What kind of a year will Wesley Gordon have in 2013-2014?

[BuffTE41]

I've read a lot about Gordon in his high school days and from what I gathered, it seems his best attribute is his ability to block shots.

To people who know a little more about him as a player, what can we expect to see from him? Can he become a dominating frontcourt presence?

 

[FLounder]

I've read a lot about Gordon in his high school days and from what I gathered, it seems his best attribute is his ability to block shots.

To people who know a little more about him as a player, what can we expect to see from him? Can he become a dominating frontcourt presence?

Bloody noses to opposing centers. Blocked shots. And rebounds.

 

[aik]

Hoping for additional muscle inside. It's fun when the team you're cheering for is boxing out and pushing around the opponents' bigs better than they are ours. Don't see that too much around here.

 

[tante]

I expect him to lead the team in rebounds per minute and blocks per minute. Word is that he was 2nd on the team in rebounds during practices, so it is a matter of how many minutes he gets and how well he fits with what Tad is going to do this year. I think he is still a bit raw on the offensive end, but his bulk will be a welcome addition.

 

[Buffnik]

On offense, he'll set good screens and be a good passer out of the high post. Supposedly has a surprising good shot from 15 feet, but I haven't seen him shoot enough to comment.

 

[tante]

On offense, he'll set good screens and be a good passer out of the high post. Supposedly has a surprising good shot from 15 feet, but I haven't seen him shoot enough to comment.

I know Tad is big is keeping stats from practices. Do you know what % Booker shoots in practice?

 

[rolandftw]

I expect between Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon, CU will have a very formidable front line. Perhaps the best in the Pac 12.

 

[sackman]

Scott, Gordon and XJ are going to make a very tough frontcourt for opponents to handle.

Come to think of it, Mayor and Ski are going to make for a very tough backcourt for opponents to handle.

 

[MtnBuff]

It's not going to necessarily show up in Gordon's stat lines but he is going to make life much easier for Scott. Last year Scott ended up banging bodies against a lot of bigger, more physical guys. With Gordon in the line-up he will take a lot of this responsibility off Scott and let him focus more on the things that he does very well.

Gordon being able to play on the low block will also enable Tad to run some high-low stuff with Scott being able to have a size advantage since the big guy who would have been covering him last year has to respect Gordon on the low post.

 

[buff190]

Scott, Gordon and XJ are going to make a very tough frontcourt for opponents to handle.

Come to think of it, Mayor and Ski are going to make for a very tough backcourt for opponents to handle.

You had me at hello.

Man, I am getting excited for the season!!!

 

[jwhite17]

I think Gordon will put up similar numbers to Roberson's true frosh year (7ppg/8rpg). Also, I believe Gordon will be a better shot blocker, but not as versatile defender as Roberson.

I agree with the above poster that Gordon will really help Scott not get so beat up in the post, and he will make our defense with his shotblocking presence in the paint, something we have never had under Boyle. We really need him to stay out of foul trouble.

Roberson would get pushed around by bigger post guys, which is understandable given that he weighed only 206lbs at the combine.

I don't see that issue with Gordon if he is truly up to 225-235lbs.

 

[buffaholic]

Scott, Gordon and XJ are going to make a very tough frontcourt for opponents to handle.

Come to think of it, Mayor and Ski are going to make for a very tough backcourt for opponents to handle.

u

Um no

 

[wyobuff]

I'm expecting him to be a pretty solid defender at/around the bucket - rumor has it he was one of the most difficult to score on in practice last year. I'm guessing he's going to get the majority of the boards that andre got last year (with the other 2/3 being gotten by jelly or xj).
He should also be able to bang down low with jordan bachynski and his lil bro at utah and the other bigs in the pac 12.
On the offensive end, i'm not really sure what to expect from him. maybe 5-7 pts/game?

 

[buffaholic]

Agree with WyoBuff

 

[Ruckus]

He's the player on our team I'm most excited about seeing. I'm going to censor the entire thing and you can try to figure out what it says, but I think it was jgisland or goose who told me this quote of Gordon's one time: "When I'm on the court, * ****** **** **** ** **** * *****."

He's gonna be a force.


EDIT: I'm going to take some of the asterisks out and put words in.

 

[BuffLuke80]

I only saw him on tv but he isn't gonna have a problem on D. I believe he was playing Scott head to head in the one I saw. Anyway, he can develop his O as he goes, he will definitely help out blocking shots, rebounding, and getting buckets around the basket. As Nik said, I haven't seen that midrange J. He will definitely help Scott. XJ will be a monster too.

 

[jgisland]

I just hope he's going to be half as fun to watch on the court as it's going to be reading his quotes in the paper.

Gordon’s explanation of his eagerness went up a notch . . . or three.

“I’m hungry,” he said. “I feel like a beast that hasn’t eaten yet . . . like a giant that’s been locked away in a cage and is finally getting some air.”

I'm not sure if he'll ever be a big scorer, I read in a few places that he really likes to pass out of the post and get guys involved, which is great if we get actual movement on offense for him to be able to find guys. His interior presence I think will be the biggest addition, he doesn't need to replace Dre's rebounding numbers, because I really think that CU may be a better rebounding team without Dre. The last two years they got used to Dre grabbing everything in sight that they did too much watching and not enough going after (CU hasn't had the best team rebounding stats). As talented and as great of freshman year as Scott had he's more of a finesse post player, Gordon seems like a guy that's going to have a couple fouls a game where a guy may end up in the second row. CU has been missing that presence and while that doesn't show up in the box score, it can't be underestimated.

 

[MtnBuff]

I only saw him on tv but he isn't gonna have a problem on D. I believe he was playing Scott head to head in the one I saw. Anyway, he can develop his O as he goes, he will definitely help out blocking shots, rebounding, and getting buckets around the basket. As Nik said, I haven't seen that midrange J. He will definitely help Scott. XJ will be a monster too.

I saw him live a few times in HS (I work at a school fairly close to Sierra.) He was a good passer for a HS bigman, can't say the same about his teammates, with some of the guys he played with the only way he was going to get the ball was to rebound it.

He wasn't very advanced offensively but then with a few exceptions like Scott most guys his size in HS aren't because they don't need to be. He does have the athletic ability and coordination that I wouldn't be shocked if he has made some major progress offensively and surprise us. I of course haven't seen him practice since leaving HS so this is pure speculation based on what I did see from him.

Even with that he also wasn't a real agressive guy offensively so it will be intersting to see if Tad has to push him to step up on the offensive end. That won't be a question on the defensive end, the HS player I saw was a guy who took pride in his defensive game.

 

[Goose]

Heard from someone that Gordon was responsible for guarding Dre a lot of the times during practice. "I'm not sure Dre got a shot off against him all year."

Offense I'm nervous about, but defensively? The kid is going to be great.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

I just hope he's going to be half as fun to watch on the court as it's going to be reading his quotes in the paper.

Gordon’s explanation of his eagerness went up a notch . . . or three.

“I’m hungry,” he said. “I feel like a beast that hasn’t eaten yet . . . like a giant that’s been locked away in a cage and is finally getting some air.”

I'm not sure if he'll ever be a big scorer, I read in a few places that he really likes to pass out of the post and get guys involved, which is great if we get actual movement on offense for him to be able to find guys. His interior presence I think will be the biggest addition, he doesn't need to replace Dre's rebounding numbers, because I really think that CU may be a better rebounding team without Dre. The last two years they got used to Dre grabbing everything in sight that they did too much watching and not enough going after (CU hasn't had the best team rebounding stats). As talented and as great of freshman year as Scott had he's more of a finesse post player, Gordon seems like a guy that's going to have a couple fouls a game where a guy may end up in the second row. CU has been missing that presence and while that doesn't show up in the box score, it can't be underestimated.

Can't wait to see him handle Bachynski

 

[wyobuff]

Heard from someone that Gordon was responsible for guarding Dre a lot of the times during practice. "I'm not sure Dre got a shot off against him all year."

I heard that too goose.

 

[shang]

i do know this, heard from his dad directly that the last couple of summers, when he was in the springs, was working on his shot w/ none other... NBA great Rick Barry.... how that translates to game time.... who knows?? but I am pumped to see 2013-2014 editon of Tad Boyle's CU BUFFS play!!!!

 

[rolandftw]

Know Rick Barry saw Gordon as a "game changer," when he committed to CU. Felt his ability to block shots was almost unheard of for someone of his height.