How Great Did FAB Look?

[fanfanclubclub]

pretty. . . pretty . . . pretty . . . pretty good.

sure, FAB does a lot of stupid things on both ends of the floor that great players do not do. He seems like he will be making quite a few mistakes. Since he wears his emotions on his sleeve a bit, I'd guess that we will constantly be parsing his body language and facial expressions all season long.

But on the plus side, he looked really good above the rim. The simple things have come together: timing, focus, hands, power, explosion. I was young, but I've seen all the tapes: the Rony Seikley comparisons might become really apt in a hurry. Like Rony, Fab looks like he just figured out how to use a serious pro body.

Last season, it was hard to describe FAB as an "above the rim" player, even though he is basically above the rim simply standing on flat feet. His injury made him play like his foot was booted.

Now that FAB is sleeker and bouncier, he is going to be impossible for small teams to stop. Against UConn and Pitt, we'll have to see where FAB is at, developmentally. But against the runts, FAB is going to be dominating. Usually I don't drool at the abilities of a player to crush Canisius, but it will be fun to watch our 6'7", 6'9", 7'0" front line dominate both rims.

 

[EastCoast2]

Looking forward to the Fordham game

 

[DoctorBombay]

There was a stretch there where he challenged EVERYTHING above the rim!
I was shocked to see how slim he & Dion looked- Fab just appeared sleeker & more coordinated.
Lets hope it translates on the court- he'll need it vs Drummond, Birch, Dieng, et al

 

[EastCoast2]

There was a stretch there where he challenged EVERYTHING above the rim!
I was shocked to see how slim he & Dion looked- Fab just appeared sleeker & more coordinated.
Lets hope it translates on the court- he'll need it vs Drummond, Birch, Dieng, et al

He had a few huge blocks in there... good to see him get the timing right on those guys running full speed at him

 

[Ghost]

He seemed so lost last year that any improvement would be a welcome sight. That being said it seems like he may be ready to contribute a lot more than I would have guessed going off his body of work from last year.

 

[SoBeCuse]

There was a stretch there where he challenged EVERYTHING above the rim!
I was shocked to see how slim he & Dion looked- Fab just appeared sleeker & more coordinated.
Lets hope it translates on the court- he'll need it vs Drummond, Birch, Dieng, et al

Yep...Triche too. BT looked pretty quick out there.

 

[jordoo]

I think Fab will be much better, of course thats not saying a lot after last season. I do agree with the OP that he looks like he will be able to doa lot more and has started to figured out his body as far as how to use it for bball. I also agree that with that we will see him make plenty of poor decisions and bad plays as well. He just does not have much experiance in general compared to the guys he will be playing against. Fab will still be learing on the fly although I feel that he will be a consistant contributer this season even with the mistakes he will surely make.

I thought the team as a whole looked to be in very good shape. Dion, Brandon and Fab were the most notable as they were all smaller and moving much better. Kris, CJ, Baye and James all looked like they added some muscle.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There are some things he does, like when he posts up and drives to his off shoulder, that are the types of things only really good players can do.

Such a weird player. So advanced at some things and the raw skills are clearly there, and yet so far behind on some other things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he becomes.

 

[arbitragegls]

Melo, the center, looks in shape...although i still feel he needs more endurance to be as good as we want him to be...he showed more pop in his jumps and he was on his toes on defense...he can throw down well and appears to "want the action" this year...unlike last year.

 

[orangefan13]

Melo, the center, looks in shape...although i still feel he needs more endurance to be as good as we want him to be...he showed more pop in his jumps and he was on his toes on defense...he can throw down well and appears to "want the action" this year...unlike last year.

People will laugh but I would like to see him try a few minutes at PF early in the season even if it has to be against Colgate. Some of it has to do with him never trying it last year.

I hope most of all his sliding and ability to get up quicker off a standstill have improved. Even if it doesn't make sense would love to see him utilize the weakside blocks, rebounding and running out in transition, and sway away from the flatfooted, not get off the ground so fast, slow recovery speed, and rediculously looking sliding that troubled him some last year.

Keita worked at Center better then Fab last year. He recovered blocked and covered ground outstandingly. What if Rak does the same?
Centers will hate trying to beat their man on Melos PF side. He can put the ball on the ground better then Keita or Rak. And hows a 7'0 on the offensive end dishing over a PF sound? How does Fab jumping into a group after a jump ball rebound sound?

 

[jordoo]

Fab at the 4? Hmmm yes I'm laughing. Not at the idea so much but just at the thought of all of him running at some short guy in the corner and not just running but looking really goofy while doing it. That would certainly be very distracting.

 

[orangefan13]

Well until we try it

Fab at the 4? Hmmm yes I'm laughing. Not at the idea so much but just at the thought of all of him running at some short guy in the corner and not just running but looking really goofy while doing it. That would certainly be very distracting.

Well until we try it we will be left wondering. :rolling: