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Message: [QUOTE="reedny, post: 1324274, member: 1423"] Agree on all counts. Tyler has excellent length. He has big hands and he pursues the ball well in space. Against smaller teams, or spread offense teams, he flourishes. Against power teams, however, it's asking a lot of a 6-7/6-8, 210 pound guy to go up against the beefeaters at UNC, Pitt, G-Tch, LV, Virginia, etc. It's hard enough to score on these bigger teams, but when you go -10, - 15 or -20 on the glass (we were -22 against Virginia), you have no chance of winning. Can he bulk up? Maybe, but he'd need another 25 pounds to compete at the 4 against the front lines in the top half of the ACC. This is why CM is a better candidate for the 4 -- if/when he's healthy. He's 3 inches taller and has a bigger frame. He can block shots, and he can face up or score on the low block. Tyler is not a shot blocker; and has no back-to-the-basket game and struggles to rebound and defend the rim against big bodies --these are essential skills for an effective PF in my book. On the other hand, Tyler has definite SF skills that don't involve shooting: he can slash to the basket, he can definitely rebound in space and he can get clean-up/put backs on the offensive glass. He's athletically gifted, runs the floor and elevates well and can be very effective in transition and around the rim because of his length. What's holding him back is his jump shot which (IMO) is simply confidence and experience. With the improvement he's made this year playing such a difficult position .. if he finds his shot next year watch out. TB -- is going to be a great leader for us if we can bring him in. He has great size, length and energy. From the clips of him on the recruiting board, he's also fiercely competitive and intelligent. I think he will be very coachable and will pick up the zone more quickly than other bigs we've had. There will be a learning curve, obviously. But having him in the middle could make the difference between a good and a great season next year. We don't know how DC2 is going to perform, and having a talent like TB in the middle will allow both players to ease into their roles without the kind of pressure that Rak was under this year. [/QUOTE]

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