RSIII

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Maroon Shower

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I felt that Ralph had a particularly poor game @ NU. I know there are going to be ups and downs with freshman, but I find his lack of intensity a bit alarming. He fell asleep on the defensive end quite a few times and continues to bring the ball down to his waist after offensive rebounds. Some things he does wrong can be corrected and he clearly has talent, but the oft discussed sleepiness in his demeanor and his awareness are hard things to change. I'm wondering if this has more to do with his personality rather than his youth, and thus might be the type of thing that will continue to frustrate us in the years to come.

The other concerning part of this equation is the way Tubby handles him. While he seems to have a short leash for some other players like Colton and Devron, he seems to like to let RSIII try to play through his struggles. He logged 23 minutes last night when, to me, it seemed pretty clear he was mentally on another planet around minute 5. Any thoughts?
 


A 6-10 true freshman playing his 6th Big Ten game is not very high on the list of reasons we lost to Northwestern.
 

From the Barn said:
Go back and watch the beginning of the second half at Wisconsin.
Click to expand...

I'm aware that he is capable of playing very well and is very talented. He also goes through periods of zoning out where he just doesn't seem to be all the way there. I realize that this happens with freshmen, but there seems to be something more with Ralph. I certainly hope that he'll become more consistent with time, I'm just not entirely certain.
 

He logged 23 minutes last night when, to me, it seemed pretty clear he was mentally on another planet around minute 5. Any thoughts?

He (RS3) was not alone. Nolan, who has not played particularly well recently, was just awful. Bostick, who had played well the previous two games, played terrible. And maybe add to the list (gasp!) Tubby Smith. Devoe Joseph just makes his third straight shot to give the Gophers their biggest lead ... and ends up grabbing some pine.

BTW, I actually, I thought RS3 was decent when he was in the middle and not at PF, certainly better than Iverson.
 


For as athletic and nimble Sampson is suppose to be, he constantly lets his man get by him and penetrate the defense. Carter should he starting at PF and let Iverson and Sampson compete for minutes at center. It also might be time for a wake-up call to Nolen. If he doesnt come out and run the offense efficiently against Purdue, start Joseph and bring Al off the bench against the Hoosiers.
 

Nice moniker.....copy cat!!

:p Two words: RE and LAX!!! Kid is a freshman!! He is going to be JUST FINE!!!! Big men take a little longer to develop!!
 

Nice moniker...copy cat!!!

I do believe I had my moniker before you had yours. I made a few posts on the old Yuku board, but for some reason needed to rejoin once the switch was made. I suppose that would make you the copy cat.

I'm not blaming the NU loss on Ralph (although he didn't help). Clearly the 1-3-1 trap was the biggest key to the game. I'm just saying that he seems to go in and out of focus a bit too frequently for my liking, more so than other players. Hopefully this can be fixed, but I fear it's partially due to his laid back personality. I sometimes get the sense that he's only playing basketball because, well, he's the 6-11 son of Ralph Sampson II, and he's pretty good at it. Not because it's what he loves to do. Probably over analyzing...
 

i, for one, cant wait to get westbrook out of the starting lineup. sure he had a great offensive game at wisconsin but if you go back and watch the game he almost lost it for us by forcing his shot. he needs to learn to let the game come to him not just think its his turn to shoot. he also has a very bad attitude out there. if he teammate turns the ball over or misses him if he is open he sulks. look what he did when carter dribbled the ball of his leg. his defense isnt very good either. he loses his guy constantly on d. hes a streak shooter and we would be better served coming off the bench for instant offense
 



Maroon, I agree with you, I have been frustrated with a number of aspects of Ralph's game (pick and roll defense to name one) as well as the seeming lack of interest you mention although I do feel it is dangerous to criticize a kid's demeanor as everyone is different. That said - it is obvious he brings a number of things to the table, not the least of which being tremendous length.

I agree with what you say about Tubby allowing Ralph to play through mistakes while perhaps having a shorter leash on Iverson but I'll defer to him on that (I think he's earned it). Although he still makes frustrating mistakes often (common for many freshman, especially big men) I think I've seen improvement lately.
 

Two Towers

<BTW, I actually, I thought RS3 was decent when he was in the middle and not at PF, certainly better than Iverson.>

Me too. Maybe its because that is where he has played up until this year.
 

I'd just like to see the kid smile a bit!
 

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