If Hicks plays like a beast watch out..
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It did not feel to many plays were run for Hicks last year, and personally I could not see that changing. A beast year for Hicks is really all about giving max effort. Being able to defend the 3,4 and sometimes 5 position on the floor would make him a beast. Grabbing offensive rebounds would make him a beast. I would think next season would be a better bet Hicks turns into a beast because more will be asked for him then. All this team needs from him this year is MAX effort and the rest should take care of itself.
Max effort yes but he does need to be a bit careful picking up so many quick fouls. I have come to expect that brice is just going to pick up fouls and find himself limited PT for several games because he finds foul trouble. What we can not afford is Hicks to come in for him and pick up 2 quick ones himself and that was a problem at times last season.
I would say the same for both Brice and Hicks, don't get in to first half foul trouble because we have a second half that in many ways is more important and we need our best players in crunch time. There were times last season that I would have considered pulling Brice if he picked up his first foul in the first 7-8mins and sitting him the rest of the half.
I think he is better than even he thinks.Being aggressive and believing in himself are key..There were moments last year he looked just great.
Sorry to be the downer but I'll believe it when I see it. He has looked incredibly overmatched over the past two seasons. 90% of the time he looks almost afraid when he touches the ball.
I agree that he has all the potential in the world but we've seen very very little to realistically expect him to suddenly become great.
I agree that he has all the potential in the world but we've seen very very little to realistically expect him to suddenly become great.
WOW. I didn't see any of that.He never looked over-matched at any time last year. He looked like a freshman adjusting to the college game and Roy's expectations. By the end of the year he was showing increasing flashes of what an aggressive Hicks could do and I expect those to be his lightbulb moments. He hesitated a lot because he wanted to please so bad and cares so much. It is all in the interpretation. BTW who said he had to be great? He will show the Tar Heel customary improvement and will be a needed contributor from the bench who has games where he really impresses! That is all we need from him, but next season.....
You say hesitated, I say over-matched. Potato Potahto.
I want the kid to be good but for anyone to use anything we've seen in the past 2 years and claim he's ready to be "a beast" is just being a homer. I hope he's improved. I hope he adjusts to ACC play. I just haven't seen anything yet to tell me that has happened.
I want the kid to be good but for anyone to use anything we've seen in the past 2 years and claim he's ready to be "a beast" is just being a homer. I hope he's improved. I hope he adjusts to ACC play. I just haven't seen anything yet to tell me that has happened.
I agree, he did strike me a bit like a wide eyed freshman last season, problem is he was a soph last season. I want Hicks to do well but you can say he hesitated at times, you can say he looked over matched at times, for me I would say he still has not showed me that he is a confident kid that believes in his talent and is willing to take the ball and confidently finish other than a dunk. Not trying to dump on the kid but I have not seen him as a go to scorer so I can not sign on to expecting him to be in beast mode.
I am not suggesting he has to be great, I am not suggesting he will be great, but I would suggest that wanting him to be the best player he can be is not asking to much. He was better as a soph than a freshman for sure but IMO it would be a mega developement if he played so much better as to be in the discussion for 3rd team ALL ACC. I would love to see it from this kid that came to us as a Micky D 5 star but I think we can agree his in coming hype was more than he could deliver on. Good kid, glad we have him, he is really important to us coming off the bench backing up Brice but I am not going to be un-realistic in what I expect from him based on what I have seen so far. The game was still to fast for him last season, he needs to slow the game down, I felt he rushed himself to often his first 2 season, in part trying to live up to the incoming hype. Just my personel opinion guys.
I agree with your assessment. I never said he was a freshman, I said he looked like one. It is a combination of little playing time, lacking confidence, and thinking too much on the court. Some peeps just aren't wired to handle that level of expectations. I see the tools to be a very good player and I saw a lot of improvement in his first year so I expect him to continue improving. I think he is at a place where he can give this team everything it needs from him and I expect the game to slow down for him. If he is successful this year, his confidence will soar and next year he could be a go-to-guy! Confidence and more aggressiveness are what he needs to me.
He literally said the exact thing I did and you went from "I DIDNT SEE ANY OF THAT" to "I agree with your assessment".
Gave me a chuckle.
As for being negative, I disagree. It's being honest about what we have all seen over the past two years. How is saying a hope he's improved being negative? How is saying I want him to be good being negative? All I'm saying is that to expect him to make a gigantic leap when we've seen no signs of it is just not being realistic.
play like a beast( as a 6th man of the year type)- IMO he will play solid defense without fouling then rebound on the defensive end...an occasional block shot..on offense hit the mid range jumper/hit offensive boards and make free throws....does he have the "attitude"? more importantly will the Coach have confidence in him- a positive confidence?
hicks seems to be taking more of the danny green or deon thompson route. nothing wrong with that--not everyone comes ready right out of the box. i saw improvement his 2nd year from his 1st. if he keeps improving each year i think he will be a fine 4 yr player.
