Clarke is a RS Sophomore and Reid is a Senior...I saw Reid play many games last season BUT he just was not dominant. I have not seen one game of Clarke but from everything I have read in articles and on the board, I find him to be an exceptional player (from his stats and in print). I really like our team and would not want to trade it for any others...I think it is possible and I say possible, that GU could go undefeated entering the Dance...I believe our biggest stumbling block will be Duke and either USD or BYU on the road...again just an opinion so it "ain't" wrong!
Which one do you think will have a bigger impact on a team's season? Why?
Can Reid take UK to the FF?
Can Clarke take us to the FF?
For this year and his leadership. bod and well developed skills, I'd take Reid 6 ways to Sunday. Kentucky has a bunch of young guys who need a senior man with leadership. 2 time ALL Pac 12 at Stanford qualifies him as a major pick.
He fits really well there.
As for Clarke, he'll be a good one here but how his obvious skills fit in can't be determined yet. Mountain West is not the PAC 12.
Clarke is a redshirt junior and is a far superior player to Reid.
I don't know about far superior but Reid seems to be a bulkier, brute force post player type and has one year of eligibility. Clarke, who has 2 years of eligibility + a season in Zags system under his belt, seems to be a more versatile player defensively; great athleticism, shot blocker and likely better equipped to play in a "switch everything" man-to-man D. I'll take Clarke. Think of Zags D lineup of: Perkins, Norvell, Rui, Clarke, Tillie.... that group can switch everything and hold their own vs vast majority of D1 lineups.
- as to who I think will help their team the most, Clarke. we need a big who is a shot blocker and can eat up 25 minutes a game. not sure what Kentucky needs, do they ever really need anything?
- as to who would I rather have, Clarke. 3 reasons, 1. we get him for two years not one. 2. he wants to be at Gonzaga. 3. reid passed on us twice. wish him well, think he is a good kid, but I do not want him on our team. go Clarke!
not sure what Kentucky needs, do they ever really need anything?
Clarke. He passes and plays defense, two things Reid is not very good at. The Pac-12 hasn't been that good while Reid has been there so I wouldn't discount Clarke's numbers just because he was in the MWC (it is kind of what people do with GU because they are in the WCC). Plus, while Reid's stats take a significant drop in games against Ken Pomeroy's A & B tier competition, Clarke was better against tier A competition as a sophomore and way better against Tier A and B as a freshman. In other words, during their careers one has stepped up his play when playing against Tier A/B while the other has struggled against Tier A/B.
But to me, you have two players that are about equally efficient scorers with the same usage, one (Clarke) who passes a lot more than the other, and one who has a pretty amazing 8.5% shot blocking percentage (Clarke again) while the other blocked 0.3% of shots. So one is twice the shot-blocker as Killian Tillie while the other is tied with Perkins.
Reid may be a great fit and just what Kentucky needs (an experienced offensive-oriented big), but Clarke is a great fit and just what GU needs. Maybe they can play each other in the national championship to give us an answer.
We liked Reid the first go around because he reminded us of Elias Harris. That was a long time ago. In todays game, Clarke will play circles around him on both sides of the floor.
Maybe. One of the things that concerns me with this team is lack of size and strength down low. Reid has this by a long-shot over Clarke.
Clarke had 76 blocked shots his last year and Reid had 4 blocks last year. On the defensive end I would much rather have Clarke down low.
Reid's bit of a diva. He's where he belongs.
I agree with Doc and CJm. Having a player that works on defense is a more important piece to this team. We have lots of offense.
I have not wavered from my belief that Clarke will be the most productive player on the team. The caveat is that blocked shots are included in the equation.
Just on history alone, I'll take Clarke because transfers like him have almost always made an impact at GU. Players tend to go to UK and get lost in the shuffle, as they have the deck stacked with aces, and a king or queen gets thrown into the muck. GU took one of their bench guys and he became a centerpiece (Wiltjer).
Kentucky won't have near the chemistry with Reid as the Zags have with Clarke. Does not mean Kentucky will have a better season, as Calipari has learned how to push the right buttons with the young phenoms.
IMO, the players are more self-policing on the Zags, as they're given an input on players coming into the program.
I watched Reid a few times last year, and he flat out looked like he had lost interest / passion for the game. I don't care what physical talents you possess, if your heart ain't in it, you ain't gonna be all that good.
Yup, 100%. He's an unathletic statue that is very fundamentally sound offensively. Very similar to Petrusevs teammate on Serbia, Pecarski.
SO it looks like things worked out for the better ( as usual). We got a guy that fits us best and Kentucky got what they needed most.
Both good players. If Reid's lost interest in playing hard, it's best we didn't get him. I know Clarke hasn't. Clarke will help us a lot.
Don't know how many unathletic statues make 1st Team All Pac 12.
TWICE! Reid really would be good anywhere.
And yet, they didn't make the field of 64 last year.
It was a down year in the PAC 12, so maybe there just wasn't enough competition for 1st team. Just speculation on my part. I don't watch pac 12.
I did watch him several times and yes, the P12 was "weaker" last season so making 1st team may not have the luster it did the year before BUT still he was 1st team.