On Kaleb Joseph...

[jekelish]

Some people seem to be getting a little antsy with Kaleb and how quietly he's come out of the gates, so I decided to sum up my thoughts on the dude: http://.com/kaleb-joseph-patience-is-a-virtue/

Bottom line is, he's going to be just fine, IMO. He's being compared to one of the most poised freshman point guards most of us have ever seen, so obviously he's going to look a little out of control and from time to time lost in contrast. Dude has all of the tools necessary to become a big time point guard, and I think he'll get there sooner rather than later.

 

[br801]

The fact that there is much hand-wringing because Joseph has not played flawlessly two cupcakes into the season is hilarious.

 

[SUintheVille]

We as fans tend to judge too early. Puts added pressure on the player. Way too early to make any judgements either way. Let the kid play and fairly evaluate who he is later, not who he is compared to past point guards either.

 

[OttoMets]

People are antsy?

He's been fine. Dare I say better than the last point guard, since he pushes the ball before the defense gets set and also tries alley-oop passes now and again.

Joseph does seem to get tired easily. February could be a difficult month for him (and the team). But right now, nothing to complain about from that position.

 

[cuseincincy]

People are antsy?

He's been fine. Dare I say better than the last point guard, since he pushes the ball before the defense gets set and also tries alley-oop passes now and again.

Joseph does seem to get tired easily. February could be a difficult month for him (and the team). But right now, nothing to complain about from that position.

I like him. I fully expect more turnovers and less consistency than Ennis showed. I also expect to see things we didn't see from Ennis as OttoMets states above. Once I again I feel I must remind people that Sherm Douglas on occasion would airmail one into the tuba section. And it will help Joseph to play with Gbinije as a point forward in order to take some ball handling responsibility off him.

 

[jekelish]

People are antsy?

He's been fine. Dare I say better than the last point guard, since he pushes the ball before the defense gets set and also tries alley-oop passes now and again.

Joseph does seem to get tired easily. February could be a difficult month for him (and the team). But right now, nothing to complain about from that position.

And I'm not saying there are countless threads about the dude, but I've certainly seen a fair share of posts with some folks wondering about him, and if anything, I also wanted to put this out there as a preemptive thing since I could see people getting frustrated if he doesn't start putting up 12-13 points per game soon.

 

[jgeorge322]

i didnt know people had issues w joseph's played. ive been thrilled with his first two games.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Tonight will be an awesome test for him. I can't wait to see how he plays tonight. I still think the situation at center is more critical than PG. We have such limited options if Xmas gets in foul trouble and the center is so important to a healthy zone that I think it is more of a concern than KJ having a learning curve. That said, I think Xmas will play great and get a bunch of national attention in NYC.

 

[jekelish]

Tonight will be an awesome test for him. I can't wait to see how he plays tonight. I still think the situation at center is more critical than PG. We have such limited options if Xmas gets in foul trouble and the center is so important to a healthy zone that I think it is more of a concern than KJ having a learning curve. That said, I think Xmas will play great and get a bunch of national attention in NYC.

Agreed, center is a position of tremendous concern as long as DC2 is out. But I'm nervous as hell about what might happen without Joseph, since I don't really trust any of our secondary ballhandling options against, say, a Louisville press.

 

[tbonezone]

i'm liking what i see so far. like the increased tempo. we know he can drive but he's showing some range as a shooter.

 

[jekelish]

i'm liking what i see so far. like the increased tempo. we know he can drive but he's showing some range as a shooter.

Agreed. I didn't like against Hampton that he seemed to be settling for the 17 footer a little bit, though. I want to see him attack more, but again, that could also be more difficult because as long as McC and Rak are roaming around the lane, they're going to have a lot of big bodies with them so Joseph's not gonna have much room to work in.

 

[HoustonCuse]

What will be cool tonight, is that Boeheim always reserves a few cracker-jack offensive sets for the early season tourney. So we'll see a few new slick offensive plays tonight and get a chance to KJ in a little bit different role than we've seen previously. One thing he has shown that I love is the shot fake and step in jumper and his psuedo jump stop jumper.

 

[chlywtr]

i love the way he plays and the game he brings...i did, however, not like seeing those MCW-ish jump passes against Hampton

i do have a feeling those things will be remedied with a quickness though...his basketball IQ seems to be pretty robust

 

[IthacaMatt]

And I'm not saying there are countless threads about the dude, but I've certainly seen a fair share of posts with some folks wondering about him, and if anything, I also wanted to put this out there as a preemptive thing since I could see people getting frustrated if he doesn't start putting up 12-13 points per game soon.

So far, I'm among the people who are a little disappointed, but yes, it's only 2 games. The thing that concerns me, though, is that he doesn't show the explosiveness driving the lane and running the break that we saw in his HS tapes. Maybe he's still getting into game shape. He has shown the skills / moves / etc., but lacks the athleticism I was expecting. In person, I was surprised that he didn't get past defenders more often when running the break against Hampton.

We'll know a lot more after this weekend in NYC, but in reality, we won't have a clear picture of Kaleb until late December rolls around, and he's got 10+ games under his belt. He'll be in game shape by then, and he will have better chemistry with his teammates in the halfcourt offense.

 

[two3zone]

To be all honest I like Kaleb better than Ennis. That slow ball crap was annoying as hell, the half court offense stunk.

 

[Eagles20]

To be all honest I like Kaleb better than Ennis. That slow ball crap was annoying as hell, the half court offense stunk.

Usually I agree with a lot of your posts, but this one I don't. My first impression of Ennis was being really impressed dating back to the Canada trip. The slow ball wasn't great, but it seemed at times like a total team effort to slow it down. Fair being the go to player was more of a half court guy and it seemed like they catered to that. Their were times especially early where Ennis looked to push and they got some transition points, specifically remember the around the back pass to grant for the and1. I just really enjoyed Tyler's craftiness, poise, and body control. He found a way to score and get to the hoop and scored in a variety of ways around the hoop.

When it comes to Kaleb, for me it's still undecided. It's still too early and he hasn't done anything to really make me say wow. I do like the pump fake two dribble pull up jumper he showed. At times Iv been alittle concerned with weak passes, sluggish defense, and loose handle. These next two games will show a lot more of what he is like ( not make or break or anything). It will be good to see him against better competition and playing in the Garden to see how he performs.

 

[jekelish]

I will say that the one thing that I've been concerned with about Kaleb has been that he's gotten a little lackadaisical with some passes. That's very easily correctable, particularly as he gets more accustomed to playing against better competition. He'll learn to protect the ball both with his handle and his passing.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Just hit some threes and well be good.

 

[jekelish]

Just hit some threes and well be good.

Amazing stat: through two games, he hasn't even attempted a three. That surprises me.