Howland's first years...

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

He aint no miracle worker folks...He has to deal with what he inherited.(which is true of ANY DAMN COACH)

UCLA 11-17 overall 7-11 conference
Pittsburgh 13-15 overall 5-11 conference
No. Arizona 8-18 overall 4-10 conference

[mstatefan91]

Gonna be a long season unless Malik proves he really is the next big thing and drops 35 to 40 points on a consistent basis.

[Coach34]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year

[msstate7]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year

I think I'd take that bet.

[mstatefan91]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year
Reasoning?

[MetEdDawg]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year

This. He's not ready. He's going to be a good talent but he's just not ready. Turf toe or no turf toe, practice or no practice. 1st round talents are better than most everyone on the court the day they walk onto a campus. I don't see a game that is developed enough to be a consistent threat right now. Usually guys like him come out swinging. Attack the basket, use their speed. He was very passive and didn't have any explosiveness.

Not sure if that was because he came back too early, but he's got a long way to go for sure.

[Rayburn8]

Guys Malik hasn't practiced in 3 weeks. Calm down. He was obviously nervous. He got his first game outta the way. He will get a lot better and we will see that top ten recruit. On top of not practicing he probably still has lingering issues from that turf toe.

[mstatefan91]

This. He's not ready. He's going to be a good talent but he's just not ready. Turf toe or no turf toe, practice or no practice. 1st round talents are better than most everyone on the court the day they walk onto a campus. I don't see a game that is developed enough to be a consistent threat right now. Usually guys like him come out swinging. Attack the basket, use their speed. He was very passive and didn't have any explosiveness.

Not sure if that was because he came back too early, but he's got a long way to go for sure.
Yeah, no way he might be tentative with millions on the line and not wanting to re-injure himself. That just makes too much sense, right?

This board has entered a whole new level of idiocy. I will eat my crow if he doesn't prove you all wrong by the end of the season. So save this post if you feel the need to.

[mstatefan91]

With that said, Howland should have recognized Malik wasnt ready and shouldn't have kept him in in the crucial minutes at the end. It should have been Q and IJ leading the team back. They've played the minutes and have practiced. That's on the coach.

[Dallas_Dawg]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year

I'd take that bet. I bet he even does it in a conference game.

[madkin91991]

Give the kid a break, he is a freshman. 18 years old and you people expect him to turn this program around in one year? Come on guys.

[UMCDawg16]

Malik won't score 30 in a game all year

Interesting strategy, Cotton.

That's easy money. Malik will score 30 in at least 1 game. I hope you don't really believe this. I think it's clear some people are over-reacting to one game. That never happens around here though*******

[UMCDawg16]

He won't average 35 like some people around think he will but I'd bet he has a 30+ game. I don't think that's unreasonable.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Starting to think that people are unable to stick to topic on this board....

[mstatefan91]

He won't average 35 like some people around think he will but I'd bet he has a 30+ game. I don't think that's unreasonable.
You know what is unreasonable? Thinking he's a bust based on one game after he practiced one time in a month during which he was injured.

All it takes is for him to get hot from beyond the arc one time and he will hit 30 easy.

[mstatefan91]

Starting to think that people are unable to stick to topic on this board....

Lol true that. My bad

[HSVDawg]

With that said, Howland should have recognized Malik wasnt ready and shouldn't have kept him in in the crucial minutes at the end. It should have been Q and IJ leading the team back. They've played the minutes and have practiced. That's on the coach.

Considering that Ware and Sword both fouled out, he basically had no choice. We needed as many scorers out there as we could get.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

it's no big deal.. I really don't care that much I just think it's funny. ha!

[mstatefan91]

Considering that Ware and Sword both fouled out, he basically had no choice. We needed as many scorers out there as we could get.

I think the real story here is that the NCAA has handicapped everyone. It's a f*cking sh*t show out there now.

[msstate7]

Considering that Ware and Sword both fouled out, he basically had no choice. We needed as many scorers out there as we could get.

Ready said no other shooters needed**

I think ready and sword pressed too much tonight. Maybe both feel the need to prove themselves vs the other... If true, that can't happen

[Bothrops]

Malik will be damn good this year. Just wait! I take nothing negative from his few minutes tonight.

[Prediction? Pain.]

He aint no miracle worker folks...He has to deal with what he inherited.(which is true of ANY DAMN COACH)

UCLA 11-17 overall 7-11 conference
Pittsburgh 13-15 overall 5-11 conference
No. Arizona 8-18 overall 4-10 conference

Just said the exact same thing over at FWTCT on our post-game wrap. I haven't looked into just how bad UCLA, Pitt, and Northern AZ were the year before Howland arrived, but we were in pretty rough shape. We finished last year 13th in the SEC in scoring, last in assists per game, last in turnovers per game, 12th in offensive rebounds per game, and 13th in three-point percentage. (And the year before last, we were also bottom three in scoring offense, turnovers per game, three-point percentage, and offensive rebounding.) Not unreasonable to think that the turnaround will take at least a little time.

[Johnson85]

Reasoning?

Thirty is a hell of a lot of points in a college game and he's not going to be a one game show. I wouldn't put money against it happening, but it's not a lock. And that's not an indication of Malik not living up to the hype, I just don't know that he's ever going to shoot that type of volume on this team. If they continue to call 70 fouls a game, then he probably will score 30 a few times loading up on FTs, but otherwise, I could see his high game topping out in the 20's.

[chef dixon]

Coach is making him his new Hunter Renfroe. He will now root for him to not score 30 all year to be correct.

Malik is going to need some games to adjust. He's never played on a team where he can't just walk up to the top of the key and jack up a 3 every possession. He's extremely fast and will get to the free throw line A LOT this season when he drives to the basket. He can also get on fire with the 3. I wouldn't put it past him to get to 30 a couple times this year just based on those 2 things.