Jimmy Whitt

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

About what I expected.  Big jump to this level and that is what you are seeing in his play.  He is long, quick, jumps well, can defend well if he wants to.  Has most of the tools needed to be very good at this level.  Needs to work really hard on his jump shot.  How much he works on it will be the difference in him being an average player or really good.  We will see.

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?

[Athog]

Many thought that he would lead us in scoring and be the star of the team from jump. myself included.

I think the expectations were to high. I think he will eventually be a very good player. He is solid now but he will get much better.

[PonderinHog]

I remember BJ altering his shot to the point of it not going in anymore.

[HardingHog]

For comparison, here are Skal Labissiere's stats: 8.7 ppg, 51.7 fg%, 3.4 rebs, .4 ast, .3 stl, 1.6 blks, 1.3 TOs

No, Jimmy Whitt hasn't been a guy to take a game over this year; however, his stats aren't much worse than a kid considered to be the #1 player coming out of high school this past season

[Kevin]

I hope he works hard on changing his shot

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Some of you guys should have your fan cards taken away. And others here don't know the first thing about basketball !!! Whitt is not going to be this and what is not going to be that.

Horseshiete !!

Watch the young man play !! He isn't putting up big numbers YET because he understands the concepts of being in the flow of the game AND letting everything come to you !! Thats rare for a kid in his first season. Remember KY ? He was always trying way too hard. Forcing the ball into the middle of the paint with nowhere to go then turning the ball over. KY needed a lot of time to develop. Whitt will NOT.

The young man is smooth. He stays in the system already !! The only thing he lacks is being more aggressive at attacking the basket. That will come and when it does look out. People saying he will be a nice four year role player need to shut their pie holes. Thats ignorant. We will be lucky to have Whitt as a SR. Book it.

[Pork Twain]

Whitt was hyped as a star! He won't ever be that from what I have seen! He has a chance to be an above average defender and a decent complimentary scorer! A nice role player!

Funny but you did not just describe 4* recruit, you described a 5*.

[The_Iceman]

The midrange jumper is there for Whitt, that the strength of his game. He is also very long on defense. He does need to adjust to attacking the rim at the college game. There are some moves you can do in high school that you can't do with 6'10" guys on the weakside coming over to block shots. Adding a 3-point shot to his game is also a big key for him going forward.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

He is doing pretty good

[hawginbigd1]

Some of you guys should have your fan cards taken away. And others here don't know the first thing about basketball !!! Whitt is not going to be this and what is not going to be that.

Horseshiete !!

Watch the young man play !! He isn't putting up big numbers YET because he understands the concepts of being in the flow of the game AND letting everything come to you !! Thats rare for a kid in his first season. Remember KY ? He was always trying way too hard. Forcing the ball into the middle of the paint with nowhere to go then turning the ball over. KY needed a lot of time to develop. Whitt will NOT.

The young man is smooth. He stays in the system already !! The only thing he lacks is being more aggressive at attacking the basket. That will come and when it does look out. People saying he will be a nice four year role player need to shut their pie holes. Thats ignorant. We will be lucky to have Whitt as a SR. Book it.

Well I guess we better start looking for Beard's replacement then, because surely he must be going to the league after this year or next! SMH

[lstewart]

I do think he is playing within himself generally and doing what he can to help the team. I just was aware of the hype coming out of high school, without every seeing him. So I was very surprised that he has such a awkward jump shot, and they he is not an outside scorer. I assume maybe he got a lot of his points in high school taking it to the basket, but at this point he can't really score a lot at this level doing it. Seems like in the early games he tried to drive more and was shut down. I think he will be a solid all around player, but don't expect him to be a big scorer with his current shot. It's just a little awkward and too flat... don't think he can score consistently from outside with it.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

I remember BJ altering his shot to the point of it not going in anymore.

And this sparked my comment on not being sure you try to alter his now.

Of course he doesn't have as much to lose as BJ. either.  His offense was pretty good.

Didn't Dillard's shot suffer his last year due to shot tweaking?

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Well I guess we better start looking for Beard's replacement then, because surely he must be going to the league after this year or next! SMH

Your post is stupid. Beard does not have near the potential that Whitt does.

[wheelspigharvey]

The young man is smooth. He stays in the system already !! The only thing he lacks is being more aggressive at attacking the basket. That will come and when it does look out. People saying he will be a nice four year role player need to shut their pie holes. Thats ignorant. We will be lucky to have Whitt as a SR. Book it.

I do think he needs to work on his jumper some more as well, but the people jumping on your last statement are out of their minds.  Next year's team is set to explode and Whitt will be part of that equation no doubt. 

[rude1]

Some of you guys should have your fan cards taken away. And others here don't know the first thing about basketball !!! Whitt is not going to be this and what is not going to be that.

Horseshiete !!

Watch the young man play !! He isn't putting up big numbers YET because he understands the concepts of being in the flow of the game AND letting everything come to you !! Thats rare for a kid in his first season. Remember KY ? He was always trying way too hard. Forcing the ball into the middle of the paint with nowhere to go then turning the ball over. KY needed a lot of time to develop. Whitt will NOT.

The young man is smooth. He stays in the system already !! The only thing he lacks is being more aggressive at attacking the basket. That will come and when it does look out. People saying he will be a nice four year role player need to shut their pie holes. Thats ignorant. We will be lucky to have Whitt as a SR. Book it.

Don't know what you are watching but right now he is worlds away from what an NBA guard must be able to do. Unless you believe the NBA is suddenly looking for shooting guards who can't shoot the basketball. Right now his game and body are so far removed from being NBA ready it's really not worthy of discussion.

[hawginbigd1]

Your post is stupid. Beard does not have near the potential that Whitt does.

well OK I guess your right! Whitt has provided not close to what Beard provided in his first 13 real games which started about conference time last year! So how can you make that statement, oh I know, you don't know anything about basketball, probably not much of anything else either!

[ErieHog]

well OK I guess your right! Whitt has provided not close to what Beard provided in his first 13 real games which started about conference time last year! So how can you make that statement, oh I know, you don't know anything about basketball, probably not much of anything else either!

He's provided more than Beard did in his first 13 games.  Even giving Beard the benefit of the doubt, and not counting any game he played less than 11 minutes in,  it is pretty stark-  under 6 points,   under 2 boards,  under 2 assists.

And Whitt has been more efficient, so it isn't like Whitt has been out of whack in usage rate while on the court.

[cardsNhogs]

well OK I guess your right! Whitt has provided not close to what Beard provided in his first 13 real games which started about conference time last year! So how can you make that statement, oh I know, you don't know anything about basketball, probably not much of anything else either!

Whitt has far more upside than Beard.

[rmcchris]

I'm not entirely convinced that Whitt's shot is 'horrid'. At release, his mechanics seem to be intact...good follow through/finish(fundamentals prior to finish are unusual-think Furyk-and demand time and space). There are times it appears he shoots after the apex of his jump-on the way down-which causes his shot to be short. I wondered last night if shooting on the way down was happening when he had space to shoot and possibly wanted to be too fine with his shot. Also, I agree with the earlier comment about his tendency to dribble side to side without gaining ground...easier to defense. Hopefully, the fix for either is recognition and reps aided by his athleticism.

Flat shot, not squared up, timing and fluid motion not present (stroke) out of alignment & balance, no range at all.  Shot is not good & borderline horrible.  As I mentioned he can overcome this, but needs to work on his shot a lot.  Rest of tools and talent are excellent.  Can be a top 50% performer in our league if he improves his shot.  Can defend, with proper effort, with the best of them on and off ball.

[The Hogfather]

Flat shot, not squared up, timing and fluid motion not present (stroke) out of alignment & balance, no range at all.  Shot is not good & borderline horrible.  As I mentioned he can overcome this, but needs to work on his shot a lot.  Rest of tools and talent are excellent.  Can be a top 50% performer in our league if he improves his shot.  Can defend, with proper effort, with the best of them on and off ball.

His shot is not horrid.

He is just a long, skinny dude.

Here is one of his high school highlight videos:

He looks kind of awkward, but his form is decent.

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

I do think he needs to work on his jumper some more as well, but the people jumping on your last statement are out of their minds.  Next year's team is set to explode and Whitt will be part of that equation no doubt.

Agreed but does anyone remember R Brewers jump shot ? His NBA career wasn't too bad. And I believe that Whitt has the potential to be better than Ronnie.

[HawgAdvocate]

I think the expectations were to high.

'Round here? Imagine that!

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Don't know what you are watching but right now he is worlds away from what an NBA guard must be able to do. Unless you believe the NBA is suddenly looking for shooting guards who can't shoot the basketball. Right now his game and body are so far removed from being NBA ready it's really not worthy of discussion.

He's a freshman. Apparently you don't see what I'm seeing. And thats fine. I see a guy who lets the game come to him. Thats rare in a freshmen. I see a guy with length and ability that he has yet to discover he has. He looks and plays exactly like a future NBA star to me. Do you guys remember watching Joe Johnson ? Maybe one of our stat guys could pull the stats from his first 12 games as a Hog. He's smooth like Joe was. Patient. I like his game and see a huge upside. Sorry I can't be as negative as the rest of you guys.

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Oh and I admit that i'm a homer. This is a hogs site so that shouldn't be a problem. I want to say that Joe averaged around 13 or so a game his first 12. But I'm not sure. Someone here will have that. Whitt is going to be much better than a role player guys. Sorry.

[Hawg Red]

Oh and I admit that i'm a homer. This is a hogs site so that shouldn't be a problem. I want to say that Joe averaged around 13 or so a game his first 12. But I'm not sure. Someone here will have that. Whitt is going to be much better than a role player guys. Sorry.

Joe averaged 15.4 PPG in his first 12 games as a Hog, but he had some down games in there. A 2-point game, a 7-point game, etc. But some pretty big ones, too.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

His shot is not horrid.

He is just a long, skinny dude.

Here is one of his high school highlight videos:

He looks kind of awkward, but his form is decent.

His shot looks awkward.
I'll give you this though, his shot looks better here than in the games.

Here's to hoping he finds his range in college.

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

Joe averaged 15.4 PPG in his first 12 games as a Hog, but he had some down games in there. A 2-point game, a 7-point game, etc. But some pretty big ones, too.

Thanks now I know who to ask when I have a stat question ?

[rude1]

Thanks now I know who to ask when I have a stat question ?

Now you also know the comparison to Joe Johnson was ridiculous.......

[PonderinHog]

Thanks now I know who to ask when I have a stat question ?

There was a good stat guy here before Red.  I think his name was Brooks.

[HF#1]

Reminds me of Ronnie Brewer's shot.

[hawginbigd1]

He's provided more than Beard did in his first 13 games.  Even giving Beard the benefit of the doubt, and not counting any game he played less than 11 minutes in,  it is pretty stark-  under 6 points,   under 2 boards,  under 2 assists.

And Whitt has been more efficient, so it isn't like Whitt has been out of whack in usage rate while on the court.

I am not looking at just stats, I am looking at impact on the floor. Beard provided a lot of hustle and intangibles on the floor. He took how many charges that is equivalent to a steal, passes deflected and if we needed a 3 he stepped up and made some when needed, on a MUCH more talented team! Of course his stats are going to be lower on that team!

[opineonswine]

He's a freshman.

[HawgAdvocate]

I am not looking at just stats, I am looking at impact on the floor. Beard provided a lot of hustle and intangibles on the floor. He took how many charges that is equivalent to a steal, passes deflected and if we needed a 3 he stepped up and made some when needed, on a MUCH more talented team! Of course his stats are going to be lower on that team!

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

Reminds me of Ronnie Brewer's shot.

Same.

[Captain Morgan]

He's a freshman.

Yes he is and the best players in college basketball this year are freshmen.

[sshawg]

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.

[cmiller01]

KeVaughn Allen > Jimmy Whitt at this point.

[Nipsey Mussle]

Lol nailed it

[JenksHawg]

Very few people admitting that he is underachieving compared to the expectations set by the board last year.  I see a lot of "about what I expected" although most people on here last year were making him out to be the key to a Final 4 run.  Lot of selective memory on this thread.

[hawginbigd1]

Sorry it went over your head!

[Cinco de Hogo]

Very weak response, Beard was a dynamic player on a 27 win team.  Whitt is still finding his way on a 7-7 team.

I agree he has the tools and more upside than Beard(probably shouldn't even be comparing them) but he needs to be a gym rat to become all he can be.

[HawgAdvocate]

Sorry it went over your head!

I'm still trying to process "how many charges that is equivalent to a steal, passes deflected and if we needed a 3 he stepped up and made some when needed, on a MUCH more talented team! Of course his stats are going to be lower on that team!"

That's a lot of garbled gobbledygook.

[HawgAdvocate]

Very weak response, Beard was a dynamic player on a 27 win team.  Whitt is still finding his way on a 7-7 team.

"Dynamic?" LOL, ok. There's nothing wrong with being a homer, and we should all support the players, but "dynamic" is being applied way to liberally here. Beard, whenever he was out there on the floor, likely saw the least amount of defensive focus when playing.

Beard didn't play 20+ minutes for the Hogs until January 6th of 2015. He didn't become a regular part of the rotation until January 22nd, against Bama, with 19 games left in the season. Whitt hasn't seen single digits once yet this year, and was forced into heavy minutes as soon as the season started.

Over the final eight games of that last year, Beard was 8-38 (21%) shooting the ball, 2-17 (11%) from outside, and he had 10 TOTAL assists (5 alone in one game, vs Tenn) and 8 turnovers.

"Dynamic?" Riiiiight.

[Cinco de Hogo]

"Dynamic?" LOL, ok. There's nothing wrong with being a homer, and we should all support the players, but "dynamic" is being applied way to liberally here. Beard, whenever he was out there on the floor, likely saw the least amount of defensive focus when playing.

Beard didn't play 20+ minutes for the Hogs until January 6th of 2015. He didn't become a regular part of the rotation until January 22nd, against Bama, with 19 games left in the season. Whitt hasn't seen single digits once yet this year, and was forced into heavy minutes as soon as the season started.

Over the final eight games of that last year, Beard was 8-38 (21%) shooting the ball, 2-17 (11%) from outside, and he had 10 TOTAL assists (5 alone in one game, vs Tenn) and 8 turnovers.

"Dynamic?" Riiiiight.

Riiiight, I understand you can't see the whole picture.  The comparison is bad and Beard seemed to regress at the end of the season but he was dynamic on a much better team for awhile.  I don't know why but maybe his head wasn't were it was supposed to be as reflected by the troubles he got into.  Whitt has more upside if he works at it and wants it bad enough.  No one including yourself can predict future events just acknowledge the possibilities.

[HawgAdvocate]

Riiiight, I understand you can't see the whole picture.  The comparison is bad and Beard seemed to regress at the end of the season but he was dynamic on a much better team for awhile.  I don't know why but maybe his head wasn't were it was supposed to be as reflected by the troubles he got into.  Whitt has more upside if he works at it and wants it bad enough.  No one including yourself can predict future events just acknowledge the possibilities.

What is this 'whole picture?' His head was where? Because of what troubles? The forgery was from summer. Could you possibly offer a 'weaker' explanation?

Because we won more games, thanks in large to Portis/Qualls/Madden, you feel Beard was somehow a much better player with those guys around him? Beard had some good games last season as a complimentary piece, taking and making a few shots/game and having a memorable moment or two during a good season, but he was certainly not 'dynamic' for the majority of time he did get to play.

I will agree the comparison is bad, as most freshman have needed multiple years under Coach A to show their true value. Hence my initial confusion as to what/why you all were even debating in the first place.

[Cinco de Hogo]

What is this 'whole picture?' His head was where? Because of what troubles? The forgery was from summer. Could you possibly offer a 'weaker' explanation?

Because we won more games, thanks in large to Portis/Qualls/Madden, you feel Beard was somehow a much better player with those guys around him? Beard had some good games last season as a complimentary piece, taking and making a few shots/game and having a memorable moment or two during a good season, but he was certainly not 'dynamic' for the majority of time he did get to play.

I will agree the comparison is bad, as most freshman have needed multiple years under Coach A to show their true value. Hence my initial confusion as to what/why you all were even debating in the first place.

The "whole picture" is the OP and the drift of the thread.  You seem to want to boil it down to a comment here and there.  Other than that I can't help you anymore.

[Big Nasty 34]

He is doing about what I expected. Should be a really good player, but I didn't think he would "be the best player from day 1" type of guy.

[hawginbigd1]

"Dynamic?" LOL, ok. There's nothing wrong with being a homer, and we should all support the players, but "dynamic" is being applied way to liberally here. Beard, whenever he was out there on the floor, likely saw the least amount of defensive focus when playing.

Beard didn't play 20+ minutes for the Hogs until January 6th of 2015. He didn't become a regular part of the rotation until January 22nd, against Bama, with 19 games left in the season. Whitt hasn't seen single digits once yet this year, and was forced into heavy minutes as soon as the season started.

Over the final eight games of that last year, Beard was 8-38 (21%) shooting the ball, 2-17 (11%) from outside, and he had 10 TOTAL assists (5 alone in one game, vs Tenn) and 8 turnovers.

"Dynamic?" Riiiiight.

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?

[HawgHeadCheese]

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

[latrops]

Very weak response, Beard was a dynamic player on a 27 win team.  Whitt is still finding his way on a 7-7 team.

I agree he has the tools and more upside than Beard(probably shouldn't even be comparing them) but he needs to be a gym rat to become all he can be.

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.