"It's time for Gates to deliver"

[MDW79]

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2010/06/25/its-time-for-gates-to-deliver/

Pretty short read, but the lost weight (more just the effort) is encouraging. The quotes might not mean much to some people, and I can't blame them, but you don't drop 10 pounds without putting in some work. It's not like he was overweight to begin with, 10 pounds is a lot harder to lose than what you may think.

Gates and Cash are the keys to this team IMO. This idea that Kilpatrick will be able to come in and replace what Lance's production last year was may be wishful thinking. If this team is to do anything, I think they need a min of 15 and 8 out of Gates. I hope these quotes hold up and that he finally has figured it out.

 

[psax889906]

I hope and pray Gates reaches his potential, but last year was a bit of a disappointment... not a total one, but certainly he didn't make the strides we all hoped and thought he should...

 

[swg]

For him, it seems mostly mental. Cronin has said that "for Gates, he WAS working hard". It's just not ours or MC's version of effort.

Also, he needs to realize that effort and results are two different things.

One of the more positive possibilities, is that hopefully due to leadership from Cash and JK, the team will gel better, and work harder in the offseason to improve indivdiual short-comings.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2010/06/25/its-time-for-gates-to-deliver/

Pretty short read, but the lost weight (more just the effort) is encouraging. The quotes might not mean much to some people, and I can't blame them, but you don't drop 10 pounds without putting in some work. It's not like he was overweight to begin with, 10 pounds is a lot harder to lose than what you may think.

Gates and Cash are the keys to this team IMO. This idea that Kilpatrick will be able to come in and replace what Lance's production last year was may be wishful thinking. If this team is to do anything, I think they need a min of 15 and 8 out of Gates. I hope these quotes hold up and that he finally has figured it out.

Couldn't open the article, but I will try it later. Computer might be acting up.

Anyone who knows my posts knows I've been on Gates as hard as anybody. If Gates gave the effort he could be a beast. I just will believe it when I see it with him. It is good to see he's made the effort to lose ten pounds. I just don't think he has it in him to have a high passion for the game. You're either born with it or your not. Hopefully he at least finds enough passion in him to play hard for 30 minutes a game and not lose focus in rebounding and committing dumb fouls. Let's be honest if he could box out and not do those stupid reach-ins he would be far more productive and it wouldn't take much more effort than mental readiness. And while that might not make him the force we want him to be on offense it will at least let him earn his minutes and make them useful.

As far as Kilpatrick is concerned. If he gets as many shots as Lance did last year I will guarantee he will match Lance's numbers. Lance played a lot of minutes and took a lot of shots to get his 12 points a game. I'm not knocking him, that's just the facts. If Kilpatrick is utilized as much as Lance was he will easily match his production. I'm not so certain Mick will allow him to take that many shots or play that many minutes unless he is the only one that shows he can make them (and honestly he might be). I think Mick gave Lance too many minutes at times last year, but Lance was easily the smartest guy out on the court last year and played with the most passion. That alone warrants minutes in my book. I think Kilpatrick has the passion for the game and the motor but time will tell if he has the smarts.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

It let me open the article. You're right good quotes. It sounds like his mind is in the right place. That's the first step to getting the rest of him in the right place. I'll take that as a positive. I like that he recognized he didn't play hard last year, that lets me know he knows he can work harder.

 

[swg]

More from that article..

"When we would lose, sometimes I would think back on the game and see what maybe I could have done different that probably could have helped us pull out the win," Gates said. "I want to be the kind of player who has that kind of impact to put the finishing touches on close games."

To make that happen, Gates - with prompting from Cronin and his dad - has dedicated himself to improving his conditioning this summer after averaging only 25 minutes per game last season. He looks leaner and says he has lost 10 pounds since the end of the season.

"I don't want to be no more than around 255 (pounds) or 260 during the season," Gates said. "Last year, I was more in the range of 265-275. I want to be a little bit lighter this year so that I'll be able to play longer at a high intensity level throughout the whole game."

Cronin calls it "cardiovascular toughness."

"It's a term that all the NBA scouts use," Cronin said. "Can he sustain his mental and physical toughness as he runs more up and down the floor? Can he play when he's tired? If he can improve on that, the consistency that he seeks and that we seek for him and that all of our fans would like to see will come."

You need only to look at last year's Maui Invitational to see what kind of impact Gates can have. In three games, he averaged 14.6 points and 10 rebounds and the Bearcats knocked off Vanderbilt and Maryland before losing to Gonzaga in the final.