Stillwater wrote:Highlight reels are great for posers...
What I saw that rubbed me wrong after having high expectations pre season is he is almost always
pressing/ forcing his will instead of letting it come to him. He might have the
cockiness to back it up but the lack of game to make it worth backing it up and the lack of
strength to be taken serious at the next level without making a significantly higher %
of the shots he takes that he shouldn't be taking out of the rhythm of the offense.
His upside is elite, and he has been put in a box , so I respect the opinions defending him.
I do not hold a ton of weight in my perceptions of
his attitude or body language, but he failed to back up the hype
coming into the season, and so no matter how many positives he has to dub into
highlight film, it cant hide the legit concerns of having a short fuse and unjustified in most cases, makes
me think the IQ as a player is farther away than suggested.
Let me guess it was his ankle that caused the techs the poor shooting % and the inability to
finish well in traffic?
didn't think so
What you saw? I don't think you really saw anything. Half of the techs against Jaden were very questionable (Montana, Utah, Arizona) not to mention that Pac-12 refs were targeting him all season long. And Pac-12 refs are some of the most crooked refs in NCAA basketball word to Larry Scott (Pac-12 commissioner) and Ed Rush. If you don't know about the Ed Rush-Sean Miller situation- google it up.
Plus, by the end of the season Jaden was the player calming other teammates down when things got heated on the court showing that he was learning from some of his earlier mistakes like when he threw the ball at he UCLA player while sitting on the bench. Maturation is a process and Jaden was maturing right in front of our collective eyes if one cared to pay close attention in real time and just not link up sports articles.
Who created the hype, expectations? Media? The truth is that the UW had a very young team with only one senior (Sam Timmons) on the roster and two juniors (Naz Carter, Hameir Wright) who weren't leaders. Coach Mike Hopkins lost many a game for the UW with his refusal to deviate from the 2-3 zone and his lack of coaching acumen to implement in game adjustments on both ends of the court.
Mike Hopkins offense mostly consisted of forced feeding Isaiah Stewart in the post and Pac-12 refs allowed opponents to hack Stewart and Jaden to death. A ref even came up to Stewart at halftime of their Oregon game and told him that he couldn't use his natural strength to ward off defenders as per Stewart in a post game presser. FYI Jaden was dunking on people to finish the season as he was getting stronger from all the weight room work he put in which will continue into the NBA where he can focus on basketball 100% of his time with no classes to worry about.
So you can go be a poser with your linked up article and bitter attitude towards one of the most talented prospects in this 2020 NBA draft. It wouldn't surprise me to see Jaden drafted in the top 10 when all is said and done after GMs/scouts do their complete homework on Jaden.