(11-19) Mercer vs. (24-6) Furman March 9th (Quarterfinals)

[DungeonRealm]

He said it better than I could, but I was wondering about NG's pro potential earlier this year. I'm curious to see how Noah improves his game in the off season. He could be nasty as he gets older. He appears to have the base layer of tools to make a run at the NBA, athleticism and height seems about what you need, which is what has held a lot of former Furman players back. Plus he can shoot the 3 some.

As a local comparator: He's slightly taller, less athletic, and slower than Perry Dozier who was a 6' 6" PG and lead SC to the Final Four as a sophomore. Dozier declared for the NBA, went undrafted, and has a two-way G League contract with the Celtics three years into his professional career.

Not sure which professional league Jackson Hoy was referring to, but, at this point, NG's not an NBA candidate. He either needs to put on about 40 lbs. of muscle, grow about 3-4 inches, or become a three-point specialist extraordinaire.

PJ Dozier on the Boston Celtics is not a good comparison, PJ can't shoot to save his life, shot 21% from 3 as a freshmen at USC
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... ier-1.html

Well, you're projecting NG based on his height and athleticism, so they are similar in each and, to be honest, the G-league guy at the end of the bench on a two-way contract was the only remotely realistic comparator. BTW, Dozier will likely play in Asia next year.

As I say, that was the only realistic comparator I could think of. The SF on that same team just so happens to be roughly Gurley's age and height, so that was a possible comparator; comparing Gurley to Jayson Tatum would be laughable, however.

I sense you guys are not that familiar with the NBA.

Fessor, NBA aside, I am just glad Gurley is on our team, FU does not get many guys like him on the recruiting trail

[DungeonRealm]

BTW fun fact, of FU's last 16 wins, they have all been by 8 or more points

Victory margins:
21
14
8
43
13
16
32
15
10
11
19
30
10
34
9
21

No close wins since December 1st

[Fessor]

Don't be naive and think he should already be setting the world on fire, and that season tickets makes you a NBA scout
He has the tools, I like to think of him as a potential Kyle Kuzma type, look what Kuzma did as a freshmen, not much
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... zma-1.html

Like I said, there are a lot of guys with that same skill set who IF they make some quantum leap will be NBA players. You read about the one guy that does, not the 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000, whatever, who don't. BTW, I'm still waiting on Bruce Evans to grow three more inches and put on 30 pounds of muscle.

Like Bruce, I also don't see NG's frame being about to put on, and keep on, the kind of muscle he's going to need.

"Naive" is a good word for UFFP/GoPaladins NBA discussions. "Uninformed" might be a better one.

BTW, here might be the most important "IF" of all: IF NG is going to play the 5 in the SoCon, then he's not going to pick up the skill set to be an NBA 3.

Yes, NBA aside, he can be a dominant mid-major player and not be an NBA prospect.

[Fessor]

Don't be naive and think he should already be setting the world on fire, and that season tickets makes you a NBA scout
He has the tools, I like to think of him as a potential Kyle Kuzma type, look what Kuzma did as a freshmen, not much
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... zma-1.html

Like I said, there are a lot of guys with that same skill set who IF they make some quantum leap will be NBA players. You read about the one guy that does, not the 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000, whatever, who don't. BTW, I'm still waiting on Bruce Evans to grow three more inches and put on 30 pounds of muscle.

Like Bruce, I also don't see NG's frame being about to put on, and keep on, the kind of muscle he's going to need.

"Naive" is a good word for UFFP/GoPaladins NBA discussions. "Uninformed" might be a better one.

BTW, here might be the most important "IF" of all: IF NG is going to play the 5 in the SoCon, then he's not going to pick up the skill set to be an NBA 3.

Yes, NBA aside, he can be a dominant mid-major player and not be an NBA prospect.

Of all NG's traits, and he has a lot of good ones, I like his competitiveness. He's got a nasty streak that most winners have. I think he takes it personally. I love him talking to the other bench.

[DungeonRealm]

Btw, get ready to see Bob Hoffman whine for 40mins.

Heard he may be on the way out.

Honestly I was a little surprised when he did not decide to retire after last season

[DungeonRealm]

[DungeonRealm]

[DungeonRealm]

[DungeonRealm]

[DungeonRealm]

Very interesting things are happening folks

[FUBeAR]

Against UNCG on Saturday, Mercer went 11:44 without scoring a single FG - from 6:47 remaining in the 1st half thru 15:03 remaining in the 2nd half. Unless Cummings goes completely crazy from beyond 3, this game should be a walkover.

You can bet your bottom dollar nothing close to this will happen Saturday night. I expect Mercer to give us all we want. If we win it will not be easy. Count on it. Remember we have not shot well all year after a week off.

Oh...btw...during this nearly 12 minute drought, the Bears went 0-11 shooting & turned the ball over 6 times. I don’t know if they’ve had a longer stretch without a basket this year, but I do know they have been highly prone this season to ‘disappearing’ on Offense for extended periods and falling way behind in the process - as they did during this stretch in the UNCG game; going from a competitive -7 to a run-out-of-the-gym -24.

Just no real scoring threats outside of Cummings.

[fufanatic]

Don't be naive and think he should already be setting the world on fire, and that season tickets makes you a NBA scout
He has the tools, I like to think of him as a potential Kyle Kuzma type, look what Kuzma did as a freshmen, not much
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... zma-1.html

Like I said, there are a lot of guys with that same skill set who IF they make some quantum leap will be NBA players. You read about the one guy that does, not the 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000, whatever, who don't. BTW, I'm still waiting on Bruce Evans to grow three more inches and put on 30 pounds of muscle.

Like Bruce, I also don't see NG's frame being about to put on, and keep on, the kind of muscle he's going to need.

"Naive" is a good word for UFFP/GoPaladins NBA discussions. "Uninformed" might be a better one.

BTW, here might be the most important "IF" of all: IF NG is going to play the 5 in the SoCon, then he's not going to pick up the skill set to be an NBA 3.

Yes, NBA aside, he can be a dominant mid-major player and not be an NBA prospect.

I guess I don't understand the negativity. Not one person on this board, myself included, said that he's draftable right now. Or that he's a lock to be drafted. Or that he is probably going to get drafted. All we did was agree that he does have some beginnings of the skill set that you might need to make a run at the NBA. And that in itself is extremely rare at Furman. I'm incredibly excited to see how he develops ... he's only a redshirt freshman ... and I hope he wears a Paladin jersey for three more years after this one.

[Fessor]

I guess I misread the comments about "NBA 3" and "Kyle Kuzma".

A good maxim: Don't ask a question that you don't want to know the answer to.

The question to which I was responding was: Why isn't there NBA buzz around a certain player? My response: he's not buzz-worthy. What you call negative, I call being objective.

Another applicable maxim: Just because someone asks a question, doesn't mean that you have to answer it. I probably should have sat this one out. However, while not the most egregious example, the superlatives and exuberance run amok in this forum are sometimes more than my gag reflex can handle. As was said by someone else on a different topic: I had to call BS.

[DungeonRealm]

I guess I misread the comments about "NBA 3" and "Kyle Kuzma".

A good maxim: Don't ask a question that you don't want to know the answer to.

The question to which I was responding was: Why isn't there NBA buzz around a certain player? My response: he's not buzz-worthy. What you call negative, I call being objective.

Another applicable maxim: Just because someone asks a question, doesn't mean that you have to answer it. I probably should have sat this one out. However, while not the most egregious example, the superlatives and exuberance run amok in this forum are sometimes more than my gag reflex can handle. As was said by someone else on a different topic: I had to call BS.

After all you do have nba season tickets

[fufanatic]

I guess I misread the comments about "NBA 3" and "Kyle Kuzma".

A good maxim: Don't ask a question that you don't want to know the answer to.

The question to which I was responding was: Why isn't there NBA buzz around a certain player? My response: he's not buzz-worthy. What you call negative, I call being objective.

Another applicable maxim: Just because someone asks a question, doesn't mean that you have to answer it. I probably should have sat this one out. However, while not the most egregious example, the superlatives and exuberance run amok in this forum are sometimes more than my gag reflex can handle. As was said by someone else on a different topic: I had to call BS.

Ultimately, I think the chain from the original tweet is fair. NG is still very young and hasn't even fully developed yet. But he has shown flashes of talent this year, has elite athleticism for the mid-major level, can shoot the 3 a bit and is a ferocious dunker. I don't think it's dumb to suggest that he has the potential to earn a little bit of buzz if he keeps improving year after year. I do agree that if he's playing the 5 at Furman for 3 more years, it will be hard to improve at the position he would most likely play at the next level, but that's not for me to decide.