two thoughts, while watching the 'bama game

[KITNooga]

1. Makol: have watched this kid for several seasons. athletically solid. have seen a sweet mid-range, short jump shot. have seen him play with a LOT more confidence. this year, not so much. he has springs, he elevates well (two--handed rejection in the 'bama game). Not sure why he can't/won't elevate and go to a two-handed stuff more frequently? mostly, not sure why he's struggling so much with his confidence. I've seen him play way better. I know what he can do. Not getting what's different for him right now.

2. announcer putting out a short throw-away line about younger players calling out older players for lack of effort? did anyone else catch that on the broadcast?

interesting that these two things aren't being tossed around by this crew. what am I missing?


from what I've seen, the general tenor of discussion around Mak has been negative. Not that I don't understand that; but like I said - I've seen what he can do. He's done it before.

[Wyldkatz]

I remember a game last year where Mak missed like 3 dunks. Since that game, he seems to prefer trying layups over dunks. Don't get it. Never seen a guy opt not to dunk when point blank at the rim.

[RichardZ]

Kit...M.M. is a mystery surrounded by a riddle.

To me, springs or not, it takes forever for him to get the pass (which is half the time) and get to the grand finale. And when he is at pointblank the chances are 50% that the ball goes in. He usually feels it necessary to bounce the ball and gather himself instead of going straight up.

He does have a nice short shot and is good from the free throw line, but rarely gets fouled for as much as he gets the ball.

He seems like a terrific kid, but I don't see the passion for the game from him. He could be a huge difference maker.

[sf2145]

I may be over simplifying his issues but I would think that he could "shoot the square" better. He seems to have a lot of roll outs from poor angles or poor hand eye efforts. Clarifying his focus might help him...... as in "see the square and shoot the square"....

[Puffdad]

If you can’t catch....... it’s a problem playing basketball. No further analysis really needed. And yes he’s a nice young man.

[learnin]

If I had been Mak and was blessed with that body and shooting touch and cursed with the ability to hang on to the ball, I would have practiced the short hook day in and day out.

[xtrawildcat]

If you can’t catch....... it’s a problem playing basketball. No further analysis really needed. And yes he’s a nice young man.

It really is that simple. At this point, pretty obvious something about his hand eye coordination that all the practice in the world is not going to correct.

[KITNooga]

If you can’t catch....... it’s a problem playing basketball. No further analysis really needed. And yes he’s a nice young man.

It really is that simple. At this point, pretty obvious something about his hand eye coordination that all the practice in the world is not going to correct.

not a typical thing that is ever coached, i'd imagine. I mean: how would you?

best thing I ever did for hand-eye coordination? speed bag. made an unbelievably huge difference in my ability to field baseballs.

I keep rooting for mak. he's given so much. we need him. just isn't my nature to abandon any of these kids.

[Hypeman]

If you can’t catch....... it’s a problem playing basketball. No further analysis really needed.

Sometimes it’s just that simple. Fundamental hand eye coordination. That’s why kids should play multiple sports.

[KITNooga]

If you can’t catch....... it’s a problem playing basketball. No further analysis really needed.

Sometimes it’s just that simple. Fundamental hand eye coordination. That’s why kids should play multiple sports.

hype: gonna say this - the world is literally LITTERED with kids who have/had great potential but had to endure coaches who couldn't be bothered with figuring out how to unlock that potential.

a highschool coach I know (football) was once asked about what he learned to go from coaching good teams to coaching teams that competed for state championships every year.

his response? quit focussing on the stars. they're great no matter what. but he figured out how to help develop his 'second/third' tier athletes.

coaches, in my mind are teachers, mentors. a guy like Mak? seems tailor-made to try and figure out. and thus ELEVATE the entire team.