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Sarr

Expect KY to improve, but if/when it becomes clear that this isn’t KY’s year, Sarr’s role will diminish. So far, things have gone about as what was expected/hoped. KY has one win this year. WF hasn’t played since Thanksgiving, has 2
 
Honestly I didn’t follow Wake basketball last season, so I’m not very familiar with Sarr’s progression into being a good player at Wake. I was actually surprised that he was such a high profile transfer. This season with Kentucky he just looks lost, as if he doesn’t know what to do when he’s not the focus of the offense. He’s not sealing his man on the blocks, he’s not demanding the ball, he’s not boxing out effectively on defense. He’s picking up ticky tack reaching & over the back foul calls because he’s never in good position to get a rebound. I realize that he’s playing on a team with a bunch of shoot first guards, but Sarr isn’t putting in the effort to excell in other areas of the game. He’s being out-played by Kentuckys other freshman bigs who are simply just playing harder than he is.
 
Man if somehow Forbes gets us to whatever kinda tournament there is and Kentucky is left home...
 
Man if somehow Forbes gets us to whatever kinda tournament there is and Kentucky is left home...

I think Kentucky would have to get the SECs autobid to make the tournament this year, and Tennessee looks final four bound, so I don’t think that’s going to happen. With this truncated season there’s just not enough runway for Kentucky.
 
Honestly I didn’t follow Wake basketball last season, so I’m not very familiar with Sarr’s progression into being a good player at Wake. I was actually surprised that he was such a high profile transfer. This season with Kentucky he just looks lost, as if he doesn’t know what to do when he’s not the focus of the offense. He’s not sealing his man on the blocks, he’s not demanding the ball, he’s not boxing out effectively on defense. He’s picking up ticky tack reaching & over the back foul calls because he’s never in good position to get a rebound. I realize that he’s playing on a team with a bunch of shoot first guards, but Sarr isn’t putting in the effort to excell in other areas of the game. He’s being out-played by Kentuckys other freshman bigs who are simply just playing harder than he is.
So retire the myth Manning was a big man coaching savant and just add another facet to his inability to excel at anything when it comes to coaching basketball.
 
Honestly I didn’t follow Wake basketball last season, so I’m not very familiar with Sarr’s progression into being a good player at Wake. I was actually surprised that he was such a high profile transfer. This season with Kentucky he just looks lost, as if he doesn’t know what to do when he’s not the focus of the offense. He’s not sealing his man on the blocks, he’s not demanding the ball, he’s not boxing out effectively on defense. He’s picking up ticky tack reaching & over the back foul calls because he’s never in good position to get a rebound. I realize that he’s playing on a team with a bunch of shoot first guards, but Sarr isn’t putting in the effort to excell in other areas of the game. He’s being out-played by Kentuckys other freshman bigs who are simply just playing harder than he is.

Good post. I have watched very little of UK games, but his stats are lousy. Clearly Cal doesn’t utilize him the way DMan did. I was wrong - I thought he would help UK. Maybe he will figure it out. His loss
 
So retire the myth Manning was a big man coaching savant and just add another facet to his inability to excel at anything when it comes to coaching basketball.

Yeah, evidence is bordering on overwhelming that Collins was a wild aberration and Manning got extremely lucky in recruiting him.
 
Yeah, evidence is bordering on overwhelming that Collins was a wild aberration and Manning got extremely lucky in recruiting him.

If Manning was a great big man coach he’d have another coaching job right now. He wouldn’t be working in Bristol with all the other failed coaches.
 
If Manning was a great big man coach he’d have another coaching job right now. He wouldn’t be working in Bristol with all the other failed coaches.

Actually I think he will get another asst job based on his reputation. But that wouldn’t prove he’s a good big man coach. I honestly think he’s untouchable due to his name and he’ll always have a coaching job. The fraternity protects its own.
 
Manning was a bad head coach but there is really good evidence that he was great with big men. Even Devin Thomas improved substantially under Manning. Look at our strengths over the years. They were undoubtedly big men. Our guard play was never really great.
 
Manning was a bad head coach but there is really good evidence that he was great with big men. Even Devin Thomas improved substantially under Manning. Look at our strengths over the years. They were undoubtedly big men. Our guard play was never really great.

Who coached guards on this team for the past seven years ?
 
I've watched parts of every Kentucky game this year. The freshmen rarely make an effort to get the ball to Sarr. When they try, he is seldom in a favorable position to score. We have seen the same problem the past ten years. I'm beginning to believe that feeding the post is a lost skill. Then I watch teams with competent guards and I realize how poor our guard play has performed.
 
I'd think Sarr struggling at KY would indicate Manning did know something about bigs. The problem with KY, for Sarr, is he's playing with 5 stars on their way to the NBA.

I'm all for bashing Manning for being a overly useless coach but the bigs got better and if Sarr can't adopt to a system where the offense doesn't revolve around him I don't think that's on Manning.
 
I'd think Sarr struggling at KY would indicate Manning did know something about bigs. The problem with KY, for Sarr, is he's playing with 5 stars on their way to the NBA.

I'm all for bashing Manning for being a overly useless coach but the bigs got better and if Sarr can't adopt to a system where the offense doesn't revolve around him I don't think that's on Manning.

Agreed.
 
I'd think Sarr struggling at KY would indicate Manning did know something about bigs. The problem with KY, for Sarr, is he's playing with 5 stars on their way to the NBA.

I'm all for bashing Manning for being a overly useless coach but the bigs got better and if Sarr can't adopt to a system where the offense doesn't revolve around him I don't think that's on Manning.

Yeah, Manning was an awful coach and we are in much better hands as a program, but he knew a few things about coaching up bigs. Sarr was putting up good numbers against good teams at Wake. Dinos, Moore, Collins are all are making pro money in some capacity, and Sarr will be soon, regardless of what happens at UK.
 
I'd think Sarr struggling at KY would indicate Manning did know something about bigs. The problem with KY, for Sarr, is he's playing with 5 stars on their way to the NBA.

I'm all for bashing Manning for being a overly useless coach but the bigs got better and if Sarr can't adopt to a system where the offense doesn't revolve around him I don't think that's on Manning.

I would agree. Manning had his faults as a head coach. However, he did know how to coach bigs and build a team around them that got a lot of paint touches. He also was pretty good at teaching the bigs how to turn those "paint touches" into points.
 
Manning does not deserve the benefit of the doubt, but at this point, he's going to get trashed regardless.

If Sarr sucks at KY, it's because Manning failed to develop him. If Sarr excels at KY, Sarr improved because he got away from Manning. WF had some big men markedly improve while at WF (JC, Doral, Sarr), but so what? Manning was given time and resources to build a program, and WF basketball just fell further into the abyss. Sure, DM may be good at teaching big men skills; DM was also one of the best college players of all time. None of that matters as DM is a failure as a head college basketball coach, at least at the Power Conference level.
 
How does Sar Struggling at his next destination say anything good about manning as a coach?

Also, Dinos had a pro-contract offer in Greece before coming to Wake and then had one three years later, for more money sure, but it's not like Manning took a one dimentional european player and turned him into a late first round draft pick. Moore is stuck in the D-league average ~7 points a game. Thomas is having a pretty good career in Europe, but he could have left after is sophomore season and gotten there anyway. Collins is the outlier that drags up manning's average and not basis on which we should draw inference. I just don't see that manning did anything exceptional or noteworthy with any player over 6'9" other than Collins. Sarr was looking like the second player to demonstrate massive improvement under Manning's coaching, but turns out he kinda sucks.
 
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