An interesting comment that struck me from a BTN host..

[Reality Man]

he says (paraphrasing and I think I caught the entire comment) that Burke came out of nowhere along with Stauskas to wind up having exceptional years (Burke...frosh) and (Stauskas...soph)

I can't disagree with that premise. Unless you were a diehard Burke supporter from watching film..he did excel right from the start and was a surprise at how dominant he was for UM. The same thing can be said of Stauskas who shocked on his transformation from basically a 3 pt shooter to BT player of the Year and an offensive force.

Now, the BTN host says will Irvin surprise like the two before him? My question..if Irvin becomes some big time scorer is that really a surprise? Not to me. The guy was playing behind a loaded starting team last year plus his pre-college pedigree.

Irvin (IF) he turns into a BT all first team type guy is not a surprise. Him NOT being 1st team would be MORE of a surprise.

Maybe I am a Irvin homer but he is a big time scorer ready to explode. I predict a couple of 30 pt games this season. If Irvin was at PSU..he would have average 14 pts per game last year.

Irvin coming across as a surprise scorer would be like saying I am shocked that Burke was a better player than CB.






Thoughts?



Reality Man

 

[MRock_2]

Depends on point of view. I would say that if Nik was considered an...

..."out of nowhere" guy, then Zak would be even more so.

Nik started all but six of 39 games and averaged 11.0 for an NCAA Finalist his 1st year.

Zak started no games and averaged 7.0 last season.

As for where they "came from" the previous year, I'd say Nik was a lot further along in recognition / stardom than Irvin after their respective 1st seasons.

 

[guestavo]

Irvin can score but what else does he do?

 

[Reality Man]

I agree on the comment..besides offense what does Irvin do..

sort of like Stauskas . My point is not to claim Irvin is anything other than an offensive juggernaut.


Now back to MRock_2.


Nik came out of nowhere in the sense he was a totally different player. Maybe some people weren't surprised but I was at his offensive prowess. Even the biggest Stauskas supporters would acknowledge he was a totally different player.

Lets look at this a different way to make my point. Lets switch the two players. If Irvin was coming in first would he have averaged 11 pts per NCAA game? Maybe not since they are different players but possible. If Stauskas came in last year behind Irvin would he have put up 11 in the NCAA's?...probably not.


Irvin is much more poised to 'explode' this year based on his frosh year EVEN behind essentially NBA draft picks. He was 'controlled' because of his place in the pecking order..not because no one could see this coming.

Now Irvin is the 2nd scoring option is not 1 or 1A. If this team was the same as last year Irvin would have average about 12 pts per game probably as a frosh and everyone would be predicting a great year with no surprise.



Reality Man


P.S. Who was Irvin going to start over last year? NBA guys GR3 and the improved Stauskas?

 

[Reality Man]

Some quick numbers for you MRock_2

Irvin (frosh)

7.0 pts per game based on 15.4 minutes


Stauskas (frosh)

11.0 pts per game based on 30.5 minutes per game



Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics.



Reality Man

 

[Mroad]

I am hoping Irvin is working on taking the ball to the basket because he looked to be exclusively an outside shooter....to the point that I don't know his capability in handling the ball. As long as he is a good ball handler I think he's capable of taking his game to another level. However, if he relies strictly on three point shooting he will be fairly easy to defend. Last year most teams didn't know him and he would come off the bench and get a lot of good looks from the outside. I don't think that will be the case this year which is the reason he has to be able to take the ball to the basket. I have to believe he is working on his ball handling because he will need that to have a shot of making the NBA.

 

[MRock_2]

Zak had a nice 1st year for sure...hope he has a GREAT 2nd!

nm

 

[Reality Man]

Glad you mention this 'issue' since I have a slight nitpick on

another comment on another board.


I don't think Irvin is LeVert. I don't think Irvin is anywhere near being able to take it consistently to the rim.

I do however think Irvin can shot from many different spots on the floor and get his mid range game shots most of the time. I think he will be just fine. He isn't just a 3 pt shooter.

I think he has a lot of similarities to Stauskas as a player. There style and shots aren't the same but I think both of them rely on their perimeter game as the crux of their scoring output.



Reality Man

 

[guestavo]

Stauskas is a great ballhandler and passer, something Irvin isn't. Irvin is a better rebounder and defender than Stauskas. Don't see a comparison outside of ability to shoot.