does Lebron James
Obviously you didn't read the very first line. Anyone willing to have a real conversation that knows or actually played basketball?
Zion can take his breaks while they repair the rims and backboards he destroys
Not mad at all, but just want a reasonable conversation. I'm a Kentucky fan and of course on our board its we win by 20. I'm not expecting that at all and just want a
The level of competition is not the same. He not battling kids his size in the paint fighting for rebounds and banging against him over and over. That takes a lot out of you when your playing a top team. Watch an entire game and focus on him play after play. I'm not holding it against him, just making a statement. He is a freak of an athlete, but gravity will always win when your carrying that much weight and play the way he does.
When you say that it’s like you’re expecting us to agree to boost your confidence playing us or something...
Btw I was just admiring your screen name Geemad143 when I said “obviously you’re mad bro”...like joking around
I don't want you to agree or anything. I'm just speaking on what I have seen. I have been a fan of him for a while. I follow the circuits and before he blew up youtube style I knew of him. This was my concern even if he had came to my team. I always worried about players who play that all out style. Its beautiful to watch for 10 min but then what happens when those legs get fatigued. That jumper is not the same and defense is not as strong. With that being said he still probably the 2nd best player on the floor every night behind RJ regardless who is on the schedule.
lol... I would have never caught that. My nickname is Gee and last name is Madison. So that's where it came from...
There are a number of concerns Duke should have for this game. Zion's motor isn't even close to being one of them. Understatement alert: he is going to be just fine.
My primary concern would be where Duke's defense is to start the year. They have a ways to go there for sure, and they won't be on point that early in the season. There are going to be inevitable missed assignments/rotations, etc. They need to play well enough to compensate for that. After that, it would be Duke's shooting. They were okay in exhibition #1 last night, but I still don't think I see a great shooting team. The more they can space the floor the better with this group.
My primary concern would be where Duke's defense is to start the year. They have a ways to go there for sure, and they won't be on point that early in the season. There are going to be inevitable missed assignments/rotations, etc. They need to play well enough to compensate for that. After that, it would be Duke's shooting. They were okay in exhibition #1 last night, but I still don't think I see a great shooting team. The more they can space the floor the better with this group.
Keep in mind when I'm saying his motor I'm just saying stamina. The kid hustle hard and that's great to see and a tired Zion is better than 80% of college basketball. But when you have heavyweights sometime its the small things and like you said the shooting has to open up lanes. Can Zion shoot is a question, but I think he shoots it good enough. But his strength is getting into the lanes and with his size he cant tough anyone or it will be a charge cause they will go flying. I have said this wont be Duke best team Nov 6, but it will be interesting watching these teams go head to head. But March is when I think they will meet up for a classic.
My two biggest concerns are foul trouble and transition defense. I think we can NOT have RJ, Zion, or Tre on the bench with foul trouble, and transition defense could hurt us, but we can control that with good rebounding
Thank you for the complete analysis of Zion. And yes I played basketball through out high school as well. Let me speak on what I've seen as well with over 20 years military service. The last thing you can judge a person by is their build or all out hustle for a certain time and figure he will be exhausted, like a lot of you RR fans that seem to know everything about him. One thing you can't judge is a person heart. So all this crap about he will be tired, his weight, and whatever you and your other ky posters can come up with, applies to your guys just as well. At the end of the day, it boils down to heart and fighting past that comfort zone. I'm sure you already know this based on you letting us know you played ball before.
I think the defense will get a lot better. Being the first game together and trying something in the first half that K said he backed off in the second half seemed to look better. Something to build on.
I just find it kinda weird someone showed up here and asked about Zion getting tired, he's like the one guy I've been talking about that every game he's played so far, especially in Canada, he never seemed to slow....at all. In fact, he seems to be in better shape than anyone else on our team. So....wtf are you even talking about? And I guess it matters if I played ball or not to comment here? I did. At any rate, am I worried about Zions conditioning? HELL NO. Next question, please.
Exactly Show!! I think they are trying to convince themselves that he is in bad shape and won't last long. I guess it helps them sleep better at night.
Let's hope so! If the defense gets good, that spells disaster for the ACC and our March foes!!
I'm not questioning the man heart. I know he wants and can see it. Zion has always played with the intensity. I spoke earlier about seeing a few of his games in person. At the same time I can see where he runs on empty and military or not, a person with that much weight (not calling him fat at all) takes a toll on the body. Its no secret players like Lebron slimmed down to conserve energy and easier on the knees. Lebron is maybe one of the greatest athletes ever and he still cramp up and is exhausted. So what I'm saying is if you play the way Zion does its going to happen. Especially when you cant go to the bench for extended periods like other teams can. His game is get the rebound and go, its all full speed. But playing AAU ball and H.S. he never had to deal with big men pushing him around and having to fight for much. It will take a toll. I been a huge fan of his, but facts are facts. If you watched more than his youtube highlights you can see how he gets gassed. Look at right before he came out last night for the first sub. This is not saying he horrible or anything. He will be the 2nd best player on the floor regardless, just pointing out the small things.
Go back and watch full games of Zion. Like I stated earlier. I'm a basketball fan first and Kentucky fan second. I followed a lot of players whether they decided to go to Kentucky or elsewhere. Zion hasn't had to play anyone his size and always been able to shed players with no issue. Now he playing a bigger stage and none of those games he has played in a Duke jersey has mattered. All those teams has been nothing more than an AAU upgrade. Even if Kentucky played the same teams I wouldn't be speaking much about that lack of talent. My main reason was Kentucky has bodies to throw out and continue to speed up the pace. I feel without the 4 main players there is a drop off and if you think Zion, RJ, Cam, or Tre can go a full 40 min full speed then your wrong. But I picked Zion because I have seen him when he is tired and how he takes plays off (Not bad all players do). He gambles a lot when tired and allow his man to go by. In H.S. he still could make up for it and would smack it off the glass. This is not those same level of competition. You cant do those AAU habits. By March none of this will matter, because he will be fine. This is just my early season observation.
Thank you for your observations. Let's move on. Nobody said he's gonna do wind sprints for 40 minutes. You think he's gonna tire out. I guess Kentucky is going to steal his wind with your magnificent Greek giants you have 15 or 20 of. Should be neat. You're enamored with Zion, I hope you get better buddy. In closing, you may simply have been around to many of those absolutely ignorant threads at RR dubbing him fat, unskilled, lame, etc. etc. When you guys were looking at landing him he was the best thing since canned beer, now, he's just a gonna burn out quick flash in the pan.
