Christmas is an absolute warrior

[pearl31]

I've been saying it for awhile. Ask anyone. I got flayed for being one of the anti-BMK crowd last year.

all hail!

 

[two3zone]

I think the improvement occurred over the past 1-2 years. Just wished they had gone to him more late last season. Remember though, they did run a play for him in the BC/abomination-uniform game last year. His game-winning hook shot rolled off the rim at the buzzer.

No doubt. I remember that play and I've seen him make it since, and miss it since. I don't know the stats off hand but I think he averages 3-4 shots per game last year. That's insane considering we had trouble scoring and he was shooting over 60%.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

all hail!

You certainly have a bug up your a$$ for me lately. Take a swing at OttoMets too since he's saying the same thing. Otherwise your role as JB's protector on this site will be incomplete.

 

[pearl31]

You certainly have a bug up your a$$ for me lately. Take a swing at OttoMets too since he's saying the same thing. Otherwise your role as JB's protector on this site will be incomplete.

The thing is, you seem genuinely proud to have been part of the "anti-BMK crowd," and I just don't get that at all. And this notion that Christmas was held back by others last year is just dumb—and whenever I see anyone espousing it I'm going to call them on it:noidea:
Go ahead and take it personally if you want

 

[Upstate]

The most impressive thing about last night was that he played so well, and defensively, too, against one of the best big men in the ACC and didn't foul out or make any really stupid fouls.

 

[two3zone]

The thing is, you seem genuinely proud to have been part of the "anti-BMK crowd," and I just don't get that at all. And this notion that Christmas was held back by others last year is just dumb—and whenever I see anyone espousing it I'm going to call them on it:noidea: Go ahead and take it personally if you want

So Rak went from being a well below average player to first team All American status in 7 months?

 

[pearl31]

So Rak went from being a well below average player to first team All American status in 7 months?

So now he was a "well below average player" last year?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

The most impressive thing about last night was that he played so well, and defensively, too, against one of the best big men in the ACC and didn't foul out or make any really stupid fouls.

And part of his development could also be the fact that he knows he's it for centers on this team and has adjusted his play accordingly. Which he didn't do enough of last year.

 

[Jasoncuse]

The shot Roberson hit late in regulation (or was it OT?) was smooth and looked good. He had arc on the shot and drained it. That's what he needs to do. Those line drive jumpers that don't get above the rim are disgusting. Maybe he's more comfortable from the free throw line area than he is from the elbow or corner? He's gotta start hitting these jumpers because he's going to get a ton of looks the rest of the year.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

The thing is, you seem genuinely proud to have been part of the "anti-BMK crowd," and I just don't get that at all. And this notion that Christmas was held back by others last year is just dumb—and whenever I see anyone espousing it I'm going to call them on it:noidea:
Go ahead and take it personally if you want

What you don't seem to get is that the anti-BMK thing you accuse me of has nothing to do with Baye at all. From all accounts he's a great kid. I just didn't think he was a good basketball player. JB did, clearly, because of his defensive abilities so any time Rak screwed up, he got yanked. And more frustrated. The Boeheim treatment works on some kids and not on others. I think Rak is as good as he is this year despite JB's treatment, not because of it.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

The shot Roberson hit late in regulation (or was it OT?) was smooth and looked good. He had arc on the shot and drained it. That's what he needs to do. Those line drive jumpers that don't get above the rim are disgusting. Maybe he's more comfortable from the free throw line area than he is from the elbow or corner? He's gotta start hitting these jumpers because he's going to get a ton of looks the rest of the year.

He needs to stop thinking if it's a good shot or not and just take the shot. As long as he's within 17 feet or so. His decision making process is what's affecting his shots, not his ability to shoot.

 

[RF2044]

Not only that, but he played a significant portion of the second half and part of overtime with 4 fouls. I believe that was about 11 minutes, and he didn't foul out.

Impressive.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Not only that, but he played a significant portion of the second half and part of overtime with 4 fouls. I believe that was about 11 minutes, and he didn't foul out.

Impressive.

One of the few mistakes Manning made last night was not attacking Rak even more to try to get that last foul.

 

[two3zone]

So now he was a "well below average player" last year?

Numbers wise I wouldn't call him good outside his shooting %. We can argue back and forth all day about this but I'm not going to even consider the fact that he improved this much in 7 months.

 

[44doubledees]

Switched over to the Duke game after ours and our old buddy Len Elmore didn't even have him in his top 5 ACC players this year, SMH. Not sure I can recall all 5 but I think it was Okafor, Montrezl, Justin Anderson, Marcus Paige and not sure on the fifth but I think it was Jerian Grant. IMHO it is player of the year between Okafor and Christmas right now.

 

[two3zone]

Switched over to the Duke game after ours and our old buddy Len Elmore didn't even have him in his top 5 ACC players this year, SMH. Not sure I can recall all 5 but I think it was Okafor, Montrezl, Justin Anderson, Marcus Paige and not sure on the fifth but I think it was Jerian Grant. IMHO it is player of the year between Okafor and Christmas right now.

Announcers get a lot of flack around here and I don't usually partake in the criticisms but I can agree with everybody and say that Elmore is a dolt. There is not one thing I like about him calling a game.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Switched over to the Duke game after ours and our old buddy Len Elmore didn't even have him in his top 5 ACC players this year, SMH. Not sure I can recall all 5 but I think it was Okafor, Montrezl, Justin Anderson, Marcus Paige and not sure on the fifth but I think it was Jerian Grant. IMHO it is player of the year between Okafor and Christmas right now.

Am I the only one who thinks Paige is incredibly overrated?

 

[RF2044]

He needs to stop thinking if it's a good shot or not and just take the shot. As long as he's within 17 feet or so. His decision making process is what's affecting his shots, not his ability to shoot.

Since that breakout performance against Louisiana Tech [where I believe he had something like 16 and 17], Roberson looked to have calmed down and played more in the flow. It didn't always translate to big numbers, but he just seemed more comfortable. In particular, he seemed more fluid offensively for a few games.

On offense, he seems like he's back to overthinking it a bit [to your point]. I hope that those jitters will go away once he realizes that he's a starter who's going to play 30

 

[Cusefan0307]

Switched over to the Duke game after ours and our old buddy Len Elmore didn't even have him in his top 5 ACC players this year, SMH. Not sure I can recall all 5 but I think it was Okafor, Montrezl, Justin Anderson, Marcus Paige and not sure on the fifth but I think it was Jerian Grant. IMHO it is player of the year between Okafor and Christmas right now.

Paige shouldn't be on that list. If anyone is paying attention to anything this year, you would know he is the most overrated player in the ACC. We have three players on our team better than him.

 

[SUintheVille]

Just posting here for future reference. please ignore.

So are we likely to see pictures soon of Rak's head on the Ultimate Warrior and King Kong? That would be funny.

 

[Dave85]

Joseph's offensive contributions were decent tonight, but his defensive lapses were finally too much for JB to abide.

I hope Joseph can tighten his D, because I just don't like having Patterson out there late in a close game.

I think Patterson is okay. He's like a senior in age.