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SG Lenzelle Smith (Hapoel Eilat - Israel)

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Yea, I agree BT.

His listed 6'4" is a bit deceiving because he has so much length. He's more of an undersized SF than an oversized PG but his unique style fits Matta's system well.

I've personally not had him in the rotation in my own mind/prediction but the more I see the way that he's transformed his body in the offseason and also considering the fact that he played last year with an injured wrist on his dominant hand , and on top of that Ross being gone, I could definitely see 'Zelle having an every game type of role on this team.

I'm not sure he would play any more than 8-10 mins on average if he does make the back end of the rotation ahead of Spoon, but if he plays good D and knocks down his 3's that would be enough to satisfy me with his role on this team.
 
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I wouldn't say defense was his one glaring weakness. I mean, he wasn't the greatest on-ball defender, sure, and getting into better shape will help him some on that end though he probably still won't be one of the team's better defenders. He was okay last year, not great defensively, and could be respectable (i.e., good enough) on D this year. But not being able to hit the 3 was a big problem for him last year. Hopefully he was being held back by the wrist and will shoot the ball a lot better this year - if he doesn't, then it's going to be hard for him to see the court, regardless of whether he's become a decent defender.
 
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Lenzelle was really good in the practice the other day that was open to the (paying) public. He's really improved significantly, and seems to have put in a lot of work to get his body in great shape and shoot well. I am expecting a great year from Lenzelle, and he deserves a lot of credit for sticking with it and working hard in the offseason. He's got great instincts and now his wrist is healthy we can see how he really shoots the ball - which I think will be pretty effective, although he is selective with his shots (not necessarily a bad thing). His anticipation and length really helps him get in the passing lanes on defense.
 
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Oh8ch;2026469; said:
Are we talking about Smith or Deibler, who shot less than 30% on 3s as a Frosh.
Click to expand...

Smith shot 1 for 8 for the year, and the one he made was banked in. His misses weren't really the same as those near-misses from guys like Diebler and Sibert (whose shots often rimmed out as frosh). But again, you've got to cut him some slack because his shooting wrist was injured.

Matta definitely has done a good job of getting guys to improve 3-point shooting and their defense as they get older.
 
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I finally figured it out....for whatever reason, he reminds me of Ron Artest. Something about the proportion of his long arms to his body and his defending style. High energy and arms flailing about.

Gotta make those free throws, though!
 
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Lenzelle is a baller. We better get used to seeing this, these two pics aren't the same play, they're from 2 different games (JSU & NFU)


11-11-21-MB-0206.jpg


11-11-18-MB-0201.jpg
 
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Lenzelle showed everyone his combo guard skills last night. We have 3 guys that can run the point, and Buford's a pretty darn good ball handler himself. I thought Lenzelle had the assist of the game with a no-look dime through traffic on a frozen rope to Sullinger. It was a thing of beauty.

Interesting thing Matta said on the radio after the game- Lenzelle apparently shuts down when he gets tired. The coaching staff is getting better at recognizing when Lenzelle's getting tired, thus his coming out party. He is the energy/"spark" we've commonly had come off the bench (Terwilliger, N.Dials, etc), except he combines that with great talent and freakish athleticism that gets him on the floor. If he has an off-season like Sullinger just had where he gets in fantastic condition, watch out.

And he's only a Sophomore. I have a feeling we're just starting to get to know Lenzelle.
 
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I like the way he pushes the ball up the court on a fast break. And he obviously is a great finisher around the basket. Hopefully he can add some arc to those free throws, the line drive is not working.
 
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Lenzelle has really made remarkable improvement from last year, one of the biggest jumps we've seen from Year 1 to Year 2 from an OSU player in recent years. It is amazing how much more athletic he is this year than last year. He has a unique combination of smarts, effort, size/length, and skill. Really good at passing the ball, really good at getting out in transition. He's going to be a great asset to this team for the next 3 years.
 
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