guadalupeoso said:
bear2be2 said:
historian said:
JP1037 said:
I like Lohner now and last year. He rebounds and adds a physical element we need.
I like that we can see signs of improvement. I hope his progression continues & even accelerates.
He's a fourth-year player who went from averaging 7 and 7 in almost 24 minutes as a freshman at BYU to averaging 2.4 and 2.4 in less than 10 minutes per game as a senior -- and much worse in Big 12 play.
He's not making quite as many mistakes this year and he's good for a hustle play here and there. But I'm not sure he's earned a thread on his improvement or the level of defense some are offering in regards to his career contributions -- especially at Baylor.
The guy is the definition of a replacement level player.
Weren't you the same guy last week basically arguing that we should all not actually be that impressed with Yves Missi because he makes some freshman mistakes sometimes, despite the fact that almost everyone in the country is fawning over him and thinks he's a phenomenal talent who has exceeded expectations in nearly every way? Btw, since you took your stand, Missi has averaged 16 points and 5 rebounds over the last 4 games and hasn't even played 30 minutes in any single contest. I'm not sure you get to be the arbiter of "definition of a replacement level player."
Also, I don't remember anyone expecting Lohner to blow the doors off the program and become the next Mark Vital or even the next Terry Maston. I don't think it's a cardinal sin to acknowledge the fact that he seems to be doing exactly what is being asked of him by the program at this time which is to rebound, hustle, avoid turnovers, and maintain defensive position in the limited minutes he plays while our regular rotation guys get a breather.
When have I ever said you shouldn't be impressed with Missi? I've been fawning over his athleticism and coordination since November. In fact, I've said on multiple occasions I think he's going to be a special NBA player, which is something I rarely say about anyone.
My only frustration with Missi is the same frustration I have with all one-and-done freshmen. We're seeing him at his developmental floor and will never get to watch him even close to his ceiling in a Baylor uniform. And because he's still raw and phyically immature, he tends to struggle with physical, veteran bigs -- something we saw against Edwards yesterday.
But I feel the same way about Missi I do about Sochan, who I loved as a Baylor Bear. Unlike the guys we've had who were anointed one-and-dones upon arriving, Missi -- like Sochan -- has earned every bit of the hype he's getting with his performance and impact. When he gets drafted in the top 10 in the next draft, I'll be thrilled for Missi. He'll have 100 percent earned it.
As for Lohner, the revisionist history continues. No one expected him to be as good as Mark Vital on defense or TJ Maston on offense, but he was absolutely expected to be a 15 to 20-minute-per-game rotation player. He came with similar expectations to Bridges and was expected to give us some the same things he gave BYU. He hasn't come close to delivering on that.
I don't dislike Lohner. He's a hustler and seems like a good culture guy. But his only discernible skill is rebounding. He looks like a SLC player any time he steps out of his very limited energy role. That is not the player we thought we were getting or frankly the player we needed from that scholarship. And his failure to meet the demands we had/have for him have left us with one playable forward, which limits us. That's just a fact.
