Zion
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Cusefannotindc
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MJ would have punched Barrett in the face, taken the ball and scored.
OttoinGrotto
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RJ Barrett certainly did shy from embracing the moment.
Sounds like the moment friend zoned him though.
orangepassion
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Disagree with this. He usually delivered when given a chance. Don't believe it was his fault that Barrett took all those shots. Give credit to MSU for doubling him at the end and not letting him beat them and/or you can blame coach K for not finding a way to get it to him.
DaCuse
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Pure gold!
I think Zion's end of game issues may be conditioning related too. He definitely floated toward the perimeter more in the 2nd half and was finishing less often when he did get inside. As a Knick fan I want the second pick in the draft - Zion has me perplexed.
Eric15
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Or passed to John Paxson/Steve Kerr and let them hit the game winning shot as they did in three of the six Finals.
Melancer46
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I'm sure there's one out there, but off the top of my head, I'm having a hard time thinking of a draft where the gap between the #1 and #2 prospect is as large as this year's IMO. I'm sure there's been drafts where the #1 guy turned out to be wayyyy better than #2 guy but generally speaking, it seems that they're valued as prospects pretty similarly.
I think Zion is multiple tiers above anyone else in this year's class.
AZOrange
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I really love the unfettered cynicism and jealousy of Zion. He’s about the best thing that’s happened to college basketball in a long time. He plays the game right, plays it extremely hard and plays it extremely well. I’d kill to have a kid like this on our team.
MSOrange
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I agree. The coverage has been a bit over the top at times but he's a great player and I like watching him play.
BlackSquirrels
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Despite being guarded by Dan Dakich, MJ was outscored by Steve Alford, Uwe Blab and Stew Robinson in his final college game lol.
kirbivore
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UnderHisOwnPower
Ask yourself, do I feel lucky?
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so what's the evidence of him being clutch then? did he win any games for them in the last 30 seconds this year? I honestly don't know. and while those lopsided numbers may not be his fault, they are pretty telling. I only recall him missing some key free throws late in games, but then again they only lost a few. But I can't come up with his "clutch" highlights, just his uber freakish basketball feats, which are pretty amazing.
longislandcuse
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I don't blame Zion at all here. When he got the ball, he usually did his thing. It's not his fault RJ Barrett turned into a poor man's Kobe, nobody on that team could convert an entry pass and the only way he could get the ball was off a rebound or coming out to the perimeter to get it.
SUFan44
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So... I may be in the extreme minority on this, but do we all think Zion will have the immediate impact on the NBA that everyone believes he will?
Do not get me wrong -- I think he'll be very good and an All Star -- but the way the media hypes him, you'd think he is going to be LeBron James right from the jump.
I think there are a lot of question marks -- at least in my opinion. His jumper isn't great, his handle isn't great, he has a tendency to trail a lot in transition defensively (could be from too many minutes). He's a freak athletically and finishes around the rim in traffic better than a lot of NBA All Stars already. Just really not sure how it will translate -- probably because there's never been anybody like him.
Do not get me wrong -- I think he'll be very good and an All Star -- but the way the media hypes him, you'd think he is going to be LeBron James right from the jump.
I think there are a lot of question marks -- at least in my opinion. His jumper isn't great, his handle isn't great, he has a tendency to trail a lot in transition defensively (could be from too many minutes). He's a freak athletically and finishes around the rim in traffic better than a lot of NBA All Stars already. Just really not sure how it will translate -- probably because there's never been anybody like him.
RF2044
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I see it a little bit differently -- I think teams like Duke aren't build to handle adversity. They're young. they're inexperienced, they're talented as hell, and things have gone their way for the majority of the season. And when all else fails, clear out and let Zion make an amazing play.
But it's harder to make plays with season elimination on the line. Suddenly, all of those plays your bench makes when they're playing from ahead and have no pressure don't happen, because those reserves don't want to do anything when the game is on the line. Their a$$e$ tighten up. Guys who've made plays all year pass the ball like a hot potato, because they don't want to be the one who makes the season ending mistake. They're not accustomed to pressure, because they haven't faced too much adversity throughout the season.
You could kind of see Duke stumbling down the stretch here and not making the final four. Honestly, they deserved to lose to UCF, and they almost blew it on Friday.
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RF2044
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Very good post, and valid questions.
I'll also add on that at that weight, it remains to be seen if his body can handle the grind. I'm certainly not predicting that he'll get hurt, but I wonder if he has long term longevity, or if he'll have a bunch of nagging injuries because he's so athletic but 30-40 pounds heavier than guys who play like him.
Melancer46
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He won't be arguably the best player in the NBA right away if you mean peak or even today's version of LeBron, but I absolutely think he can be an all-star as a rookie. To me, he's the surest thing to come around since LeBron. The only way I see Zion not becoming a perennial all-star is if he has injury issues.
Scooch
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Agree 100%. There was a buzz to this season that hasn't existed in ages, and it was largely because of Zion. People should watch the 'Earn Everything' series and reassess their Zion hate. He seems like a great person.
CardiacCuse
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he's a lot more likable than I expected him to be...he actually has a great presence in interviews and a good mentality about the game and (seemingly) life in general as well...based on that alone, I predict he will indeed live up to the hype in the NBA.
at the same time, he chose Duke (barf in my mouth)...the most hated program in NCAABB (and the one I personally dislike the most as well) ...so I'm not going to sympathize with his "pain"...I'm glad Duke lost and that these 4 pampered top 10 recruits failed trying to be the next fab 5.
at the end of the day, this trend of "super teams" has been a lot less successful than the pre-season rankings would lead you to believe but I still feel as long as it is the trend, it will be much harder for SU to get that transcendent talent that it needs to take its good teams to greatness.
