Jimmy Whitt

[Captain Morgan]

Don't know that I'd use the word "dynamic" to describe Beard...especially through his first 15 or so games.  He was an active defender and was relatively reliable with his perimeter shot.  That said, through his first 16 games, he averaged just over 4 points a game.  He wasn't much of a factor until around the second or third week of conference play.  He did play very well for about five weeks before fading badly down the stretch. 

All in all there were some positives and some negatives.  His three point shooting was much better than expected and he was active and aggressive all around....especially on defense.  However, he didn't have a great assist to turnover rate for a pg, was not very good from the free throw line, picked up too many "bad" fouls, and he struggled through an extended slump to end the season.

Not so sure if it was a "slump" at the end of the season. It was probably more in the category that he hit a "rookie wall" and never played that many games before. Therefore he just ran out of gas through the end of the season. Its common with among freshmen that are not one and done players. 

[Cinco de Hogo]

Don't know that I'd use the word "dynamic" to describe Beard...especially through his first 15 or so games.  He was an active defender and was relatively reliable with his perimeter shot.  That said, through his first 16 games, he averaged just over 4 points a game.  He wasn't much of a factor until around the second or third week of conference play.  He did play very well for about five weeks before fading badly down the stretch. 

All in all there were some positives and some negatives.  His three point shooting was much better than expected and he was active and aggressive all around....especially on defense.  However, he didn't have a great assist to turnover rate for a pg, was not very good from the free throw line, picked up too many "bad" fouls, and he struggled through an extended slump to end the season.

Reasonable, maybe I should have said he can be a dynamic player.  Time will tell whether or not he can be that for a season.

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

When Beard started getting the minutes, we won 10 out of 11 conference games, not a coincidence! In the few games he has played this year he is still more dynamic a player than Whitt who has been practicing and playing for months!
If you can't comprehend why Whitt is getting minutes this year that Beard didn't get last year well I am sorry, it's not hard to understand a freshman will get a lot more minutes on a short handed and much inferior team. I guarantee you if Durham wasn't doing as great a job as he has this season, Beard would be starting for me right now!

The other night against Vandy, when CMA brought the 2nd team in, there was no doubt any offense we were going to get was going to come through Beard! He is on a different level than any of those 4!
If it weren't for Beard we would not have sniffed a win against Dayton, now he probably was as responsible as anybody why we lost at the end with missed chippy and missed FTs, but we wouldn't have been there without him!

Of course Beard is outpacing him, a good ways in minutes already since his return, I can't fathom why CMA would play the inferior Beard more minutes?

Beard isn't inferior. He just doesn't have the upside that Whitt does. Its way way too early to say that Jimmy is a disappointment. Could some posters have had more realistic expectations for Mr. Buckets ? Sure. And I admit I would have liked to see more from him by now. Beard has the experience and it shows. All I am saying is that Whitt will get there and when he does you and many other doubters will see that he has way more upside than Beard.

And when I say that I hope that takes nothing away from my appreciation for Beard as a Hog. I love the guy and appreciate him being a Hog. As I said earlier Whitt's jump shot is no worse than Ronnie Brewers and he had a descent NBA career. I believe Whitt will be better when all is said and done.

Lets let it play out and see. Fair enough ?

[hawginbigd1]

Beard isn't inferior. He just doesn't have the upside that Whitt does. Its way way too early to say that Jimmy is a disappointment. Could some posters have had more realistic expectations for Mr. Buckets ? Sure. And I admit I would have liked to see more from him by now. Beard has the experience and it shows. All I am saying is that Whitt will get there and when he does you and many other doubters will see that he has way more upside than Beard.

And when I say that I hope that takes nothing away from my appreciation for Beard as a Hog. I love the guy and appreciate him being a Hog. As I said earlier Whitt's jump shot is no worse than Ronnie Brewers and he had a descent NBA career. I believe Whitt will be better when all is said and done.

Lets let it play out and see. Fair enough ?

Yep, and I hope you are right! Whitt is only a disappointment because he was overhyped by many, and I believed it! I see he is nowhere close to what he may be potentially, but IMO we never get what we are getting from Bell right now! If that gives some context! I am glad we have Whitt!

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Yep, and I hope you are right! Whitt is only a disappointment because he was overhyped by many, and I believed it! I see he is nowhere close to what he may be potentially, but IMO we never get what we are getting from Bell right now! If that gives some context! I am glad we have Whitt!

How many people would have thought we would be getting what we are getting from Bell right now when they saw him play as a fresh ? Mike does a heck of a job developing his guys. Better than any coach since Eddie or Nolan. Jimmy is being allowed to come along at his own pace. Look at Moses. Who would have guessed he would be this good last year ? Moses had Portis in front of him so Mike didn't do anything to hurt his confidence he just brought him along at his own pace. Look at all the talent in front of Whitt now..

This is just my opinion but Whitt reminds me a lot of Scotty Thurmon. No he doesn't have his shot. But its early. He is just long like Scotty and reminds me of him a ton when I watch him on the floor. I trust Mike will bring the kid along. I disagree with the ceiling you have for Whitt. But I can disagree in an agreeable manner. Lets have this discussion again when Whitt is a Jr. Ok ?

[rude1]

How many people would have thought we would be getting what we are getting from Bell right now when they saw him play as a fresh ? Mike does a heck of a job developing his guys. Better than any coach since Eddie or Nolan. Jimmy is being allowed to come along at his own pace. Look at Moses. Who would have guessed he would be this good last year ? Moses had Portis in front of him so Mike didn't do anything to hurt his confidence he just brought him along at his own pace. Look at all the talent in front of Whitt now..

This is just my opinion but Whitt reminds me a lot of Scotty Thurmon. No he doesn't have his shot. But its early. He is just long like Scotty and reminds me of him a ton when I watch him on the floor. I trust Mike will bring the kid along. I disagree with the ceiling you have for Whitt. But I can disagree in an agreeable manner. Lets have this discussion again when Whitt is a Jr. Ok ?

Scotty Thurman? I mean seriously, you could not have picked a more different player. Thurman was a gamer from day one as a freshman, Whitt looks just like your typical freshman who you just look to get a few minutes out of to rest your main players. There is simply no comparison to how each plays the game.

[FATHAWG08]

His shot looked much better in that video.  More arch. His shot for some reason now is flat.  Even his free throws.  But, Has a very nice short game that will help our three point shooters .  Lots of pull up's in the lane.  He's gonna be a very good point guard.  Just watch.

I agree his shot looks better & there is a  lot more arch.

[rude1]

  I agree his shot looks better & there is a  lot more arch.

This is the danger of judging a player based on his highlight reel, it intentionally shows the best plays the player has made, it would be logical for his shot to look good on his highlight reel because it is showing the makes and not the misses, if you seen the misses then you might catch on that there is an inconsistent release on the shot.........

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Scotty Thurman? I mean seriously, you could not have picked a more different player. Thurman was a gamer from day one as a freshman, Whitt looks just like your typical freshman who you just look to get a few minutes out of to rest your main players. There is simply no comparison to how each plays the game.

Look again. I disagree.

[rude1]

Look again. I disagree.

Well that explains it huh. If we look long enough even though there's nothing they do alike, we will see it..........

[PonderinHog]

All I see is U. S. Reed.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

This is the danger of judging a player based on his highlight reel, it intentionally shows the best plays the player has made, it would be logical for his shot to look good on his highlight reel because it is showing the makes and not the misses, if you seen the misses then you might catch on that there is an inconsistent release on the shot.........

Very good point.
Hey, nobody wants our players to succeed and exceed more than me.
However, I was one of the first posters in this thread to state his shot is awkward and needs improvement.

That doesn't mean I hate the guy or think he'll float around in obscurity till he leaves the program like some react when this is discussed.

He will probably need to change his shooting form.  If his shot doesn't change, we can probably expect some decent improvement from sheer repetition, maturity, and experience.

His skill set overall seems to be similar to Ronnie Brewer Jr. which is good company.  I'm doing my best to erase my expectations though because of what I was expecting based on what I'd read on here.  What I was expecting was inflated.

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Well that explains it huh. If we look long enough even though there's nothing they do alike, we will see it..........

It does. You aren't paying attention. Or maybe you don't remember watching Scotty. IDK. Frankly I think you are clueless when it comes to basketball. Posters like you are the reason this site has an ignore button.

[hawginbigd1]

Really nice game on offensive end tonight! That one scoop shot of the hop was special! Maybe he can build on this!

[rude1]

It does. You aren't paying attention. Or maybe you don't remember watching Scotty. IDK. Frankly I think you are clueless when it comes to basketball. Posters like you are the reason this site has an ignore button.

There you have it. You have pointed to NOTHING that would make anyone think they are similar, all you have done is keep insisting it's there. Here is why they are completely different, you can chime in on all those similarities that you see: Whitt is a good ball handler, Scotty was an average ball handler at best. Whitt elevates on his jump shot, Scotty got very little lift on his shot. Whitt doesn't have good range on this shot, Scotty was a deadly shooter from deep. Whitt is quick and a good defender, Scotty lacked quickness and was a below average defender.......Maybe you are talking about their similarities in another sport besides basketball?

[PonderinHog]

I believe Jimmy Whitt is U. S. Reed's love child.

[The Hogfather]

Great game by Whitt last night.  Seems like being back in Columbia gave him a nice spark.  Hope he continues playing like that.  Very efficient.

[The real Hogules]

JW will be a special player before his playing days are done. His game against Missouri is arguably his best performance so far, but the best is yet to come! Whitt will be a real weapon on both ends of the court, once he gets more comfortable playing in the college level.

[Hawg Red]

Hopefully last night served as the breakthrough for Whitt. If he starts producing close to what many of us projected, we could really be in business. He'd provide us an element we haven't had so far this season -- a player adept at driving to the basket and also able to thrive in the mid-range game.

[Paul]

I honestly feel like Whitt is playing exactly how I expected. He's not uber athletic, a uber scorer, or

...an Uber driver?

[rmcchris]

This.  He seems to have the tools, but his shot is ugly.
I don't know what the answer is either.  Do you really want to start messing with someone's shooting motion beyond high school?

For him, yes on the shooting motion.  It will be the difference in him being an average offensive player or an above or very good offensive player.  Plus it will carry over to his free throw percentages.

[clew]

...an Uber driver?

brilliant

[WBOBO]

I believe Jimmy Whitt is U. S. Reed's love child.

It he can jump like U. S. and play defense like him he will have a great Razorback career.

[AWHAWG]

Y

[Hogimus Prime]

Whitt reminds me of Clint McDaniel for some reason.

[HognitiveDissonance]

Whitt reminds me of Clint McDaniel for some reason.

Darrell Hawkins, maybe?

Athlete, slasher, scorer, limited range, defender, plays the whole floor well.

[hawginbigd1]

Darrell Hawkins, maybe?

Athlete, slasher, scorer, limited range, defender, plays the whole floor well.

Well he would have to put rocket boosters on his shoes to remind me of Hawkins,  I have never seen another player that fast in BB.

[scruf]

Whitt isn't giving as much as I thought he would to the team in terms of production because Bell, Hannahs and Durham are blowing my expectations out of the water.

[Hogimus Prime]

Darrell Hawkins, maybe?

Athlete, slasher, scorer, limited range, defender, plays the whole floor well.

McDaniel was more athletic than people remember. Whitt is a better slasher, McDaniel is a better 3 pt shooter, but both are same size and build that McDaniel was up and down his freshman year but was solid after which is what will happen with Whitt.

[AWHAWG]

His J doesn't look flat.

[Sow Lancelot]

Athlete, slasher, scorer, limited range, defender, plays the whole floor well.

In my limited viewings of this year's games, this seems to be JW's forte, especially on this team for this year, at least. He seems to be getting much more comfortable with putting the ball on the floor and making something happen in motion rather than as a spot-up jump shooter. Brings a very different dynamic to the floor than DH or AB, adding another dimension for which teams have to prepare.

Now, if we could just become a little more disciplined in setting and rolling off screens, I think our offense could be even more potent.

[jboler96]

Jimmy whitt is pretty good. All you people saying role player and jumping the gun need to take a look at micheal Qualls stats his freshman year. He'll be great before he's done

[HognitiveDissonance]

Jimmy whitt is pretty good. All you people saying role player and jumping the gun need to take a look at micheal Qualls stats his freshman year. He'll be great before he's done

Agreed on that, he'll probably be like most players and take a big jump from frosh to soph year.

Had a real nice game Tuesday. That sort of thing is what I would expect to see much more often starting next year. Probably will be sporadic this year. Typical freshman.

[jboler96]

His shot is that way bc of how long his arms are. Like close to 7 foot wingspan ??  And good to see someone sensible!

[Big Boi]

Is the light going to come on this year? Several that seen him play in HS thought he would be a major contributor. He had his fourth scoreless game in the last six played. He has been most disappointing on the defensive end. With those long arms and slight build he should be a bulldog on the ball.   

[wheelspigharvey]

Is the light going to come on this year? Several that seen him play in HS thought he would be a major contributor. He had his fourth scoreless game in the last six played. He has been most disappointing on the defensive end. With those long arms and slight build he should be a bulldog on the ball.

He's not scoring the way we want yet but he looks to me like he's playing good enough D, making heads-up plays.  He was part of some highlights last night even though he wasn't the guy finishing. 

[azhog10]

He's not scoring the way we want yet but he looks to me like he's playing good enough D, making heads-up plays.  He was part of some highlights last night even though he wasn't the guy finishing.

His defense and hustle have been positive things to watch. However his jumper and inability to get to the rim consistently have been somewhat surprising. He loves that pull up jumper but man if he's going to miss it's almost always short due to the way he releases the ball. But he has no problem getting the jumper and I guess that's a positive.

[TNhawgfan]

Whitt reminds me of Clint McDaniel for some reason.

Clint could shoot the 3 ball really well, we just didn't need him to with Thurman, stewart, Dillard, etc. I was at the vandy game in 95 when he pulled up with a man in his face to drain a 3 in the last 5 seconds to send the game to OT. He had a pretty stroke and was quick as a hiccup on D

[Big Boi]

His defense and hustle have been positive things to watch. However his jumper and inability to get to the rim consistently have been somewhat surprising. He loves that pull up jumper but man if he's going to miss it's almost always short due to the way he releases the ball. But he has no problem getting the jumper and I guess that's a positive.

To me that has been his most impressive aspect of his game. He combination of lift and arm length makes it as close to unblockable as it gets.

[azhog10]

To me that has been his most impressive aspect of his game. He combination of lift and arm length makes it as close to unblockable as it gets.

I agree. I just wish that hitch would go away. He doesn't project the ball up, he projects it out when he flicks his wrist....it could be that he still uses two hands and hasn't really gotten rid of that devils hand yet. I think if he were able to improve his follow through and finish on his shot he would see more consistency.

[TomBigBeeHog]

To me that has been his most impressive aspect of his game. He combination of lift and arm length makes it as close to unblockable as it gets.

We need a guy who can consistently hit that 10 - 12 foot floater with great elevation on his shot ala Linzie Howell. I would love to see Whitt add that to his game.

[The_Iceman]

His shot looked a lot smoother in high school. His timing seems off to me now. It is like he is releasing it too late, almost on his way down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjaCus6USr4

[azhog10]

His shot looked a lot smoother in high school. His timing seems off to me now. It is like he is releasing it too late, almost on his way down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjaCus6USr4

Could be, but even in the video he released as he started to come down. He hits the top of his jump and almost pauses and then shoots. He did have more arc which is why i keep going back to his follow through. He's dropping it or casting it out one of the two.

[jboler96]

Seems to be going through up and downs. Hopefully he can get out of the slump bc we need him. I love his game , but this happens alot to freshmen.