Demir

Donate To GopherHole
golfing18now said:
You've come around? You were one of his biggest critics at the start of the year.

"What are you talking about? Can you read? My comment was in response to Demir. If you or anyone think he has the chance to be a good player you should not be allowed behind a vehicle!" --kix4kix
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say I've come around, but he is much better than he was 1 month ago. A month ago I would have him on the same level as Hurt. They are not even in the same league. He is a Big 10 level reserve, still shouldn't be starting though.
 

Go Gophs said:
Gabe not being able to do much besides be a spot up shooter really hurts him. And if his shot is off, he's just really not a part of the offensive game. I wish he would work on taking the ball to the basket some more. It's a shame that if his 3's aren't going on, he's basically just a defensive player and doesn't add much else. Very streaky.

As for the subject of this post, Demir. He'd be a great backup type player and he's been MUCH better than he started the year like. That said, meh on his overall game.
Click to expand...
Not sure that Gabe ever will be great at taking his defender off the dribble. He lacks the explosiveness and quick first-step to beat his man 1 on 1 and doesn't have the size to compensate for that (maybe not the best example but Luka Doncic compensates for a lack of quickness by using his 6'7" 230 lb frame to move defenders out of the way).

Disclaimer: I still think Gabe is a great player and has a beautiful looking shot. Hopefully he develops more of a dribble drive game but I have my doubts.
 

kix4kix said:
I wouldn't say I've come around, but he is much better than he was 1 month ago. A month ago I would have him on the same level as Hurt. They are not even in the same league. He is a Big 10 level reserve, still shouldn't be starting though.
Click to expand...

I think that is a fair assessment. He would be a really nice sixth or seventh man on this team if Curry had been able to stay healthy the last couple years and had built on his freshman campaign.
 

cjbfbp said:
He's fundamentally sound. People are complaining about him not boxing out. I saw only the last five minutes of the game but when the Mich State player dunked that missed shot (by Winston I believe), Alihan did box out (the other Mich State forward). Omersa, in his usual energetic headless horseman way, failed to box out the player who had the put back.
Click to expand...
Love that line.
 

Go Gophs said:
Gabe not being able to do much besides be a spot up shooter really hurts him. And if his shot is off, he's just really not a part of the offensive game. I wish he would work on taking the ball to the basket some more. It's a shame that if his 3's aren't going on, he's basically just a defensive player and doesn't add much else. Very streaky.

As for the subject of this post, Demir. He'd be a great backup type player and he's been MUCH better than he started the year like. That said, meh on his overall game.
Click to expand...
Nothing basic or average about Gabes D
 









Marcus chimes in:

Demir steps up

In the past three games, Gophers senior forward Alihan Demir has been showing why the Gophers were so high on him joining the program as a graduate transfer from Drexel last summer.

Demir, who was averaging 7.9 points entering Sunday, had his third consecutive double-figure scoring game, finishing with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor and 5-for-6 on free throws. He scored 11 points after Oturu briefly went down in the second half.

“He’s playing really good basketball,” coach Richard Pitino said. “He’s showing really good patience down low and he’s got really good footwork.”

www.startribune.com

Michigan coach Juwan Howard heaps praise on Gophers' Daniel Oturu

Juwan Howard, the former Wolverines center who played in the NBA from 1994 to 2013, was impressed by Oturu's play.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

I've noticed that even though he isnt muscular in the upper body, he has good lower body strength. Now that he is using a strong base its paying off finishing and boxing out a bit more.
 

Earlier this season someone opined that Demir didn't appear likely to contribute much to this team. I thought yesterday he proved that wrong, and I think he deserves some recognition for that. I have also been favorably impressed by the play of Tre Williams. Integrating seven new players into the team is no small challenge, but I think things are beginning to come together and that the prospects for the rest of the season and beyond are good.
 



vagopher said:
Earlier this season someone opined that Demir didn't appear likely to contribute much to this team. I thought yesterday he proved that wrong, and I think he deserves some recognition for that. I have also been favorably impressed by the play of Tre Williams. Integrating seven new players into the team is no small challenge, but I think things are beginning to come together and that the prospects for the rest of the season and beyond are good.
Click to expand...
Tre and Demir are really coming on as the season progresses. If the team keeps improving the way it has and we stay healthy, we could make a nice post-season run!
 

Demir has made major strides. He was huge yesterday, especially backing down his defender and getting a couple buckets at the rim. Some of us (myself included) were a little rough on him early in the season. He's proving to be a solid piece in our 7-man rotation. Not a real physical guy, but Alihan knows how to play.
 

He was very cold, clumsy, and just looked awkward the beginning of the season. He has made continual improvement and I for one am impressed with how far he has come.
 

I have expressed this opinion throughout much of the season: if the gophers are to make the tourney, demir is the key and heres why...
1. High ball screens- we need the 4 man ro set the high ball screen and be able to flair out for a 3. For 4 yrs we have not had a 4 man who could do that.

2. If demir can pull his man out, it means oturu is 1v1 on the block = 80% win for us. Then if opponent sends the double, all 4 "out" players can and will shoot 3s.

I feel like the when jarvis is in, he becomes the 5 on offense and oturu sets the high ball screen and flares for the pick and pop 3 which hes hit a few lately.

Jeez, just think if daniel returns for next season w Gabe, carr, willis, Walton? , mash all out shooting 3s!
 

Roland Brooks said:
Last night was nice real patient with his low post moves. Nice drop step move to his strong hand and a nice counter move to the off hand. Ran the floor and finished one as well.
Click to expand...
I noticed this change in Oturu’s game midway through last season. The switch flipped when he was patient enough to gather himself near the rim.
 

Demir has really impressed me so far. I was very down on him early, but I should've shown patience. He's playing a mature, smart, effective game, and minimizing his limitations. There's a lot of Joey King to him, but with more ability to score down low, and not as good with the outside jumper. But just like Joey, he's figured out how to deal with not being able to physically compete with most big ten athletes. I hope we can get an other grad transfer big next year to make a similar impact.
 

Joey King should have been a complementary player like Demir and not a feature of the offense.

This team would be totally different with a healthy Curry! His injuries have really cost the team some victories.
 

Demir played absolutely great against Michigan. Not just a support player, but a scorer and contributor in many ways. It was a three-man show: Oturu, Carr and Demir. If you had told me that Kalscheur would score 4 points and Willis 3 against Michigan, but we would still win the game, I would have laughed at you. Gabe really struggled, going 1-6 with 2 rebounds and no assists. He also struggled to guard Simpson, who scored 19 on us. Yet, we won the game!
 

Bordergopher said:
Demir played absolutely great against Michigan. Not just a support player, but a scorer and contributor in many ways. It was a three-man show: Oturu, Carr and Demir. If you had told me that Kalscheur would score 4 points and Willis 3 against Michigan, but we would still win the game, I would have laughed at you. Gabe really struggled, going 1-6 with 2 rebounds and no assists. He also struggled to guard Simpson, who scored 19 on us. Yet, we won the game!
Click to expand...

Demir's been great. Not great on the boards, but our team rebounding hasnt been the liability I thought it would be. Thought I heard one of the announcers say we have only been out- rebounded in 3 games this season, but that doesn't seem right. May have mis-heard.
 

matt said:
I don't know how you can predict the Gophers to win 13-14 games in the B1G and say that Demir is a great 5th player. Demir is not good enough to be a starter on a good B1G team. He should be coming off the bench on a top team.
Click to expand...
I used to agree with your sentiment. We were both wrong. Did you watch the Michigan game?
 

GO41FAN said:
He was very cold, clumsy, and just looked awkward the beginning of the season. He has made continual improvement and I for one am impressed with how far he has come.
Click to expand...
That's why I have a problem declaring that a guy can't do it early in a season or career, especially if he's walking into a new situation (team, philosophy, offensive/defensive concepts) It can take longer for some guys to make the adjustment than it does for others. And of course, in my experience, because of improvement (physical or mental) many players and teams are not the same team in November that they'll be in January or February.

Thinking and proclaiming that they are, is usually a short-sighted way to look at things. I think most coaches also subscribe to that theory, which is why they keep practicing and doing drills through out a season. So players will improve and get better as the season progresses. There will obviously be some highs and lows, because sports are just that way.

I'm currently covering a team like that. Beginning of the season, everybody felt they'd be lucky to win 6-7 games. Halfway through the season, they're at 9 and thinking possible play-offs. Most people never saw it coming, but sometimes players improve, adjust or just figure it out and end up surprising us. It keeps happening every year with so many players and teams around the country, that I'm surprised that people still form such strong opinions so early in the season. Shrug.

Of course we fans are impatient and sometimes believe that if we see a couple of screenshots from early in the movie, we've seen the whole movie and know how it's gonna turn out.
 

ltf said:
Demir's been great. Not great on the boards, but our team rebounding hasnt been the liability I thought it would be. Thought I heard one of the announcers say we have only been out- rebounded in 3 games this season, but that doesn't seem right. May have mis-heard.
Click to expand...
That is correct, prior to the MSU game we had only lost the board battle twice
 

Surprising to me. Thought rebounding would be an issue this season, apparently not.
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
Agreed. Carr is an excellent rebounder which helps a lot
Click to expand...

Not saying this is you, but I've never understood why people can't understand that others can increase their stats and make up for guys who leave. Oturo could always rebound well and so could Jarvis and Gabe. Rebounding never worried me.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom