The one who I think will surprise a lot is Huffman! He's doing all the right things to make himself better including seeking help from our former Bigs and man we have been blessed!
Luke Maye a wasted scholarship, better check again
- Thread starter IDUNK4HEELS
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Blasphemy to think otherwise. Luke Skywalker Maye lets Roy start Kennedy and Isaiah ahead of him so their psyches won't get crushed. He'll average a triple double next year.
Huffman is the project that intrigues me. Physically I think he can do some nice things in time.
And Archer, I never thought Luke would be a contributor against the top half of the ACC. I was obviously wrong and glad I was. We are a better team when Luke is effective on the offensive end.
And Archer, I never thought Luke would be a contributor against the top half of the ACC. I was obviously wrong and glad I was. We are a better team when Luke is effective on the offensive end.
I think he's athletic enough to contribute as a freshman.
My point is that many were down on Luke and didn't think he'd ever be able to compete at the highest level in the ACC. Comments like "if Luke ever plays significant minutes for UNC, we're in serious trouble" were pretty common. Yet, he has proven very worthy of a scholarship and has shown that he can play significant minutes and be a solid contributor. I must admit that even I thought it might be his junior year before he did.
So when many of our fans say the same thing about Manley, Huffman, or Platek, I want them to realize that they could very well be wrong about those guys as well. By their junior years, I envision Manley and Platek to be solid rotation players. And I think Huffman will play significant minutes next year. And maybe that will be out of necessity, but I think he will be up to the task.
I happen to be more optimistic than most UNC fans but I have a lot of faith in Roy and our staff's ability to develop players. Joel James, bless his big heart, had almost no basketball skills and some of the worst hands on the planet. Yet our staff developed him and he became a serviceable player by his senior year. Manley has much better hands, footwork, and athletic skills than Big Joel. So there's a lot of potential to be developed there.
Just my 2¢ worth.
And just last year, after he had shown some promise his freshman year.
Kid is a project skill-wise but is a physical presence. He certainly has shown a great attitude and he's coming to the right place to develop.
Yeah, Joe is a long way above he intellectual vacuum that is Palin. Nice try.... not.
Defending either of them as an intellectual is a very tough uphill slog. Both are quite awkward and embarrassing....
Palin looks / acts like she has a substance abuse issue, last couple years.....
Joe has that creepy predator perv mode: kissy, handsy, "friskiness" that makes all women hope he keeps his distance from them. Gross.
I went nuts when Maye missed the wide-open lay-up early in the season. I'm not going to shy away from my early feelings about Luke Maye. I was WRONG about him and I'm not shy to admit that I was wrong. I'm eating my third plate of Crow stew. Nothing bothers this kid. I never thought I would say this but let me say it and take the abuse. If the Heels are down by two points in the NCAA title game and playing for the last shot, I would not have any problem with this kid taking the 3-point shot for win. The only othe player I would put above him in that situation is Berry. Maye knocks down that 3-point shot.
There are many peeps that love to bash players and this is why they have absolutely no credibility with me. They only come on when they have something negative to say and seldom admit when they are wrong. I respect those that bashed Maye, but now have the cajones to come on and admit he is better than they thought!
I can't wait for the threads allowing them to make the same mea culpas when Manley, Huffman, and Platek also prove valuable to our team!
I can't wait for the threads allowing them to make the same mea culpas when Manley, Huffman, and Platek also prove valuable to our team!
Yeah but like him or not he's sharp as a tack --- and any statement to the contrary is just partisan nonsense.
I love Jackson, but I will take Maye in that situation if it is not Berry. That kid is clutch. He is fast becoming that Butler type player that kills the Heels.
Without getting into it on a basketball board, I'll just leave this link for you to peruse at some other time. Now if you'd said neither he nor she is the sharpest tack in the box, I'd have to wholeheartedly agree.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/joebiden/a/top-10-biden-quotes.htm
It's a lampoon on how strongly you believe what you believe and your resistance to changing those views. You remind me of my dad a little, in that he had very firm beliefs and it was very hard to budge him from them, nigh impossible. Hence, the "don't ever change" pic. I loved the man but he drove me crazy, and vice versa I guess. We butted heads constantly. Now I've found I'm becoming more and more like him as I get older. Such is life.
How 'bout that Luke Skywalker Maye though?
How 'bout that Luke Skywalker Maye though?
First, I want to say Luke is much more productive this season that I thought was going to happen, he is playing at a level now that I would not have expected until his senior season. So lets clear that out of the way now, kid has been a very nice surprise. Rumors of how he played over the summer are one thing but as I have said so many times, got to see it first.
Now I guess someone suggested Luke may be a Matt Doh type and maybe some one else didn't see it that way, I love the Matt Doh comparison. Matt played more as a 3 but back then teams played traditional big men at the 4 and at the 3 it was your 6'5"-8" kid that could shoot playing the wing. Now days that has morphed to more of a wing like player at the 4 with many teams only playing 1 traditional big on the floor. It is a great comparison when you consider how the game has changed since matt was a player.
Now as for the mindset that "if Luke plays a lot of minutes we are in trouble"... I am not going to lie to ya, it scares me looking at Luke as a starter and maybe having to log in 25mins every game. I can't tell you how much I want Knox to say yes to us so the 25mins every game from Luke is not needed. That is not a shot at Luke it is simply as much as Luke does get out of his God given ability he is still what 6'7" average athlete that does not elevate well.
There is a lot that Luke does well, most of it is because the kid himself understands his limitations and plays within his skill set, he has a very good work ethic, very sharp basketball IQ. He is a under rated passer, he has a good understanding of how to block out for rebounds, he reads the ball flight, and he is a solid catch and shoot guy all the way out to the trey. But does he have the athleticism to create his own shots, can he keep opposing players from playing over the top of him?
Look at our past power forwards, look at our starting power forward right now, very good athletes, pretty much all were high risers or long to the extent they were really hard to play over the top of. Even when Theo goes to the 4, he is longer by a good bit and moves his feet very quickly laterally, hard to play over or around Theo for opposing power forwards. It isn't the will or the skill that concerns me about Luke it is just that he has limited athleticism that desire may not be able to make up for the lack of.
Having said that, the kid is a very valuable role player for us, he gives us mostly solid positive minutes that every team needs. I am not sure how much upside he has but if there is any remaining he will find it if it can be found. He is not a wasted scholly at all, very glad to have him but I am not going to say I would see him starting over Knox if we were so fortunate as to be able to get him as a Heel.
Now I guess someone suggested Luke may be a Matt Doh type and maybe some one else didn't see it that way, I love the Matt Doh comparison. Matt played more as a 3 but back then teams played traditional big men at the 4 and at the 3 it was your 6'5"-8" kid that could shoot playing the wing. Now days that has morphed to more of a wing like player at the 4 with many teams only playing 1 traditional big on the floor. It is a great comparison when you consider how the game has changed since matt was a player.
Now as for the mindset that "if Luke plays a lot of minutes we are in trouble"... I am not going to lie to ya, it scares me looking at Luke as a starter and maybe having to log in 25mins every game. I can't tell you how much I want Knox to say yes to us so the 25mins every game from Luke is not needed. That is not a shot at Luke it is simply as much as Luke does get out of his God given ability he is still what 6'7" average athlete that does not elevate well.
There is a lot that Luke does well, most of it is because the kid himself understands his limitations and plays within his skill set, he has a very good work ethic, very sharp basketball IQ. He is a under rated passer, he has a good understanding of how to block out for rebounds, he reads the ball flight, and he is a solid catch and shoot guy all the way out to the trey. But does he have the athleticism to create his own shots, can he keep opposing players from playing over the top of him?
Look at our past power forwards, look at our starting power forward right now, very good athletes, pretty much all were high risers or long to the extent they were really hard to play over the top of. Even when Theo goes to the 4, he is longer by a good bit and moves his feet very quickly laterally, hard to play over or around Theo for opposing power forwards. It isn't the will or the skill that concerns me about Luke it is just that he has limited athleticism that desire may not be able to make up for the lack of.
Having said that, the kid is a very valuable role player for us, he gives us mostly solid positive minutes that every team needs. I am not sure how much upside he has but if there is any remaining he will find it if it can be found. He is not a wasted scholly at all, very glad to have him but I am not going to say I would see him starting over Knox if we were so fortunate as to be able to get him as a Heel.
I know right ! LOL
Gary don't like backing up, I swear he needs his tranny looked at in his car, darn near willing to bet there is no reverse, gary don't do reverse well! LOL
TP, not to be contrarian but all players have strengths and weakness, they can all work on both making their strengths better and improving their weaknesses. MJ comes to mind, it wasn't that he was a poor jump shooter but coming to UNC jump shooting would have been considered his weakness, same with ray ray, same with Lawson. But those fellas took what was considered to be their weakness and turned it in to a strength. Those today's weakness can be turned in tomorrows strength and I like to try to discuss those things I see that are weaker today that can maybe be tomorrows strengths.
Now I try not to bash a kid, I don't believe discussing area of weakness to be bashing them, thou far to often things get taken to a to far extreme and I hate to see that happen. I have always believe in the critique method of talking about what someone does well now, identify area that needs to improve, and discuss ways to make that happen.
Bashing, and it does happen here to often, is harping on what a kid is doing wrong but never equally sharing what he does well or offer how that weak area can be improved. Should not be able to say what a kid is doing wrong if you don't know how to fix it, makes sense to me that you have to know how things are done right before you can know when they are not right?
Critique is NOT bashing! I've never even hinted that peeps couldn't/shouldn't discuss strengths AND weaknesses. I've never even hinted that peeps couldn't/shouldn't discuss areas of needed improvement. AND finally, I've never once even hinted that it is in any way improper to discuss mistakes by players or our coaches!
But statements like "wasted scholarship" and "not ACC caliber" and "if he is in for significant minutes..." are not only intellectually lazy, they are also BASHING! If peeps can't or won't see the difference the problem is either they lack the mental capacity for true analysis OR they have an agenda!
I have never considered D a basher even when I disagree with his critique of a player.
Maye, Huffman, Platek, and Manley all have obvious flaws and areas they need to improve. They also have obviously impressed our coaching staff that has proven to be able to evaluate talent. They also have obvious skills or physical attributes that make them worthy of a shot at UNC.
I trust the UNC staff to be able to improve their areas of need; improve all of their skills, conditioning, and strength; AND to maximize their potential to contribute to the Tar Heels!
But statements like "wasted scholarship" and "not ACC caliber" and "if he is in for significant minutes..." are not only intellectually lazy, they are also BASHING! If peeps can't or won't see the difference the problem is either they lack the mental capacity for true analysis OR they have an agenda!
I have never considered D a basher even when I disagree with his critique of a player.
Maye, Huffman, Platek, and Manley all have obvious flaws and areas they need to improve. They also have obviously impressed our coaching staff that has proven to be able to evaluate talent. They also have obvious skills or physical attributes that make them worthy of a shot at UNC.
I trust the UNC staff to be able to improve their areas of need; improve all of their skills, conditioning, and strength; AND to maximize their potential to contribute to the Tar Heels!
Yikes!...Williams signs only when Shaka leaps to Texas-Maye is a walk -on...and that is your soph class!!...are you thankful?..a big sigh of relief?..good thing the game is played on the court..for instance, Hicks was rated a 5 star,correct?-but how would you rate his play from frosh to senior?
TP, it is all good my friend, I am in no way thinking you threw a shot at me, I don't want to have you feel I am in any way upset with anything you said. As I said and you as well, it is when things get taken to an extreme that I get bothered and I know that is how you see it as well.
It is like the Manley discussion but it applies to Luke as well, I am not upset with either of these kids, I am especially happy that Luke has shown me more much earlier than I expected. I have used this many times but it so applies, it ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it is about the size of the fight in the dog. Those kids that excel even given their physical limitations, I love them, Luke is just such a kid. I don't know if Manley is or not at this point and I don't think any one can until he gets here. But Luke has shown there is more fight in him than was expected and no one is happier to see that than I am!
Ya know, the funny thing is, I think most, maybe more than most, felt that this soph class was a bust (speaking when they came in as freshmen). Oh we tried to put as good a spin on it as we could but truth, we most all figured that class just was never really gonna help us a lot. Little did we know what we got was 2 kids that were going to both be over achievers considering what was expected from them. Kinda cool actually !
I was right all along.... But Then again I am always right...
Hey spacey, it may be the thin air way up there that makes ya think that!
Maye be right there Dsouthr..... See what I did there?Hey spacey, it may be the thin air way up there that makes ya think that!
Ain't it the truth? Work ethic and grit are often the determining factors in how much a player will develop. I said coming in that nobody would outwork Luke. I based that on what his coaches had to say about him and the fact that his dad was Mark Maye.
As for Manley, it's true that we don't know what his work ethic is at this point or "the size of the fight in the dog". But I hope UNC fans will remember that very few high school kids have to deal with the adversity of two major leg injuries. And as was stated previously, they occurred during the middle of his growth cycle when he grew 2-3 inches and added 40 pounds. It's hard enough to go through that kind of growth spurt in two years with no injuries. And it traditionally takes big men longer to "grow into their bodies" and learn to play with that increased size, we see it all the time in college.
But I see promising signs from Manley. I don't doubt that it's going to take him a couple of years to fully recover from breaking both legs, grow into his body, and improve his stamina. Unlike some, everything I see says he's working hard to do just that. His coach has said just that.
I think we all are.
On the thought of no one is going to out work Luke, caught a glimpse of that when he beat not only his needed mile time but his best mile time in conditioning before practice began (did as a freshman as well I believe). UNless I am mistaken, I seem to recall he beat everyone's magic mile time. IDK if anyone else paid attention to that but I did because it is an indication of how hard a kid has worked to get himself ready for the season.
A kid so willing to work on his conditioning and stamina shows the same work ethic to put the work in when practice begins. Those are usually the same kids that are constantly in the gym during the off season, working on their skills, constantly in the weight room getting stronger, on the track getting their stamina up, even where it is a hundred degrees outside.So it should not shock us to see a kid with that kind of dedication to the aspect of conditioning also apply that same dedication to his skill work and we see that skill work pay dividends when the games are played.
Huffman and Platek, by all accounts, possess that strong work ethic as well.
If Maye is a 3 Star guy please go out and get us a couple more just like him. Great attitude , very smart and does what he does well and does not try to do more than he has the ability to do. I hope the kid from New York turns out to be as good a player. Luke is a quality player and is earning some quality playing time. Somebody is coaching the old boy up !
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