My take on Manek

[cowboysooner]

Watched TOC. I think the Manek kid is going to be really special. Not now, but I think will be good enough that the blue bloods will not concede him to us, verbal or not. 6'9 or taller, unreal ball skills, unlimited range and clearly has been playing against big brothers since birth (plays really tough). He is fundamentally sound and has plainly received really high end coaching. He mostly defers to his big brother (good player) or could have far better stats.

Down side is that he is a bean pole. Very thin. He will really need to fill out in order to play in the big twelve. He isn't a wing. He will be a stretch four.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

He's what, 17, maybe 16? Give him time he will fill out once he's on a real program. Good take though, could be like a Niang for us if he beefs up?

 

[furge]

He's what, 17, maybe 16? Give him time he will fill out once he's on a real program. Good take though, could be like a Niang for us if he beefs up?

I don't know off the top of my head many Big 12 players in recent memory who combine outside shooting, size, length, handles, and explosiveness quite so neatly.

Well, I remember one. :fexas-logo: At least he's doing good work for Oklahoma now.

(Of course I don't expect Manek to be... THAT. But life's funny that way.) I can see him playing Ace McGhee game, lighting it up on face-ups and fronting players to death in the post. If he turns into a shot-blocker or a driving machine, shoooot. Could have a better career than that.

 

[CoachTalk]

He's working with JD runnels to add weight! Among other things.

Let's not compare him to a 1st all big 12 player yet. He'll be a player in time.

 

[usedtobe1]

He's working with JD runnels to add weight! Among other things.

Let's not compare him to a 1st all big 12 player yet. He'll be a player in time.

Are you saying its too early to compare him to Kevin Durant? Come on man!

 

[Larry72]

Does he play defense??

 

[CoachTalk]

Does he play defense??

Yes he can defend. He's still so young and young looking. He'll mature and continue to grow into his body

 

[DenverSooner]

I don't know off the top of my head many Big 12 players in recent memory who combine outside shooting, size, length, handles, and explosiveness quite so neatly.

Well, I remember one. :fexas-logo: At least he's doing good work for Oklahoma now.

(Of course I don't expect Manek to be... THAT. But life's funny that way.) I can see him playing Ace McGhee game, lighting it up on face-ups and fronting players to death in the post. If he turns into a shot-blocker or a driving machine, shoooot. Could have a better career than that.

Rear Lafrentz (did I remember his last name correctly) was awfully skilled coming out of high school perhaps a bit bigger

 

[DenverSooner]

He's what, 17, maybe 16? Give him time he will fill out once he's on a real program. Good take though, could be like a Niang for us if he beefs up?

He is probably still 16 going to turn 17 soon

 

[cowboysooner]

Out of fear of being shunned on this board for insanity, I didn't compare him to Durant. But, frankly, that is who I thought of when watching him. CAVEAT; He isn't Durant now and will likely not ever be Durant, but how many 6'9 guys have you seen that can shoot the 3 from the entire 180 degree arc, both off the dribble and on a catch and shoot, and at the same time be able to dribble through traffic to the rim with either hand. Honestly, I have never seen it in high school ball before. Tall kids yes, but 6'9 kids. I haven't seen it. So, I am pretty pumped about the kid. But, as I said, he is so thin that, it is hard to project him at this point. Literally, he is a bean pole.

It was also fun, for an old school fundamentalist, to see a kid play with both hands, e.g. rebounded with both hands, passed with both hands, stayed in posture, kept his hands above his shoulders on defense, etc.

BTW, I really liked a couple of the Union kid. The big kid looked good and they have a guard that can shoot a mid range shot with his feet are about 3 feet in the air. Don't know his name.

 

[DenverSooner]

Durant was also a bean pole.

 

[usedtobe1]

BTW, I really liked a couple of the Union kids. The big kid looked good and they have a guard that can shoot a mid range shot with his feet are about 3 feet in the air. Don't know his name.

I assume Ethan Chargois was the big kid.

 

[BCSooners]

I assume Ethan Chargois was the big kid.

They had another as well. I only got to watch the first day but Chargois didn't impress at all.

 

[perryj74]

I watched the same TOC, minus the championship game, and came away with a completely different perspective. First let me say it's quite clear he is very skilled and his height and length are legit and there is plenty there to be excited about. However he disappeared on offense way too often and was almost non-existent on the defensive end. He also didn't appear to have very natural instincts on either end of the floor but especially on the defensive end. I've never seen a 6'9" kid be less disruptive on the defensive end. His motor is the biggest question mark for me. If he played with the desire and energy his older brother does he could be really special.

The best kid at the tournament that I saw was the Embry kid from Midwest City who was just a sophomore. Oh and it never gets old watching the Hines kid who is just a junior from Ft Cobb.

 

[opsooner]

Rear Lafrentz (did I remember his last name correctly) was awfully skilled coming out of high school perhaps a bit bigger

Yes, and you got his first name right as well.

 

[DenverSooner]

Yes, and you got his first name right as well.

That is funny. I did not do that on purpose.

 

[zacj33]

Perryj74, if you missed the championship game, then you missed Manek's best performance of the tournament. I know he had 11pts and 10rebs at the half, not sure what he ended up with. He does defer to his older brother too much and it shows a lot in the big games. I will be interested to see how he performs next year when his brother is at ORU. As far as the instincts go, I don't see a lack of instincts. Not sure where that one came from. The one thing that I do agree with you on is the defensive end. I know that he is capable because I have seen him get down and play good defense. He just doesn't do it consistently. Being that tall you can usually get away with playing average defense at the HS level. I have no doubt that the mindset will change once he steps foot at OU.

 

[CoachTalk]

Doubting coach Kruger!

 

[jaymOU]

I watched the same TOC, minus the championship game, and came away with a completely different perspective. First let me say it's quite clear he is very skilled and his height and length are legit and there is plenty there to be excited about. However he disappeared on offense way too often and was almost non-existent on the defensive end. He also didn't appear to have very natural instincts on either end of the floor but especially on the defensive end. I've never seen a 6'9" kid be less disruptive on the defensive end. His motor is the biggest question mark for me. If he played with the desire and energy his older brother does he could be really special.

The best kid at the tournament that I saw was the Embry kid from Midwest City who was just a sophomore. Oh and it never gets old watching the Hines kid who is just a junior from Ft Cobb.

Funny, I said the same thing about the Tisdale brothers and the Griffin brothers - both cases where the older brother seemed to out-work the younger brother in HS. I questioned both Wayman and Blake's "motors", along with Ryan Humphrey and a few others along the way. HS "motors" don't always translate well to the next level - positively or negatively.

As others have said, will be interesting to see what he does after big brother leaves.

 

[brettromar]

They had another as well. I only got to watch the first day but Chargois didn't impress at all.

Ethan got hurt against Jenks right before the break. Left the game and couldn't come back. He wasn't supposed to play until the end of January but he wanted to try and help his teammates win the TOc. He didn't even play the last game because of it.

Just some background for you.