Buggs

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bga1

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Charles Buggs is hands down the most intriguing player on the team (IMO) in terms of the gap between where he has been at and what is possible. Last night he had, steals, assists, a Rodney Williams vintage slam and a beautiful corner 3 pointer. Other nights he looks like a lost puppy.

Question: How different is Buggs from the sophomore version of Rodney (who ended up becoming a pretty good player)? We can all remember the Rodney dunks but also the many times where Rodney looked lost standing on the perimeter. Rodney was used a lot more as a soph. - perhaps because the other options weren't so good. Does Buggs have Rodney Williams potential? Certainly Buggs has a much better outside shot than Rodney.
 

I didn't buy into the hype last year of Charles Buggs, but in the flashes we've seen this year, I have no idea how he is the last PF off the bench. He seems to have the most upside of them all at this point. He has the potential to be an excellent passer for a big man, and enough touch to keep teams honest.

I think Rodney showed signs of being a more polished defender earlier in his career, but we've seen so little of Buggs.
 

Rodney knew how to play defense. They're both equally clueless on offense.
 

This isn't Rodney Williams.

If he can figure out where to go on Offense ( I haven't seen last nights game, I'll watch it tonight) and be able to boxout/stay in front of his man on defense he will be an asset as a 3 point threat and a lethal transition player..

As I've said in other threads, I think his ceiling is a situational weapon to bring in against zone, when we are playing zone, and when a game is up and down the court. He is of no use against a team like Wisconsin where he would get torn apart on defense and offensively their discipline would render him unable to get open.

He's talented, just doesn't seem to know how to play a structured basketball game.
 

When Buggs looks good, he looks very good (but it is rare).

It seems to me Buggs has a skill set that might flourish against weaker teams (Iowa was completely floundering when we played the last year) where his length and skill allow him to excel. He seems to need a very loose flowing game to thrive. In a more structured game, he must not be able to do much offensively and then be a major liability on D. Hard to know since we have seen so little of him in a real game.

The few times he has looked good he has looked really good so he is intriguing. Hopefully it all comes together a some point, he could be a real weapon.
 


Buggs knows what to do with the ball in his hands and is skilled in that way. When the ball isn't in his hands is when he struggles.
 

I think he kills a zone with his passing. He showed it last year in big ten ball, as well as last night. He has a knack for catching a pass in traffic near the free throw line and quickly get it to an open guard on the perimeter.


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His feet. Watch his defense. He's okay in a match up zone, but man to man he doesn't have very quick feet. Thus the limited playing time.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
His feet. Watch his defense. He's okay in a match up zone, but man to man he doesn't have very quick feet. Thus the limited playing time.
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It's hard to figure out how athletic he is. With the ball and some space he looks pretty athletic, but man to man he back peddles and looks like he could fall over at any moment, thus how could be be considered such a great athlete? He's athletic, but it doesn't always translate to on the floor production.
 



HOOP DREAMS said:
It's hard to figure out how athletic he is. With the ball and some space he looks pretty athletic, but man to man he back peddles and looks like he could fall over at any moment, thus how could be be considered such a great athlete? He's athletic, but it doesn't always translate to on the floor production.
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The guy with the ball has a better view of the backside of his head than the guy sitting behind him in the stands while he sits the bench.

Obviously I'm over exaggerating, however, point remains that he turns his back a lot on D
 

I'm still trying to understand why Buggs has to be the most talked about 11th/12th man in college basketball. Not taking a shot at anybody in particular that has posted about him. He had a nice 8 minute stretch against Iowa and a good all around game against a D2 school last night (which everybody did, by the way). What am I missing? I still see him as a vastly inferior player to Joey King.
 

golfing18now said:
I'm still trying to understand why Buggs has to be the most talked about 11th/12th man in college basketball. Not taking a shot at anybody in particular that has posted about him. He had a nice 8 minute stretch against Iowa and a good all around game against a D2 school last night (which everybody did, by the way). What am I missing? I still see him as a vastly inferior player to Joey King.
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Um, because he looks a legit 6'9" with long arms and still has 3 years of eligibility and it's a spot where we're not deep? For all the criticism about how he moves, to me it seems like it's mostly mindset. If Richard can get him to ratchet up the intensity, I can see him as becoming an important piece. He certainly doesn't look as lost as he once was which isn't the highest praise but I like the new, improved Charles. No idea if he'll get to Rodney level, but what I remember of Rodney as a sophomore is that folks were quite disappointed.
 

I guess I just prefer basketball players over guys that look like athletes.

Many of us were projecting him in the starting line-up last year and here we are a year later and he still doesn't see the floor in meaningful minutes despite the 4 being our position of weakness. Maybe that changes -- I'm certainly interested to see it play out. It is just odd to me that we have speculated on so many different reasons for why he didn't/doesn't get more playing time. But we really don't know the answer.
 



There is no doubt he is very athletic. Last year he looked completely lost out on the floor. He may not be the most instinctive ball player, but he dose seem to be making huge strides this year. He looks much more fluid and in the flow of the game. He could be very good.
 

bga1 said:
Question: How different is Buggs from the sophomore version of Rodney (who ended up becoming a pretty good player)? We can all remember the Rodney dunks but also the many times where Rodney looked lost standing on the perimeter. Rodney was used a lot more as a soph. - perhaps because the other options weren't so good. Does Buggs have Rodney Williams potential? Certainly Buggs has a much better outside shot than Rodney.
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Buggs as a sophomore is two years older than Rodney was when he was as a sophomore. It would be more apt to compare Buggs to Rodney as a senior.
 


Plinnius said:
Buggs as a sophomore is two years older than Rodney was when he was as a sophomore. It would be more apt to compare Buggs to Rodney as a senior.
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In terms of age- yes. In terms of eligibility with the Gophers-no. Guys mature at different ages- all that matters is the time Buggs has left and what he does with it.
 


He played decent again last night... I hope Coach gives him plenty of opportunity in the non-conference schedule, because I really think he could contribute. Obviously more on Offense than defense but yeah... He has a good shot, and can pass pretty well also.
 

Buggs Dunk

RolGnav said:
He played decent again last night... I hope Coach gives him plenty of opportunity in the non-conference schedule, because I really think he could contribute. Obviously more on Offense than defense but yeah... He has a good shot, and can pass pretty well also.
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Buggs was very impressive last night. He is a great example of a kid who seems to have improved considerably in the program despite limited playing time. Coach P. made the decision to play him at the 3 last night which should play dividends down the road.

Glad to see him continue to develop and really hope it continues. We know he has good hands, can shoot, and obviously play above the rim. If his defense continues to improve he could be really solid the next couple of years.

His dunk might make the end of year highlight real.
 

Buggs looks much better this year & there's still hope for him, but he's an extremely slow learner, not very instinctual & booby soft.

He played High School basketball, then went to Hargrove Academy prep school, then took a red shirt & is now in his 3rd year at the U so he's a 21 year old So. This isn't the case of a big man who has to grow into his body, this is a guy who simply can't figure out how to play organized basketball very well after years of top coaching. That said he has a better understanding of what he's supposed to be doing this year than last. Still, he's a horrible passer at this point. The ball can't go through him because he kills the rotation & just takes everything out of sync. To his credit his length at the top of the key in the zone looks like it could really be great, but as mentioned his man defense is brutal & imo it's because he's so soft. Ralph Sampson was harder than Buggs. He just doesn't like contact at all & you can see that not just when he plays man defense, or how he stays out on the perimeter instead of rebounding, but just watch him on free throws. He just doesn't box out & it drives Pitino mad. My hope is that he can grow into a stretch 4 who can be a sparkplug off the bench. One thing is absolutely certain, he will get an opportunity to log a lot of minutes this year whether he deserves them or not. Here's hoping he makes the most of those minutes.
 


Costa Rican Gopher said:
Buggs looks much better this year & there's still hope for him, but he's an extremely slow learner, not very instinctual & booby soft.

He played High School basketball, then went to Hargrove Academy prep school, then took a red shirt & is now in his 3rd year at the U so he's a 21 year old So. This isn't the case of a big man who has to grow into his body, this is a guy who simply can't figure out how to play organized basketball very well after years of top coaching. That said he has a better understanding of what he's supposed to be doing this year than last. Still, he's a horrible passer at this point. The ball can't go through him because he kills the rotation & just takes everything out of sync. To his credit his length at the top of the key in the zone looks like it could really be great, but as mentioned his man defense is brutal & imo it's because he's so soft. Ralph Sampson was harder than Buggs. He just doesn't like contact at all & you can see that not just when he plays man defense, or how he stays out on the perimeter instead of rebounding, but just watch him on free throws. He just doesn't box out & it drives Pitino mad. My hope is that he can grow into a stretch 4 who can be a sparkplug off the bench. One thing is absolutely certain, he will get an opportunity to log a lot of minutes this year whether he deserves them or not. Here's hoping he makes the most of those minutes.
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I guess I disagree with the passing. I think Buggs is one of of best assets against a zone because of his quick passing. He has shown the ability to get the ball in the middle if the zone and immediately swing it to a cutter of passer, both last year against Michigan and this year against multiple (inferior) opponents. Buggs is by no means the all around player King is, but I feel strongly that King is the guy that kills the offensive flow against a zone. King doesn't handle the ball well enough or make quick enough decisions, and subsequently isn't the facilitator that Buggs has shown flashes of being when positioned at the free throw line against a zone.


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bc2211 said:
I guess I disagree with the passing. I think Buggs is one of of best assets against a zone because of his quick passing. He has shown the ability to get the ball in the middle if the zone and immediately swing it to a cutter of passer, both last year against Michigan and this year against multiple (inferior) opponents. Buggs is by no means the all around player King is, but I feel strongly that King is the guy that kills the offensive flow against a zone. King doesn't handle the ball well enough or make quick enough decisions, and subsequently isn't the facilitator that Buggs has shown flashes of being when positioned at the free throw line against a zone.


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This is true and good observation about Buggs against the zone. Buggs knows he's not a dribble drive guy so he has been taught to get rid of the ball quickly and he does. I agree that Buggs is actually a pretty good passer.
 

Two words: Jump hook.

Buggs could feast on smaller guys if he learned how to get position down low.
 


bc2211 said:
I guess I disagree with the passing. I think Buggs is one of of best assets against a zone because of his quick passing. He has shown the ability to get the ball in the middle if the zone and immediately swing it to a cutter of passer, both last year against Michigan and this year against multiple (inferior) opponents. Buggs is by no means the all around player King is, but I feel strongly that King is the guy that kills the offensive flow against a zone. King doesn't handle the ball well enough or make quick enough decisions, and subsequently isn't the facilitator that Buggs has shown flashes of being when positioned at the free throw line against a zone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Completely agree, I think Buggs is one of the best passers we have on the team. He has shown some flashes of fantastic vision.
 

It's really hard for me to bite my tounge in this thread.

Buggs is just a coaches nightmare.... He is very very talented, and can do some things very well, but its everything you hammer on everyone else to do that he absolutely fails at. Liability on defense, cannot run most of the offense... NIGHTMARE. I've been in this situation and it's very frustrating to play these types of players, as you want to, need to sometimes, but they drive you BONKERS.

That all said, I've seen SOME progress with Buggs and I hope to god I'm dead wrong on him, as his ceiling is very high, but the things he lacks, are not coach-able...
 

Winasota Gopher said:
It's really hard for me to bite my tounge in this thread.

Buggs is just a coaches nightmare.... He is very very talented, and can do some things very well, but its everything you hammer on everyone else to do that he absolutely fails at. Liability on defense, cannot run most of the offense... NIGHTMARE. I've been in this situation and it's very frustrating to play these types of players, as you want to, need to sometimes, but they drive you BONKERS.

That all said, I've seen SOME progress with Buggs and I hope to god I'm dead wrong on him, as his ceiling is very high, but the things he lacks, are not coach-able...
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That's the thing about Buggs- almost anything a person says about him negative or positive has truth to it. From a basketball sense standpoint- he's probably a coaches nightmare. But on the other hand he appears to have a great attitude to go along with his athletic ability and shooting ability. Unusual situation to be sure.
 

We have one poster saying he's a horrible passer and some others that think he is a 'Stretch Tyus'...

I'll go somewhere in between. He's got a looooong way to go before I would consider him a good basketball player and as others have pointed out, he's 21 and been around the game for a while now.
 

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