I agree that bigs usually take longer to develop, yet with Cougill I see some deficiencies that will impact whether he can get better. When I see him on D, or underneath on O, he has a tendency to not move his feet ( common with many freshmen, but it would be good to recruit gusy who move their feet at this point ). As he gets planted, he then uses his arms to try to get position, to block out, to impede the opponent, and he is woefully weak and cant stop these guys ( plus its ripe for foul calls ). He needs to move his feet, use his body ( as Bo Ryan coaches so very very well ) and his legs to position himself. He carries his center of gravity too high too, his legs are often too straight, and again he is weak in these positions ( proper positioning enhances the strength you have, whereas if you are weaker, bad positioning is making you even weaker ). He needs to work hard to get stronger, to condition much better ( to run better and not tire ), and to learn to use his body and feet better. Redefine his center, coordinate that with better footwork, and develop quickness in one's own moves ( think Acie Earl, he wasnt what you would consider fast or quick, yet he made moves quickly, decisively and had nice balance on his feet that allowed a guys with slow feet to gain and hold position and defend and rebound ), thus confidence. Of course, all this allows that Lick values and wants to develop these skills, but Cougill should work on it on his own to be better.
If you really compare Cougill to Brunner or Millard, they had a excellent base(center), their feet moved well, they were strong coming in, they had some quickness in their O moves and moved quickly for positioning and rebounds. At this point Cougill isnt even close, he more like a split between Reiner and Jepson, where he had more skills than Les, but still had to develop with his size, skills, and the speed. He may well develop, but is this system optimum for his skill set?
