He needs his own thread. That’s all. You don’t want 5 of him on your team, but you need 1.
Love this kid. His high low passes are a lost art. Double the post from the corner defense was also super.
At some point in the second half. Jessie had the ball in the post and JBA sprinted across court drawing the double team defender with him.
Little stuff like that matters.
Glad to see him and Benny on the count together…Also got a glimpse of why I’m not sure it’s a good idea.
Thing is, you can tell the other players all LOVE him. They root for him on the bench and go nuts when he scores.
He's well-respected and well-liked by the players, and I think he's an example of what can happen when you persevere in JB's system. We may not like JB's antics and public ripping of players, but he's rarely wrong about what players need to do to be productive.
Our myriad transfers who haven't flourished in new systems are a good example that JB knows what it takes to maximize performance.
JBA is the end result of someone who sticks around and listens. He will never be dominant, but he has decided to do absolutely everything in his role to help the team. His energy, his smile, and his obvious love of SU are infectious. A lot of folks are upset he's getting minutes over Maliq, but (and this will be a controversial take) I trust JB.
Maliq is athletic and can make things happen, but JBA is showing he deserves this time. He's good on defense, understands his role on offense, and does exactly what's needed. He has done everything right while at SU and is worthy of this time.
I hope Maliq looks at him as an example of what is needed to get on the court. I think Maliq's ceiling is a ton higher than JBA's, but hopefully, watching and learning, and working hard in practice will pay dividends for Maliq as it has for JBA.
