It’s important to remember that what he did for his team in Germany was filling the role they wanted from him.seems like there are more depth in front of Patrick, then Belle
I watched a few of the MHP Reisen playoff games on replay on cable so I have seen Patrick play - I have never seen Belle play
So my speculation is more seat of the pants looking at the roster - while Bairstow can slide to the 4 spot (I know everyone hates the 1-5 spot terminology in the era of positionless basketball) I would love to see Belle as the backup to Kuany at the 4 because I think you need to give him run and I think he has more of an outside game than Lawal, and it appears Odom's O preference is his 4 out O where all 4 can shoot 3s at a decent rate
what I saw with Patrick in the games I watched - offensively he spends the bulk of his time on the perimeter sliding to open areas waiting to launch 3s, he has a relatively quick release and is fairly accurate (i.e. his misses are close) and we know his % from deep is right up their with our better shooters from the past. Did not look to put the ball on the ground too much, as his strength was the 3-ball
looks like he belongs on the court and no hesitancy which we saw from some Rams in the past - defensively I really did not get a good read on him (which probably means he stayed with his man or covered his area when zone) he played about 3-6 minutes each half in most of the games I watched (top 6 players were mostly american players or a germen/american player and a cuban) I think in this league you can only have 6 0r 7 non german players on active roster (like many international leagues , though the #s may change)
Patrick moves well on the court in my opinion too - lots of promise would be my initial takeaway from what I saw
Projecting VCU Basketball starting 5 23-24 season
- Thread starter vcufan228
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It’s important to remember that what he did for his team in Germany was filling the role they wanted from him.
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not quite sure what that means ?
does it mean every player on the roster ultimately fills the role they want from them
or
that the team purposefully held him back from doing other things that he was capable of doing
or ?
Patrick is young relatively speaking to the players on that roster, i would expect his development was not primarily from games he played but from practices and observations of what it takes to be a professional
the playing minutes I observed were limited ( 6-13 /game) so I can only comment on what I saw him do in those times
I think he was a young guy and not one of their main players. At this point in his career they probably needed very specific things from him. At VCU, he’ll have a more expanded role and I expect he’ll show he has a lot of tools he couldn’t show in Germany in his role. Let’s face it, VCU practices and A10 games will be a step down in competition for him.
RESRam
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Panama City Beach! Used to own a condo there on the gulf.
BaNgMyPrOgRaM
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No one here says Redneck Riviera, Panama City to the west to Pensacola is known as the Emerald Coast. Where we did play in a MTE. Lost both games. To the east of Panama City it is the Forgotten Coast. So named because it is the least visited are in the Great State of Florida. It is not big tourism. And, before the BP oil spill and Hurricane Michael was the Oyster Capitol of the world, supplying 90% of all the oysters in the US.The Apalachicola bay and river are wonderful places to see many birds, different types of fauna and fish. St. George Island is the primary barrier island and was recently chosen by Dr. Beach as the number one beach in America. It is relatively unspoiled and has no high-rise condos or go-kart tracks or any of the other things associated with a beach town.
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I thought the Redneck Riviera was Myrtle Beach?
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Sorry. I was referring to that name given to it when MTV used to go to Panama City for their Spring Break coverage. Google it. People do call the Emerald Coast by the nickname.
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BaNgMyPrOgRaM
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No offense taken, but we really don't use the term redneck, we refer to them as Florida Man(whether crazy or not). In fact where I live, there are less 'rednecks' then when I lived in Va or Tenn.
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I grew up in Central Florida and we never used the term “redneck.” They were called “crackers.”
80sRam
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Better athlete than Ace, for sure. A huge part of what made Ace great was above the neck, in terms of having the mind of a true point guard. Not saying Zeb doesn't have that, but I don't think we know. We haven't seen as much of him in a point guard role.
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Wasn't Ace also an excellent football player at St Francis Academy in Baltimore (a high school powerhouse and typically top 25 in the country)
Also a proven team leader since his high school days and the player most coaches would want the ball in his hands at the end of the shot clock.
I am not sure how you reach a conclusion that Zeb is a Better Athlete
as far as a basketball player, 99.9% of us would take Ace
But that does not mean that Zeb cannot be a significant piece of the 23-24 VCU Basketball success - IMHO only Shulga at the guard position is a lock for significant minutes - Zeb is certainly in the mix ( Zeb started to hit his stride in spurts once mid january to march came around last season IMO)
skramnewton
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Definitely sleeping on Fermin, but 50/50 to start by conference play is a little much lol Lawal is still very raw. 99th percentile athleticism and a walking highlight reel, but RN needs to be a little more honest in our assessment of him. As it stands right now, if its not a dunk or quick OReb put back, he's not scoring. Still a lot of room for growth
Very much so lol I saw the new thread and was like "Jeezus f***ing christ" yet here I am engaging with it
Jake was playing against legitimate pros. Belle was on a U21 team with a few games played (minimal minutes) on the elite roster. Very different situations.
US basketball comparison: Jake was a role player on an average NBA team, Belle was a star on an average G League team.
G Leaguers are pros, yes, but "there's levels to this" is my point lol
SteveMM
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This is another one of my "just a feeling" things, but I wonder if Zeb will be more comfortable in Odom's more traditional system than he was in Rhoades' version of HAVOC? Zeb certainly produced last season and played well, but I'm not sure he ever seemed to fit 100%. We may see a better version of Zeb this year.
With so many uncertainties, it would be hard predicting a final W-L record ... that said, I will venture to say the Rams will be betting-line favorite in at least 24 games (including every home game) - and never more than a slight underdog away or on neutral floor.