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Karl Nicholas

717s7e

Well-known member
In many ways, Karl is at the heart of the future of Grizzly basketball. He has improved his game greatly this year, particularly in his ability to put the ball on the floor and drive the hoop - a rare talent among the bigs. A summer working on 3s and free throws should make his a real force next year.
 
He’ll be a great GRIZ, but needs to improve defensively and get his FT percentage up at least 40 points. Right now, you can’t play him late in close games due to him being a huge liability from the line.
 
EverettGriz said:
He’ll be a great GRIZ, but needs to improve defensively and get his FT percentage up at least 40 points. Right now, you can’t play him late in close games due to him being a huge liability from the line.

I’d take 30 points.
 
A little birdie told me he is done and transferring. pissed at his lack of playing time and burning a year of eligibility. Really hope he sticks it out and comes back next year.
 
The thing about little birdies is that they're always chirping.

Look, it's possible Karl transfers. It happens regularly in college BB after all. But I would be surprised. First, he and Timmy are roommates and best buds, and it's absolutely safe to say that Falls is far from negative about the program. Second, he certainly doesn't carry himself like a guy who is displeased and on his way out.

Finally, he didn't "burn" a year of eligibility. He can still RS, and would in fact HAVE to if he transferred. We can argue all day about whether he should have redshirted this season, and I suspect that absent the injury to DD, he would have. But the truth is, UM needed him to play because Donovan was out. My impression is that he's a team guy who understood that.

So all things he considered, I think he stays. But if he goes, I'll wish him well.
 
EverettGriz said:
The thing about little birdies is that they're always chirping.

Look, it's possible Karl transfers. It happens regularly in college BB after all. But I would be surprised. First, he and Timmy are roommates and best buds, and it's absolutely safe to say that Falls is far from negative about the program. Second, he certainly doesn't carry himself like a guy who is displeased and on his way out.

Finally, he didn't "burn" a year of eligibility. He can still RS, and would in fact HAVE to if he transferred. We can argue all day about whether he should have redshirted this season, and I suspect that absent the injury to DD, he would have. But the truth is, UM needed him to play because Donovan was out. My impression is that he's a team guy who understood that.

So all things he considered, I think he stays. But if he goes, I'll wish him well.
Is it? I have no idea how Timmy feels about the program and how much playing time he gets, and neither do you.
 
EverettGriz said:
The thing about little birdies is that they're always chirping.

Look, it's possible Karl transfers. It happens regularly in college BB after all. But I would be surprised. First, he and Timmy are roommates and best buds, and it's absolutely safe to say that Falls is far from negative about the program. Second, he certainly doesn't carry himself like a guy who is a displeased and on his way out.

Finally, he didn't "burn" a year of eligibility. He can still RS, and would in fact HAVE to if he transferred. We can argue all day about whether he should have redshirted this season, and I suspect that absent the injury to DD, he would have. But the truth is, UM needed him to play because Donovan was out. My impression is that he's a team guy who understood that.

So all things he considered, I think he stays. But if he goes, I'll wish him well.
How often are you around him? How many games do you come to from Seattle?

Karl played zero minutes in the NCAA Tournament last night.
 
I hope Karl stays. If he transfers, where would he go? He loses another year of eligibility unless he drops down. Most freshman dont play much, pretty standard. Sophomores similar. If his D is up to par and his freethrows improve he will get plenty of playing time and by his Junior year he and TFalls will be the leaders if this team. Absolutley no reason to transfer. If he does I wish him well but I dont think he will find a better team to go to that will offer him a starting position right off the bat. I think he should stay and compete against Akoh and Dorsey. It will make him better and he just may earn a starting position at some point next year and by his Junior year he may be a star as I think the potential is there.
 
WaGriz4life said:
EverettGriz said:
The thing about little birdies is that they're always chirping.

Look, it's possible Karl transfers. It happens regularly in college BB after all. But I would be surprised. First, he and Timmy are roommates and best buds, and it's absolutely safe to say that Falls is far from negative about the program. Second, he certainly doesn't carry himself like a guy who is a displeased and on his way out.

Finally, he didn't "burn" a year of eligibility. He can still RS, and would in fact HAVE to if he transferred. We can argue all day about whether he should have redshirted this season, and I suspect that absent the injury to DD, he would have. But the truth is, UM needed him to play because Donovan was out. My impression is that he's a team guy who understood that.

So all things he considered, I think he stays. But if he goes, I'll wish him well.
How often are you around him? How many games do you come to from Seattle?

Karl played zero minutes in the NCAA Tournament last night.

Sorry, but big minutes as a true freshman aren't just assumed and beyond that aren't really indicative of what kind of player someone is. A quick glance back a couple years tells me Jordan Gregory played in only 18 games as a true freshman (Griz finished 26-7 that year with a 1st round NCAA tournament loss where Jordan played 1 minute in a blowout). I'm not pretending to know how Karl feels or what he thinks, but I trust the coaches to help him to continue improving to where he is a solid contributor. Obviously Jordan went on to become an all-time great and I'm also not pretending that just sticking it out will make Karl have the same trajectory, but I am saying just looking at his stats at this point in his career he's actually appeared in more games (30). Just food for thought.
 
WaGriz4life said:
EverettGriz said:
The thing about little birdies is that they're always chirping.

Look, it's possible Karl transfers. It happens regularly in college BB after all. But I would be surprised. First, he and Timmy are roommates and best buds, and it's absolutely safe to say that Falls is far from negative about the program. Second, he certainly doesn't carry himself like a guy who is displeased and on his way out.

Finally, he didn't "burn" a year of eligibility. He can still RS, and would in fact HAVE to if he transferred. We can argue all day about whether he should have redshirted this season, and I suspect that absent the injury to DD, he would have. But the truth is, UM needed him to play because Donovan was out. My impression is that he's a team guy who understood that.

So all things he considered, I think he stays. But if he goes, I'll wish him well.
Is it? I have no idea how Timmy feels about the program and how much playing time he gets, and neither do you.

I may know a little more than you suspect I do. But in either event, I stand fully and completely by my post.
 
I have been watching Karl with concern for most of the season. He is obviously a talented guy with huge potential. But he also looks pissed and pout-ty when he doesn't get playing time, as well as when he is taken out of a game. He had a great game in Missoula against the Cats. Since then he had one rotation and scored against Weber, and one rotation and scored against EWU in Reno. He sat the entire ISU game at home and his body language was not good. He stayed clear of his teammates, about a yard behind them, during time out huddles. At the end of the game, as his excited teammates made a run by the student section for high-fives, he went directly to the locker room with a scowl on his face . He gets little or no minutes in the ND and UNC game at Reno. And no time at all against Michigan (in a game when the other bigs were struggling to score inside). He did however look engaged while on the bench in this last game.
I have also heard from a media person close to the team, that Karl's mother is not happy with his PT, and when mommas not happy...............
 
maroonandsilver said:
Karl's mother is not happy with his PT, and when mommas not happy...............

.......and insert themselves in their children’s college sports decisions, they sometimes have a tendency to mess things up.
 
Every college hoops program will experience transition... that's the nature of a college sport where 13 scholarship players (15-16 total) are rostered, but only 8-9 get significant playing minutes. The next two months will involve some "shake down," perhaps some unexpected, for all teams, regardless of any paritcular team's success. In truth, Montana under coach Travis DeCuire has been very stable, due in large part to numerous aspects of the Montana progarm: coaches communicate regularly with their student-players and with parents. If that were not the case, then we wouldn't hear or read statements like those emanating from Fabijan, Ahmaad, Mike and Sayeed (in particular) and others in general regarding the Montana program. Compared to most (if not every other) Big Sky programs, Montana is a true benchmark when viewed from all perspectives.

Regardless, Montana is not inured to reality: some kids may just not fit this particular system, for a variety of reasons.This season, Montana's rotation featured 8 players; but down the stretch it was trimmed to 7. That means that 5-6 players observed/cheered the games from the bench.

I know this, Montana is better off today than the huge majority of the other 11 Big Sky schools. If, for some reason, a student athlete decides to explore other options (I personally know of none) I'm willing to bet there are several on a recruitment waiting list ready to eagerly sign on with the Griz. This team seems very mature and stable. I'm hoping everyone sticks around for the promise of next year.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
Every college hoops program will experience transition... that's the nature of a college sport where 13 scholarship players (15-16 total) are rostered, but only 8-9 get significant playing minutes. The next two months will involve some "shake down," perhaps some unexpected, for all teams, regardless of any paritcular team's success. In truth, Montana under coach Travis DeCuire has been very stable, due in large part to numerous aspects of the Montana progarm: coaches communicate regularly with their student-players and with parents. If that were not the case, then we wouldn't hear or read statements like those emanating from Fabijan, Ahmaad, Mike and Sayeed (in particular) and others in general regarding the Montana program. Compared to most (if not every other) Big Sky programs, Montana is a true benchmark when viewed from all perspectives.

Regardless, Montana is not inured to reality: some kids may just not fit this particular system, for a variety of reasons.This season, Montana's rotation featured 8 players; but down the stretch it was trimmed to 7. That means that 5-6 players observed/cheered the games from the bench.

I know this, Montana is better off today than the huge majority of the other 11 Big Sky schools. If, for some reason, a student athlete decides to explore other options (I personally know of none) I'm willing to bet there are several on a recruitment waiting list ready to eagerly sign on with the Griz. This team seems very mature and stable. I'm hoping everyone sticks around for the promise of next year.

Good points all. Still, the Nicholas situation has been a mystery to me, not only given his potential, but also that in a game such as last night, where Akoh was really struggling, he might have provided a jolt off the bench, such as a lob or two, or anything to break us out of that scoring drought. It couldn't have hurt! When Carolina went into a shooting funk the first seven minutes against Miami in the ACC tournament, Roy Williams brought in an entire second unit. He shook things up, changed the momentum, and it worked. So why Nicholas didn't at least get a few possessions remains a mystery, maybe one that a good reporter can clear up for us by asking the damned question.
 
If Karl want's more playing time he needs to greatly improve his free throw shooting. You simply can not play him in anything resembling a close game with his 33.33% ft shooting percentage. Does not matter if he as at U of M or somewhere else next year.
 
84GRIZ said:
If Karl want's more playing time he needs to greatly improve his free throw shooting. You simply can not play him in anything resembling a close game with his 33.33% ft shooting percentage. Does not matter if he as at U of M or somewhere else next year.
For what it is worth, I watched Karl practicing free throws prior to the ISU game. I believe he hit every one of them. I saw him shoot at least ten or so. Prior to earlier home games this season, he missed most of his pre-game practice free throws. He may have figured something out. :) Also, with Fab's departure, it seems Karl is destined for tons of playing time next season. If Travis starts two post players, it sure seems likely that Karl will be one of them. He is a great talent and I sure hope he stays! :thumb:
 
84GRIZ said:
If Karl want's more playing time he needs to greatly improve his free throw shooting. You simply can not play him in anything resembling a close game with his 33.33% ft shooting percentage. Does not matter if he as at U of M or somewhere else next year.

Yep
 
You can look him up on NCAA stats site. He doesnt have a lot of data. He had about 15 freethrows one year and 9 the other. Shooting about 50% combined. Shot about mid 30's % from three.
 
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