The Big 3 all played well, but Gilyard had one of the best 2nd halfs a spider has ever play. He was unstoppable. 27 points, 10 for 11 from the field. The dude's moves under the basket were amazing. I am sorry if you didn't see it in person. Wow!
Gilyard superstar!
- Thread starter UR80sfan
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Totally agree. Just amazing. Jacob has fast, super fast, and lightening! Whew!
Gilyard took that little mouth piece chewing trash taking guard to school in the second half. It was funny to watch Gilyard laughing at him while burying a three and then blowing by him for a layup.
While our players are all really nice young men, there is a certain toughness about our current group that has been lacking in recent years. Don't look for Grant, Jacob, Nathan, Woj, Nick, Julius or Noah to back down from any challenger. These guys are tough, play with swagger and a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Think this bodes well for this year and the foreseeable future. Go Spiders!
The big 3 score 71 of the 78 points. Lets hope this is not the formula going forward, because if so - this has a .500 record, middle of the road written all over it. We can beat lesser teams in OOC and A10 with those three, but the top half of the league and better OOC teams we will not.
I was hoping Yates would be further along at this point to provide a spark off the bench, but he is not there yet. Cayo might be it - but not sure he is a threat from the outside at all and once teams figure this out, I think he will easily be stopped.
We have 3 all A10 caliber players - issue is after that, the drop off is very significant. And evident in this game with Mooney only playing 7 guys, expect it to be a short bench in tight games.
I was hoping Yates would be further along at this point to provide a spark off the bench, but he is not there yet. Cayo might be it - but not sure he is a threat from the outside at all and once teams figure this out, I think he will easily be stopped.
We have 3 all A10 caliber players - issue is after that, the drop off is very significant. And evident in this game with Mooney only playing 7 guys, expect it to be a short bench in tight games.
An outstanding individual performance from Gilyard!
** Playing him every minute of every game increases the chance of late season fatigue, AND increases the chances of him getting hurt. Both are high negatives.
The team will be better off in the long run if the bench is developed and utilized. No bench player is going to be game ready if they sit for 40-minutes each time out.
** Playing him every minute of every game increases the chance of late season fatigue, AND increases the chances of him getting hurt. Both are high negatives.
The team will be better off in the long run if the bench is developed and utilized. No bench player is going to be game ready if they sit for 40-minutes each time out.
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Honestly, if he was 6’2”, would this even be a question? I think he’s been our best player through 3 games
If he was 6’2” he’d be at Kentucky.
Ok, that’s hyperbole but he’d definitely be a power 5 starter. Grant gets a lot of easy buckets because gilyard puts it on a platter for him. And neither grant nor nick effect our defense the way he does.
I don’t think it’s a debate, but I’m happy if it continues to be, because that means grant and nick are playing that well!
I’ll be happy if it continues to be a debate because someone other than the big 3 develops into a better player than Gilyard...
Jacob is just AWESOME! Mooney deserves all the credit in the world for getting him. And Fatts Russell was above him in the A10 top 25 players prediction. Just saw where he went 0-10 in 3PT trys in a game this season. Really? His numbers from last year appear not as good as JG'S. Wrong guy appears to be getting the hype?
I highlighted this as a player comparison to watch this year, and so far Gilly is abusing Fatts.
I think Jacob prides himself in being a true PG, but we're a different team when he's aggressive offensively. tough to balance. he wants to and needs to get others involved, but he's such a good scorer that we need him scoring. and with his range and quickness, he can get himself open a lot. he's a fun player.
Gilyard is a great player. Mooney is going to break him playing him the way he is though. Already see him getting banged up playing all 40 minutes the other night (and newsflash, if we need to be play him all 40 minutes to beat IUPUI on our home floor, that is not a good sign). Gilly has a great motor but when you played tired, your chances of sustaining injury are so much higher.
This is true spiderman, but what is most important is wins and NCAA appearances. Points, steals, and assists can also be a matter of playing time - and Gilyard gets the benefit here because he played 36 minutes as a frosh and will likely end up getting 36+ minutes this year and the rest of his career. Unfortunately - some of this is out of his hands as he doesn't recruit and pick the players around him. I thought Kendall Anthony fell into this as well - great player for UR, but never getting to the dance and being able to play good minutes from day 1 really help their stats. I think Gilyard is our best player and likely will be for the next 2 years, lets hope he gets help around him that can push him and the team to the NCAAs.
I get the minutes argument for Grant. not for Jacob. Jacob can play all day. were those of you complaining about wearing out Gilyard also complaining about wearing out KA?
KA played 36.3 mpg for his 4 years and over 37 mpg in his A10 POY season.
Trap, Jacob's career is running parallel with KA's so far. yes, I'm aware last year was awful but 2007-08 and 2008-09 were nothing special. KA's junior and senior year were the memorable seasons. Add Francis and Burton while Woj, Nathan, etc continue to improve and I think we've got a shot for special years again with another special PG, a heck of a big man, and a flat out scorer on the wing.
KA played 36.3 mpg for his 4 years and over 37 mpg in his A10 POY season.
Trap, Jacob's career is running parallel with KA's so far. yes, I'm aware last year was awful but 2007-08 and 2008-09 were nothing special. KA's junior and senior year were the memorable seasons. Add Francis and Burton while Woj, Nathan, etc continue to improve and I think we've got a shot for special years again with another special PG, a heck of a big man, and a flat out scorer on the wing.
Despite the groin injury, over his last 3 games he has 20 assist and one turnover. His handling of the ball is magical. How much better can he get?
