Chandler Parsons

[WeWinWeEat]

17 points against the Clippers. Even though the Rockets lost, it's great to see him succeed. I honestly never thought he had NBA stuff. Good for him.

[tommyuf21]

After his junior year, I was pretty confident that he had a future. Then, in his senior year, I was convinced.

CP took everything that he had going for him and then worked his butt off to fix the flaws in his game. I like to compare him with his high school teammate. One took on the challenge of getting better and did it and we know who we're talking about.

[REM08]

I like to focus on the players I had accurate NBA projections for. Parsons isn't one of them. Nothing against him, I was just wrong. I thought he was more limited athletically than he is. He's playing very well. Very smart too. One of my favorite recent players you guys have had.

[exiledgator]

Originally Posted by REM08

I like to focus on the players I had accurate NBA projections for. Parsons isn't one of them. Nothing against him, I was just wrong. I thought he was more limited athletically than he is. He's playing very well. Very smart too. One of my favorite recent players you guys have had.

I think his athleticism was suppressed by his brain for a while, but he overcame.

One sees this with 'big thinker' athletes. I believe that CP just had to find a way to both use those smarts to improve his game / while also finding a way to turn them off in a way to allow his athleticism to flow naturally.

Congrats to a great Gator!

[ReggieNelson]

very surprised by his success as well, his game has really improved.

[jsc28]

He was the SEC POY. It's not like he shot out of left field.

[gandergator]

His classmate hero left and that gave him the freedom to express himself.

[Noahtogo24]

Originally Posted by jsc28

He was the SEC POY. It's not like he shot out of left field.

Ha I remember when he won it how many Kentucky fans were upset over it.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by tommyuf21

CP took everything that he had going for him and then worked his butt off to fix the flaws in his game.

How do you know he worked his but off to correct the flaws in his game? Is it the way he raised his FT shooting from 62.5% as a Frosh to 57.8% as a SR? Ooops.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by ReggieNelson

very surprised by his success as well, his game has really improved.

Actually, Parson was almost the same player for Houston last year that he was at UF for his career. He shot a middling percentage from the arc, a low percentage from the FT line, but has the size and athleticism to play defense and offense in the NBA. He always had those traits at UF.

[gatorfansrule]

I have no inside knowledge with him, but I think the major thing for Chandler was gaining confidence. I always felt since I first saw him play that with his height and athleticism at that height that he could end up being a very good player, but his first 2-3 years on campus he seemed to lack confidence. He was the guy who played 2nd fiddle to Calathes his whole career. Once Nick left, Chandler started to gain confidence little by little and into his senior year he looked like a completely different player, which he has now carried on to being successful in the NBA.

[Ahab]

It's always been a confidence issue w/ Chandler IMO. Glad to see he's playing well now.

[tommyuf21]

Originally Posted by InstiGATOR1

How do you know he worked his but off to correct the flaws in his game? Is it the way he raised his FT shooting from 62.5% as a Frosh to 57.8% as a SR? Ooops.

He didn't bring consistent effort during his early years. He would go through prolonged slumps and would disappear for long stretches.

He fought through those issues and became a complete player. While he never licked the free throw shooting problem, he became a much better ball handler, passer and defender while he was UF. I don't know about you, but my guess is that would take work.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by tommyuf21

He didn't bring consistent effort during his early years. He would go through prolonged slumps and would disappear for long stretches.

He fought through those issues and became a complete player. While he never licked the free throw shooting problem, he became a much better ball handler, passer and defender while he was UF. I don't know about you, but my guess is that would take work.

Exactly. Donovan repeatedly praised Parsons for his development. It is easy to look at something like three point percentage, for instance, and say Parsons improved his shot. But Donovan always said that wasn't the real change. What made the difference was how Parsons committed himself to contributing without scoring. He became a dominant weakside offensive rebounder. He became very active on the baseline against zones and in general in his off ball movement. He became a very good defender on the ball. He became adept at reading the ballhandler and jumping passing lanes. He finally developed a midrange shot and the patience to shoot off the ball screen that enabled us to run more of our halfcourt action through him.

All of those things have translated very well to the next level, even though his perimeter shooting is still hit or miss. He won't ever be an All-Star or be a leading scorer in the NBA, but he will have a very long career as a complementary player because he takes advantage of all that halfcourt space in the NBA and works it in a number of ways at both ends.

[MadduxFanII]

Really? We're now blaming Nick Calathes' for Chandler Parsons' struggles his first two years? We're now at a point where we're beyond questioning Nick as a player or a person, we're literally turning him into some kind of lifeforce sucking warlock?

[MadduxFanII]

Originally Posted by InstiGATOR1

Actually, Parson was almost the same player for Houston last year that he was at UF for his career. He shot a middling percentage from the arc, a low percentage from the FT line, but has the size and athleticism to play defense and offense in the NBA. He always had those traits at UF.

I'm curious why you're focusing on last year and not taking into account this season. Parsons has (slightly) improved his three-point shooting and taken massive steps forward at the free throw line: he's now shooting 74 percent from the line.

[tommyuf21]

Originally Posted by MadduxFanII

Really? We're now blaming Nick Calathes' for Chandler Parsons' struggles his first two years? We're now at a point where we're beyond questioning Nick as a player or a person, we're literally turning him into some kind of lifeforce sucking warlock?

I use Nick as a comparison between someone who stuck it out and made themselves and the team better (CP) and someone who cut and run when things got tough (NC).

Parsons was to blame for his struggles, not Nick. CP gets credit though for getting tough and getting better.

[InstiGATOR1]

Actually to me the big thing that happened in the NBA for Parsons was the college 6'3" guard he had to play against frequently in college all but disappeared. Those guys do not exist in the NBA and Parsons does better playing against guys more like his size than small quicker players.

[MadduxFanII]

Originally Posted by tommyuf21

I use Nick as a comparison between someone who stuck it out and made themselves and the team better (CP) and someone who cut and run when things got tough (NC).

Parsons was to blame for his struggles, not Nick. CP gets credit though for getting tough and getting better.

This is insane.

[tommyuf21]

Originally Posted by MadduxFanII

This is insane.

He ran away from Gainesville like a child and as a result will never play in the NBA.

If he had accepted and embraced Billy's coaching and tough love, he would be starting in the NBA. However, that would have taken some guts, self introspection and work. Instead, he took the easy way out.

I'm sure it worked out for him financially. You have to wonder if some day, he may ponder that if he had taken the harder road, things could have been so much better in the long run.