Kiyan Anthony RETURNING

[RedtheGOB]

Just think it is always a concern when the negatives are strength speed and athleticism. You saw in the tournament how high motor and physical the college game is at the highest level. Others have referenced freshman who started slow like Kris Joseph and Dion, but those guys were plus athletes from day 1. I think he can be a serviceable bench piece, but the ceiling for him feels low unless he proves he has a lot more in the tank as an athlete. Could easily see his shooting, IQ, even defensive skills improving, but how often have we seen a significant jump in athleticism from a young recruit?

My take is that he is gonna have to shoot his way on the court. Just listen to waters and Donna talk about Kiyan and theyre like the nicest people in the world.

They specifically said a shooting guard cannot shoot 25% from 3 and 62% from the line and expect to play. No doubt Kiyan will get a chance to prove himself again but he has to prove his shot selection and FT shooting is better both of which are mostly mental parts of the game.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

For sure. Context matters. He also had a number of offensive moves way ahead of where he should be.

And then he just stopped trying once the season went sideways. Like a lot of guys.

He needs to get in better shape. Needs to work on his tunnel visi0n (which I think was more environment driven than anything with our coaching and team) and he at least needs to try on D.

But he has talent. He isn't coasting off his last name like Bronny.

For sure. There are legitimate criticisms of his game. But I see some over indexing on that. He's like a video game player that has a high rating on some skills and los ratings on others. But the highs name it worth letting him grow on the low areas because some guys won't ever get to the highs.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Was a bit shocked he fell off a cliff after his big SMU second half. I don't think the coaching or his backcourt mates did him any favors. That said my biggest issue with him is his motor. I don't remember a player ever loafing back as much on defense as much as him. I don't care if he's not super quick, but he for sure did not play as hard as he should. That said I think he and Doty both start with Euro off the bench. I think Doty helps balance the other two players weaknesses.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Was a bit shocked he fell off a cliff after his big SMU second half. I don't think the coaching or his backcourt mates did him any favors. That said my biggest issue with him is his motor. I don't remember a player ever loafing back as much on defense as much as him. I don't care if he's not super quick, but he for sure did not play as hard as he should. That said I think he and Doty both start with Euro off the bench. I think Doty helps balance the other two players weaknesses.

I think questioning his effort is fair.

 

[swish7]

But besides being better on offense and defense and changing his entire mindset on how he plays the game I am super excited.

He wouldn't be returning if he wasn't willing to change his approach on O, IMO.

Actually don't mind if he becomes a greenlit option. Thought it was confusing how Red utilized him this past season. Honestly felt he could have been a more primary option.

But, I assume GMac will push for a more unselfish team oriented O and all will need to adjust.

Concerns with Anthony are holding on to thr ball too long. Not sure if that was him or Red.

D is obviously a concern, but is mostly effort & angles & easier to teach.

 

[007]

For sure. Context matters. He also had a number of offensive moves way ahead of where he should be.

And then he just stopped trying once the season went sideways. Like a lot of guys.

He needs to get in better shape. Needs to work on his tunnel visi0n (which I think was more environment driven than anything with our coaching and team) and he at least needs to try on D.

But he has talent. He isn't coasting off his last name like Bronny.

Yup. Kiyan has talent and polish to his skill set on offense. He needs to mature physically and get a lot stronger to reach his ceiling on offense. But I think his athleticism, especially his lack of speed and quickness, could be the limiting factor to his overall game. Training, dedication, effort can only do so much in this regard. He will need to compensate for his inherent weaknesses through experience, anticipation on defense, and BB IQ.

Fortunately, Kiyan will have access to the resources to help him maximize his potential.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I guess it's good to have the son of an alltime legend stick around, but he has to make major strides to even be considered as a rotation player if we're expecting to improve enough to make the tournament. A lot of people above are worried about his strength, but that can be improved. I'm more worried about his obvious lack of quickness and how slow he is... these attributes are a lot harder to improve on than bulking up.

i agree. hes fine on driving to the lane, imo...actually really good in that regard

but how many times did he get blown by flatfooted on d? and the low 3% is also a big problem as well

those are my two issues

but i think putting on muscle will just help all-around

 

[CardiacCuse]

I'm going to keep banging the drum here - look at the lineups he played with. Who was he going to look for that was a viable shooting threat? Betsey on the perimeter. Sadiq on a lob. And... that's it. So many of his minutes came with Souare being an actual zero on offense and JJ doing JJ thangs.

Kiyan took bad shots and needs much better judgment, no doubt. He absolutely needs to use his own gravity to get guys better looks. But the lineup most of his minutes came on sucked and had extremely limited scoring options.

kiyan showed playmaking flashes, eps early on with some nice assists

he should try to move more towards the PG direction...he can already get in the lane pretty well...should be a key part of his game that opens up other areas and lifts the team

hes a good passer but we barely saw that latter half of the season

 

[Orangezoo]

He wouldn't be returning if he wasn't willing to change his approach on O, IMO.

Actually don't mind if he becomes a greenlit option. Thought it was confusing how Red utilized him this past season. Honestly felt he could have been a more primary option.

But, I assume GMac will push for a more unselfish team oriented O and all will need to adjust.

Concerns with Anthony are holding on to thr ball too long. Not sure if that was him or Red.

D is obviously a concern, but is mostly effort & angles & easier to teach.

If you watch a couple of Sienas recent games they ran specific action that opened up driving lanes for Doty as well as Shoats. One of the things where Kiyan excels is attacking those lanes and gaps given the comfort level he has with pro level moves attacking the rim. He will need to learn and have options available around passing out of that action but it really would fit him well and even more than Doty because Doty is more north south in that situation or a head fake and crossover into midrange.

In that action for whoever the driver is - it will be ideal for that to be about drawing contact and getting to the line. As Dusty May emphasized FTs.. Siena did too. Siena shot 15 less FTs but only averaged 5 pts less per game than us.

VCU shot over 800 FTs ( more games of course but even without the conference tourney they were over 700) and we are bringing a key offensive cog/disciple to help with our offense in that regard.