Nice, video of Travis in practice

[tcdog70]

http://youtu.be/mTCYBITr66U

[engie]

Finally some footage showing to some extent that he is who a bunch of us have been telling everyone else that he is...

I don't think he can replace Borchert at the 4**

[mic]

yep.. And can even play the 3 some ..

[tcdog70]

Hope he is great. Would like to see Him defend and rebound.But maybe He can shoot the three and take the heat off of Ware.

[ckDOG]

http://youtu.be/mTCYBITr66U

Haven't been keeping up. Who the hell is this? Dude is legit.

[thf24]

I'm most impressed with the 3 point and mid range jumpers off the dribble. That's exactly what we've been sorely lacking.

[ckDOG]

I'm most impressed with the 3 point and mid range jumpers off the dribble. That's exactly what we've been sorely lacking.

Yep. That's a dude that can create his own shot. Plus, he's a matchup nightmare with his size. Ride that horse on offense.

[Coach34]

I heard there was no way Daniels could replace Borchert???

[Dawg61]

Looks better than FTF to me. Won't be driving past many guys but he's got a nice stroke. Now will he qualify in the classroom?

[engie]

He qualified at Christmas...

[smootness]

Now will he qualify in the classroom?

Why do people keep bringing this up? He has his two-year degree, he is currently enrolled as a student at State. I don't get it. It's like saying Dak Prescott should be good this year, but the question is, can he qualify?

[RiverCityDawg]

Why do people keep bringing this up? He has his two-year degree, he is currently enrolled as a student at State. I don't get it. It's like saying Dak Prescott should be good this year, but the question is, can he qualify?

agenda

[Coach34]

agenda

Yep. And why this little clip was put together and released- to address that agenda

[thf24]

Won't be driving past many guys but he's got a nice stroke.

Not many stretch 4's can drive past people at will. They either shoot over them or post up, and while Travis mostly demonstrates the former in the video, he looks like he can do the latter as well.

Anyone still want to say he wasn't worth tying up the scholarship and waiting for last year?

[Johnson85]

Yep. That's a dude that can create his own shot. Plus, he's a matchup nightmare with his size. Ride that horse on offense.

Those highlights look good, but didn't eh average like 12 points a game at juco? I think Bryan Bryant averaged like 15. Not saying Daniels won't help, but unless there was an injury issue or something, I wouldn't expect him to be a huge scorer.

[CadaverDawg]

Some of you guys trip me out. You bash people for their opinion and use a practice highlight video as "proof" that he will be a stud?

Look, the guy might be a baller, and I hope he is...but that could be the 10% of shots he actually made in practice for all we know. I don't know what sounds more foolish, the ones acting like Ray has already failed as a coach, or the ones acting like he'll be Phil Jackson bc he finally found a guy that looks decent in a practice highlight reel.

It's comical either way.

Truth is, we need to make postseason in one of the next 2 years. I think we should make the NIT this season.

[ckDOG]

Those highlights look good, but didn't eh average like 12 points a game at juco? I think Bryan Bryant averaged like 15. Not saying Daniels won't help, but unless there was an injury issue or something, I wouldn't expect him to be a huge scorer.

No telling. All I know is he's a bigger guy with a nice dribble and a quick shot. We need that badly. Somebody that can do that helps your offense do a lot more in multiple aspects. I don't see why he wouldn't be a big impact early on.

[engie]

Some of you guys trip me out. You bash people for their opinion and use a practice highlight video as "proof" that he will be a stud?

Look, the guy might be a baller, and I hope he is...but that could be the 10% of shots he actually made in practice for all we know. I don't know what sounds more foolish, the ones acting like Ray has already failed as a coach, or the ones acting like he'll be Phil Jackson bc he finally found a guy that looks decent in a practice highlight reel.

It's comical either way.

Truth is, we need to make postseason in one of the next 2 years. I think we should make the NIT this season.

Pointing out others' agendas when given a golden opportunity -- when consistent word from practice last year was that he was probably our best player -- is not foolish nor comical.

[thf24]

Those highlights look good, but didn't eh average like 12 points a game at juco? I think Bryan Bryant averaged like 15. Not saying Daniels won't help, but unless there was an injury issue or something, I wouldn't expect him to be a huge scorer.

A year in a D1 program can make a lot of difference. A player with the skill set he's currently demonstrating should score a lot more than 12 points in JUCO; maybe he didn't develop those skills until he got here. You and Cadaver are right though, we shouldn't lose our minds until he actually takes the court for real.

[mic]

An ex player told me that when he watched them practice that TD would have been starting without a doubt and was the 2nd best player on the court behind Sword ..
Just having a full roster will make a huge difference for us..
But yes the pass for RR is over its time to start making strides to get back to tourney action. And Im willing to bet he knows this as well..

[Dawg61]

An ex player told me that when he watched them practice that TD would have been starting without a doubt and was the 2nd best player on the court behind Sword ..
Just having a full roster will make a huge difference for us..
But yes the pass for RR is over its time to start making strides to get back to tourney action. And Im willing to bet he knows this as well..

If my agenda is hoping Ray will have a full 13 game 1 tip then consider me guilty. Daniels hasn't played a second for us cause of his academics. I'd consider that a question mark till he actually plays. He might have a sweet jumper but he hasn't suddenly turned into an honor student in the classroom right. Ray needs to stay on him and his books or we'll only have this bad ass practice highlight tape to watch of Daniels.

[smootness]

Those highlights look good, but didn't eh average like 12 points a game at juco? I think Bryan Bryant averaged like 15. Not saying Daniels won't help, but unless there was an injury issue or something, I wouldn't expect him to be a huge scorer.

He played for Shelton State, which I believe is one of the top JUCOs in the country. They essentially play 10 guys similar minutes regardless, so just about everyone on the team averages around 20 mpg, including Daniels. His 12 ppg is not really the same as most.

But if we're going to evaluate based solely on ppg, then Zuppardo should be a complete stud for us b/c he averaged 20+ ppg during his team's national title run.

[smootness]

If my agenda is hoping Ray will have a full 13 game 1 tip then consider me guilty. Daniels hasn't played a second for us cause of his academics. I'd consider that a question mark till he actually plays. He might have a sweet jumper but he hasn't suddenly turned into an honor student in the classroom right. Ray needs to stay on him and his books or we'll only have this bad ass practice highlight tape to watch of Daniels.

You're creating a problem out of nowhere. He hasn't played a second because he was in junior college. He had one class that he had to re-take in the fall, then he passed it and is a full-time current student at Mississippi State. He obviously is still eligible after taking classes in the spring.

Do you consider every JUCO transfer an academic question mark until he actually plays? Do you worry about Jocquell Johnson remaining eligible? How about Justin Cox? He didn't qualify out of HS, so despite the fact that he graduated from JUCO and has now been in good standing for a year at State, I worry about his academics.

It's insane. He's at State, he's in good standing, and he should be completely fine.

[MadDawg]

Some of you guys trip me out. You bash people for their opinion and use a practice highlight video as "proof" that he will be a stud?

agenda

[War Machine Dawg]

You're creating a problem out of nowhere. He hasn't played a second because he was in junior college. He had one class that he had to re-take in the fall, then he passed it and is a full-time current student at Mississippi State. He obviously is still eligible after taking classes in the spring.

Do you consider every JUCO transfer an academic question mark until he actually plays? Do you worry about Jocquell Johnson remaining eligible? How about Justin Cox? He didn't qualify out of HS, so despite the fact that he graduated from JUCO and has now been in good standing for a year at State, I worry about his academics.

It's insane. He's at State, he's in good standing, and he should be completely fine.

The Agenda is strong with 61.

[thf24]

agenda

I'm so sick of the word "agenda." Just because someone holds the opposite point of view of yours doesn't mean he has an "agenda." And the worst thing about the overuse of the word is that it deflects criticism from those who actually have one and need to be called out for it, on both sides of this particular argument.

It is absolutely not indicative of an "agenda" to use a nice-looking highlight video, practice or not, as evidence that certain people are wrong in their criticisms and claims about Daniels. Does it mean he'll be a guaranteed stud for us? No, of course not. But it definitely shows that all of you saying he's just barely a replacement for Borchert and doesn't bring anything more to the table are absolutely wrong.

[smootness]

Not everyone who questions or criticizes Ray or his hire has an agenda. Dawg61 does.

I'm sure there are some who support Ray with an agenda as well, but that at least seems like a far better agenda for us in the long run.

[thf24]

Not everyone who questions or criticizes Ray or his hire has an agenda. Dawg61 does.

I'm sure there are some who support Ray with an agenda as well, but that at least seems like a far better agenda for us in the long run.

I agree with all of that. I tried to stay neutral in my last post, but I would think it would be obvious to an outside observer that the "agendas" are much stronger with the anti-Ray group.

[MadDawg]

I agree with all of that. I tried to stay neutral in my last post, but I would think it would be obvious to an outside observer that the "agendas" are much stronger with the anti-Ray group.

For the record, I threw the "agenda" thing out there mostly out of sarcasm and response to the "agenda" already thrown out by RiverCityDawg and Coach34. I've posted nothing positive or negative about Daniels. And I don't even remember anyone seriously claiming he could barely replace Borchert. That would be pretty silly to claim, unless you were just joking.

[MSUDawg4Life]

Not everyone who questions or criticizes Ray or his hire has an agenda. Dawg61 does.

I'm sure there are some who support Ray with an agenda as well, but that at least seems like a far better agenda for us in the long run.

True.

There are people on both sides of the argument who have agendas.

[smootness]

And I don't even remember anyone seriously claiming he could barely replace Borchert. That would be pretty silly to claim, unless you were just joking.

...or unless you had an agenda.

[engie]

I don't even remember anyone seriously claiming he could barely replace Borchert. That would be pretty silly to claim, unless you were just joking.

That viewpoint was prevalent all season long with 5-10 posters here. Several of which used Borchert's JUCO stats in comparison to Daniels' to prop up their position -- while turning right around and raising 14 kinds of hell for us not actively pursuing Devonta Pollard, whose stats match neither of the previous two.

Having no actual sound logic backing a position is what makes for an agenda IMO. And there are plenty of people on both sides of the isle that do not have one...

[CadaverDawg]

I'm so sick of the word "agenda." Just because someone holds the opposite point of view of yours doesn't mean he has an "agenda." And the worst thing about the overuse of the word is that it deflects criticism from those who actually have one and need to be called out for it, on both sides of this particular argument.

It is absolutely not indicative of an "agenda" to use a nice-looking highlight video, practice or not, as evidence that certain people are wrong in their criticisms and claims about Daniels. Does it mean he'll be a guaranteed stud for us? No, of course not. But it definitely shows that all of you saying he's just barely a replacement for Borchert and doesn't bring anything more to the table are absolutely wrong.

I disagree.

Let me preface my post by saying that I'm NOT one of those that spoke poorly of Daniels. And I have no agenda either way.

Taking a highlight reel and using it as "proof" of anything, is silly. I'm sure if I had a camera mounted in the church gym back in the day, I could have made a highlight tape that made me look like Jimmer Fredette out there...but in games I might not make 30% of my FG's. That video doesn't "prove" shit, except that he is practicing and he is capable of making a jumper in practice.

And for those saying it "proves" he can replace Borchert....How? He hasn't proven shit. I hope he's much better than Colin, but there's zero proof of that in games yet. He may be better in practice, but Dan Merlin say Devon Bell is automatic in practice, so you better bring more "proof" than that if you're going to start saying it "proves" anything IMO.

[tcdog70]

I agree with all of that. I tried to stay neutral in my last post, but I would think it would be obvious to an outside observer that the "agendas" are much stronger with the anti-Ray group.


your last post was actually the first I have ever agreed with.Then you come right back with this Bullshit

[tcdog70]

I disagree.

Let me preface my post by saying that I'm NOT one of those that spoke poorly of Daniels. And I have no agenda either way.

Taking a highlight reel and using it as "proof" of anything, is silly. I'm sure if I had a camera mounted in the church gym back in the day, I could have made a highlight tape that made me look like Jimmer Fredette out there...but in games I might not make 30% of my FG's. That video doesn't "prove" shit, except that he is practicing and he is capable of making a jumper in practice.

And for those saying it "proves" he can replace Borchert....How? He hasn't proven shit. I hope he's much better than Colin, but there's zero proof of that in games yet. He may be better in practice, but Dan Merlin say Devon Bell is automatic in practice, so you better bring more "proof" than that if you're going to start saying it "proves" anything IMO.

abso-****ing-lutly-. You are correct. And I'm sure we all hope TD is the second coming of Donte Jones. But the agenda shit is ridiculous, everyone can have an opinion and everyone can disagree. The fact that TD couldn't pass college algebra at a JUCO could give concern that grades are a weakness. I posted the video because i thought TD looked pretty good against our Team and hope that translates into looking good during the regular season.

[CadaverDawg]

abso-****ing-lutly-. You are correct. And I'm sure we all hope TD is the second coming of Donte Jones. But the agenda shit is ridiculous, everyone can have an opinion and everyone can disagree. The fact that TD couldn't pass college algebra at a JUCO could give concern that grades are a weakness. I posted the video because i thought TD looked pretty good against our Team and hope that translates into looking good during the regular season.

Yep, and thanks for posting the video. Definitely provides some hope that he can help.

[smootness]

Yep, and thanks for posting the video. Definitely provides some hope that he can help.

And this is really all I think we can draw from the video, but it's still nice to see.

I agree with you 100% that the video doesn't prove a thing. He could have missed 80 shots that weren't shown, as you said. He may have been turning the ball over, etc.

But I do disagree that you can just choose the 'good' plays from anybody and make them look awesome. Anyone is going to be able to tell, even in short 5-10 second clips, when somebody isn't really that good. The reasons for optimism on Daniels based on this video aren't that he made all the shots, obviously you would hope that is the case in a highlight tape. The reason I'm more optimistic than I was before is that he looks very fluid, his shot looks good and is mechanically sound, and he obviously is able to shoot off the dribble and has some athleticism.

I am a reasonably good shooter for a guy playing pick-up games at the local rec center. I could make a tape of me hitting shots and having decent mechanics. But you'll be able to tell in one 5-second clip that I have no hops, no discernible athleticism, and that I don't do much of anything except stand behind the arc, wait for a pass, and shoot it. Obviously that's an extreme example; just saying that even in a highlight tape, you can see some flaws, but what I see here looks really good.

[Jacksondevildog]

We have some fans that don't know who a player is until they either A.) Play in a game or B.) Drop 30 vs Kentucky because it's the only MSU game they watch all year. "Who the shit is this guy?"

[thf24]

your last post was actually the first I have ever agreed with.Then you come right back with this Bullshit

If you're going to continue to believe that anyone who supports patience for Ray is doing so out of spite towards Stansbury, then of course it's going to seem like they all have "agendas" to you.

[tcdog70]

If you're going to continue to believe that anyone who supports patience for Ray is doing so out of spite towards Stansbury, then of course it's going to seem like they all have "agendas" to you.

what? i need someone to interpret this bunch of whatever it is.

[Dawg61]

What's my agenda? That I think Brick Ray is in over his head? Yup I do. What's he shown to prove different? Nothing. MSU doesn't owe Ray jack shit. He's already been paid $2.5 mill+. Not too shabby.

[CadaverDawg]

What's my agenda? That I think Brick Ray is in over his head? Yup I do. What's he shown to prove different? Nothing. MSU doesn't owe Ray jack shit. He's already been paid $2.5 mill+. Not too shabby.

Great point. I'm not going to say Rick is in over his head just yet...but you have WAYY more evidence to back your "agenda" than those that think he's the man because Travis Daniels looked good in a practice highlight tape. That is for sure.

[engie]

Great point. I'm not going to say Rick is in over his head just yet...but you have WAYY more evidence to back your "agenda" than those that think he's the man because Travis Daniels looked good in a practice highlight tape. That is for sure.

No he doesn't.

[CadaverDawg]

No he doesn't.

Oh yea, Travis Daniels proved that he could EASILY replace Borchert in this highlight reel...I forgot.*

[places face into palm of hand]

[Goat Holder]

At this point, yes, he does.

Let's put this out here.....the only MSU basketball fan on this board who had an agenda was Coach34. I think he'll even admit that. He hated Stans during the ups and the downs.

The Stans-lovers who think it's funny that Ray hasn't done so hot are just dumb - because they expect the same results after the dumpster fire - but that's not an agenda. And until Ray matches Stans' results, they'll continue to spew their idiocy.....but it gets more and more validated the farther along into Ray's tenure we get.

[engie]

Oh yea, Travis Daniels proved that he could EASILY replace Borchert in this highlight reel...I forgot.*

[places face into palm of hand]

"Him replacing Borchert in this highlight reel" was never the point. How are you missing that? Him replacing him PERIOD -- and being a massive overall upgrade -- after being bashed and disbelieved to hell and back despite NUMEROUS practice reports from people that would know is the point.

Any statement that says "there's alot more evidence to support D61's position" in any context whatsoever involving basketball is patently asinine...because that is what the actual bullet points of his position is...

[Dawg61]

What's my "position"? To want MSU to be a top-tier SEC basketball program? Yup guilty as charged. Till we there I don't care whose my friend or not.

[Coach34]

Let's put this out here.....the only MSU basketball fan on this board who had an agenda was Coach34. I think he'll even admit that. He hated Stans during the ups and the downs.

No. I just couldnt believe we had fans that actually thought he was a good floor coach. Their idiocy led to my posting and trolling

[thf24]

The Stans-lovers who think it's funny that Ray hasn't done so hot are just dumb - because they expect the same results after the dumpster fire - but that's not an agenda. And until Ray matches Stans' results, they'll continue to spew their idiocy.....but it gets more and more validated the farther along into Ray's tenure we get.

I think that's true in most cases, but there are definitely a few on here who have demonstrated more loyalty to Stansbury than MSU, and were going to be hypercritical and dismissive of anyone we hired barring a marquee name who came in and kept winning without missing a beat (if that was even possible).

[Johnson85]

He played for Shelton State, which I believe is one of the top JUCOs in the country. They essentially play 10 guys similar minutes regardless, so just about everyone on the team averages around 20 mpg, including Daniels. His 12 ppg is not really the same as most.

But if we're going to evaluate based solely on ppg, then Zuppardo should be a complete stud for us b/c he averaged 20+ ppg during his team's national title run.

It's not basing it solely on ppg, but usually you don't expect somebody's production to increase from JUCO to DI. You're usually happy if they even put up similar stats unless, like I said, there was an injury or other issue holding them back in JUCO. For players' whose games don't translate, or who go from being the primary scoring option to a role player, you'd expect their stats to drop considerably. Hopefully limited playing time is an 'other issue' that held Daniels back and he will play more for us and give more per game production.