Ahron Ulis Commits to Iowa

Why? He aint that good a baseball player.

We get to find out this year if he is a legit Big10 basketball player. If he does not show tremendous growth this season (mainly in his shooting and overall consistency), then Fran needs to get him out of the way in favor of one of these youngsters. I think he is going to surprise many, but who knows.
 
I think the guy is gifted. It remains to be seen if he is gifted enough to play two sports. It seems hard to believe he is gifted over another division one player that puts in 100% while he only puts in 50%. It also seems strange given the circumstances that he is deserving of a scholarship. I'd rather have a guy that puts in 100% in just one sport unless he is just one of those rare athletes.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Why? He aint that good a baseball player.

We get to find out this year if he is a legit Big10 basketball player. If he does not show tremendous growth this season (mainly in his shooting and overall consistency), then Fran needs to get him out of the way in favor of one of these youngsters. I think he is going to surprise many, but who knows.
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I'm not convinced whether he's a better baseball or basketball player, but IMO he needs to pick a sport and stick with it. His ability to play at a higher level is being negatively influenced by the amount of time he's spending training for the other sport.
 
kicker22 said:
I'm not convinced whether he's a better baseball or basketball player, but IMO he needs to pick a sport and stick with it. His ability to play at a higher level is being negatively influenced by the amount of time he's spending training for the other sport.
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I think he is a college kid that loves to play baseball and loves to play basketball. He is enjoying the piss out of being able to do both and is not worried about playing either professionally because he is smart enough to know the odds of making the bigs are not that great. He has 5 years to have the time of his life competing at the BIG level in 2 sports he loves. How many of us got to do that in one? Then he will move on and make a lot of money in the real world and play rec ball on the side.
 
Having played both sports, I am not sure there is an equal negative impact flowing both ways. I do not think him playing baseball is hurting his basketball all that much. I am confident he is hitting the gym when healthy every day in the Summer to work on his shot. There is only so much pick up ball and shots you can take without diminishing returns. I think Conner really just needs more PT and opportunity show that he can be an above average point guard in this league. Or, he may just not have the chops. We shall see.

I do think basketball may be hurting his baseball. The difference between a line-drive and a pop fly is minute. Baseball players are animals when it comes to repetition. They live in the cages and timing can be thrown off so easy. Great players hit slumps. While Conner is bouncing a ball, his cohorts are living in the cages getting their swing right for the season.
 
If Connor improves his mid-range jump shot and can somewhat consistently nail threes, although with the line further away from the rim, that might be asking too much right now.

He does have point guard skill, undoubtedly. He is a very good passer, moves the ball well, however the Hawks still spend a lot of time dribbling around and settling for a quick, somewhat desperate shot attempt with the time clock running down.

Connor is also extremely savvy and one tough hombre. He is a master of psychological warfare and has the ability to get into the opponents heads, infuriating them to the point of distraction.

There it is: Random Musings running around a tormented mind

:cool:
 
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If I told you Connor was better than Moss and Bohannon at 2s, got to the line at the second highest rate (behind Cook) on the team, and was the leader in AST% last season, would you believe me? If he becomes just average from deep, his stats will be solid enough to warrant a good chunk of playing time IMO.

I have no reason to believe his shooting won't improve. He was a decent shot in HS but lost confidence in it last season, so much so that he was reluctant at times to let it fly when left wide open.
 
JG10Hawk said:
If I told you Connor was better than Moss and Bohannon at 2s, got to the line at the second highest rate (behind Cook) on the team, and was the leader in AST% last season, would you believe me? If he becomes just average from deep, his stats will be solid enough to warrant a good chunk of playing time IMO.

I have no reason to believe his shooting won't improve. He was a decent shot in HS but lost confidence in it last season, so much so that he was reluctant at times to let it fly when left wide open.
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He also led the team in Turnover % by a fairly significant rate.

His PER was second worst on the team of the regulars and was an abysmal 7.3 in B1G conference play.

I would speculate that his FT attempt rate will actually go down next year. Check his splits of free throws attempted between non conference and conference play. In non conference he averaged a gaudy 4.14 free throws per game, but in B1G play he averaged 1.95 per game.

As I noted in another thread the 3pt shooting thing is a two part issue, because last year he was bad at 3s and an unwilling shooter. Had he made 4 more 3s last year he would have been a 34% shooter, but that would have been something like .35 additional points per game. That’s hardly significant.

Connor has a lot of work to do outside of just shooting to become even an average B1G player in my opinion.
 
Look gents, the reality is that for all intents and purposes, Conner was a redshirt freshmen playing limited minutes as a back-up last season. His stats flow a bit both ways, but the bottom line is that we do not have near enough of a sample size to declare him a bust or a legit player.

Most players make their biggest leaps between their freshman and sophomore years, AND when they start getting extended minutes on the floor.

I agree with both takes. He has a lot of skills and intangibles that are intriguing and could lead him to be a great floor general for this team. He also sometimes overthinks passes and his shot is well below average.

I believe he will improve on all of his skills, but I do not believe he will ever be much of a shooting threat. I see him scoring 7-8 points a game. Hitting a couple outside shots, driving to the hoop for a bucket, and sinking a few free throws her and there. If we can get him shooting in the 30 per cent range, given his other attributes, he will not be a liability on the offense.

I have very modest goals for the PG position this season. They should be thinking similar to KF and his QBs. Get your guys in the right spot. Get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. Do not turn it over.
 
SteveGarvey1 said:
He didn't set the world on fire last season in baseball but I agree that his only chance for high success at the next level is in baseball.
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Let's play devil's advocate here. What if he starts hitting from deep like he did in high school. That opens up his drives a bit more as they can't sag on him, then all of a sudden he's scoring 12+ppg and dishing 5+ assists at 6'5 205. Now we're looking at a legit combo guard who is smart, can drive and dish, and play solid defense. That's draft-able territory and definitely someone who'd find a spot overseas. I'd honestly say that's more likely than him hitting 0.400 as a lefty and making the majors. Unless he gets a signing bonus after having a tremendous baseball turnaround, he's way more likely to find a spot overseas making 6 figures traveling the world. I know which path I'd shoot for as the basketball coach's son.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
He also led the team in Turnover % by a fairly significant rate.

His PER was second worst on the team of the regulars and was an abysmal 7.3 in B1G conference play.

I would speculate that his FT attempt rate will actually go down next year. Check his splits of free throws attempted between non conference and conference play. In non conference he averaged a gaudy 4.14 free throws per game, but in B1G play he averaged 1.95 per game.

As I noted in another thread the 3pt shooting thing is a two part issue, because last year he was bad at 3s and an unwilling shooter. Had he made 4 more 3s last year he would have been a 34% shooter, but that would have been something like .35 additional points per game. That’s hardly significant.

Connor has a lot of work to do outside of just shooting to become even an average B1G player in my opinion.
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Yes, I'm well aware of his flaws and decreased performance in conference play. I was just trying to shed some light on some of the positive things he brought to the table that are mostly overlooked. If he can become an average 3pt shooter and not be hesitant to let it fly, his attempts from deep, scoring, and advanced shooting metrics will go up. This would only help his PER. That's my point.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Look gents, the reality is that for all intents and purposes, Conner was a redshirt freshmen playing limited minutes as a back-up last season. His stats flow a bit both ways, but the bottom line is that we do not have near enough of a sample size to declare him a bust or a legit player.

Most players make their biggest leaps between their freshman and sophomore years, AND when they start getting extended minutes on the floor.

I agree with both takes. He has a lot of skills and intangibles that are intriguing and could lead him to be a great floor general for this team. He also sometimes overthinks passes and his shot is well below average.

I believe he will improve on all of his skills, but I do not believe he will ever be much of a shooting threat. I see him scoring 7-8 points a game. Hitting a couple outside shots, driving to the hoop for a bucket, and sinking a few free throws her and there. If we can get him shooting in the 30 per cent range, given his other attributes, he will not be a liability on the offense.

I have very modest goals for the PG position this season. They should be thinking similar to KF and his QBs. Get your guys in the right spot. Get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. Do not turn it over.
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I find this assessment the most accurate of Conner. It is very true as stated MOST guards make their biggest strides between their freshmen and sophomore years. I wish him the very best this upcoming season.
 
JG10Hawk said:
Yes, I'm well aware of his flaws and decreased performance in conference play. I was just trying to shed some light on some of the positive things he brought to the table that are mostly overlooked. If he can become an average 3pt shooter and not be hesitant to let it fly, his attempts from deep, scoring, and advanced shooting metrics will go up. This would only help his PER. That's my point.
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There seems to be a fairly large contingent of posters on here who seem to think all he needs to do is get a a consistent jump shot. I think there is much more to it than that.

We have a poster above saying he can be a 12 PPG / 5 APG guy if he shoots like he did in high school.

I appreciate you trying to shine a positive light. Hopefully Connor can prove me wrong, but I’m not convinced he’s a quality B1G level player or will become one.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
There seems to be a fairly large contingent of posters on here who seem to think all he needs to do is get a a consistent jump shot. I think there is much more to it than that.

We have a poster above saying he can be a 12 PPG / 5 APG guy if he shoots like he did in high school.

I appreciate you trying to shine a positive light. Hopefully Connor can prove me wrong, but I’m not convinced he’s a quality B1G level player or will become one.
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Fair enough. I agree he needs to work on more than just his jump shot. Granted adding a consistent jumper would be a great first step.
 
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