treck wrote:

Definitely a cut at BYU coaching/system for not developing Trent, but then again, BYU basketball has never really done a good job developing big men. I hope they can improve their development with Chris Miles who has the strength, size, and tenacity to be a real nasty pounding big man.

Unfortunately I don't see any reason to expect any improvement in the BYU coaching staff's ability to help a big man improve his game. To do that, they'll need to hire an assistant with those specific coaching skills.

I might get bashed for this, but I really don't think he'll get drafted and if he does, it will be 50-60. from there he'll go over seas play for a while or play in a D-league in the US for the rest of his career.
This is/was a terrible decision by trent. I wish him the best, I just don't see it happening

harlinestillopen wrote:

I might get bashed for this, but I really don't think he'll get drafted and if he does, it will be 50-60. from there he'll go over seas play for a while or play in a D-league in the US for the rest of his career.
This is/was a terrible decision by trent. I wish him the best, I just don't see it happening

I don't think you'll get bashed for that, that seems to be the general consensus on this board. I don't expect him to go before mid-second round, and I think it was a mistake to go, but now that he is committed, I do hope he proves me wrong, and helps attract attention to BYU. I think the main reason he didn't develop too well was on him, not on the coaches. I think he needs to develop mental toughness more than anything.

I have changed my opinion on this whole matter. I didn't want him to leave and would have liked to see him stay with Cummard, Fredette, and everyone else to have a strong year. However, if Trent needed to stay another year to develop his game more, what info to we have to support the fact that he will be able to improve with the same coaching staff and playing against college players. He hasn't and won't...and the posiblity of injury is also out there.

I now like the move for Trent.

It sounds like he is already making changes to his game that will help him at the next level. The article mentioned several areas of improvements already and combined with his upsides, he will be ready...someday. Maybe it will be on an NBA bench, or the DNBA, or Europe...but Trent will get a chance to play against better players and with better coaching...and get paid for it.

PP3 wrote:

harlinestillopen wrote:

I might get bashed for this, but I really don't think he'll get drafted and if he does, it will be 50-60. from there he'll go over seas play for a while or play in a D-league in the US for the rest of his career.
This is/was a terrible decision by trent. I wish him the best, I just don't see it happening

I don't think you'll get bashed for that, that seems to be the general consensus on this board. I don't expect him to go before mid-second round, and I think it was a mistake to go, but now that he is committed, I do hope he proves me wrong, and helps attract attention to BYU. I think the main reason he didn't develop too well was on him, not on the coaches. I think he needs to develop mental toughness more than anything.

I disagree about the reason for the lack of development. The coaches choose the style of game that their team plays. What BYU wanted out of Trent was only a fraction of what Trent needed to be working on to be successful in the NBA. BYU mighty have had even more success if, when they found a big athletic player like Trent, they had made the coaching committment to help him develop his game outside of five feet from the basket. Perhaps then BYU would have not become so reliant on the 3pt shot, which can kill you if your long range shooters are having an off night.

I don't think his improvment would have anything to do with the coaching staff. Here's a recipe Trent's improvement:

1. 1000 jump-shots/day from aroun10-15 ft. With his quickness, if he can force a big defender to play away from the basket, Trent will eat his lunch. As for now he can't do this.

2. 100 free throws/day. Let's face it, if he can't hit a free throw, especially because of how much he gets fouled, games will turn into a hack-a-Trent.

3. 500 jump hooks from the low block (primarily going to his right hand). While he has improved with his right hand, it is no where near where it needs to be. Just watch the games against teams with smart defenders gaurding him...they all forced him to the weak hand where he often threw up his flailing wild hook shots that almost never went in.

4. Foot work practice. His drop step on the right block is good, but he needs to focus on his drop step from the left block to the right hand

None of this requires a coach to be present, just hard work and dedication.