The Bluejay Underground: A Creighton Sports Message Board

I'd be shocked if Justin redshirts.

Henson for UNC was lanky AF and he still was able to compete. Obviously he was super talented but you don't have to have a Brody Deren or Gene Teague body to compete in a major conference.

Duke1Agn wrote:I'd be shocked if Justin redshirts.

Did some research on last year's top ranked centers. Sorry it may be messy as I'm on my phone. I excluded Okafor, Towns, and Turner as they are one and done type prospects. #31 Goodluck Okanoboh (UNLV) 25 MPG 5 PPG 5 REB 2.9 BLK. #31 Thomas Welsh (UCLA) 15.9 MPG 4 PPG 4 REB 1 BLK. #56 Elbert Robinson (LSU) 6.7 MPG 0.6 PPG 1.7 REB 0.3 BLK. #61 Pascal Chukwu(Providence) 9 MPG 2.6 PPG 2.3 REB 0.7 BLK. #71 Isaac Hayes (Purdue) 15 MPG 8.3 PPG 3.8 REB 0.8 BLK. #74 Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) 17.3 MPG 3.2 PPG 4.7 REB 1.5 BLK. #91 Trayvon Reed (Auburn) 8.3 MPG 1.1 PPG 2.1 REB. 0.8 BLK. Only one years worth of data...would like to go back and see similar center prospects ranked in the top 100. None of them redshirted...but none of them are setting the world on fire. The center position may he the toughest position to play for an incoming freshman. With that said...I could see Patton having similar numbers to Goodluck Okanoboh is he does not RS.

1620Jay wrote:

Duke1Agn wrote:I'd be shocked if Justin redshirts.

Did some research on last year's top ranked centers. Sorry it may be messy as I'm on my phone. I excluded Okafor, Towns, and Turner as they are one and done type prospects. #31 Goodluck Okanoboh (UNLV) 25 MPG 5 PPG 5 REB 2.9 BLK. #31 Thomas Welsh (UCLA) 15.9 MPG 4 PPG 4 REB 1 BLK. #56 Elbert Robinson (LSU) 6.7 MPG 0.6 PPG 1.7 REB 0.3 BLK. #61 Pascal Chukwu(Providence) 9 MPG 2.6 PPG 2.3 REB 0.7 BLK. #71 Isaac Hayes (Purdue) 15 MPG 8.3 PPG 3.8 REB 0.8 BLK. #74 Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) 17.3 MPG 3.2 PPG 4.7 REB 1.5 BLK. #91 Trayvon Reed (Auburn) 8.3 MPG 1.1 PPG 2.1 REB. 0.8 BLK. Only one years worth of data...would like to go back and see similar center prospects ranked in the top 100. None of them redshirted...but none of them are setting the world on fire. The center position may he the toughest position to play for an incoming freshman. With that said...I could see Patton having similar numbers to Goodluck Okanoboh is he does not RS.

This supports exactly what I've been saying. You don't redshirt a top-50 player. However, he isn't going to step right into a starting role and drop 10p/9r/4b either. On the other hand, as the above stats illustrate, it's entirely realistic to expect him to contribute substantial rotational minutes as a freshman.

In another (Khyri) thread it was again noted by Rodman, Duke, and Chicago - that scholies are for 1 year.

Who knows what will transpire at seasons end and in individual coach/player conferences. Coaches haven't been happy with overall pivot play. It is possible that they look hard at the transfer pool for another center.

JacobPadilla wrote:Justin is very talented, but those expecting a guy who is going to come in and jump out of the gym need to cool down. He's very mobile, but some are probably overrating his athleticism in itself. His fundamentals as a shot-blocker have improved tremendously, but there are going to be guys that will just jump over and through him unlike what he is seeing with little 6'5" kids in high school. Justin is all length and mobility more so than explosive athleticism, but there are going to be kids as big or bigger than him in the Big East. There will be an adjustment.

You one of those guys Barkley was talking about? I've been there and done it. Couldn't be happier with the improvement of Grozelle. He would need to improve as much again next year to strike fear in our opponents. Teams have 0 hesitation taking it to the hole against us. Ive seen Patton. In HS ball, these guys see junk defenses, 6 ft defenders etc and they will do things that always don't look right because its goof ball basketball for a talented 6"11" player. Boredom creeps in. He will be playing next year and blocking shots, rebounding and fouling a lot. He wont be redshirting nor playing just 5 minutes a game. Very impressed with the interviews. He knows what he wants and he wants to be good.

I really wonder how many people who think Justin will not redshirt or play meaningful minutes have ever seen him play. I'm not a basketball scout - just a random fan who has been going to Bluejay games for 15 years. I went to watch Justin play against Millard West last weekend looking for some hope for next year during a tough year for CU this year. He definitely has talent - he can shoot, handle the ball, has good moves, etc. but there were some challenges. Most of the time was spent outside the paint getting the ball and making a move to get a shot - didn't really post up much. He blocked some shots but there were a lot of shots on him he could of contested if he simply jumped or had more effort. Most concerning to me is he doesn't appear to be in that great of shape or play all that hard. I'm sure part of that is the level of competition, but when your 6'11" playing a bunch of white West Omaha kids, I was thinking more than 11 points and 4 rebounds. Again, I think he'll develop into a solid player but I'd also predict he redshirts netx year unless Groselle leaves or we really need bodies.

Millard West's big man is 6' 8 and has a D1 offer. He's probably the second best big man in the Metro besides Justin. And just because they're a bunch of "white kids from west Omaha" does not mean that they're not athletic or good basketball players.

Have you seen Justin play in person?

Since you're new I'm going to assume you don't know how the team plays at Omaha North. First, the team isn't built to throw it inside to Justin as the guard play is inconsistent at best and really bad at worst. That of course means a lack of quality paint touches. (Sound familiar?). Second, Justin has been working very hard on improving his jumper and since the perimeter is the place he most easily gets the ball, he's going to be taking a lot more jumpers in the first place.
Also, keep in mind that he is rated high due to his potential, not what he is right now. He has good handles for a big man, is very athletic, runs the court well, and alters/blocks a lot of shots. The mid-range game and post offense game are going to be a work in progress, like a lot of developing big men entering their freshmen year. He also will need to put on more muscle to bang with BE big men for long durations.