Sheray Thomas

[Will Lavender]

Sheray is an important piece to next year's success. He had some flashes of decent basketball last year (against Louisville, against UCONN in the NCAA Tournament), but far too often he was invisible on both ends of the floor. Here are some things Sheray needs to work on for his senior campaign.

* Strength. He needs to be locked in a room with Holsopple for about three months. Sheray still has way too much "baby fat." Too often last year, he just got the ball torn our of his hands, or he was punished on the blocks defensively. That can't happen next season.

* Footwork. Right now, Sheray is a much more reliable outside shooter than he is an on-the-block scorer. He needs to polish his inside game so that he can be a halfway decent threat if we go to him on the block.

* The mid-range jumper. Actually, I thought Sheray had a pretty good year from the perimeter. But like almost everybody else on the team, he ran hot and cold. Either he'd make all his attempts, or he'd miss them all. A shot that I would like to see Sheray add to his arsenal is that 15 foot jumper. A power forward can get that shot all day long -- it's making it that's the problem.

* Defensive positioning. Sheray really had problems against bigger, tougher guys last year. Added muscle will help him defensively, I think, but I'd also like to see him work a little harder on understanding how to play defense and where to position himself. He really got abused at times, and I think that maybe a better knowledge of what angles to use might help.

Anything I missed?

[AugustaDan]

Will Lavender wrote: Sheray is an important piece to next year's success. He had some flashes of decent basketball last year (against Louisville, against UCONN in the NCAA Tournament), but far too often he was invisible on both ends of the floor. Here are some things Sheray needs to work on for his senior campaign.

* Strength. He needs to be locked in a room with Holsopple for about three months. Sheray still has way too much "baby fat." Too often last year, he just got the ball torn our of his hands, or he was punished on the blocks defensively. That can't happen next season.

* Footwork. Right now, Sheray is a much more reliable outside shooter than he is an on-the-block scorer. He needs to polish his inside game so that he can be a halfway decent threat if we go to him on the block.

* The mid-range jumper. Actually, I thought Sheray had a pretty good year from the perimeter. But like almost everybody else on the team, he ran hot and cold. Either he'd make all his attempts, or he'd miss them all. A shot that I would like to see Sheray add to his arsenal is that 15 foot jumper. A power forward can get that shot all day long -- it's making it that's the problem.

* Defensive positioning. Sheray really had problems against bigger, tougher guys last year. Added muscle will help him defensively, I think, but I'd also like to see him work a little harder on understanding how to play defense and where to position himself. He really got abused at times, and I think that maybe a better knowledge of what angles to use might help.

Anything I missed?
Energy Level -- I'd love to see Sheray really getting after it out there. I hope his lack of energy was a result of his illness coinciding with the worst 2 years of S&C training ever seen and he just never was able to get in shape. I'm pinning a lot of hope on this Holsopple fellow, but I think he'll be up to it. :)

[Littlemeyer]

Sheray Thomas, it could be argued, is perhaps the MOST important piece to next year's success. He HAS to be the 4. And it would be helpful if he could get 25 or so minutes there. Otherwise, we either have an inexperienced Perry Stevenson filling that position (don't get me wrong, I'm excited about Stevenson, just think that next season is too early to expect major contributions) or Bobby Perry at the 4, which creates a chain reaction more than likely resulting in Joe Crawford back at the 3. We all know what happens when Joe C. plays the 3, so there's no need in going in to that here.

*Already mentioned, but strength, if I had to pick just one, would be most helpful. Both offensively and defensively, stronger players had their way with Sheray. Coach H will help here, if nothing else for his motivational skills. Heck, the body is there, he maybe just needs a mean streak.

*Conditioning...goes hand in hand with strength, perhaps, but like I said earlier, we need him on the floor for considerable minutes. Again, Coach H certainly won't hurt in this regard.

*Watch video of Daniels, Hayes, and Estill/Camara (but mainly Estill :lol:) and learn how to play in the interior with Perry and Morris/Carter. Mainly, interior passing. Those guys from that 2003 team seemed to know where the others were at all times w/o visual confirmation...and if a pass was made, by golly you could guarantee that a catch was soon to follow. Best hands I ever saw on a basketball team, esp. for "big guys".

Good idea for these threads, Will. :thumbup

[FrogtownRoadCat]

Is he a lost cause? Wow, Jones. Is there anything else the guy could possibly improve upon?

[RaleighCat]

Littlemeyer wrote: Sheray Thomas, it could be argued, is perhaps the MOST important piece to next year's success. He HAS to be the 4. And it would be helpful if he could get 25 or so minutes there. Otherwise, we either have an inexperienced Perry Stevenson filling that position (don't get me wrong, I'm excited about Stevenson, just think that next season is too early to expect major contributions) or Bobby Perry at the 4, which creates a chain reaction more than likely resulting in Joe Crawford back at the 3. We all know what happens when Joe C. plays the 3, so there's no need in going in to that here.

*Already mentioned, but strength, if I had to pick just one, would be most helpful. Both offensively and defensively, stronger players had their way with Sheray. Coach H will help here, if nothing else for his motivational skills. Heck, the body is there, he maybe just needs a mean streak.

*Conditioning...goes hand in hand with strength, perhaps, but like I said earlier, we need him on the floor for considerable minutes. Again, Coach H certainly won't hurt in this regard.

*Watch video of Daniels, Hayes, and Estill/Camara (but mainly Estill :lol:) and learn how to play in the interior with Perry and Morris/Carter. Mainly, interior passing. Those guys from that 2003 team seemed to know where the others were at all times w/o visual confirmation...and if a pass was made, by golly you could guarantee that a catch was soon to follow. Best hands I ever saw on a basketball team, esp. for "big guys".

Good idea for these threads, Will. :thumbup

Couldn't add more. Well said.

[jpay]

The main thing this kid needs to do is get healthy. He should have been redshirted last year to give hima chance to gain his strength back. I look for big things out of oursenior forwards. Like to see him come in about 240 lbs. Tough kid,does not deserve the bad mouthing hehas gotten through the years.

[Chunks06]

I believe most stuff has been covered. Nice job and nice thread ideas Will. To me, Sheray has to get stronger but more than just stronger in the weight room. Sheray has to find his POWER button ala The Waterboy. Someone needs to talk about his mom or osmething and find his mean streak. He just seems to meager and shy almost. I was at rupp for the big Arkansas comeback last year and he had a hell of a game. Shot the ball well. made good decisions and went after it agressively.

I think Hopsole will do wonders for Sheray as much as any other player we have. He should be a banger but hasnt yet. Hopefully he will find it this year. I think he has pretty smooth mid range jumper as long as his confidence is there.

[bret1555]

jpay wrote: The main thing this kid needs to do is get healthy. He should have been redshirted last year to give hima chance to gain his strength back. I look for big things out of oursenior forwards. Like to see him come in about 240 lbs. Tough kid,does not deserve the bad mouthing hehas gotten through the years.

I agree. . . It is not easy to come back from losing 30 pounds in a matter of weeks; physically, or psychologically. I think we have all been a little harsh on the young man. I definitely look for improved play from Sheray.

For what it's worth, I think Stevenson WILL contribute next season. . . I think 10 minutes a game of shot-blocking & weak-side rebounding are not too much to ask of the freshman, and I believe he can deliver.

[Littlemeyer]

bret1555 wrote:For what it's worth, I think Stevenson WILL contribute next season. . . I think 10 minutes a game of shot-blocking & weak-side rebounding are not too much to ask of the freshman, and I believe he can deliver.

:thumbup Lets hope you're right! 10-15 mins. from Stevenson, 20-25 mins. from Thomas, the remainder (0-10 mins) can go towards a 3-guard line-up with Perry or whoever else sliding to the 4 for short spurts...I like it.

[katfever]

Will Lavender wrote: Sheray is an important piece to next year's success. He had some flashes of decent basketball last year (against Louisville, against UCONN in the NCAA Tournament), but far too often he was invisible on both ends of the floor. Here are some things Sheray needs to work on for his senior campaign.

* Strength. He needs to be locked in a room with Holsopple for about three months. Sheray still has way too much "baby fat." Too often last year, he just got the ball torn our of his hands, or he was punished on the blocks defensively. That can't happen next season.

* Footwork. Right now, Sheray is a much more reliable outside shooter than he is an on-the-block scorer. He needs to polish his inside game so that he can be a halfway decent threat if we go to him on the block.

* The mid-range jumper. Actually, I thought Sheray had a pretty good year from the perimeter. But like almost everybody else on the team, he ran hot and cold. Either he'd make all his attempts, or he'd miss them all. A shot that I would like to see Sheray add to his arsenal is that 15 foot jumper. A power forward can get that shot all day long -- it's making it that's the problem.

* Defensive positioning. Sheray really had problems against bigger, tougher guys last year. Added muscle will help him defensively, I think, but I'd also like to see him work a little harder on understanding how to play defense and where to position himself. He really got abused at times, and I think that maybe a better knowledge of what angles to use might help.

Anything I missed?
I can not disagree with this- spot on. However, it is telling that a senior must do these things to be an effective contributor. In fairness to Sheray, his illness set him back tremendously and that can not be overlooked.

[I. Melvin]

Just think it's the definition of insanity to have Bobby and Sheray manning the respective forward spots for extended periods of time.

Who's gonna guard the paint in that scenario? The answer is Morris which means he fouls out in five minutes.

Unless we sign a true PF between now and August, we simply must move RM to PF and put Jared (and Shag, if he's still around) in the middle. Otherwise, we just get more of what we got last year and, imo, that ain't good enough.

Maybe, maybe Woo can man the PF spot?

[bret1555]

Morris is not quick enough for the 4, neither is Woo. Stevenson will help, but he won't be ready to start. A stronger Sheray, at 6'8, is not ideal, but it will alsonot be catastrophic.

PG - Bradley

SG - Crawford

SF - Perry

PF - Thomas

C - Morris

The difference between this lineup and last year's lineup is obvious & crucial. . . JC will not have to play the three. Him moving back to the 2 will be huge, and will wind up being the key to our resurgence next year.

[I. Melvin]

bret,

who is gonna guard the paint in that scenario? I love Bobby at SF, but he's sure not a low-post defender. And unless Sheray morphs into Manray, that leaves Randolph to hack penetrators. He won't last five minutes and, offensively, we've GOT to have him on the floor.

[Kentucky Jim]

I think footwork is spot on with Sheray, that is certainly something he needs to work on along with his strength. One thing I don't believe anyone mentioned though is his hands, he needs to be strong with the ball and catch passes with a little more zest than he did this past season. That may fall into the strength category or it may not, but I feel it's something he could stand to improve on.

It would be nice for him to develop a mid-range jumper, but I don't think he needs to be behind the arc shooting three's. I know he made some this past season but that's not what we need from him.

[bluegrassking]

It seemed as a freshman he played with a chip on his shoulder and had enough of a mean streak, kind of like a mini-Jam but when he got hit with the illness he lost that and a ton of weight. That lead him to being more perimeter oriented because he was down to about 200-210 and couldn't get in there and bang.

Lat year he came back and had gained back most of his weight but he still had that "guard" game and just wasn't fierce anymore.

Aside from that I speculate the illness has held back his development as a player. Probably, the wise move would have been to redshirt him year before last but I don't know that he wanted that. Also, he isn't just ozing with talent but if he can bang, play respectable D, and make rebounding a passionate focus then he could help us. At least some.

This far into his career, I'd be surprised to see dramatic skill improvement but hopefully the new S&C coach can help get him in shape to get up and down the court and some strength. I hope for good things but he has a very long way to go and a short time to get there to be an effective SEC quality forward.

[RaleighCat]

I. Melvin wrote: And unless Sheray morphs into Manray, that leaves Randolph to hack penetrators. He won't last five minutes and, offensively, we've GOT to have him on the floor.


I think any post that works in a Spongbob reference so effortlessly is Hall of Fame material. Well done.

[I. Melvin]

Perhaps my favorite SpongeBob of all time ...

Can't remember the name of the Orb - The Orb of Ignorance? - classic!

[Will Lavender]

I. Melvin wrote: bret,

who is gonna guard the paint in that scenario? I love Bobby at SF, but he's sure not a low-post defender. And unless Sheray morphs into Manray, that leaves Randolph to hack penetrators. He won't last five minutes and, offensively, we've GOT to have him on the floor.


Well, at least we'll have options next year. Last year we had Randolph, Sheray, Bobby, and...

Next season we add Perry Stephenson's natural shot blocking acumen and freakish athleticism, which will be something we were completely devoid of last year at that position. We'll also have a stronger Pete Newell-trained Jared Carter, and we'll have a senior Woo Orbzut.

Is it the front line of the 2006 UCONN Huskies? No. But it's a step up from Rekalin Sims, who I think I could handle in a footrace, and Mr. Perpetual Doghouse Shagari Alleyne.

Defensively, I think a lot of things depend on how Jared and Sheray improve, and how ready Perry Stephenson is to play.

[bret1555]

Will Lavender wrote: I. Melvin wrote: bret,

who is gonna guard the paint in that scenario? I love Bobby at SF, but he's sure not a low-post defender. And unless Sheray morphs into Manray, that leaves Randolph to hack penetrators. He won't last five minutes and, offensively, we've GOT to have him on the floor.


Well, at least we'll have options next year. Last year we had Randolph, Sheray, Bobby, and...

Next season we add Perry Stephenson's natural shot blocking acumen and freakish athleticism, which will be something we were completely devoid of last year at that position. We'll also have a stronger Pete Newell-trained Jared Carter, and we'll have a senior Woo Orbzut.

Is it the front line of the 2006 UCONN Huskies? No. But it's a step up from Rekalin Sims, who I think I could handle in a footrace, and Mr. Perpetual Doghouse Shagari Alleyne.

Defensively, I think a lot of things depend on how Jared and Sheray improve, and how ready Perry Stephenson is to play.



I am also not sure what Bobby Perry's ability to defend the post has to do with this argument. That is the whole point of moving him to the 3, so he doesn't have to defend the post. At any rate, an improved Sheray will be a capable help defender (which is what you want defensively from a PF). . . Of course, we continue to operate on the assumption that Morris will not be improved. Judging from his progress between hisFr. & Soph. seasons, that assumption does not seem to be a safe one.

My point remains, Sheray may not be the perfect solution, but he will prove to be capable.

[sardiscat]

His natural role on the team would be that of garbageman, getting points off of hustle and offensive rebounds. Every successful team has ahigh energygarbage man, and UK did not have one last year. However, that seems to be the last thing in the worldThomas wants to do, and he definitely didn't play with a lot of intensity last year. If he wants to play on the perimeter, UK would be better served if he never got off the bench. No moves, no first step, inconsistent shot with a slow release, any minutes he takes from Perry at the 3 will be wasted time.

[phoenix]

sardiscat wrote: His natural role on the team would be that of garbageman, getting points off of hustle and offensive rebounds. Every successful team has ahigh energygarbage man, and UK did not have one last year. However, that seems to be the last thing in the worldThomas wants to do, and he definitely didn't play with a lot of intensity last year. If he wants to play on the perimeter, UK would be better served if he never got off the bench. No moves, no first step, inconsistent shot with a slow release, any minutes he takes from Perry at the 3 will be wasted time.
Your theory is not really backed up by the facts. He shot 39+ percent from 3 pt range, when he shot, so he actually CAN deliver from the perimeter.

Actually he shoots better than Perry from the 3, and Perry shoots better inside. The bizarre thing in ST's stats are that as a frosh and a weakened soph, Thomas shot 12 percentage points better from inside the 3 point arc than he did last year, and as a jr. dropped from upper 50's to 47% from inside the arc. That is a significant reduction but why it has occurred, I wouldn't have a clue. That may very well be related to the array of defenses around our rather medicocre outside shooting team, collapsing inside a little more than past years. May be related to an inability to handle starter minutes against other starter quality players as opposed to sub minutes he put in the years before this season.

[RaleighCat]

I. Melvin wrote: Perhaps my favorite SpongeBob of all time ...

Can't remember the name of the Orb - The Orb of Ignorance? - classic!



The Orb of Confusion. Patrick, you know that thing is turned off, right?

But look, I've got little poodles on my checks!

[I. Melvin]

Yes! The Orb of Confusion!!

I'm holding one right now ...

[I. Melvin]

Just a guess, but I think Sheray missed Chuck's leadership and encouragement more than any of the other guys.

phoenix wrote: sardiscat wrote: His natural role on the team would be that of garbageman, getting points off of hustle and offensive rebounds. Every successful team has ahigh energygarbage man, and UK did not have one last year. However, that seems to be the last thing in the worldThomas wants to do, and he definitely didn't play with a lot of intensity last year. If he wants to play on the perimeter, UK would be better served if he never got off the bench. No moves, no first step, inconsistent shot with a slow release, any minutes he takes from Perry at the 3 will be wasted time.
Your theory is not really backed up by the facts. He shot 39+ percent from 3 pt range, when he shot, so he actually CAN deliver from the perimeter.

Actually he shoots better than Perry from the 3, and Perry shoots better inside. The bizarre thing in ST's stats are that as a frosh and a weakened soph, Thomas shot 12 percentage points better from inside the 3 point arc than he did last year, and as a jr. dropped from upper 50's to 47% from inside the arc. That is a significant reduction but why it has occurred, I wouldn't have a clue. That may very well be related to the array of defenses around our rather medicocre outside shooting team, collapsing inside a little more than past years. May be related to an inability to handle starter minutes against other starter quality players as opposed to sub minutes he put in the years before this season.

[SunBaller]

I don't believe Sheray can be any more than a good sub for us to relieve some of the more lively andvigorous players. Nothin' wrong with that, we need those too. He needs to improve strength, speed, jumping ability, and aggressiveness. That ain't goin' to happen over the summer. I was pleased to see the way Bobby Perry stepped up at the end of last year's sub-par season. I hate being an optimist, but I believePerry has finally arrived and hisend-of-season playwill carry over to the 06/07 season. I believe the very most important game of each of UK's seasons is the final game of the NCAA Tournament. Perry was one of only two players who really stepped up to UK standards in the most important game of the 05/06 season. Sheray doesn't have the athletic ability to be more thana valuable backup for Perry and nothing more IMO. Nothin' wrong with that.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William A. Ward

We have some sails that need adjusting IMO.

[FatCatDaddy]

He is a senior, it is a little late for the major improvements listed by the original poster. Sheray must just play smart basketball and do the little things. He needs to be a role player and one we do not depend upon.

[Will Lavender]

FatCatDaddy wrote: He is a senior, it is a little late for the major improvements listed by the original poster. Sheray must just play smart basketball and do the little things. He needs to be a role player and one we do not depend upon.
You always depend upon your role players. Miami and Dallas are showing right now that while stars are important, role players may be just as important. Those two teams are chock FULL of situational and role guys.

My original post didn't offer any "major" improvements...however, to assume Sheray can't make improvements that could be deemed "major" is a little short-sighted. These kids aren't 40; they're 21. Also, we're talking about a guy who had CANCER just a year and a half ago. I would think that if anyone could make a "major" improvement, considering the fluctuation of his weight and strength, then it would be Sheray.

[Buddah]

Not trying to bait, but Sheray Thomas has hit the ceiling as far as "improvement" is concerned. Anything other thinking maybe rooted in delusion. Looking back over college basketball, players usually improve the most from freshmen to sophmore, sometimes that progression can go over three years, but very rarely if ever, does great improvement occur in a senior year, espeically since there has been little evidence of any improvement occuring over the past three years. Sheray, Bobby, and Woo, should be thanked for their service, but they have improved about as much as they are going to do at UK.

Having said that, Sheray better improve if we are going to have anything close to a good year.. We have NO four, he is it, i just basing my opinions on what he has shown over the past three years. who knows ?

[Will Lavender]

Buddah wrote: Not trying to bait, but Sheray Thomas has hit the ceiling as far as "improvement" is concerned. Anything other thinking maybe rooted in delusion. Looking back over college basketball, players usually improve the most from freshmen to sophmore, sometimes that progression can go over three years, but very rarely if ever, does great improvement occur in a senior year, espeically since there has been little evidence of any improvement occuring over the past three years. Sheray, Bobby, and Woo, should be thanked for their service, but they have improved about as much as they are going to do at UK.

Having said that, Sheray better improve if we are going to have anything close to a good year.. We have NO four, he is it, i just basing my opinions on what he has shown over the past three years. who knows ?
I agree with you, Buddah. Players normally -- though not always -- hit their "prime" as college athletes when they are juniors, and some of the time even as sophomores.

However, what isn't "delusion" is to wager that Sheray's health condition has limited him for the last season and a half. To me, he looked stronger, quicker -- more like a Chuck Hayes-type -- as a freshman than he did as a junior. It's possible that once he gets back to full strength, he could become more of a consistent rebounder.

Frankly, I feel like Sheray has been more of a detriment than a help to this point in his career. Clearly, you would have to say that he was a bona fide recruiting mistake for a University of Kentucky team. A lower-tier D1 talent? I think Sheray is that. But he's not UK material. Not from what I've seen.

However, I feel like it's prudent to cut the kid some slack. He had a major, major ailment that really made his weight and strength decrease. For a power guy like Sheray is, a condition like that can be very debilitating.

Anyway. That's silver lining. But I still think Sheray is our best "pure" power forward. And really, to be honest, that's kind of scary...unless he improves quite a bit.

[phoenix]

Will Lavender wrote: Buddah wrote: Not trying to bait, but Sheray Thomas has hit the ceiling as far as "improvement" is concerned. Anything other thinking maybe rooted in delusion. Looking back over college basketball, players usually improve the most from freshmen to sophmore, sometimes that progression can go over three years, but very rarely if ever, does great improvement occur in a senior year, espeically since there has been little evidence of any improvement occuring over the past three years. Sheray, Bobby, and Woo, should be thanked for their service, but they have improved about as much as they are going to do at UK.

Having said that, Sheray better improve if we are going to have anything close to a good year.. We have NO four, he is it, i just basing my opinions on what he has shown over the past three years. who knows ?
I agree with you, Buddah. Players normally -- though not always -- hit their "prime" as college athletes when they are juniors, and some of the time even as sophomores.

However, what isn't "delusion" is to wager that Sheray's health condition has limited him for the last season and a half. To me, he looked stronger, quicker -- more like a Chuck Hayes-type -- as a freshman than he did as a junior. It's possible that once he gets back to full strength, he could become more of a consistent rebounder.

Frankly, I feel like Sheray has been more of a detriment than a help to this point in his career. Clearly, you would have to say that he was a bona fide recruiting mistake for a University of Kentucky team. A lower-tier D1 talent? I think Sheray is that. But he's not UK material. Not from what I've seen.

However, I feel like it's prudent to cut the kid some slack. He had a major, major ailment that really made his weight and strength decrease. For a power guy like Sheray is, a condition like that can be very debilitating.

Anyway. That's silver lining. But I still think Sheray is our best "pure" power forward. And really, to be honest, that's kind of scary...unless he improves quite a bit.


I don't think your assessment of his recruiting being a mistake is anywhere near the mark, nor do I buy the delusion remark from Buddah. I really thought as a freshman Thomas showed a lot of promise. Didn't have his surgery and won't even pretend to know what he went through, but losing 30lbs is not exactly bouncing back from surgery, so my guess is that he took a major hit when he went under the knife either in the surgery itself or the recovery process. As to what he has left in the tank at this point I have no idea, but what I see on the floor sometimes is a player that doesn't or at least didn't want to fully commit his body to the game last year. Loose balls, going in for rebounds, retrieving passes etc, things that take a lot of strain and stomach muscle use, simply seemed to make him look bad. I really don't think it is laziness from this player, and there are a couple of plays on tape that make me just wonder if he had some back trouble last year also? He just doesn't seem to have a full range of motion. I felt he hurt us on the court at times last year, but... I don't automatically write him off this year. This remains a team game and part of any certain players performance is the performance and interaction with the other 4 guys on the court. A small improvement around him might make a dramatic improvement in his own performance.

Some guys seem to think we have to have an AA at the forward positions but in recent history we have had very strong TEAMS with nothing like that. I can't imagine that Thomas's development curve was on schedule last season after the surgery and recovery, so I am thinking we will see at least some improvement in his game this year. It wouldn't take much added there to help the team alot, extra 4-5 pts, extra 3 rebounds would have made a huge difference last year.

[Will Lavender]

Phoenix wrote:

Some guys seem to think we have to have an AA at the forward positions but in recent history we have had very strong TEAMS with nothing like that.

I think you're right about that. In fact, last year I cited Roger Powell, Jr., who was the starting power forward of a Final Four team, as evidence of the fact that the power forward may be the least important spot on the court.

But I think what happened to the Cats last year (one of the things, anyway) is that we had such limited production, offensively and defensively, from the 4. Let's not even talk about offense. Defensively, Bobby and Sheray got pushed around almost every time out. At times, like against Kansas, it was a flat-out embarrassment.

You have to have someone down there who can at least hold his ground. Sheray has real problems doing that. He's not strong, he's not quick. All he brings is a pretty good jumpshot for a man his size.

He's going to have to get in there with Holsopple and really work on getting strong. If you're the kind of player he is, at that size and with his skill set, if you don't have brute strength, then you are going to be limited in what you can do.

[Will Lavender]

Will Lavender wrote: Phoenix wrote:

Some guys seem to think we have to have an AA at the forward positions but in recent history we have had very strong TEAMS with nothing like that.

I think you're right about that. In fact, last year I cited Roger Powell, Jr., who was the starting power forward of a Final Four team, as evidence of the fact that the power forward may be the least important spot on the court.

But I think what happened to the Cats last year (one of the things, anyway) is that we had such limited production, offensively and defensively, from the 4. Let's not even talk about offense. Defensively, Bobby and Sheray got pushed around almost every time out. At times, like against Kansas, it was a flat-out embarrassment.

You have to have someone down there who can at least hold his ground. Sheray has real problems doing that. He's not strong, he's not quick. All he brings is a pretty good jumpshot for a man his size.

He's going to have to get in there with Holsopple and really work on getting strong. If you're the kind of player he is, at that size and with his skill set, if you don't have brute strength, then you are going to be limited in what you can do.

Going on with Phoenix's point, another guy who wasn't an AA at the power forward spot but who did a ton of "little things" was Chuck Hayes. Hayes was not spectacular at any one thing, but he performed the intangibles about as well as anyone I've seen at UK.

Of course we all know that Chuck's success stemmed from his phenomenal work ethic.

But he was also ox strong. He reall made himself into a tremendous defender for a man his size, thanks in large part to the fact that he was so physical, so tough.

Those things are partly innate. They're partly God-granted. But I think they're also a trait you could gain in the weightroom if you work hard enough. I have no idea if Sheray has enough time to get too much stronger, but he can surely cut down some of his body fat. And if that happens, I think he can become a much better rebounder and defender -- two facets of the game Chuck dominated when he was here.

[poodoo]

Will, I have nothing to add to what other posters have said. However, I do want to praise you (along with others) for starting these threads. GREAT IDEA! :)

[DCWildcat]

I've been watching some of last year's games over again while specifically concentrating on Perry, Thomas, and Bradley.

Thomas has much to work on, to be sure. The biggest of it seems to be his reaction to a shot. I've never seen a good PF change as slowly from defense to box out as Sheray does. His rebounding positioning is atrocious. Just improving on that would tremendously help him IMO.

[cnice11]

Shag's gone. He flunked out. I agree, Morris has to put at the PF to keep him out of foul trouble