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Post by lemkotir on Apr 13, 2023 7:13:00 GMT -8
I've been thinking about Keshad's decision to move on, and think there's probably more to the story. I first started thinking he might bail after reading a quote from Zeigler toward the end of the season from Dutcher. I also heard Dutcher say something similar on Darren Smith's show. And basically what Dutcher was saying was that there were some guys who wanted to test the NBA waters and perhaps also see what was out there in the transfer portal. Dutcher was clear in stating that recruiting was a priority and that he needed to have next season's roster solidified sooner rather than later. And the one guy who seemed like he wanted to do some spelunking in the NBA and the Portal was Johnson. So basically, Dutcher probably knew then that Johnson was planning on moving on. Heck, they'd probably already discussed it and come to a mutual agreement. But why wouldn't Johnson just stay at SDSU, a place he's been very successful? I mean, if he wants to be more of a central figure on another college team next year, rather than just a cog at SDSU, that's great. The reasoning goes that if he gets more opportunity to shoot, display his offensive skills and showcase more of his game, he might be more attractive to NBA and overseas teams. But that would require Johnson to significantly boost his shooting skills and percentages. Throughout his career at SDSU, he has managed to nudge his numbers up each year, but not by much. He's never made the dramatic leap in his offensive numbers that he and others were hoping/expecting. Here's a look at a few of his offensive stats that pertain most to his shooting skills, as well as where he really needs to be in order to be a significant impact player either in college or the next level: 202265.1%, 2 pt. 18.2%, 3 pt. 64.4%, FT 202359.8%, 2 pt. 26.2%, 3 pt. 64.8%, FT OPTIMAL NUMBERS
60%+, 2 pt. 35%+, 3 pt. 75%+, FT The bottom line is that Keshad needs to boost his shooting percentages significantly in order to be the player he wants to be. And if he were able to get his numbers up to the Optimal Level above, do you know who would be begging him not to leave? Dutcher. There would be no need for Keshad to move on because he could be a cornerstone of the offense right here at SDSU. My sense is that as much as everyone on the coaching staff loves KJ and all he's done for the team and the school, they've come to the conclusion that it's best for everyone that he move on. It seems the coaching staff has seen enough, and given his past numbers on offense, they just don't see that big jump in shooting stats coming. Further, they have some young studs behind KJ that they believe are the future of the team, and they'd like guys like Saunders to start seeing some significant playing time. Pretty much my thoughts exactly. This is just a case where a player has done everything he has done in a program (including getting his degree; played in national champ game), and he wants something the program system may not be able to offer to him. I am sure it was mutually respectful for Dutch and staff to say, KJ, if this is what you want, we would support you in moving to another school or pro league that allows you to pursue such desires. Remember, these are early 20 old kids. You were young once too, and I'm sure you had dreams and desires. And with KJ, he has advisors telling him do XYZ, because that is probably best for his future. If you had "life advisors", and if you're like me, then most of you may not have listen to those good advices at your youth, hahaha. If you start look at things through KJ's eyes, you will understand why he did what he did. Life is all about opportunistic at times after all; KJ just came off of his arguably best game in the National Championship game. Get data, assess the situation, and make the best decision with what you got. When life goes on, sometimes what really matters is, and I hate to say it, is money. And to do that, KJ needs to be in the best spot to get attention, and boost his profile. Honestly, he can do that better at other places vs. SDSU.
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Post by namssa on Apr 13, 2023 7:31:48 GMT -8
This kind of reminds me of the same reason that Zylan Cheatham transferred. I'm good with Keshad's decision. He gave us 4 great years and I'm happy for him and whatever he chooses to do going forward. If it is Europe or G League that is great and if it is at another school that will let him play the 3 that is fine too. He's an Aztec for life.
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Post by jp92grad on Apr 13, 2023 7:34:29 GMT -8
I've been thinking about Keshad's decision to move on, and think there's probably more to the story. I first started thinking he might bail after reading a quote from Zeigler toward the end of the season from Dutcher. I also heard Dutcher say something similar on Darren Smith's show. And basically what Dutcher was saying was that there were some guys who wanted to test the NBA waters and perhaps also see what was out there in the transfer portal. Dutcher was clear in stating that recruiting was a priority and that he needed to have next season's roster solidified sooner rather than later. And the one guy who seemed like he wanted to do some spelunking in the NBA and the Portal was Johnson. So basically, Dutcher probably knew then that Johnson was planning on moving on. Heck, they'd probably already discussed it and come to a mutual agreement. But why wouldn't Johnson just stay at SDSU, a place he's been very successful? I mean, if he wants to be more of a central figure on another college team next year, rather than just a cog at SDSU, that's great. The reasoning goes that if he gets more opportunity to shoot, display his offensive skills and showcase more of his game, he might be more attractive to NBA and overseas teams. But that would require Johnson to significantly boost his shooting skills and percentages. Throughout his career at SDSU, he has managed to nudge his numbers up each year, but not by much. He's never made the dramatic leap in his offensive numbers that he and others were hoping/expecting. Here's a look at a few of his offensive stats that pertain most to his shooting skills, as well as where he really needs to be in order to be a significant impact player either in college or the next level: 202265.1%, 2 pt. 18.2%, 3 pt. 64.4%, FT 202359.8%, 2 pt. 26.2%, 3 pt. 64.8%, FT OPTIMAL NUMBERS
60%+, 2 pt. 35%+, 3 pt. 75%+, FT The bottom line is that Keshad needs to boost his shooting percentages significantly in order to be the player he wants to be. And if he were able to get his numbers up to the Optimal Level above, do you know who would be begging him not to leave? Dutcher. There would be no need for Keshad to move on because he could be a cornerstone of the offense right here at SDSU. My sense is that as much as everyone on the coaching staff loves KJ and all he's done for the team and the school, they've come to the conclusion that it's best for everyone that he move on. It seems the coaching staff has seen enough, and given his past numbers on offense, they just don't see that big jump in shooting stats coming. Further, they have some young studs behind KJ that they believe are the future of the team, and they'd like guys like Saunders to start seeing some significant playing time. Pretty much my thoughts exactly. This is just a case where a player has done everything he has done in a program (including getting his degree; played in national champ game), and he wants something the program system may not be able to offer to him. I am sure it was mutually respectful for Dutch and staff to say, KJ, if this is what you want, we would support you in moving to another school or pro league that allows you to pursue such desires. Remember, these are early 20 old kids. You were young once too, and I'm sure you had dreams and desires. And with KJ, he has advisors telling him do XYZ, because that is probably best for his future. If you had "life advisors", and if you're like me, then most of you may not have listen to those good advices at your youth, hahaha. If you start look at things through KJ's eyes, you will understand why he did what he did. Life is all about opportunistic at times after all; KJ just came off of his arguably best game in the National Championship game. Get data, assess the situation, and make the best decision with what you got. When life goes on, sometimes what really matters is, and I hate to say it, is money. And to do that, KJ needs to be in the best spot to get attention, and boost his profile. Honestly, he can do that better at other places vs. SDSU. This is more of a system team then a single player team, I am saying not much would change for KJ if he stayed. He would have got a few more minutes and a few more shots a game but we are talking about 2-4 more minutes and maybe 4-6 more shots per game (maybe!). His Defense was already really really good but things would be about the same in Best case Scenario on next years team and things are shaping up and looking like minutes could be much harder to come by. Next years team is taking shape and could have a lot of talent and a few NEW players in different positions that are going to want some minutes, time will tell how all these new players jell together in these Defensive Driven System.
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Post by johneaztec on Apr 13, 2023 7:45:55 GMT -8
J Franklin would also be included in this discussion... Concur. Difficult, if not impossible, to beat the off-the-backboard from the three-point arc, rebound at the free-throw line, followed by a "Throw it down, big man!" thunder dunk in front of an incredulous Fresno St. crowd and the nine other guys on the court with a "WTF just happened?" look on their faces. Ha!!! That was absolutely epic!!! Brought everybody out of their seat.
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Post by lemkotir on Apr 13, 2023 7:58:03 GMT -8
KJ decision to transfer is just a function of people in a group setting wanting something different with their own personal XYZ reasons.
It happens within family, friendship circles, workplace teams.
It can boiled down to simple as...
SDSU serves (damn good) burgers and fries KJ now wants pasta and breadsticks
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Post by longtimesdsufan on Apr 13, 2023 8:00:19 GMT -8
It is a win-win. KJ wants to play wing, and won't fit here. We could use a larger big as his replacement.
He will go somewhere that shoots more and loses more. They will not care when he takes a quick 3 and misses. Their fans will love his dunks and he may be their best player.
We can now start LaDee as a 4 and his back-up will be Sanders. We have Shay and maybe two other transfers to replace Mensa.
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Post by johneaztec on Apr 13, 2023 8:01:00 GMT -8
If KJ wants to go to another team that would give him the luxury of being the offensive focus, it would seem to me that it would have to be on a much weaker team than SDSU. If he goes to a weaker team, you would think the scouts would say, "Well, he's definitely improved in his offense, but this is against much weaker competition." I don't know how much that would help him.
I know he needs to show that he has more of an offensive game, but if he does it against weaker competition with not much length, etc, I don't know what that proves. It may prove that he can hit shots against an average opponent, but if he doesn't excel when he has a good defender on him, that doesn't mean as much and the scouts will take note. We'll see. I wish him luck. Great kid. I hope he's getting good advice.
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Post by longtimebooster on Apr 13, 2023 8:05:34 GMT -8
Concur. Difficult, if not impossible, to beat the off-the-backboard from the three-point arc, rebound at the free-throw line, followed by a "Throw it down, big man!" thunder dunk in front of an incredulous Fresno St. crowd and the nine other guys on the court with a "WTF just happened?" look on their faces. Ha!!! That was absolutely epic!!! Brought everybody out of their seat. I used to get to the games about 45 minutes early in order to beat the traffic and watch the team warm up. That season, I saw Franklin execute his off-the-backboard-rebound-slam move at least a half dozen times. He'd always wait until everyone was done with their warm ups and Fisher had called the team over for a pre-game huddle before heading back into the locker room. Franklin would start at half court, dribble to the three-point arc, toss the ball off the backboard, rebound it and then slam it. The first time I saw him do that, it blew my mind. But I'm sure he practiced that maneuver all the time. Because Fisher would be standing in the huddle with the team. He'd look over, see Jamaal doing his thing, shake his head and wait for JF to finish and trot to the huddle. You could see Fisher thinking, "OK, Jamaal, are you done yet?" I was waiting all season for JF to break that move out in a game. And when it came, wow, it blew my mind all over again even though I'd seen him do it several times previously.
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Post by sdcoug on Apr 13, 2023 8:05:34 GMT -8
I wish him luck, but I also question the idea of him going to another college. I don't think another T25 team will give him more minutes or opportunity then SDSU. Does going to a team with holes to fill in the Pac-12 or other high major conference really improve his draft stock? But who knows. Maybe he feels like he's developed as much as he can at SDSU, and he wants new coaches and a new situation to foster his growth as a player. Or maybe he's done with undergrad and wants to get a Stanford graduate degree, or another top tier academic school. Playing the position he'll play at the next level alone improves his odds of landing a pro contract. He needs the opportunity to play more around the perimeter and be more of a focus of the offense. I don't think he cares if it's a top 25 program or even a NCAAT team. He's done that for 4 years. It's time for him to focus on the next stage which is preparing for pro ball.
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Post by longtimebooster on Apr 13, 2023 8:14:54 GMT -8
I wish him luck, but I also question the idea of him going to another college. I don't think another T25 team will give him more minutes or opportunity then SDSU. Does going to a team with holes to fill in the Pac-12 or other high major conference really improve his draft stock? But who knows. Maybe he feels like he's developed as much as he can at SDSU, and he wants new coaches and a new situation to foster his growth as a player. Or maybe he's done with undergrad and wants to get a Stanford graduate degree, or another top tier academic school. Playing the position he'll play at the next level alone improves his odds of landing a pro contract. He needs the opportunity to play more around the perimeter and be more of a focus of the offense. I don't think he cares if it's a top 25 program or even a NCAAT team. He's done that for 4 years. It's time for him to focus on the next stage which is preparing for pro ball. But that seems like a chicken-egg proposition, right? No matter where he goes, he's not going to really be an effective perimeter player unless/until he starts shooting 30% to 40% from behind the arc, as well as being able to reliably knock down mid-range jumpers, not to mention being able to knock down free throws at a 70% to 80% clip. If the coaching staff here at State really thought he could do those things, or at least saw him doing it in practice, they'd give him a long leash during games to fire away. But they don't, hence no big pressure from the staff to keep him on the Mesa.
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Post by AzTuba85 on Apr 13, 2023 8:24:33 GMT -8
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Post by sdcoug on Apr 13, 2023 8:32:17 GMT -8
Playing the position he'll play at the next level alone improves his odds of landing a pro contract. He needs the opportunity to play more around the perimeter and be more of a focus of the offense. I don't think he cares if it's a top 25 program or even a NCAAT team. He's done that for 4 years. It's time for him to focus on the next stage which is preparing for pro ball. But that seems like a chicken-egg proposition, right? No matter where he goes, he's not going to really be an effective perimeter player unless/until he starts shooting 30% to 40% from behind the arc, as well as being able to reliably knock down mid-range jumpers, not to mention being able to knock down free throws at a 70% to 80% clip. If the coaching staff here at State really thought he could do those things, or at least saw him doing it in practice, they'd give him a long leash during games to fire away. But they don't, hence no big pressure from the staff to keep him on the Mesa. The coaching staff has RDW & Parrish as the position he covets. They know Keshad can play some 3 - they've seen in practice. You can't show you can play the perimeter until you have a chance to actually do it. He showed he can hit 3's late in the season, and his all around game continued to grow. He was 5-13 from deep over his final 15 games. Expand that to 30 attempts & you could see a 33%+ shooter, if not higher.
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Post by sdcoug on Apr 13, 2023 8:35:12 GMT -8
I've been thinking about Keshad's decision to move on, and think there's probably more to the story. I first started thinking he might bail after reading a quote from Zeigler toward the end of the season from Dutcher. I also heard Dutcher say something similar on Darren Smith's show. And basically what Dutcher was saying was that there were some guys who wanted to test the NBA waters and perhaps also see what was out there in the transfer portal. Dutcher was clear in stating that recruiting was a priority and that he needed to have next season's roster solidified sooner rather than later. And the one guy who seemed like he wanted to do some spelunking in the NBA and the Portal was Johnson. So basically, Dutcher probably knew then that Johnson was planning on moving on. Heck, they'd probably already discussed it and come to a mutual agreement. But why wouldn't Johnson just stay at SDSU, a place he's been very successful? I mean, if he wants to be more of a central figure on another college team next year, rather than just a cog at SDSU, that's great. The reasoning goes that if he gets more opportunity to shoot, display his offensive skills and showcase more of his game, he might be more attractive to NBA and overseas teams. But that would require Johnson to significantly boost his shooting skills and percentages. Throughout his career at SDSU, he has managed to nudge his numbers up each year, but not by much. He's never made the dramatic leap in his offensive numbers that he and others were hoping/expecting. Here's a look at a few of his offensive stats that pertain most to his shooting skills, as well as where he really needs to be in order to be a significant impact player either in college or the next level: 202265.1%, 2 pt. 18.2%, 3 pt. 64.4%, FT 202359.8%, 2 pt. 26.2%, 3 pt. 64.8%, FT OPTIMAL NUMBERS
60%+, 2 pt. 35%+, 3 pt. 75%+, FT The bottom line is that Keshad needs to boost his shooting percentages significantly in order to be the player he wants to be. And if he were able to get his numbers up to the Optimal Level above, do you know who would be begging him not to leave? Dutcher. There would be no need for Keshad to move on because he could be a cornerstone of the offense right here at SDSU. My sense is that as much as everyone on the coaching staff loves KJ and all he's done for the team and the school, they've come to the conclusion that it's best for everyone that he move on. It seems the coaching staff has seen enough, and given his past numbers on offense, they just don't see that big jump in shooting stats coming. Further, they have some young studs behind KJ that they believe are the future of the team, and they'd like guys like Saunders to start seeing some significant playing time. If he puts up those #'s he'd be all conference if not all American. He's not going to be some 6'10 guy playing next to the rim. He'll be playing more around the perimeter. 50% from 2 is more than sufficient these days. 50%/34%/70%+ would be a great year playing a mix of 3 & 4 for some team. Keshad's fit with this team & roster is as a 4, and Dutch has RDW & Parrish, plus Byrd fighting for minutes as the 3. It isn't that they don't want or believe in Keshad.
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Post by azdick on Apr 13, 2023 8:37:39 GMT -8
Best to KJ. It was a great run for him on the Mesa. Great leader and always a gracious young man, in keeping with the Fish/Dutch tradition. Wish him nothing but the best and will be rooting for him no matter where he lands.
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Post by ignoranus on Apr 13, 2023 8:42:43 GMT -8
Have enjoyed watching KJ grow from a somewhat raw recruit into the plauyer he has become. A fine Aztec for LIfe!
He will need to improve all of the skills previously mentioned in this thread in order to become a "3." That appears to be a tall order to accomplish between now and next November, when his final season commences.
I fervently hope for KJ that his transfer turns him into the next Zylan Cheatham and gives him a real shot at the NBA!
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Post by longtimebooster on Apr 13, 2023 8:43:07 GMT -8
If he puts up those #'s he'd be all conference if not all American. He's not going to be some 6'10 guy playing next to the rim. He'll be playing more around the perimeter. 50% from 2 is more than sufficient these days. 50%/34%/70%+ would be a great year playing a mix of 3 & 4 for some team. Keshad's fit with this team & roster is as a 4, and Dutch has RDW & Parrish, plus Byrd fighting for minutes as the 3. It isn't that they don't want or believe in Keshad. Well, that's my point. If he put up 50%/34%/70% numbers, he'd definitely be a featured player at SDSU and likely make first-team all-conference, which is where he needs to be if he's going to get a serious sniff from the NBA.
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Post by sdcoug on Apr 13, 2023 8:46:48 GMT -8
If he puts up those #'s he'd be all conference if not all American. He's not going to be some 6'10 guy playing next to the rim. He'll be playing more around the perimeter. 50% from 2 is more than sufficient these days. 50%/34%/70%+ would be a great year playing a mix of 3 & 4 for some team. Keshad's fit with this team & roster is as a 4, and Dutch has RDW & Parrish, plus Byrd fighting for minutes as the 3. It isn't that they don't want or believe in Keshad. Well, that's my point. If he put up 50%/34%/70% numbers, he'd definitely be a featured player at SDSU and likely make first-team all-conference, which is where he needs to be if he's going to get a serious sniff from the NBA. It isn't necessarily about the NBA. It's about preparing his game for the next level, which means playing more around the perimeter. He doesn't need to "star" - he just needs minutes & opportunities that'll help prepare him for the next level. If he gets 30 minutes with 2+ attempts from deep a game & more chances to create on his own that's a win, even if he goes 45%/30%/65%. A "win" is the opportunity to play the position he needs to. It's not about being a superstar who gets drafted at this point. If that happens, that'll just show how hard he's worked.
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Post by docmm on Apr 13, 2023 8:52:48 GMT -8
Even though his different shooting percentages weren't that great, his shots always looked pretty good as far as his form goes. I think he eventually improves it enough to make some $ playing basketball. I hope he does.
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Post by johneaztec on Apr 13, 2023 9:02:34 GMT -8
Even though his different shooting percentages weren't that great, his shots always looked pretty good as far as his form goes. I think he eventually improves it enough to make some $ playing basketball. I hope he does. I agree. His form was always good, so there's hope for him. He'll DEFINITELY make $ Professionally, somewhere.
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Post by johneaztec on Apr 13, 2023 9:04:35 GMT -8
Well, that's my point. If he put up 50%/34%/70% numbers, he'd definitely be a featured player at SDSU and likely make first-team all-conference, which is where he needs to be if he's going to get a serious sniff from the NBA. It isn't necessarily about the NBA. It's about preparing his game for the next level, which means playing more around the perimeter. He doesn't need to "star" - he just needs minutes & opportunities that'll help prepare him for the next level. If he gets 30 minutes with 2+ attempts from deep a game & more chances to create on his own that's a win, even if he goes 45%/30%/65%. A "win" is the opportunity to play the position he needs to. It's not about being a superstar who gets drafted at this point. If that happens, that'll just show how hard he's worked. I would say he's a lock to make $ Overseas, for sure. I'm sure his dream is to play in the NBA and if he can showcase his improvement next year on the offensive end, he may get drafted. Although, I question how much it helps him going off in a weak Conference, and weaker competition, if that becomes the case.
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