Kevin Durant Skills Academy
- Thread starter Nuts4Cy
- Start date
So who pulled out so they had to fill the slot at the last minute with Pasty McGinger?
Seriously, most of the invites went out a month and a half ago.
Seriously, most of the invites went out a month and a half ago.
The first half of the year, White did look like a legit player. The second half of the year, he disappeared.
Fault me for defending a Hawkeye, but I fully believe Aaron White has the talent to justify him getting an invite. Put me in the camp where I've always been a big Aaron White guy. However, I'm not sure there is a coach out there who underutilizes his talents like Mad Fran does, which is a lot of the reason why White ended up dissapeared mid-act last year. White is one of those guys I could only dream of being in Hoiberg's system where he truly could be a force. The dude has skills and runs like a gazelle, which both are great Hoiball traits.
I've found Aaron White is always one of those players who is in the right place at the right time. He gets nearly all of his points off good looks from other players and off plays where the ball is already close to the hoop. I guess you could say that's a skill.
It's hard to utilize a guy who doesn't like to shoot outside of three feet nor likes contact. He's a finesse stretch four without the jump shot. He does run the floor well and has good instincts on cutting to the basket, if he's a fourth scoring option a team you're probably in real good shape, if he's first or second, not so much.
I honestly think that is one of the most under-appreciated skills a player of any game can possess. Being in the right place at the right time is a great skill to have. You have to have vision for the flow of the game to do it...and if the result is a bunch of "easy" relatively uncontested shots then yes, I would say he has some skill.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Yes, really. I also see him as a guy whose play really depends on his confidence level, which isn't very high right now. This is another reason I feel he could greatly benefit from Hoiberg, as I truly believe Hoiberg is about as good as any coach at trusting and building confidence in a player. Fran, I'd say not so much, as evidenced by his demeanor and his whole team's colapse last year.
Lastly, there is also a reason why I've seen multiple threads on this site where Cyclone fans debate if they could only have one player switch over from the Hawkeyes to the Cyclones, who would that be, and the overwhelming response has been White (even over Marble). Our own fans wouldn't say that if he has no skills.
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Yeah, then he proceeded to let Niang basically walk to the hoop and lay the game winner in.
I will be excited to see camp videos of BDJ posterizing him.
Might as well just give White the "Best guy who can wildly drive to the hoop and throw up their arms to draw a foul" camp award now.
Meh. He's good in transition and frequently finds himself in the right place at the right time, but he's soft going to the basket and struggles against physical teams. With him, it always seems like less is more. You get better production from him when you're not drawing stuff up for him.
Aaron White is fantastic in fast breaks, and any time he has an angle to the basket. He draws fouls at a high rate, and converts at the FT line. I would not call him "finesse" like a previous post - rather he plays it ugly if he doesn't have a clear path to the hoop. He doesn't have a lot of post moves, or a consistent outside shot... so he is a bit one-dimensional. But I think even Cyclone fans ought to admit that when he's streaking toward the basket in a fast break - you are in trouble... One of the best in the country at that particular situation.
