Strawther

[zagsfanforlife]

The kid looks natural out there. I hope with Ballo out for a couple weeks it sounds, Julian continues to get 10-15 minutes a game. If so, I am confident he supplants Oumar in the rotation and unless we play a big team in the tournament, I think it should stay that way. Skills wise, he is just way ahead of Oumar right now. Great job Julian. Looking like a 12-15 ppg scorer for a couple years to come

[willandi]

The kid looks natural out there. I hope with Ballo out for a couple weeks it sounds, Julian continues to get 10-15 minutes a game. If so, I am confident he supplants Oumar in the rotation and unless we play a big team in the tournament, I think it should stay that way. Skills wise, he is just way ahead of Oumar right now. Great job Julian. Looking like a 12-15 ppg scorer for a couple years to come

Didn't the announcers say that he was 36ppg in HS? He could be more than 12-15 if he becomes the next Kispert.

[WallaWallaZag]

Didn't the announcers say that he was 36ppg in HS? He could be more than 12-15 if he becomes the next Kispert.

he's not a kispert level shooter, but he's a proven scorer in high school and fiba...he was ammo like at those levels.

[willandi]

he's not a kispert level shooter, but he's a proven scorer in high school and fiba...he was ammo like at those levels.

So 27 ppg and player of the year as a junior?

[Fonebone]

His shot looks super smooth and fluid, But I know nothing about mechanics. How do the mechanics of his shot look ?


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[krozman]

He seems more polished than Harris for sure coming off the bench, really taking advantage of Ballo being out. This isn't his year, obviously, but if he puts in the work he's definitely got the potential.

[Radbooks]

This was from Coach Few after the game tonight:

Karthik Venkataraman
@KREMKarthik
·
2h
Replying to
@KREMKarthik
Few said Strawther has had a really rough time with injuries and COVID-19, but now they are starting to see the player he can really be. Said he’s been hunting his shot more.

[WallaWallaZag]

he plays with good pace and doesn't seem to force things like harris, who still has a tendency to get out of control

[jazzdelmar]

Should start. Period. Save Watson as a Tims sub. Sure he’d make freshman mistakes, but he brings great energy and a polished offensive game, qualities sorely lacking in the incumbent 4. But we all know that would never happen.

[HenneZag]

Strawther needs to see the floor more period. Kid has a knack and you can see the game is starting to slow down for him. He will be an important piece in the NCAA Tourney. We need to find that production as we all know a couple we are relying on don't seem to be the offensive players we expected.

[bdmiller7]

Should start. Period. Save Watson as a Tims sub. Sure he’d make freshman mistakes, but he brings great energy and a polished offensive game, qualities sorely lacking in the incumbent 4. But we all know that would never happen.

Nor should it happen. Watson is 10× the defender Strawther is.

[Zagceo]

Like Nembhard Strawther will earn his playing time.

kid has nice stroke

[TacomaZAG]

Nice to see both Strawther and Harris get some minutes with the 1st team on the floor instead of just in garbage time. Both those guys are going to contribute in due time.

The future is bright, and the present isn't bad either.

Go ZAGS

[jazzdelmar]

Nor should it happen. Watson is 10× the defender Strawther is.

Ten times, really? Then maybe Straw is ten times the scorer Anton Layup is.

[jazzdelmar]

Like Nembhard Strawther will earn his playing time.

kid has nice stroke

Earned. Nemby right now is the best all round guard on the team, IMO.

[bdmiller7]

Ten times, really? Then maybe Straw is ten times the scorer Anton Layup is.

This teams seems to be able to score enough, but need people to play D. I like Strawther and think he played well, but he's not at Anton's level yet. I think he is going to be perfect filling that Kispert combo forward role over the next few years. Over the last couple years we have been transitioning away from the classic 2 big offense, I think that continues.

[bdmiller7]

Earned. Nemby right now is the best all round guard on the team, IMO.

He definitely can pass and takes care of the ball. Under 30% from 3 isnt going to cut it though. Even off the bench Nembhard and Suggs play about the same mpg. Excited to see what Nembhard can do next year at pg playing 32 mpg with the offensive weapons around him.

[HenneZag]

Nembhard doesn't start but he played 6 more minutes than Suggs last night. His experience and calmness is being highlighted. I believe he is the best all around guard right now as well. Doesn't have the ceiling that Suggs has, but his experience and maturity showing more each game.

[bartruff1]

Should start. Period. Save Watson as a Tims sub. Sure he’d make freshman mistakes, but he brings great energy and a polished offensive game, qualities sorely lacking in the incumbent 4. But we all know that would never happen.

Watson is my guy.....and IMHO will play a key role in any success in the Dance....his upside is growing as he recovers from the psychological effects of a season ending injury......

[Reborn]

I was very impressed with Strawther. When he first came into the game the Zags were struggling offensively. He scored 5 straight points, one of them a three. The Zags seemed to take off at that point. He is definitely playing with more confidence, and looks very, very smooth on offense. Is he better than Watson. I'd say it's a draw at this point. They are very very different kind of players, and I am one who believes that Watson has an important role on this team. I don't feel the need to criticize his game the way some do. One thing some fans are missing is his passing. Most seem to recognize his defensive role, but so far not many have mentioned his passing skills. If you begin to watch and see, you'll see what I'm talking about. And as everyone know, well most everyone, Few's offense is built on team passing in all areas. Have you noticed Watson outlet passes after a rebound. I mean they're bullet passes to half-court. That's a skill folks. And it shows his power. Watson is developing into a very very good 4, imo, and his body is beginning demonstrate the the changes that he's been working on. He is even now beginning to rebound better. No! I'm not one who wants to throw a guy like him under the buss.

Go Zags!

[amaronizag]

Nembhard doesn't start, but he averages more minutes than Suggs. Suggs was injured so he got fewer minutes for a stretch, and that may be the reason he averages fewer minutes than Nembhard. It doesn't matter to me which of the two gets the most minutes, as long as Nembhard gets lots of run time. I love the way he controls a game!! As for Watson, his defense keeps him in the starting 5. As Dickau pointed out, Watson held their best player to ZERO points in the first half last night. On another note, we need more practice against a zone. I like Joel on the free throw line in the middle of a zone, but the offense needs work against that defense.

[bdmiller7]

I was very impressed with Strawther. When he first came into the game the Zags were struggling offensively. He scored 5 straight points, one of them a three. The Zags seemed to take off at that point. He is definitely playing with more confidence, and looks very, very smooth on offense. Is he better than Watson. I'd say it's a draw at this point. They are very very different kind of players, and I am one who believes that Watson has an important role on this team. I don't feel the need to criticize his game the way some do. One thing some fans are missing is his passing. Most seem to recognize his defensive role, but so far not many have mentioned his passing skills. If you begin to watch and see, you'll see what I'm talking about. And as everyone know, well most everyone, Few's offense is built on team passing in all areas. Have you noticed Watson outlet passes after a rebound. I mean they're bullet passes to half-court. That's a skill folks. And it shows his power. Watson is developing into a very very good 4, imo, and his body is beginning demonstrate the the changes that he's been working on. He is even now beginning to rebound better. No! I'm not one who wants to throw a guy like him under the buss.

Go Zags!

Agreed on the passing. Watson has 22 assists. Strawther has ZERO. Both shooting under 20% on threes. To me Watson's D is much better than Strawther's O. Strawther is coming along and will play more as the season progresses, but this team is better with Watson getting the playing time. We have enough offense, he is our best defender.

[mgadfly]

I think Strawther is awesome.

I think Watson is fantastic though and should be played as much as possible. During the KenPom era there has been one Gonzaga player who was ranked nationally (per the KP qualifiers - and meaning in the top 500) in both blocks and steals percentages. While Watson isn't Brandon Clark (no one is), if the season ended today, he'd be our second player to accomplish this.

Watson's win shares per minute are greater than Nembhard's (barely). There are six guys on our team that advanced analytics say are really good. That includes Watson. But Watson is unique in that his value is being driven by what he does on the defensive side of the ball (although Suggs benefits a lot from his D as well). He also hides some of the inadequacies of other, more beloved, players. While Kispert's and Timme's defense are adequate, they are both helped by having Watson available to take the toughest forward/post assignment.

Watson's offensive rating is now at 124.0 (82nd nationally) so it isn't an efficiency issue, it's a usage problem. Is he a threat offensively? Personally, I'd rather have Kispert take a few of his shots and Timme take a couple of them than our other options. So in sum, we have a bunch of good options, but Watson provides us the best compliment to the existing players and he is an incredibly talented and versatile defender. Strawther brings us a lot of what Kispert and Timme are already providing. No offense to Strawther who may end up being a great scorer, but at this point I'd rather see the older guys get those opportunities over him.

[zagsfanforlife]

My point wasn’t so much strawther vs Watson but strawther vs ballo once he comes back. Unless we are playing a Garza or Cockburn, which I will add Garza made ballo look silly, I would for sure play Julian over oumar when he gets healthy

[jazzdelmar]

Agreed on the passing. Watson has 22 assists. Strawther has ZERO. Both shooting under 20% on threes. To me Watson's D is much better than Strawther's O. Strawther is coming along and will play more as the season progresses, but this team is better with Watson getting the playing time. We have enough offense, he is our best defender.

Not a terribly large sample size, eh?