royce white....can he be an evan turner (osu) type of player right away next year?

Donate To GopherHole
lawrence21 said:
not to hate on him, but I am curious as to how the 19th ranked player in the nation is averaging somewhere between 11 and 15 points per game in Minnesota versus weak competition? And I realize there are other good players on Hopkins but he should be scoring in the upper 20's on a consistent basis with some 30 point games sprinkled in.
Click to expand...

He has 4D1 players on his team man he is not the only good player.
 

Big Play, I said he has 4 D1 players on his team, now why is he not dominating and scoring at will?
 

lawrence21-
I don't think you realize they have an entire starting lineup of D1 players. Why in the world would Royce need to score 30 or 20 in a game when they are blowing every team out? I think scoring 12 points a game shows how good of a teammate he is. Also he got the four star to five star bump in AAU ball this summer in a tournament in Texas. Check out his stats, highlights and the level of competition they played that weekend. Hopkins also dominated a top team in New York a month ago. Did I read another poster use raw and Royce in the same sentence...unbelievable.
 

Just to be clear I have now said three times that Hopkins has good players. What the hell does that have to do with lighting up the scoreboard? Lebron James and Allan Iverson are on teams made up entirely of NBA players and yet they seem to be able to score a ton of points.
 



lawrence21 said:
Lebron James and Allan Iverson are on teams made up entirely of NBA players and yet they seem to be able to score a ton of points.
Click to expand...

Uh, everybody they play against is an NBA player.

Terrible analogy.
 

Because he is averaging in the teens, that's how I know.
 


As far as scoring 20 points per game, that's pretty difficult to do when a majority of Hopkins' games are blowouts and he doesn't even play in the second half. Also when you're blowing out a team you're going to feel a less of a need to force a ton of shots. For those of you that lack confidence in him and want to use a couple of useless numbers to judge his ability read this:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=3912704

Look at the other players that were at the event, then read who the best play at the event was and get back to me.

Not saying he's going to be an All-American as a freshman, but he can definately do more than just dunk with power and he has all the potential to lead the team in scoring as a freshman.
 



terrible analogy? everybody is blaming his lack of scoring on the fact that his teammates are so good. Just because your teammates are good does not mean you can't demand the ball and score a lot of points. I think he is lazy.
 

lawrence21 said:
Because he is averaging in the teens, that's how I know.
Click to expand...

Do me a favor. Go to google, and search for "Tyshawn Taylor High School Stats." He played for St Anthony's in NJ.. a team that had I believe 4 other D-1 players in his class and was the best team in the country last year for high school teams.

Incase you're too lazy, Taylor averaged just over 10 PPG last year as a high school senior. He's certainly been a difference maker at Kansas this year, and has been as crucial to that team's success as anyone. White is a lot higher ranked prospect than Taylor, and is playing on a team that is close to as good as Taylor's team was. (#1 overall for Taylor, anywhere from #6-#10 for White's Hopkins team.)

White is going to make an impact. Even Rodney Williams, who is considered extremely raw, will make a big impact next year. He'll be the most athletic player in the Big Ten next year as a freshman. The Gophers are in great shape, and White and Williams are the biggest reasons imo.
 

Lebron averaged 30 points a game as a high school senior, have we lowered our expectations that much to expect 15 points per game from our dominating players?
 

lawrence21 said:
terrible analogy? everybody is blaming his lack of scoring on the fact that his teammates are so good. Just because your teammates are good does not mean you can't demand the ball and score a lot of points. I think he is lazy.
Click to expand...

I am not going to say the kid isn't lazy or bored...but that doesn't improve the quality of your previous analagy.

You can't compare the one on one style of pro play with college or high school. Jordan didn't average 25 at UNC but scored at will in the NBA...it is a different game and it does matter that Royce is surrounded by talent...it means he is playing within the system they run and doesn't have to score all the points...
 



lawrence21 said:
terrible analogy? everybody is blaming his lack of scoring on the fact that his teammates are so good. Just because your teammates are good does not mean you can't demand the ball and score a lot of points. I think he is lazy.
Click to expand...

Kris Humphries is that you?
 

lawrence21 said:
Lebron averaged 30 points a game as a high school senior, have we lowered our expectations that much to expect 15 points per game from our dominating players?
Click to expand...

Lawrence Westbrook scored over 40 PPG in high school.

LeBron James could have gone to any school as a freshman and carried them to the Final Four. He was that good. He would have been the greatest freshman in the history of college basketball.
 

Also - Lawrence Scored A TON Of Pts In HS

IIRC . . . but that doesn't translate, either. While nothing is guaranteed - it is highly likely White will be a difference maker.
 

lawrence21 said:
terrible analogy? everybody is blaming his lack of scoring on the fact that his teammates are so good. Just because your teammates are good does not mean you can't demand the ball and score a lot of points. I think he is lazy.
Click to expand...

Did Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade play lazily during the Olympics? I mean, they each only averaged in the teens in scoring.
 

lawrence21 said:
terrible analogy? everybody is blaming his lack of scoring on the fact that his teammates are so good. Just because your teammates are good does not mean you can't demand the ball and score a lot of points. I think he is lazy.
Click to expand...

Why demand the ball when your team is up by 30 points and your teammates are more than capable of scoring? I think you should be happy that he isn't a black hole and is willing to pass the ball....demanding the ball in those circumstances is just selfish. I also think your missing the point that he usually only plays in half of the game....kinda hurts your production. Read that article I posted and you'll see he's capable of scoring against top competition.
 

I think this thread proves that...

ShowinGoldyLove doesn't know Jack Schitt!!
 


lawrence21:

First off Royce plays for a team with a ton of talent as you already know. Hopkins blows teams out so Royce is rarely playing more than a few minutes in the second half.

Also, he's playing the 4 and is not the primary ball handler so its not like he can just come down and take it to the hole every time. For him to score 20 points a game he'd be taking a huge percentage of his teams shots while he is on the court because he's only playing like 15-18 minutes a night and once again for a team that has 3 other surefire D1 starters and a potential D1 player in Williams. Those boys can score the rock so they spread the wealth.

Also I doubt you watch much high school ball. Its a good thing if a great player who has a good team around him isn't taking all the shots. I've seen Jereme Richmond (a top 15-20 2010 player) play 3 times in the last 2 weeks and even though he's been hailed as the top player in Ill in all classes this year he's playing the 4 and often goes 4 or 5 possessions without even touching the ball. He doesn't fuss or whine for the ball, either. He sets screens, hits the boards and plays ball. However you'd probably call him lazy, lol.

Royce has dominated top competition nationwide during AAU ball and has plenty of ability. He is not a lights out shooter but is very capable of stepping out and hitting 3's. I'd expect him to be about a 35% shooter from there. He has great footwork and is strong and athletic. He can take over games almost at will and that's a large reason why Hopkins hasn't been challenged. When Cooper was putting it on Hopkins a bit Royce just took the game over and put them away.

Royce is a bit though in that he's a tweener 3/4. He's not a real wing guy or a pure post player. Turner is a bad example because he's a pure wing player. I'd compare him more to a guy like Singler at Duke or even a much tougher and stronger Brian Cook
 

I saw the second half of the game today vs Wayzata (since mnscores had an 8 o'clock start). The first few mins were horrible for Royce. He was not playing defense and just playing sloppy basketball. He KNOWS he is the best player on the court.

Coach sat him and when he got back in he flat out dominated. He was taking the ball up the court and taking his man to the rack at will. Didn't shoot well at the foul line and also didn't shoot many outside shots.

Hopkins won by 20.

People who look at his avg just do not understand how good Hopkins is. They have tons of great players and a ton of kids who can flat out shoot the rock. He doesn't need to score 35 points a game. If he needed to, trust me and whoever else has seen him play that he could avg 35 a game they needed him to.

I am pretty confident that Tubby will get Royce to live up to his potential. RW does not want to go to the U to sit on the bench.

Player comparison that I like the best is Carlos Boozer.
 

Just to be clear I have now said three times that Hopkins has good players. What the hell does that have to do with lighting up the scoreboard?
Click to expand...

Royce indicated earlier in the year it was his goal to lead the team in assists. I don't know if he's accomplished it or not but I believe he said something to the affect of he knew that with the players he was with leading the team in scoring, while nice, wouldn't have been possible so he was going to take a different role.
 

plinnius

Plinnius said:
So. . . the two local kids appear to be a couple of steaming piles?
Click to expand...

Not saying that at all. I am saying that some folks around here have some rather high expectations for RW and from what I have seen, they are unwarranted.

If he brings the work ethic and attitude I have seen in the couple games I watched, RW will be getting some interesting feedback from Tubby, IMHO.

The highlight of the North game was RW tapping the ball out of bounds after tHopkins scored. The ref warned him not to do that. 90 seconds later RW tapped the ball out of bounds again after a score and got teed up. Novak brought him out of the game at that point.

Hopefully Tubby can positively affect this kid.
 

Golden Shower said:
ShowinGoldyLove doesn't know Jack Schitt!!
Click to expand...

mnballa2121 said:
Didn't shoot well at the foul line and also didn't shoot many outside shots.
Click to expand...
Well, based on what mnballa saw last night, I was at least correct about the foul line issue.

I guess no one can "know" anything until Royce gets to the U and shows what he can do on the court.
 

Royce White

I am a small town Minnesota kid. If I had to chose a school to transfer to, and I was already a top talent with a scholarship in hand, I definitely wouldn't have gone to Hopkins. I would've went to a school with good players, where I could come in and challenge Hopkins for the title. This may be where some have questioned his competitive fire. He chose this situation, sitting in the second halfs. Hopkins was the number one team before he arrived. I also wouldn't attend North Carolina for the same reason. So his numbers don't worry me as much as choosing that situation. How much is he really improving....maybe in practice?

Lots of scouting reports on Royce White indicate he plays power forward right now, and he will need to improve his perimeter game if he wants to ever play in the NBA at 6'7"-6'8" 225. If you look at players that size a close comparison would be Raymond Morgan..who didn't live up to expectations or Damien James of Texas. Right now he doesn't have guard skills.

If he works hard and stays focused he could lead us in scoring. Easy now...13 points a game is what I'm talking about. I just hope he focuses on other parts of the game: rebounding, defense, passing, getting others involved.

I find Tubby's comparison's funny. Isn't is Sid's job to get the fans over excited about recruits. Trevor plays hard like Blake Griffin. How about Trevor plays hard like Krabbenhoff.
 

march madness said:
How much is he really improving....maybe in practice?
Click to expand...
If you've heard anything about the Hopkins players or how they practice, you'll know that he probably improves more in practice than playing any other team in the state of MN.

I'd wager their practices are more competitive than anyone they can face; Novak really gets after them and they go HARD (just as John Millea noted in his story a few weeks ago after watching them practice for a couple of weeks).

Would Royce really get better by playing for a weaker team than Hopkins, going against worse players? Or would he get better playing against D1 talent every single day? I think the choice he made was a smart one.
 

Too many young kids only judge a player on points scored. I am more impressed with White after hearing that he put the trouble he had behind him and has been willing to work in a system loaded with great players and fill his role. He could have gone there, demanded the ball, scored 25 a game and caused trouble with the team.

Kris Humprhey's came to the Gophers, led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding, and what did we do....win two or three Big Ten games that year. Royce will be a great player next year. He won't come in and dominate, but he will make our team much better.

We were .500 in the Big Ten this year. Take out Shamala and Big Jon and add R. White, R. Williams, Cobbs and Mbwakwe and I expect we will be four games to the better in Big Ten play.
 

The insinuation that he doesn't play defense near the calibar of Tubby's required level of play shouldn't be a shock to anyone. Not sure if I've seen a high school kid that really knows how to play defense at the level most college coaches require - in high school college bound players typically rely too much on their athletisim to bail them out rather than play/learn good fundamental defense.
 

march madness said:
I am a small town Minnesota kid. If I had to chose a school to transfer to, and I was already a top talent with a scholarship in hand, I definitely wouldn't have gone to Hopkins. I would've went to a school with good players, where I could come in and challenge Hopkins for the title. This may be where some have questioned his competitive fire. He chose this situation, sitting in the second halfs. Hopkins was the number one team before he arrived. I also wouldn't attend North Carolina for the same reason. So his numbers don't worry me as much as choosing that situation. How much is he really improving....maybe in practice?

Lots of scouting reports on Royce White indicate he plays power forward right now, and he will need to improve his perimeter game if he wants to ever play in the NBA at 6'7"-6'8" 225. If you look at players that size a close comparison would be Raymond Morgan..who didn't live up to expectations or Damien James of Texas. Right now he doesn't have guard skills.

If he works hard and stays focused he could lead us in scoring. Easy now...13 points a game is what I'm talking about. I just hope he focuses on other parts of the game: rebounding, defense, passing, getting others involved.

I find Tubby's comparison's funny. Isn't is Sid's job to get the fans over excited about recruits. Trevor plays hard like Blake Griffin. How about Trevor plays hard like Krabbenhoff.
Click to expand...

By your logic anyone who goes to an already succesful program should have his competitiveness questioned? Every player who goes to UNC or Duke must have questionable competitiveness because they're going to a top level program. This makes no sense. What about all the kids who transfer to Oak Hill? Are Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant poor competitors?


-He is playing for the best coach in the state which shold improve his game.
-He is practicing every day with the best, deepest team in the state including the 2nd best big man in the state who I'd assume he goes up against daily. This should also improve his game. Players do 98% of their improvement during practice and practicing on their own, not in games.
I promise you playing against Broghammer or whatever his name is every day will help him much more than dominating the 6'3" post men in the Tri Metro.

Your logic is flawed since if anything Royce has been called TOO competitive many times.

As for his skill level he definitely has things to work on like 100% of high school players not named LeBron have had. The thing is that he's already good at a lot of things. He's not a guard and never will be so I don't know why people keep talking about it. He's a forward plain and simple. He's a tweener 3/4 but more of a 4 right now. Still he can shoot the ball ok and has very good faceup moves off the bounce and can also play with his back to the basket. He'll be a very good college player and if he continues to expand his game he can possibly be a pro at some point.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom