Mississippi State @ Vanderbilt opening line

[ZedFedder]

Can we just acknowledge how nice it is to win by 14 on the road in the SEC against a one loss team and still feel we played subpar? This team is really good, and we as fans need to enjoy this year because you never know what next year holds.

[tcdog70]

I do watch games. Was one of the few State fans at the game we played in Dallas. I just havent watched Florida play this season until tonight

wish we could have signed South Pike's Martin --The Gators got a good one

[tcdog70]

I?m old, but this team looks better than the ray white, Gary Hooker, Wiley peck teams......and they literally got screwed out of the tournament .......those guys were that good......and this team is better.....

Ricky Brown and Greg Grimm also---might have been our best team.

[tcdog70]

Wut?!? lol.

wonder how Cam gets those assist. He is so terrible with the ball. What a bad take--I want Cam with the ball-He puts extreme pressure on the opponent. He sets up everybody for easy baskets.

[tcdog70]

I mean would you say Cam is one of our 5 best offensive players? He is not. That does not make him a bad player. He just is not a very good scorer outside of 6 ft.

your basketball IQ is very low.

[RockyDog]

your basketball IQ is very low.

wut? He's not saying anything wrong. When was the last time you can recall Cam taking a jump shot? There's nothing wrong with his play AT ALL, but it's not inaccurate to say he's not an offensive player.

[StarkVegasSteve]

your basketball IQ is very low.

It is actually extremely high. I look at things from more than just an effort level. The kid gives max effort and tries really hard and is an above average to elite defender. He is however a below average offensive player. He cannot score outside 5 ft, he lacks the ability to create a shot(mostly because he has little shooting ability), and when he is pressured he tends to panic and is prone to turnovers.

That takes nothing away from his athleticism and his defense. He has more athleticism than any of us could gain in 10 lifetimes. But I do know that from 12 ft and out I could outshoot him any day of the week. He is a more athletic and slightly less offense version of Tony Allen.

Also you did not answer the question: Is Cam Matthews one of our 5 best offensive players? If he is who do you have him in front of? I mean my rankings would be Hubbard, Kugel, Melendez, Harris, Clary(when healthy), Murphy, Jones, Warren, Matthews, Nwoko. Do you think he is better than Clary or Murphy?

[msstate7]

wut? He's not saying anything wrong. When was the last time you can recall Cam taking a jump shot? There's nothing wrong with his play AT ALL, but it's not inaccurate to say he's not an offensive player.

Assists and offensive rebs are offensive stats.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Assists and offensive rebs are offensive stats.

No doubt. Unfortunately you do not get points for those. And you need points to win.

[smootness]

It is actually extremely high. I look at things from more than just an effort level. The kid gives max effort and tries really hard and is an above average to elite defender. He is however a below average offensive player. He cannot score outside 5 ft, he lacks the ability to create a shot(mostly because he has little shooting ability), and when he is pressured he tends to panic and is prone to turnovers.

That takes nothing away from his athleticism and his defense. He has more athleticism than any of us could gain in 10 lifetimes. But I do know that from 12 ft and out I could outshoot him any day of the week. He is a more athletic and slightly less offense version of Tony Allen.

Also you did not answer the question: Is Cam Matthews one of our 5 best offensive players? If he is who do you have him in front of? I mean my rankings would be Hubbard, Kugel, Melendez, Harris, Clary(when healthy), Murphy, Jones, Warren, Matthews, Nwoko. Do you think he is better than Clary or Murphy?

Putting Matthews below Shawn Jones in offensive ability is genuinely one of the most insane things I have ever read on this board.

Everyone knows his limitations, but what he does have is the ability to drive the basket and use his size and athleticism to score. He is by no means elite at it, but that is definitely a skill he possesses. And what he has better than anyone on our team is excellent court vision and very good passing ability. No, he is not a good jump shooter, and he is not perfect as a ball handler, but equating that completely to offensive ability is dumb.

Matthews absolutely helps make our offense go. He helps create at least 5-6 easy buckets every game, and that is hugely valuable.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Putting Matthews below Shawn Jones in offensive ability is genuinely one of the most insane things I have ever read on this board.

Everyone knows his limitations, but what he does have is the ability to drive the basket and use his size and athleticism to score. He is by no means elite at it, but that is definitely a skill he possesses. And what he has better than anyone on our team is excellent court vision and very good passing ability. No, he is not a good jump shooter, and he is not perfect as a ball handler, but equating that completely to offensive ability is dumb.

Matthews absolutely helps make our offense go. He helps create at least 5-6 easy buckets every game, and that is hugely valuable.

I guess I put more of an emphasis on being able to score outside of 6 ft. Therefore Jones is higher in my ranking. If we need a guy to run 90 mph down the floor like Derrick Henry and dunk it, Cam Matthews is our guy. If I got to have one stop and I need to put someone on the other teams best player, Cam Matthews is our guy. But if I need to a guy to make 2 threes, go 5/7 from the FT line, and get me contested buckets, Cam Matthews is on down the list.

You can rank him however high you want to. I tend to skew a little more NBA type or how does his game translate. Therefore I rank Matthews low on offensive ability because he will not play in the NBA outside of getting brought up here and there from a G League team.

And like I said, this is strictly offensive ability. Not the 5 best players all around on the team.

[Rawdawg]

Cam Mathews is a top 10 player in college basketball. His ability to distribute, offensive rebound, get steals leading to transition baskets etc all factor into offense.

http://evanmiya.com/

[StarkVegasSteve]

Cam Mathews is a top 10 player in college basketball. His ability to distribute, offensive rebound, get steals leading to transition baskets etc all factor into offense.

http://evanmiya.com/

I literally only specifically mentioned offense. Actually said he is the guy I want guarding the best player at the end of the game. Those rankings are factoring in defense. Of which I think he is very good to elite

[Tater]

Steve seems to be talking more hooping / 1on1 offensive talents which Shawn Jones is better at.

In college basketball Cam Matthews is better at offense than Jones though.

It's similar saying Gardner Minshew is better on offense for the Raiders than Brock Bowers because Minshew scores more points. Just not the right way to view it imo.

[SmokeyDawg]

I literally only specifically mentioned offense. Actually said he is the guy I want guarding the best player at the end of the game. Those rankings are factoring in defense. Of which I think he is very good to elite

Offense is more than scoring. You're arguing he isn't a scorer.
He's 6th on the team scoring, 1st in offensive rebounds, 1st in assists.
All offensive stats.

Also 1st in turnovers, we need a ball handler to be available and ready

[Pancho]

glad that's over. is it over?

[Coach34]

Break it down like this:

If Jones didnt play another minute this season? We would be just fine and probably not miss him

If we lost Cam? It would hurt us alot

[BigDawg81]

Cam Mathews is a top 10 player in college basketball. His ability to distribute, offensive rebound, get steals leading to transition baskets etc all factor into offense.

http://evanmiya.com/

Cam is a player that wouldn?t score double digits every game but can win you games. Also, he can elevate the players around him.

[smootness]

I guess I put more of an emphasis on being able to score outside of 6 ft. Therefore Jones is higher in my ranking. If we need a guy to run 90 mph down the floor like Derrick Henry and dunk it, Cam Matthews is our guy. If I got to have one stop and I need to put someone on the other teams best player, Cam Matthews is our guy. But if I need to a guy to make 2 threes, go 5/7 from the FT line, and get me contested buckets, Cam Matthews is on down the list.

You can rank him however high you want to. I tend to skew a little more NBA type or how does his game translate. Therefore I rank Matthews low on offensive ability because he will not play in the NBA outside of getting brought up here and there from a G League team.

And like I said, this is strictly offensive ability. Not the 5 best players all around on the team.

Jones is no better than Cam outside of 6 feet.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Jones is no better than Cam outside of 6 feet.

In 3 years Shawn Jones is 36-133 for a 27% 3 pt percentage. He has 42% overall FG percentage. Cam Matthews in 4 years is 19-96 from 3 for a 19.8% 3 pt percentage. Therefore, Jones is better.

Like I said, y'all can think what you want. I value shot making ability. He doesn't have that. If the game is on the line, I don't want the ball in his hands. Period. That has nothing to do with his defense, his dribbling, his passing, etc. It has to do with his shooting. Plain and Simple. I'm sure there are metrics that you can pull up that make him a good offensive player, but good offensive players translate to the next level. He doesn't. Not in this era. The guy is Rodman. And Rodman wouldn't get on the floor in today's NBA. If this was 1992, Cam Matthews would be a lottery pick despite the fact that he can't shoot outside of 6 ft.