popper wrote:stevemcqueen1 wrote:Bennett finishes with 19 points on 6-8 shooting from the field. He got into foul trouble with three minutes left in the first half, never really got involved in the second half. He scored pretty much every time they gave him the ball but he barely got the ball. UNLV didn't need him to shoulder the load though, the whole team was playing pretty well. They are really really athletic and I think I'm going to pick them to make a little run in the tourney.
Bennett is really talented. He can score in so many different ways and he's great handles and a great jumper for a big man. I'm sold.
The Bullets drafted a guy many years ago that had a game similar to Bennett's (from what I understand from the descriptions on this thread). I think his name was John Williams, and like Bennett, he was supremely talented and strong. It didn't work out because Williams had weight issues and evidently lacked sufficient discipline and motivation to overcome. Does anyone have a feel for Bennett's attitude, discipline, motivation, etc.? Is he a good kid like Beal or is he a mental train wreck ready to derail the Wizard's rebuild like John Williams did.
Well it's hard to say from our vantage point. We don't really have access to much information about the intangible stuff at this juncture. All I've got is speculation based on in game body language and short interviews.
Bennett's interviews give me the impression that he's very young and somewhat carefree. He seems like a happy, nice kid--gregarious. Not as serious as Beal and Wall typically come off. Your typical Canadian really. But not a clown like JaVale was, not trying to make people laugh. He plays the game with some passion and exuberance but doesn't play angry or boil over with emotions. It's mostly displays of positive emotion like when he hits a three or throws down a big dunk. He doesn't really seem argue or get chippy, and yesterday I noticed a sequence where he fouled a guy hard and went out of his way to check on him, let him know he wasn't trying to be mean. That's not to say he plays soft though, he throws his weight around and seems very comfortable with contact.
My impression is that the game looks like it comes very easily to him and his low stress personality reflects that. He's so talented. I think you're going to be easy going when you're as big and strong as a silverback gorilla and also coordinated and have guard skills.
BBall IQ wise, I think he could get a little too aggressive at times and take some bad shots. He hit three 3 pters in a row in one stretch and was riding high--so high that on his next possession he got the ball in at about 18 feet in the corner, did a couple of between the legs size up dribbles then stepped back and took an off balance contested three. It made Doug Gottlieb laugh and say settle down big fella or something like that. Silly as that shot was, it was actually an impressive display of ball handling. And he does have a special talent for making the ball go in the hoop. He's got a pretty jumper and all kinds of finishes for when he gets into the lane and around the basket.
I don't want to make too much out of that one play anyway. He was 6-8 on the night. He's not a chucker and he's efficient. Once he matures as a player and starts removing shots like that from his game, he'll be very efficient.
