VanWest82 wrote:clyde21 wrote:Never seen a player receive so much hate after a such a historic freshmen season...we'd be legit be talking about one of Duke's best FS seasons ever if it wasn't for Zion have THE greatest season of all time at the collegiate level...
he's easily a 20/5/5 guy in the NBA. only questions are efficiency and how his game accommodates other stars.
A big part of the issue is how he gets his stats. He takes and makes (and misses) a lot of bad shots. So many of them are just him jumping into two defenders in the paint and throwing up a circus shot. He takes a lot of out of rhythm threes too.
His assist numbers are inflated from all those lobs over the top to Zion in the post that won't be there at the next level. NBA players aren't going to double him and give him that easy assist on the slip screen either. They'll force him to drive and take a tough MR shot knowing he can't beat anyone off the dribble to collapse the defense.
I think RJ is going to be one of the rare top recruits whose game is actually better suited for college. He's a lot like Evan Turner -- a heady player who lacks the athleticism and outside shot to really take advantage of the better spacing in the NBA. It hurts him that he isn't a good off ball player either. He's just a tricky fit.
i mean I am with u and have been saying this: he can be a black hole offensively and decision making needs to be greatly improved. i was saying this before this season even started...but at the same time the kids 18 and has been historically productive as a freshmen so at what point can we give him some benefit of the doubt that he's going to get better here?
also regarding the his decision making, we also have to understand that what he likes to do is to attack the basket...his entire game is predicated on driving and it evolves from there...and this team has been absolutely terrible for that given that 1) there's very little outside shooting across the board, and 2) teams are packing the paint even MORE because of Zion.
put him on a team with shooters where he can be a triple option (shoot, attack, drive-kick) and you're gonna get a player that is much better in terms of efficiency and decision making in my opinion.
and the Evan Turner comp is a weird one. RJ is an infinitely better player as a freshmen than Turner was even as a jr. Not even close in terms of development trajectory.