Udoka

[TDub]

He puts himself in terrible position to get called for some of those cheap over the back calls.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Hard to tell if hes improved. He cant stay in the game long enough to tell. In that aspect he has absolutely not improved.

Low BBIQ.

[pdub]

Foul 3 and 5 were ridiculous and had very little to do with him or positioning.

[TDub]

Agreed

[TDub]

Foul 3 and 5 were ridiculous and had very little to do with him or positioning.

False. Foul 5 he was reaching over for a rebound he had no chance at getting and hes so big theyre gonna call that. Ut was an awful decision with 4 fouls already

[pdub]

It was a bad call.
I agree in that situation he probably should have not gone for it because he's big but it should have been a play on.

[TDub]

It was a bad call. But one that will be consistently whistled.

[TDub]

I like Dok a lot. He needs to be smarter. Hes had time to adjust to the way the game is called, this isnt a new issue.

[pdub]

Regardless, I am not concerned.
My only concern: free throw shooting zero improvement.

[PhDhawk]

hes so big theyre gonna call that.

This is true, and it's a crock of shit. I've never seen a player who gets away with so little. Usually if a guy gets 5 fouls he probably committed 8-10, but a couple didn't get called. Dok gets 5 fouls in games where he actually only commits 3 or 4. Opposing players know it to, if they touch Dok, they flop.

The inverse is also true. Guys get away with way more contact on dok just because he's bigger, guys grab and bang him a ton and it almost never gets called.

KJ drew a ton of fouls on Tennessee in the second half, and they didn't do anything different to him than they'd been doing to Dok all game.

I think Sparko said it best, "Dok was a point of emphasis for refs this year." He doesn't get officiated the same way that everyone else does.

the point that he needs to adjust is valid, but I think it overlooks the fact that there's a bias in who gets called for fouls.

[TDub]

Im not discounting that and i agree its bullshit. But if you dont adjust and just keep banging your head into the same wall youre gonna end up with a headache and no progress.

[CrimsonNBlue]

hes so big theyre gonna call that.

This is true, and it's a crock of shit. I've never seen a player who gets away with so little. Usually if a guy gets 5 fouls he probably committed 8-10, but a couple didn't get called. Dok gets 5 fouls in games where he actually only commits 3 or 4. Opposing players know it to, if they touch Dok, they flop.

The inverse is also true. Guys get away with way more contact on dok just because he's bigger, guys grab and bang him a ton and it almost never gets called.

KJ drew a ton of fouls on Tennessee in the second half, and they didn't do anything different to him than they'd been doing to Dok all game.

I think Sparko said it best, "Dok was a point of emphasis for refs this year." He doesn't get officiated the same way that everyone else does.

the point that he needs to adjust is valid, but I think it overlooks the fact that there's a bias in who gets called for fouls.

There is definitely some truth to all of this.

I think his bigger issue is positioning on defense/rebounds. I don't know that I've ever seen the kid figure out the verticality rule. Last year I figured it was just that he was a little out of shape and the fact that it was his first full season--game was going pretty fast for him.

Now, I don't think those excuses exist anymore. He's in much better shape, too. He just has to improve.

[pdub]

hes so big theyre gonna call that.

This is true, and it's a crock of shit. I've never seen a player who gets away with so little. Usually if a guy gets 5 fouls he probably committed 8-10, but a couple didn't get called. Dok gets 5 fouls in games where he actually only commits 3 or 4. Opposing players know it to, if they touch Dok, they flop.

The inverse is also true. Guys get away with way more contact on dok just because he's bigger, guys grab and bang him a ton and it almost never gets called.

KJ drew a ton of fouls on Tennessee in the second half, and they didn't do anything different to him than they'd been doing to Dok all game.

I think Sparko said it best, "Dok was a point of emphasis for refs this year." He doesn't get officiated the same way that everyone else does.

the point that he needs to adjust is valid, but I think it overlooks the fact that there's a bias in who gets called for fouls.

This.

[NDballer13]

Regardless, I am not concerned.
My only concern: free throw shooting zero improvement.

Might be a blessing in disguise if he fouls out of a few games. I can see Self keeping him in with 5-7 minutes after picking up the 4th foul more than he would other players. See if you can't get a few more minutes with the most dominant guy in college basketball, then when/if he fouls out you don't have to worry about the FT shooting.

[CrimsonNBlue]

FWIW, his touch on FT's is a LOT softer than we've seen before. In the 2 exhibition games, it was extremely noticeable in person. So much so that I thought (might still think) he can hit around 60%.

Outside of the obvious conclusion that he's just one of those big guys that won't ever be able to make FT's, I do wonder if fatigue is playing a huge factor during games. The touch/form is so much better but I believe the stats are about the same thus far.

[pdub]

Per 40 points and blocks are up, rebounds the same.
FG% down.

[Geezer]

I had hoped that Dok would be a more skilled player this year. So far, I haven't seen much if any improvement.

[kcmokufan]

One thing to keep in mind is last year Doke was surrounded by 4 three point threats so he got easier shots.

[DCHawk1]

Maybe if he plays more than 12 minutes, we can get an idea of his improvement or lack thereof.

[pdub]

He will be a better player this season.