Jalen Hill

[pnkranger]

If Jalen can play with the same intensity and toughness and confidence be played with last night (and against Gonzaga last year) moving forward, we have a chance to be really good. He takes so much pressure off of Groves with his ability to shoot, get to the basket, cut, offensive rebound, etc.

He creates so many mismatches and handles it well for a guy that is 6’7” and 225+. Relieved a lot of pressure from the guards last night handling full court. He reminds me a little bit of Kenrich Williams. NOT SAYING HE’S NBA CALIBER RIGHT NOW SO DON’T FREAK OUT.

Got a chance to have a great year this year and a special senior year.

 

[NickZepp]

Yeah he needs to be more aggressive and take shots more on offense. He may have the best all around game of anyone on the roster.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[soonertravis]

Agreed. I really appreciated his ball handling against the press. Really seemed to be the second best ball handler we had last night. He plays calm and smart. Really like his game. He is developing into what we hoped he would when he got here.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Agreed. I really appreciated his ball handling against the press. Really seemed to be the second best ball handler we had last night. He plays calm and smart. Really like his game. He is developing into what we hoped he would when he got here.

Agree completely about his ball handling against the press. That was a huge part of the game. I think he always plays very hard, but his offensive confidence and aggression comes and goes. That makes sense because he was very much a role player the past two years, but now that we don’t have Reaves or Doo, he should continue to get more confident in a bigger role.

 

[steverocks35]

Jalen was nails last night

 

[BCSooners]

Not just last night, but overall he's been OU's best player this year.

 

[jaymOU]

How about the throw down he had too. Dunk of the year and maybe of recent memory

 

[Eielson]

I'm so old I can remember when several on here felt he was a lost cause.

 

[AdaSooner]

I'm so old I can remember when several on here felt he was a lost cause.

Actually, it wasn’t that long ago. I’m sure most of them know how wrong they were by now.

I have always been a Jalen Hill fan. But to be honest, he’s even better than I thought he would be this early in the season. He’s one of those players we talk about “when the light comes on,” but rarely see it happen right in front of our eyes.

 

[Darwin]

Too many here, see a ceiling for young players after 15 or 20 games. They can be correct but they're just guessing. Cousins is a recent example, even when his 2nd year was a lot better, he was underestimated. Cam Clark was highly rated with an ugly shot and was a hesitant shooter for 3 years then senior yr BOOM! he's a scorer. There could even be guys this year that get on a roll as they become comfortable with the new system.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Too many here, see a ceiling for young players after 15 or 20 games. They can be correct but they're just guessing. Cousins is a recent example, even when his 2nd year was a lot better, he was underestimated. Cam Clark was highly rated with an ugly shot and was a hesitant shooter for 3 years then senior yr BOOM! he's a scorer. There could even be guys this year that get on a roll as they become comfortable with the new system.

Was just thinking about Cousins in this context. He struggled so much as a freshman, but thankfully Lon stuck with him because he considered him a key part of the future. Cousins obviously improved by leaps and bounds. As you say, it’s hard to know which guys will/won’t make the leap, but it’s never a good idea to pretend like we know what a guy will be after 8 games. All three freshman have has good moments, and all three have looked overmatched at times. That’s to be expected for all but the absolute best freshman around the country.

 

[CoachTalk]

I love it here.

 

[BigTime]

Big time game from Jalen Hill

 

[pnkranger]

I am absolutely going to toot my own horn ... I have been saying Jalen Hill was going to blossom as an upperclassman since year one. And weirdly, I've apparently made this same post once before two years ago:

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43500&highlight=jalen+hill+pnkranger

 

[skyvue]

Stacy King taught me long ago not to write off a player as an underclassman.

 

[jaymOU]

Stacy King taught me long ago not to write off a player as an underclassman.

Who is Stacey King?



Kidding, of course.

 

[OULad]

Was just thinking about Cousins in this context. He struggled so much as a freshman, but thankfully Lon stuck with him because he considered him a key part of the future. Cousins obviously improved by leaps and bounds. As you say, it’s hard to know which guys will/won’t make the leap, but it’s never a good idea to pretend like we know what a guy will be after 8 games. All three freshman have has good moments, and all three have looked overmatched at times. That’s to be expected for all but the absolute best freshman around the country.

I thought Cousins was terrible. But he worked his ass off and became a pro.

 

[sheepdogs1]

For Jalen, and players similar to him, it's mostly about what's up stairs and not really an issue with having or not having athletic ability. We've all seen glimpses of what was possible in past games from last season. if he were to somehow unshackle himself from viewing himself as an outsider and more like an integral part of the team we would then see the real Jalen Hill. Good for him.

 

[inoref]

Who is Stacey King?



Kidding, of course.

 

[Eielson]

Actually, it wasn’t that long ago. I’m sure most of them know how wrong they were by now.

I have always been a Jalen Hill fan. But to be honest, he’s even better than I thought he would be this early in the season. He’s one of those players we talk about “when the light comes on,” but rarely see it happen right in front of our eyes.

I was making a joke! We had a few on here that were adamant about his hopelessness a few weeks ago.