🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Just like Jordan and Kerr.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2781187-lebron-james-agrees-to-4-year-154-million-contract-with-lakers?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial ↗

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23967725/lebron-james-joining-los-angeles-lakers-4-year-1533-million-deal ↗

Labron drives hard right lane, kicks to Svi in the corner...swish!!!

Yawn

They just signed Lance Stephenson, so Svi won't be the only 3 point shooter...

@Fightsongwriter I read that with Bob Davis doing the announcing in my head.

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@KUSTEVE

One year stopgap contract until they do the bulk of rebuilding next summer. Stephenson and James don’t like each other which means Sir Lancelot will be gone.

Doug McDermott has/had a great 3 point shot too. Problem was he was such a defensive liability that no team can keep him on the floor. Opposing teams IMMEDIATELY put him in bad spots and attacked. I can't shake the thought that this is Svi's future and he wont last long. Hopefully I'm wrong.

BigBad said:

Doug McDermott has/had a great 3 point shot too. Problem was he was such a defensive liability that no team can keep him on the floor. Opposing teams IMMEDIATELY put him in bad spots and attacked. I can't shake the thought that this is Svi's future and he wont last long. Hopefully I'm wrong.

And if Hoiberg did it at the college level to great success...

@BigBad Well, they drafted Svi because Magic was impressed by his defense on Bagley, so the "no D" label McDermott had may not apply to Svi.

@KUSTEVE Stephenson doesn't have a respectable trey gun. Just saw some talking head on ESPN mention he was around 30% from three. That's laughable in the League. SVI should be near 40% unless they traded SVI.

Anyone know if they traded SVI??

@Lulufulu You are absolutely right. I played him a few times on Draft Kings, and he hit some 3s ( that's about all he did), so I assumed...lol.

@Kcmatt7 Thank you for getting it. That was the idea! Btw...my nane is Matt too. Great minds...great name!

Here are the latest related NBA news. Lakers renounced the rights to Randle and he was promptly picked up by the Pelicans. The Warriors pick up Boogie for just $5.3M on a 1 year contract. Boogie has always been a very talented player but a problematic one and many teams had a no Boogie policy plus he is coming off Achilles heel surgery, one of the worst for athletes and the history of players coming back from it, even to an 70-80% of their previous form is thin And even thinner for big players; he could be a steal or a waste of money but, at least on paper, he fills a void the Warriors had against teams like the Rockets. He could have gotten more elsewhere even with the mid level exception but maybe he sees the writing on the swallow and wants to win one title before boogin’ out.:smile:

The Lakers signed mercurial PG Rajon Rondo to a 1 year deal. Several Laker players are now on 1 year deals and the team is getting ready for a big 2019 off season when it can shed all these 1year deals and sign the players it needs to complement LeBron...or the players he picks, depending on how you see it. Lots of big names becoming free agent in 2019 and there will be a lot of players changing teams and large changes in the League.

Lakers making sure they have the cap space in 2019 to sign two star players.

Good move by Golden State to sign Cousins. He's a rare player that could come back from Achilles surgery and return to close to form because he isn't an explosive player. His game is predicated around speed and quickness, or explosive leaping ability like a Blake Griffin or Anthony Davis. Because of that, he could still be effective provided there are no other lingering effects like lack of flexibility, etc.

Next years finals are shaping up to be Golden State and Boston. I don't see anyone in the East that can challenge Boston unless the Bucks or Pacers have someone internally take a big leap. And Golden State with Cousins certainly did not take a step back. Lebron doesn't have enough help in LA right now to challenge them. I'm guessing Lebron will take it easy this year, see which of the younger Laker players develops and then bring in help for 2019-20.

justanotherfan said:

Lakers making sure they have the cap space in 2019 to sign two star players.

Good move by Golden State to sign Cousins. He's a rare player that could come back from Achilles surgery and return to close to form because he isn't an explosive player. His game is predicated around speed and quickness, or explosive leaping ability like a Blake Griffin or Anthony Davis. Because of that, he could still be effective provided there are no other lingering effects like lack of flexibility, etc.

Next years finals are shaping up to be Golden State and Boston. I don't see anyone in the East that can challenge Boston unless the Bucks or Pacers have someone internally take a big leap. And Golden State with Cousins certainly did not take a step back. Lebron doesn't have enough help in LA right now to challenge them. I'm guessing Lebron will take it easy this year, see which of the younger Laker players develops and then bring in help for 2019-20.

The Sixers can't challenge in the East? They are better than the Bucks and Pacers.

@justanotherfan

Cousins was a great player but he will not be that good again after his surgery. I just read an article about athletes that underwent the same surgery and only a handfull came back to no more than 70-80% of their previous condition and the author could not find one big man that did. Apparently the Pelicans were not confident he would either and did not mKe an offer or would not even match the low ball offer from the Warriors. He is not expected to play until close to the end of the year and really does not add much to the Warriors other than his ability to overpower players which he might no longer have and passing from the post. A one year gamble at best.

Cousins indicated he had no offers and instructed his agent to call teams until he found the Warriors. When he had his head in the game he was an All-Star but he also led the League in technical fouls and he was the proverbial cancer in the locker room. A lot of talent but not enough discipline.

@Woodrow

Sure the Sixers can challenge but they are a couple of players away from being a real contender; signing Kawhi would narrow the gap. Keep in mind that Boston almost made the Finals and they will have Hayward and Kyrie back who did not play in the playoffs.

@Woodrow

Not unless Simmons finds a jump shot or Fultz gets healthy/good at basketball again.

They are just too easy to defend in the playoffs because most of their guys are one dimensional offensively.

Sixers could compete. They can grow enough internally to compete.

The Raptors could too... They did only win 59 games last season and take the 1 seed. They just ran into LeBron before the Celtics did.

@Kcmatt7 Agree. The Sixers are so young. They are only going to get better. Plus they are adding Shamet and Zhaire Smith into the mix this season.

@Kcmatt7

If the Celtic had Kyrie and Hayward they would have likely beaten the Cavaliers. If they add a player like Kawhi they would be the best in the East and a true contender, certainly ahead of the Sixers.

@JayHawkFanToo Meh. History doesn't agree with you. LeBron makes Finals coming out of the East.

But my point was simply that I wouldn't pencil the Celtics in as the De Facto team to come out of the East.

So much brain power spent on the NBA .. a mind is a terrible thing to waste. And "terrible" is in a Charles Barkley voice.

@Kcmatt7

LeBron had the better teams in the past so it always advanced. Kyrie and Hayward were arguably the two top players for the Celtics and with them playing they beat the Cavs in 5 games.

@JayHawkFanToo Your argument is like when national pundits predict that KU won't win the Big XII. Until it doesn't happen, you have to assume that LeBron makes the Finals. Unless the Celtics were missing someone that could keep LeBron from going for 33 PPG in that series, the Celtics weren't winning it.

HighEliteMajor said:

So much brain power spent on the NBA .. a mind is a terrible thing to waste. And "terrible" is in a Charles Barkley voice.

I much prefer the NBA to college hoops. If it weren't for KU I don't think I would watch.

@Kcmatt7

That logic is flawed. What you are saying is that as long as LeBron is in one team, that team will make the finals regardless of how good or bad the teams is? It makes no sense. Teams with LeBron have made it to the finals because they are better than the opponents, in great part but not uniquely because LeBron is in the team but better nonetheless. Same with KU, it has continued to win because the teams for the last 14 years have been better than the competition and not just because it is KU. Last season, had KU lost Graham and another top player, say Newman, Svi or Doke, do you think it wins the conference? Likely not. If your premise is correct then the Lakers should make it to the finals, even if they don’t add anyone else, solely because they have LeBron? There is no way they make it past the Warriors...or Houston...or even OKC so they will not make it to the finals. No way.

The Cleveland-Boston series went 7 games and Boston had its two top players injured and did not play; with both playing Boston wins that series.

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This is the kind of stuff Self is up against in NBA circles. @justanotherfan was referencing stuff like this awhile back.

@JayHawkFanToo 8. In. A. Row.

What if LeBron wins a finals with the LAL? Your head may explode.

But more realistically, you’ll probably just try to find a way to put an asterisk next to that too.

@HighEliteMajor He's Turable, just Turable!

LeBron has never won a championship without a Jayhawk. Lakers better keep Svi and Malik on the roster, at least Svi.

BShark said:

HighEliteMajor said:

So much brain power spent on the NBA .. a mind is a terrible thing to waste. And "terrible" is in a Charles Barkley voice.

I much prefer the NBA to college hoops. If it weren't for KU I don't think I would watch.

I don’t know if we can be friends any more. 😆

dylans said:

BShark said:

HighEliteMajor said:

So much brain power spent on the NBA .. a mind is a terrible thing to waste. And "terrible" is in a Charles Barkley voice.

I much prefer the NBA to college hoops. If it weren't for KU I don't think I would watch.

I don’t know if we can be friends any more. 😆

I'm sure it's not too popular of an opinion here. The college game is frequently a meat grinder. I love the flow of NBA games.

@BShark To be completely open, I only watch KU basketball until the tourney or nba finals. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on much.

@BShark @dylans I used to love the NBA .. went to many Kings games until they left. Really enjoyed the NBA through the 90s. After that, no so much. And now, I find the games unwatchable. That's been the case since for about 20 years. NBA players coast. It's not full out effort over the course of a game. Lots of walking around. Slow movements. Many uncontested or half contested shots.

The NBA is like coffee to me. I don't like coffee, but every so often I try it again hoping something will change.

I watch NBA late, a quarter here, a half here. But it's hard.

CBB, on the other hand, is magic to me. Great competition, full speed, no defensive limitations, strategy, incredible atmospheres -- and that's just the regular season. KU vs. Tennessee Tech? Well, not as attractive. A handful of games are not big deals.

But lots of folks love the NBA. I just want both to coexist, and not try to make one like the other.

@HighEliteMajor There is definitely some coasting. The playoffs are much better in this regard.

I don't hate college basketball but I definitely don't care to watch say, KSU vs ISU in conference season.

I'll watch any big 12 conference game with some interest if it's on. I enjoy getting to know all the kids in our conference. But, I'm with you, I won't typically seek out the bottom feeders.

@BShark

I'm the same way. I watch more NBA than college. My breaking point with the college game came a few years ago while watching a tournament game.

I don't remember who was playing, I think it was a Big 12 team, but it may have been someone else. It was deeper into the tournament, probably a Sweet 16 game or Elite Eight game.

Either way, someone ran a high PnR, there was some defensive confusion and the other team's center got switch onto the PG, and the PG got switched onto the C.

Obviously, this is a matchup you want to attack immediately, either using the PG's quickness advantage on the perimeter or throwing the ball inside to let the C use his size. Instead, the PG backed the ball out and called a play that the coach was screaming from the sidelines. That delay gave the defense a chance to switch their matchups so that there weren't any mismatches.

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. The coach had willingly forfeited a MUA so that he could run a specific play. It bothered me so much I had to quit watching the game.

Probably the next week I was watching an NBA game and a similar thing happened. High PnR, got the switch. Literally before I could even think mismatch the ball was in the hands of the big man (pretty sure it was Dirk Nowitzki) and he was scoring over the mismatch. The PnR created the mismatch, the offense pressed the advantage and scored, all in less than three seconds. It was beautiful to watch.

I will watch KU and the tournament, but it is hard to watch other games.

What's this NBA everyone is talking about?

@BShark I started watching the NBA again when I started entering teams in Draft Kings. I flat loved the old Lakers and Celtics Finals with Bird and Magic.

Back in the day, you were either a Bird guy, or Magic guy. You could not be both. I've come to appreciate Bird and the Celtics, over time. Kind of. But I was a 100% Magic guy. When you talk greatest players of all time, taking into account everything on the court, Magic is it for me.

@Kcmatt7

Again, your logic does not add up. Ever since LeBron went to Miami he made sure he would have the handpicked best team in the Eastern Conference and he did the same thing when he moved back to Cleveland where he had an almost All-Star team and this is why he ended up in 8 finals and even then, if the Celtics did not have its two top players injured they beat Cleveland in 5 games considering that without its top two players the series went the full 7 games.

With the “current” Laker team no way he makes it to the finals the upcoming season since it means the Lakers would have to beat the Rockets and the Warriors and that just will not happen with their current personnel...including LeBron. After next season, when a number of free agents are available and the Lakers have a large cap and get 2 or 3 top players to go along with James then it will have a better chance.

@JayHawkFanToo Just because it went a full 7 doesn't mean they WOULD have beat them. That is flawed logic on your end.

Taking Hayward into account on a team where he only played 5 minutes the entire season and may never be the same is also flawed logic.

@Kcmatt7

Wow...you are kidding, right? Hayward was a finalist for the USA and Olympic teams and an All-Star that averaged 35 mpg and 22 ppg the previous season and was ranked in the top 20 players in the NBA going into the season and Kyrie is one of the top PGs in the League, an All-Star and USA team member and top 20-25 ranked player and you don’t think they would have made a difference? Either you are not familiar with NBA players or just too much of a LeBron fan and blinded to anything else.

@JayHawkFanToo I can tell that I know more about the NBA than you.

It changes the whole make-up of the team. You really can't say Hayward makes them x amount better for sure. Stats get displaced, they would certainly be different. Perhaps better but how much better is impossible to say.

@BShark Exactly. The growth of Tatum and Brown could be dramatically different on a team with Hayward. Especially defensively, considering that Hayward is an awful defender.

Same for Rozier.

@BShark

I find it hard to believe that if you take not 1 but 2, not journeymen players but All-Stars and ranked in the top 20 players in the entire league and the 2 top players from a team, any team, and it would remain at the same level. Take Graham and Newman or Svi from last year’s KU team or Mason and Graham from the previous year’s team and do you think KU is still at the same level? Definitely not.

@JayHawkFanToo and @Kcmatt7

You both make good points about that series. I think it certainly plays out differently if Irving and Hayward are available.

As @BShark said, stats get displaced. Playing time is re-distributed. That changes things.

While Irving is a tremendous offensive player, he is not nearly as stout defensively as Rozier was. Perhaps George Hill or Jordan Clarkson can get their offense going more against Irving than they were able to against Rozier.

Lebron is going to get his against whomever they put on him. But adding a couple of lesser defenders in Irving and Hayward to replace minutes for guys like Tatum, Brown and Rozier means that the Cleveland supporting cast might have added a bit more help. That's not an insignificant addition in Cleveland's favor to have Jeff Green or Rodney Hood playing well in that series.

Ultimately, I think the Lebron factor still tilts that Series in Cleveland's direction. Giving him the potential for a little bit more support helps him conserve energy, which I think helps Cleveland pull through in seven.

Kcmatt7 said:

@JayHawkFanToo I can tell that I know more about the NBA than you.

Funny, you don’t seem to know who or how good Hayward and Kyrie are...and even funnier, you think the Lakers will beat the Warriors and Rockets to make it to the finals...so much about knowing more about the NBA.

@JayHawkFanToo I never once said that I think that the Lakers will make the finals. I simply stated you hate LeBron so much your head would explode if it happened.

@Kcmatt7

suum cuique...

Diallo is playing now on ESPN u

Dg is on after that. 4:30. I think cliff is on diallo's team. Not sure, edit. Cliff is there, scored. I'm anxious to see Perry play today too.

Congrats to Svi. Got a 3 year 4.6 mil contract today.

http://lakersball.com/threads/sviatoslav-mykhailiuk-thread-3-years-4-6m.3087/page-6 ↗

@Crimsonorblue22

Coleby is playing for the Pelicans as well.

@JayHawkFanToo have you seen him play? Malik hasn't played much either. Wasn't landen on a team too?

@Crimsonorblue22

Coleby has played a total if 5 minutes and shot 0-1 and no points; not looking good for him and will probably end up in the G League.

Newman is averaging 11.5 mpg and 1.5 ppg and shooting 1-7 or 14% from the field and 1-4 or 25% from 3. Looks like Newman will be spending a lot of time in the G League as well before he gets a call.

I thought Lucas was going to play in the Summer League but I have not seen him in any team.

@Crimsonorblue22 The most curious story of the Self era....why didn't Diallo ever play?

KUSTEVE said:

@Crimsonorblue22 The most curious story of the Self era....why didn't Diallo ever play?

For the same reason that he is playing in the Summer League after being drafted and playing 2 years already.

@JayHawkFanToo We normally play guys that go to the NBA, summer league or not. Diallo not starting was the only time I can remember Coach Self leaving it up to the other starters to choose who they wanted to start. They wanted Lucas, and the rest is history how we recruited a Top 10 forward, and hardly played him. I would love to hear a first hand account on how that all went down. The curious case of Chieck Diallo ...

@KUSTEVE

Diallo missed the entire pre-season and part of the season which put him way behind the learning curve. His athleticism was off the charts but his basketball IQ was extremely low (and still is) and while he was able to overpower HS players, he was lost against the tougher and more capable Division I competition. Hard to play a player that is consistently out of position and has not mastered the playbook. Lucas was not nearly as athletic but had a high basketball IQ and was always at the right place at the right time and this is why the other players chose to have him start and play the lion's share of time at the position.

@KUSTEVE I've always felt the player decision thing was a bit of a hoax on Diallo. I think it was done by Self, shrewdly, because he knew what he result would be and he wanted that result. Gave him possible cover in putting a top 5 player in hibernation on the recruiting trail. It would also have the effect of helping bond the team more. And, of course, it did -- witness the winning streak after scrapping the center by committee thing. On the other hand, we needed a scoring threat low vs. Nova in the EE when Nova schemed against Ellis. He was on the bench. He then played in the NBA a matter of months after Self scrapped him. Lucas, meanwhile, is playing for the Tokyo HamFighters or Dragonflies or a team named after Toyota, or some such nonsense -- last I heard.

@JayHawkFanToo Semi-fiction. Spin. Half-truths. Meaning, it was not nearly as firm and as dire as you suggest. He was raw, of course. No doubt. But many players are raw, and BB IQ is a challenge. But what Self did not do, which other coaches do, which Self has done since (see DeSousa -- who looked lost, etc), is give the player regular minutes, and let him play through his mistakes to reach a higher level of play. Take some lumps to get to the goal of a more complete player by March. It was just a choice not to do that because Self had a security blanket, a reliable, smart player who knew what he was doing. Self eschewed the mountain top for a trip to the hills. Lucas flailed against the better D-1 competition you refer to .. see the undeniable evidence vs. Nova and then vs. Oregon in EE losses. We had no scoring down low vs. Nova when we couldn't counter their anti-Ellis defense, and Lucas was out of his league vs. Oregon.

Somehow, this guy you defame has played 70 NBA games in two seasons, and Lucas is, well, you know.

The biggest evidence that Self messed up with Diallo was proving that he could take a very raw player directly out of HS and turn him into an adequate player and major contributor to a FF run in 3 and a half months.

Another piece of evidence that even Self felt he messed up the Diallo situation was starting Doke, an overweight player that had even less BBIQ than Diallo, over Lucas two seasons ago. Doke would have finished the year starting if he didn't get hurt.

Self knows he screwed up. It's ok. The important thing is that he clearly learned from it and got us to another FF.

@HighEliteMajor

No, it is not fiction or semi-fiction, it is reality. Diallo had and still has a low basketball IQ because he did not play basketball until he was fairly old and unfortunately he is a very slow learner.

You are conveniently forgetting Diallo has a 3-year $3.4M guaranteed contract and he gets the money whether he plays or not. Last season he played in 52 games compared to 17 the season before but his mpg, ppg and rpg went down while his tpg and fpg went up, in other words, all the stats went in the wrong direction and the reason he played that many games is because Boogie got injured and the only othre option was 35 year old Emeka Okafor.

Here arethe summary stats for the playoffs for Diallo...

!0_1531327886570_upload-aae39b65-fa68-422e-ac1c-23a84ee71821 ↗

...and here are the stats for the entire team...
!0_1531327968641_upload-d3cb2c86-0ee1-4485-92d4-fca7b84372d6 ↗

As you can see, the Pelicans do not use him that much and I am sure that the 10 points he scored in the 7 games he played had the opponents shaking in their very expensive shoes.

Diallo will make ~$1.5M the upcoming season and while it is a relatively small amount as salaries go I will guess there are no teams interested even at this low cost. The Pelicans have an option next season and whether they exercise it or not will be telling. His career in many ways is similar to that of Julian Wright, an super athletic player that could not stick in the NBA past his initial contract.

You seem to indicate that an outstanding college player should be by extension one in the NBA as well and we both know this is not the case since the college game sometimes does not translate to the NBA. CONSENSUS POY Frank Mason was picked in the second round and is a backup to a OAD player drafted in the same year that was not among the best in college basketball.

Kcmatt7 said:

The biggest evidence that Self messed up with Diallo was proving that he could take a very raw player directly out of HS and turn him into an adequate player and major contributor to a FF run in 3 and a half months.

Another piece of evidence that even Self felt he messed up the Diallo situation was starting Doke, an overweight player that had even less BBIQ than Diallo, over Lucas two seasons ago. Doke would have finished the year starting if he didn't get hurt.

Self knows he screwed up. It's ok. The important thing is that he clearly learned from it and got us to another FF.

Nailed it.

@JayHawkFanToo Come on now. The fact is he is sticking around the league for now. TRob and BMac aren't exactly setting the league on fire either. Self did wonders with TRob and Diallo COULD have contributed well if Self gave him a chance. Like KC said Self has succeeded in a similar situation twice now. Deep down I think Self knows he messed up with Diallo, but he would never admit it.

I watched diallo play a summer league game, he's so fun to watch! The coach or owner was being interviewed, he had a lot of nice things to say. Cheick had more opportunities w/boogie going down last season. Still working hard w/his D. Diallo is so appreciative of his time at KU, he comes back, I see pics w/coaches and he went to Selfs HOF induction. I realize I'm in the minority, but I think Self did the right think w/diallo. He needed a lot more than 6 months to help us out, I sure wish it wasn't true! I hope they continue to work w/him cause he is one cool guy who really deserves it.

Crimsonorblue22 said:

I watched diallo play a summer league game, he's so fun to watch! The coach or owner was being interviewed, he had a lot of nice things to say. Cheick had more opportunities w/boogie going down last season. Still working hard w/his D. Diallo is so appreciative of his time at KU, he comes back, I see pics w/coaches and he went to Selfs HOF induction. I realize I'm in the minority, but I think Self did the right think w/diallo. He needed a lot more than 6 months to help us out, I sure wish it wasn't true! I hope they continue to work w/him cause he is one cool guy who really deserves it.

Diallo definitely is not bitter at Self/KU from what I've heard.

@Crimsonorblue22 @BShark Yea he has just said he understood and that he came in late. Wasn't Self's fault, and KU did spend a pretty penny to get him eligible while the NCAA drug their feet.

@BShark

TRob and McLemore were orders of magnitude more developed than Diallo during and after they left college. Both were All Conference and TRob was runner up to POY Anthony Davis, one of the better players to come out of college in many years and picked #5 and McLemore was a finalist for the Wooden Award and picked #7 in the draft. Diallo was a second round pick based solely on potential. Diallo would have befitted greatly staying an extra year at KU.

Diallo is entering the last year of his guaranteed contract and he gets paid whether he plays or not and at that cost is fairly inexpensive to keep him on.

Like I said, his career looks a lot like that of Julian Wright who also had a lottery pick guaranteed contract and once it was over so was his career. If NO picks up the option after the next season then he might have a chance, if it does not he is headed overseas.

I really like Diallo and hope he makes it. At times he can do amazing things on the court and other times he is the polar opposite, again, a lot like Julian Wright. Just sayin'

So how did SVI end up doing last night? - -Watched a little bit of Frank and Wayne--didn't see how they finished either.- I heard the announcers say that the kings was the only team that hadn't won a game yet in this summer league. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@wrwlumpy

Will Svi later coach and revolutionize the NBA, too?

Go, Svi, go!!!!

@Crimsonorblue22
If ever there were a foreign project worth developing for 5 years anywhere, he is it.

With a trey, he would be an NBA ALL STAR.

@Kcmatt7 or, re: Diallo, Silvio's success proves that Self is capable of developing and using the right talented and raw player, and Silvio got it faster than Diallo did.

@approxinfinity I don't think Self gave it an honest chance.

I will say one thing though. Cheick had an ego that De Sousa did not. When Diallo was on the court it felt more like he was auditioning for the NBA. De Sousa felt more like he knew his role was to just be a defender and a rebounder.

That key personality difference definitely could have been something that changed their development path at KU. And why Self let one play through mistakes over the other.

@jaybate-1.0 I wish he would have let our coaches work w/him a few years, so much talent, but still so green.