My Take from Jimmer's All-Stars
by kwlarson on Sep 23, 2011 10:44 PM PDT
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PrintFrom the FanPosts, a view from the stands of Jimmer's All-Stars - Aykis
I was able to attend the Jimmer's All-Stars event with my wife the other night. Provo was buzzing with excitement at the chance to cheer on Jimmer Fredette (all-time leading scorer) and Jackson Emery (all-time leader in steals) one last time. Last season can only be described, for those who didn't follow it as it happened, by one word: Amazing. But I digress.
UPDATE: For those who didn't get to watch Jimmer's All-Stars live, it is now available on-demand here.
I'll break it down by player, with my impressions.
Jimmer Fredette
I could feel something special in the air as I walked into the Marriott Center Thursday night. It was a feeling of expectations. After so many memorable showcases during the college basketball season, many BYU fans came to the building expecting a Jimmer show. Every time Jimmer crossed the half-court line he was peppered with many, "Shoot it from there!" shouts. While Jimmer pulled the trigger a few times from distance, it was easy to tell that he was playing a different type of game.
Fredette was playing facilitator much more then he did in college. This was evident by the 10 assists he notched (He easily could have had 15 on many drive and kick-outs to three-point shooters that couldn't connect). It was nice to see develop into the role we will undoubtedly play in the NBA (If this lockout EVER ends). Aside from this new(er) roll for Jimmer, he got the crowd going with a few stop-and-pop threes and a couple nifty body-contorting lay ups. I see one "weakness" in Jimmer's game, and that is a consistant floater. I've seen Jimmer hit that shot but he doesn't go to it very often. Once "officially" in the Association, Jimmer will learn he can only twist his body and shield the ball so much against the likes of Dwight Howard and Serge Ibaka.
Isaiah Thomas
This kid is EXCITING!!!! He played off the crowd all night long. The BYU student section immediately latched on to him and chanted at Steve Fisher on multiple occasions, "We! Want! Tho-mas!" and "Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!" After the game Isaiah tweeted the following:
The BYU fans are GREAT!!!!! They showed me sooooooo much LOVE it was unbelievable, I felt like Jimmer out there today LOL!! Thank you PROVO!
and
I thought I would NEVER say this lol BUT Provo I gotta come back here again cuz the fans were GREAT and showed me crazy LOVE, see yall soon!
I have no doubt that if/when Isaiah returns to Provo he will be received as if he had played in Cougar Blue for 4 years and performed annual service projects in the community and saved an old lady's life while on a river. He has all the energy that Nate Robinson brings but can actually handle the ball and play the true point. He will be loved by the Sactown faithful. Also it seems like he can jump out of the arena! Every time he threw it down the crowd went crazy.
* Ultimately, I think the Sacramento backcourt will develop into a 4-man rotation kind of like the Dallas Mavericks (Kidd, Stevenson, Terry & Barea). I could see Tyreke and Jimmer starting with Marcus Thornton playing the Jason Terry-roll and Isaiah Thomas playing the JJ Barea-roll. I know that is not exactly Paul Westphal's MO, but who knows if he will last long enough to see these guys fully develop.
It took a while for Tyler to get in the game and once he did, it took him a little bit to feel the game out. He looked hesitant at times, but by the second half he got in to the flow and started throwing down a couple alley-oops. I was struck by how much he looked (physically) like Kevin Martin, just taller. Dude needs to bulk up for sure.
As I watched Tyler play, especially in the second half, I kept coming back to the same thought. I don't think Honeycutt will ever be a go-to guy. He doesn't create very well for himself but he does have good court vision and decent passing abilities. He has the potential to become a lockdown defender. I'm not sure how well his uppercut connects (say with Rick Fox), but I believe Tyler Honeycutt can become a Doug Christie-type of player with an extra 2 inches in height to spare. However, it will take him some time to compete for real rotation minutes.
The Other Guys
There were 2 guys that really stood out and impressed me. Tobias Harris and Kenneth Faried. Harris looked smooth as he moved with and without the ball. I don't think I had seen him play before but i think the Milwaukee Bucks found a gem right there. Faried is a MANIMAL! He absolutely owns the glass, whether it is on the offensive side or the defensive. He tried to do too much on offense at times but under George Karl in Denver he will learn his role and would be a great complement next to Nene (assuming he doesn't sign elsewhere).
Kemba Walker had 23 points but he seemed rather quiet on the night with the exception of a 3-4 minute explosion. That being said, he has a DEADLY crossover and is fast. I think Kemba will have a great career. Now I said Kemba was fast, I think Malcom Lee may be faster. Not sure how he will fit in behind The Chosen One. Chris Singleton reminded me of Donte Greene. He is huge, but is trigger happy from 3 (which would be fine of he were more consistant). If he can develop a some low post game, he could have some staying power in the League. Nolan Smith seemed to force the issue too much. He tried running the "Kobe-Five-on-One" Isolation play a lot, but . . . he's not Kobe. I think he is better suited to be a shooting guard and not in the creator/facilitator roll like he was forced in to at Duke last year. Bismack Biyombo is beyond raw. His low light was on the last play of the game, as the clock expired an alley-oop was thrown up for him and he lost the ball before he came down with it. Luckily, he had a good laugh about it as the other players gave him grief. He seems like a good kid who is still learning the game. I hope he gets there.
Overall, it was an awesome experience watching these guys play. I don't know if I have had that much fun at a basketball game before. Here's hoping these guys have great careers and contribute going forward, especially Jimmer, Isaiah and Tyler.
(This is a FanPost from a member of the Sactown Royalty community. The views expressed come from the member, and not Sactown Royalty staff.)
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Thank you for this player profile.
Any news I can get on anybody that is or will be wearing silver and purple is much appreciated.
"Cousins is the Blaster to Evans’ Master, the Hammer to Evans’ Sickle"- HP
Good analysis
But I disagree on a couple of things. I think Nolan Smith will be a good point guard in the NBA, and his interior passing really impressed me. I also think that Bismack deserves a little more credit than you gave him. He does need to work on some low post moves, but he shot well from the free throw line. Maybe that’s just me defining raw as “big and athletic with a shooting range of a slam dunk.”
..."You've got Burkle?"
I saw way too many times
when N. Smith would come down and try to break down his defender and ended up turning over the ball. That’s why I have the opinion I wrote. As far as Biyobmo goes, you are right, I sold him a little more short then I should have. If he can hit his free throws the way he did in this game, he will develop just fine. Of course if this continues, I’m not sure how much we can hope for in BB.
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haha, good point!
..."You've got Burkle?"
by kingsforaday on Sep 24, 2011 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions
I watched the game on TV
And I thought Nolan Smith was CONSISTENTLY the best player on floor for all 4 quarters.
Also, I think Malcolm Lee looked VERY impressive. Reminds me of a Arron Afflalo career trajectory honestly.
This tweet from Dick Harmon, Deseret News Sports Columnist . . .
From press row at Jimmer game, Steve Fisher heard demanding Jimmer double team every possession. Even in an exhibition, SF serious re JF.
I was across the court from where Fisher was coaching, so I couldn’t hear this. I think it speaks volumes about the respect Fisher has for Fredette and his game.
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Thanks for the recap kwlarson
Rec’d and Front Page’d.
My analysis of the game:
- Jimmer will have no problem fitting in next to Tyreke Evans. He’s already pretty good as a facilitator, and he’s also really good at playing off the ball. You could also tell that nobody wanted to leave him alone for long, which will open up the floor for the rest of our guys, mainly Tyreke. He’s also very adept at finishing through contact and protecting the ball with his body, very Beno Udrih like.
- As I said in the gamethread, Tyler Honeycutt looks like he has a whole lot of skill that he doesn’t know what to do with. He’s very raw, but with a very high upside. I was surprised at his passing ability. I also thought he looked immensely like Kevin, aside from his shooting form.
- I’ve been singing Isaiah’s praises since even before the draft. So glad we got him and can’t wait to see him play in Sacramento. He’ll be a great energy guy, and more importantly, I think he’ll be able to make a decent impact while he’s on the floor.
- Kenneth Faried is super fun on defense and rebounding, and super terrible on offense. So kinda like a more explosive Jon Brockman. He’ll be fun to watch.
- Bismack Biyombo was raw, but he’s also super physical, a shotblocking machine, and he’s already really strong and showed off a nice touch around the basket a couple times. This is the first time I had gotten to watch Biyombo play for an extended period, and I definitely got that Ben Wallace vibe.
- Kemba is super fast, and put up the quietest 23 points I’ve ever seen.
- Nolan Smith was a little ball-hoggy but he can score. He’ll be a nice scoring guard in this league.
Author of NBA Mashups. Follow me on Twitter here.
Biyombo
is raw, but he’s a lot more developed offensively than I thought he would be. I was impressed. He’ll be a solid player in time. Faried reminds me of Michael Smith with dreads. Honeycutt looks like a great complementary piece next to Jimmer and Tyreke at times. Good fit for us.
Kevin Martin has put up quieter 23 point nights…just saying.
Nolan Smith was the guy that impressed me the most. I don’t see how you can say he was ball-hogging it, when the guy threw soo many sweet alley-oops all night long. Team Fredette was killed by Faried, Singleton and Wright’s long distance shot selection.
Tobias Harris
was the most impressive for me. He is smooth and skilled, and he was probably the youngest guy out there having just finished his freshman season at U of Ga and his 19th birthday on 15 July.. He is big (6’8" with a 6’11" wingspan) and looks strong. The only negative I found in this scrimmage was that he appears effortless in his movements and didn’t play much D but neither did anyone else. This kid looks a bit on the offensive end like Drew Gooden, and I mean that as a compliment. I expect him to make one of the All-Rookie teams by season’s end.
Bismack looked good to me. His comparison as a rookie is Hasheem Thabeet and Sergei Ibaka. I see much more Ibaka than anything else.
Faried is Reggie Evans/Ben Wallace – we are all saying the same thing, and his showing here was impressive.
Nolan Smith did great. It was a scrimmage and Smith did it all, he passed, he scored, he played hard and well. As a 21st pick, he looked darn good. He might be Acie Law III but I think more capable, maybe a lot better. He looked very comfortable out there.
Walker looked as good as advertised. Very fast, very quick, had a nice two 3’s in a row.
Fun stuff. I hope there will be another game like this somewhere where we can spy the talents of Bradon Knight, Tristan Thompson, Trey Thompkins, Kyrie Irving, Enes Kanter, Vesely, Valanciunas, Burks and the rest of the prospects. I feel so fortunate that The Jimmer and his agent/agency had the where with all to put this together and we Kings fans had a look at Honeycutt and Thomas and Jimmer all at once.
by betweentheeyes on Sep 24, 2011 10:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes, forgot to mention Harris
He was super skilled. Milwaukee has a nice player there.
Author of NBA Mashups. Follow me on Twitter here.
I think Drew Gooden and (name escaping me, the hairless guy) is a good comparison for Harris
Bismack looked raw but won’t be a zero, though a lot of foul trouble coming early I think against experienced bigs, we’ll see how it goes from there but watch out in a year or two.
Isaiah looks like an excllent change of pace guard/fan favorite.
I agree with Aykis that Jimmer can play at the next level on or off the ball, we’ll see how he does on the D end – but he’ll score no doubt.
"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."
- Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower
by lietothegirls on Sep 26, 2011 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions
the basketball player with the shaved head?
I think he drives a black car and wears an expensive watch. Doesn’t he have an endorsement deal? He was good in college.
by betweentheeyes on Sep 26, 2011 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions
I can think of 5 different times
off the top of my head when Nolan brought the ball down as the “Point” and tried to penetrate where there was no room or tried to iso and turned the ball over in both situations. And it was an exhibition game! I dont think he will be a PG in the league, but I do think he can develop into a very good SG.
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...let's try to hold back our prognostications about a guy's career based upon a single, meaningless exhibition all-star game prior to his rookie year
" 1 + 1 = 3 " - David Kahn
I know
I had that same thought last. I should have included that in my original write up.
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Are you sure that wasn't
Jenkins. I got them confused on TV a couple times, and I saw that from him often, but Smith was pretty much dictating the tempo of the game throughout.
Yup, im sure.
I was there in person. It was relatively easy to tell which one was Nolan Smith. Plus I was sitting next to UNC fans that boo’d him every time he had the ball in his hands.
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Exhibition game is the key here
if a player has the ball then hes going to try and make something happen, passing is a last resort. Players would much rather leave the audience breathless then make the fundamental play, I’m sure he will adjust his game when the time comes.
Just watched the replay online
awesome
excited for tomorrow’s reke vs. team usa game
" 1 + 1 = 3 " - David Kahn
haha
tru dat.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Sep 25, 2011 1:26 AM PDT up reply actions
Man, this game has got me so excited for the upcoming season.
It’s great to see Thomas play well, and I’m ecstatic we were able to get him with the last pick in the draft. As an Arizona student, I got to watch a lot of him, and even though I hated him in college, I can’t wait to see what to see what he can do in a Kings uniform. I just hope he’s able to get some minutes.
I could easily see us going to a 4-guard rotation (see in the story)
With Jimmer at the 1 and Tyreke at the 2. Marcus coming off the bench as the scorer and Isaiah the jolt of energy that no one will know how to contain (JJ Barea).
Now I know I just said “Jimmer at the 1 and Tyreke at the 2” but I think their respective games compliment each other so well that either could initiate the offense and we would have success. Also, if Reke could develop a consistant outside shot . . . pandemonium would ensue.
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Lovin' our rooks..
…from what I saw. I see Jimmer and Isaiah making the rotation on day 1. Tyler’s a work in progress, but looks great too…. as long as he doesn’t dribble. Ever.
by HoneycuttCheerios. on Sep 25, 2011 1:53 PM PDT reply actions
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