I think you and I have been banging this drum for a bit now.

I am curious about a few players and your (or anyone else's) opinion on them.

Carlos Stewart, Daimion Collins, and Cory Chest. I don't know much about them other than what I have read here. Do you think any of them try to transfer and do they add real value, Chest and Collins in particular. I know Stewart and Collins saw a little time early but I do not recall anything memorable.

Regardless they need a 5 that is closer to KJ. I have let my mind wonder a few times to the thought of this team with KJ and the good version of Jalen Cook. I don't know why I do this to myself, though

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Posted by mcmaniacinsaneasylum

Baton Rouge

Member since Feb 2023

1976 posts

Posted on 3/22/24 at 6:38 pm to mdomingue

quote:
I think you and I have been banging this drum for a bit now

For sure brother.

quote:
Carlos Stewart

Out of the three players you listed, Carlos is the biggest quandary. Undoubtedly, the tape and statistics he had at Santa Clara were very promising. I was extremely hyped about him transferring to LSU as I thought he would provide consistent offense (something Mc’s 1st team lacked).

My expectation for Carlos was to be an on ball combo guard, as his tape at SC was predominantly him scoring on the ball. He comes to LSU and looks terrible, just to put it bluntly. But how much of that was his fault, and how much of that was scheme?

Carlos was relegated to an off ball catch and shoot player from the wing, whose only opportunities to drive came from the baseline. If you look at his tape from SC, he was lethal from the top of the arc and the elbow. Baker did not allow him to do this. Alt26 and I were talking about this earlier today- but baker ate up a lot of space on the court which impacted Reed’s game as well.

I just don’t see the role Carlos will have on this team moving forward. He is a ball dominant player and we already have plenty of that next season- Cook/transfer PG, Givens, Ward, Williams (even though he’s better off ball). Unless Mc is fully committed to letting him be a ball dominant player his roster spot is better served for someone that can defend and be an off ball player. Carlos is neither.

I’ve heard rumblings both ways about him leaving and staying. Some say the coaching staff is confident in him once he’s fully healthy. Maybe so. What I can undoubtedly guarantee though is that he NEEDS the ball in his hands. He won’t be doing much as an off ball guy.

Can we get a better ball dominant guy? Or even a better off ball guy? Certainly. I’m torn between whether I believe in Stewart or not. He’s one of those players that has to contribute on offense because he just frankly isn’t a good defender.

quote:
Daimion Collins

I am a firm believer in Collins. I would be quite upset if he transfers. Even though he didn’t play much at Kentucky- one thing that is overlooked is that he was practicing with NBA players and getting coached by Coach Cal, so he was improving even though he wasn’t seeing the court. And let’s be real, not many players would play over Oscar Thsiebwe.

From what we’ve seen, he has a versatile offensive skillset. He has a face up game, he can roll, and has decent post moves. Hes going to be immediately impactful if he plays next season.

I think he has shown propensity for being a good defender and rebounder. If my memory serves me correct he made a few good plays on that end. But he is incredibly skinny and needs to put on weight. He makes freshman year Jalen Reed look like Ronnie Coleman by comparison.

The reason he didn’t play much this season was because of off the court issues. He was killing it during the summer but he did something that caused his spot on the team to slip. I heard this directly from the mouth of one of the assistant coaches on the team. He was working his way back into the rotation before his injury derailed him.

Thankfully, he will still have two years of eligibility left due to a medical redshirt, and I expect him to be an important player on this team moving forward.

quote:
Corey Chest

Corey is the type of player that I believe brings value to a team no matter what. Corey, although not the most skilled player, has things that cannot be taught. He has great basketball instincts, a high motor, and limitless hustle. He is very athletic and has an ability to push the pace in transition and be a threat to score with his great athleticism and length. I expect him to be a plus defender due to all these attributes mentioned.

Areas lacking from his game are his ball handle, playmaking, and shooting. But I expect this was worked on during the season with his redshirt. McMahon has also mentioned numerous times he’s put on 15 pounds of muscle. So it might be plausible that McMahon wants him to play more like a 4 than the tweener 3-4 he was coming out of high school.

A huge reason why I was clamoring for chest to play was his rebounding ability. At our scrimmage, he led the team in rebounding with 9 despite playing less minutes than other front court players. Rebounding can be coached up- but I think there’s something inherent about being a dog and going for it. Expect his game to resemble Hannibal but at 6’8’’.

quote:
Regardless they need a 5 that is closer to KJ. I have let my mind wonder a few times to the thought of this team with KJ and the good version of Jalen Cook. I don't know why I do this to myself, though

I’ve thought this plenty times baw. KJ was a special player and it’s a shame he was wasted last year.

This post ended up being a lot longer than anticipated but it’s filled with lots of valuable information. Hope you guys take the time to read.