Let's get to know Marcus Adams Jr. and what he can do for BYU

Basketball
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Why didn’t fit at Kansas:
Marcus Adams Jr. explains his decision to leave Kansas basketball (throughthephog.com)

Why Adams left Gonzaga:
Dan Dickau on Marcus Adams Jr. leaving Gonzaga: ‘I don’t think it’s a big deal’ - Gonzaga Nation (si.com)
bottom line, GU was deep in talent at the wing and Adams was going to either red shirt or have to play behind proven talent.

1 He’s young, should be in his senior year
Who is Marcus Adams Jr., and how does he fit with BYU basketball? | KSL.com

2 He is the 2nd “one and done” type player BYU has ever signed (shawn bradley being the 1st)

3 Averaged 28 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 5 apg. in LA as a Jr. Can we talk???
I get the 28 ppg and the rebounds but 5 assists per game…without even watching him play, you know that we will fit well into Pope’s scheme. What is Pope’s scheme you ask? If you look at BYU’s profile, we are excellent in all categories except one…FTR. What is FTR you ask? It is the Rate at which you get to the Free Throw line. I will cover that in another thread but the simple answer is Pope’s scheme is to pass until you find the open guy and launch.

Did Khalifa fit in (as the best big man in America to pass the ball?)…like butta baby and so will Adams.

4 His attitude. Adams probably has maturity issues at Kansas and Gonzaga because he probably expected to make a splash and found that he was behind someone at those other schools, while at BYU, there is no solid forward to play behind at BYU. Their loss, our gain. so pamper him along with the goal of a solid contributor by the end of the Big 12 season

Bing Videos

Bing Videos

Marcus Adams Goes CRAZY! Drops 50 Pts - Bing video

yeah, he will get Teed up, he has major attitude.

5 how will Adams impact BYU?
If he pans out, Adams will attract one and done talent to BYU because this kid has NBA written all over him. So he is great for recruiting

6 his dribble is off the charts good. notice that he often brings the ball up court, could be a point in the NBA.

7 He has the “moves like Jagger”. Adams and dribble through double coverage, he can bust through with his frame, he can shoot fade aways, 3s from jimmer range or finish above the rim

8 his swagger and attitude has me concerned, Does he think he is better then everyone else, will he be a big showboat, he gets Teed up a lot in HS games for taunting after a play, no good but then I don’ know?

The guys like him on the team so if the chemestry is there, he should really elevate BYU basketball.

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Can’t wait to see him in tense B12 play. I like his swagger and think he will temper the attitude. On and off the court he rolls with SJ and Jaxson and they are both Cool Hand Lukes. His game is REAL.

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I hope he comes in with some attitude and I also hope his maturity level is high enough that he knows how to temper it and use it to his advantage. I like the fact that Robinson has become a little more selfish with his shot, it has paid dividends. As long as Pope can keep the kids ego in check I think he can help BYU in a lot of ways. Once he understands that his future will be brightest if he can make himself into a complete player, the sky is the limit. He has a ton of potential.

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Robinson is selfish? I haven’t seen any of that. Sprained ankle is all. Should be okay in a couple of weeks for the Cincinnati game.
Baker looks like he can really play too. Get Fosse back and what a team. The one player not doing particularly well shooting lately is Johnson. He may have to sit more.

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Johnson’s shooting is a little off, but the rest of his game is stellar. I wouldn’t cut his minutes. I would cut Atiki’s minutes because he is a hothead and I would cut the minutes of Knell because his overall game is not up to Johnson’s. Of course nobody will get their minutes cut until, or if, BYU gets everybody heathy. Stewart’s minutes may also get cut once Adams, Traore, and Robinson are all healthy. My opinion is that the three I mentioned would be the most likely to get their minutes cut with a full roster of healthy players. That’s not a knock on the three but I think BYU has nine players that are better than them and it is good that they have all gotten a lot of minutes so far because any of them could transition back into the rotation.

That would make a nine man rotation of Traore Adams, Hall, Watermam, Johnson, Khalifa, Robinson, Saunders, and Baker. I think those guys have the most overall upside and a nine man rotation is about all you can manage once you get into the meat of the schedule. If somebody in that nine get sick, hurt, or the quality of their play slips, you can rotate Atiki, Knell, or Stewart back in. BYU has 12 good D1 players but you never see teams use more than an 8 or nine man rotation.

A few years ago Gonzaga made it to the final with a
seven man rotation but Baylor played 9 and their depth did Gonzaga in. I think an eight or nine man rotation is really good if the quality of play doesn’t drop when you go to the three, or four, top subs.

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I agree that once league begins that the best top 5 players must start and play against the other teams top 5. If we don’t we will continually get behind early and have to scramble to catch up like with Utah.

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Not likely

Amen

Here is the little game I like to play, “who are the starters”?
I would not change the chemistry
Foos- Khalifa-Atiki
Waterman- Adams or Richie
Johnson- Richie or Baker
Knell- Robinson
Hall-Stewart-Baker

Robinson and Baker tend to not pass the ball once they get it, which is a good thing, they are both excellent finishers. Robinson is the closest thing we have to a star at BYU at this time but as Tom L. posted way back, Adams will become a star eventually. ( I don’t think he is a One and Done just because I did not start the season but by next year, he will be a 20-10 kind of guy and long gone.

Both Knell and Waterman are three point specialists. When they are hot hot hot, BYU blows out teams but it they struggle, sit either one and go with better defenders and inside play guys. Hall, Johnson and Baker are guys that can drive in to dish out but Adams will be special when he plays, he is that good off the dribble and he has excellent floor vision and assist #s.

So who will be the starting 5 at the end of the season or better yet, play in crunch time?

Foos or Khalifa
Adams
Johnson
Hall or Saunders
Robinson

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If healthy:
1 Baker
2 Robinson
3 Saunders
4 Adam’s
5 Fosse

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No way. Johnson can run the point if you want to take Hall out of the picture. the 5 you choose would ruin the chemistry of the team. Baker/Robinson are finishers who rarely pass. Go back and look at who is the glue that runs this team. The Sr captains are Knell and Johnson, they call the shots in the huddle, do all the talking out there…Now go back and look at who got all the assists in the last game??
Khalifa 4
Johnson 7
Hall 6…Saunders got 0…now tell me who is the glue and who makes the magic on this team?
Go back to the Ut loss, who is the magic on this team. Robinson and Saunders got 0 assists. Can’t get a single open look without assists. On my starting 5, I have 3 assist guys and 4 if Khalifa starts.

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Hall
Foos
Johnson
Waterman
Knell/Baker

2nd
Robinson
Khalifa
Saunders
Stewart
Atiki/ Adams

Top 12. I like this lineup because the 2nd unit could very well be better than the first and that is somewhat unusual-but everyone in the first unit can score and if they start out hot it will probably carry over. We don’t know how quick Adams is going to be coming off his injury or adapting to college ball-time will tell. Baker isn’t in great shape either, so give him a while. Second unit is the better defensive unit overall

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We only saw Baker for a couple of minutes. And he was open for the shots. He has a real midrange shot as well. Not the stupid floaters I so dislike. Except for Fosse’s.

Well, we saw against Utah that not having Robinson playing to start got us off to a slow start. The Big12 is really good. We have to be able to match up the starters or we will find ourselves down early. No? We are so deep that we can rest the starters and still have spurts with the second and 3rd team.

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Obviously you didn’t understand my comment with regard to the context of what I was saying. I’m not going to bother trying to explain it because I am pretty sure everybody else understands what point I was making with that comment.

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No they didn’t. Please explain? Every player has a green light. The question is whether they should shoot or not. The answer is based on the defense. What I’ve seen is Robinson will pass if not open. Same when he drives there is a an open teammate. All are playing as a team.

The Utah game was lost in the first half because Utah starters are better than anyone we’ve played so far. Had we had Robinson, Baker and Adams starting, we would have not gotten down like that. And Fouss as well. When we get to the Big 12 games, the best talent has to be on the floor. And, I believe they will continue to play as a team.

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You know I’m NOT A FAN of Knell. Hope he proves me wrong in conference play but I just don’t think he’s good enough on either end against elite athletes with size and length.

I will not respond to the notion of Baker running the point…SMH…
I can’t even think to respond to anything thinking ANYONE is getting minutes from SJ–he’s only our best all around player and the undisputed LEADER of this team.

Pope to Baker and Robinson: get ball, shoot ball. To everyone else, “Run the offense.” And I’m SOOOO good with that.

People complain about Hall too much. Hall has been playing very solid D. He’s a good athlete and VERY strong compared to the guys he’s guarding. He’s also a great passer, is draining 3s, and can drive past his guy and finish at the rim or (preferably) kick out for open 3s. I think Pope LOVES what he’s seeing from Dallin at the point, EXCEPT the GLAAAAAAARING problem that you can’t play a PG late in games who is a horrid FT shooter. Not sure how Dallin plays late minutes if he continues to just stink from the line…

Saunders: Wow. Wow. It’s like God made the perfect D1 wing 6th man and airdropped him onto BYU’s team.

With Marcus, Baker, and Fouss in the mix, this can be a very deep and very good team. Credit Pope with designing the PERFECT offense for his talent and getting every guy on the team to BUY IN 100% on the boards and on D.

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People complain about the team being too deep and playing minutes. With the injuries that we have already seen, we can’t be too deep.
I noticed a difference with Knell’s shot in the last game. He was getting his feet under him and it made a difference. He wasn’t leaning like trying to guide the ball. He just shot it.

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Hall is scorching @ 43% from 3 right up there with Robinson. Last time BYU had multiple 40% three point shooters??? Was when we had Toolson, Childs, Haws and co. They would of been a 3 seed had Covid not SCREWED the Bball world. as of today, Waterman and Knell are also 40% from 3land. Foos is at 66% but he doesn’t count

Tom, you’re just better at words then I am. Here I was super worried that we lost the Point, Ques Glover, to KSU (by the way, I heard he injured his knee, 2 months to heal) Really, who cares who brings up the ball, it’s running the offense that counts, more importantly, WHO turns the corner on a pic and drives to collapse the Defense. Hall and Johnson are masters at it. Baker can as well, we will see if he can assist as well., right? I already know that Adams can

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Facebook Live | Facebook

Pope basically made us run wind sprints on defense, focusing on the last 4 secs of each possession.
You get teams into the Marriot at 4900’ elevation and run em, they will have to play a lot of bench…our bench is deeper then your bench. That is how you beat a Kansas (yeah, I know they don’t come here this year) but Houston, Texas, Baylor do.
Giddyup!

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I actually watched this while I ate my lunch. Thanks!!! I don’t have FB or Insta so it was really fun for me to hear the guys and Coach Pope talk for a few minutes.