Tyrus Thomas: the joke

[GoodAsGould]

They are both similar players at the resepective stages of their careers. Kemp came into the league straight out of high school as a skinny kid with freakish athletic ability, an incredible amount of potential, and not much refinement in their games. Kemp's problem's were two fold, one he was a complete idiot, and two, he let success go to his head. Thomas already seems to be not understanding what he needs to be doing, what is going on around him, and what is being asked/expected of him. How he procedes from this point could very well determine what level of success he will have at the NBA level.

 

I really think thats not as true as some of you believe, maybe he could of done more but if it was really a problem we would of heard something from skiles or something. And I know at times in the off-season Tyrus was spotted with Deng so they had to be doing more than watching WNBA games.

[Steve9347]

I really think thats not as true as some of you believe, maybe he could of done more but if it was really a problem we would of heard something from skiles or something. And I know at times in the off-season Tyrus was spotted with Deng so they had to be doing more than watching WNBA games.

could HAVE

 

would HAVE

[hammerhead johnson]

Steve,

 

You ain't exactly Ernest Hemingway.

 

It sounds like its his dedication and his being unwilling to show up for practices in the offseason and to take an active part in improving his game.

 

But he makes the dumb plays that make him look like he just left high school still, and it's starting to piss me off.

 

If he were anywhere near the talent that LaMarcus Aldridge is right now

 

We have a cycling band of players, two who play their asses off without the great talent in Noah and Gray, and one who just doesn't care who could own this town if he'd just give a damn in Tyrus.

 

I expected some development, some discipline, and not for it to be questioned with Aaron Gray, Joakim Noah, or Tyrus got the more serviceable minutes.

 

Please check yourself. Thanks.

[Steve9347]

You ain't exactly Ernest Hemingway.

 

Hemingway's a queer.

 

Well played, Hammerhead, well played. Regardless, you're going down in TalkBulls fantasy, so does any of this matter?

[southsider2k5]

I really think thats not as true as some of you believe, maybe he could of done more but if it was really a problem we would of heard something from skiles or something. And I know at times in the off-season Tyrus was spotted with Deng so they had to be doing more than watching WNBA games.

 

How many times has Skiles been quoted as saying that they need more from Thomas? I know I have seen articles about needing him to play more focused and more consistantly. I also remember seeing stuff about them being upset that Tyrus didn't work out with his teammates at the Berto Center this summer. What else should be said?

[Balta1701]

How many times has Skiles been quoted as saying that they need more from Thomas? I know I have seen articles about needing him to play more focused and more consistantly. I also remember seeing stuff about them being upset that Tyrus didn't work out with his teammates at the Berto Center this summer. What else should be said?

Well, the other part that could be said is that until training camp started, there were at least positive reports appearing about his work over the summer.

The Tyrus Thomas Celebrity Golf Tournament was held Friday just outside Baton Rouge, La. The event raised about $25,000 for the Tyrus Thomas Foundation and will be distributed to programs that target at-risk youths in the area. P.J. Brown from the Bulls attended, as did Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Thomas' former LSU teammate. Visit www.tyrusthomas24.com for more info.

 

By the way, Thomas has added about 10 pounds of muscle over the off-season and reportedly has been taking 600 to 700 jump shots every day.

There was a more detailed ESPN piece on that same topic but I can't find it now.

[southsider2k5]

Well, the other part that could be said is that until training camp started, there were at least positive reports appearing about his work over the summer.

There was a more detailed ESPN piece on that same topic but I can't find it now.

 

So essentially in the off-season the PR department through softballs Tyrus's way, and when the actual basketball people showed up is when the coverage went south on Thomas... nope, that doesn't make me feel any better about him.

[Dick Allen]

So essentially in the off-season the PR department through softballs Tyrus's way, and when the actual basketball people showed up is when the coverage went south on Thomas... nope, that doesn't make me feel any better about him.

Scott Skiles is a basketball person, here's his quote in the Tribune on October 4th:

 

"I wouldn't read a lot into who's declared the starter," Skiles said. "Much like P.J., Joe has a nice veteran way about him. We need that while Tyrus is still coming on, but Tyrus is, without question, better than he was. Joakim has unique things he can do. It's a matter of how quickly he'll pick things up. So far, so good. But each guy does something a little different."

 

For a guy who supposedly did nothing, its amazing that the coach thinks he's better than he was. I think people misread Skiles a lot. He has his way with pushing players which make people think he doesn't like them or thinks they aren't very good. If Scott Skiles coaches Tyrus the next 2 or 3 years, I really believe he will be a star.

[southsider2k5]

Scott Skiles is a basketball person, here's his quote in the Tribune on October 4th:

 

"I wouldn't read a lot into who's declared the starter," Skiles said. "Much like P.J., Joe has a nice veteran way about him. We need that while Tyrus is still coming on, but Tyrus is, without question, better than he was. Joakim has unique things he can do. It's a matter of how quickly he'll pick things up. So far, so good. But each guy does something a little different."

 

For a guy who supposedly did nothing, its amazing that the coach thinks he's better than he was. I think people misread Skiles a lot. He has his way with pushing players which make people think he doesn't like them or thinks they aren't very good. If Scott Skiles coaches Tyrus the next 2 or 3 years, I really believe he will be a star.

 

You have seen the rest of his quotes, right?

 

This was from two days ago.

 

''He's able to play for longer stretches now without getting totally fatigued and losing focus out there,''

 

Or this from the beginning of camp...

 

''You mean the supposed 700 to 800 shots he was taking a day?'' Skiles said of Thomas, whose conditioning remains an issue. ''It would be nice if he can make perimeter shots, but he's got to be able to sustain effort first through a quarter, a game or even a practice, for that matter.

 

Or this from after their first exhibition game

 

''He and I spent a fair amount of time looking at his scrimmage,'' Skiles said of the video review from the session Sunday at the United Center. ''Basically, he made a couple of explosive plays, and the rest of the time he just stood around flat-footed, and looked out of gas. He knows staying focused every possession, staying in the plays, that's still a part of his game he needs a lot of work on. So it's an important exhibition season for him.''

 

He pretty much called him lazy, unfocused, and out of shape.

 

Heck even the "compliment" you posted was pretty weak.

 

 

[GoodAsGould]

You have seen the rest of his quotes, right?

 

This was from two days ago.

Or this from the beginning of camp...

Or this from after their first exhibition game

He pretty much called him lazy, unfocused, and out of shape.

 

Heck even the "compliment" you posted was pretty weak.

 

Skiles says junk about that about every player it seems.... so I dont see how that makes him lazy. Again you are jumping to conclusions based on very little. A reporter that from what I heard has ripped TT since day 1 and Skiles who calls out every player not named Hinrich.

[whitesoxfan101]

I will say this: the vast majority of Bulls fans wanted LaMarcus Aldridge instead of the potential Stromile Swift 2.0 in Tyrus Thomas. Aldridge got off to a good start tonight against the best defense/team in the NBA, that's for sure. Come back to this thread at the end of the season, as we will know a lot more about both LaMarcus and Tyrus. I just hope all of us that wanted Aldridge over Thomas were wrong.

[southsider2k5]

Skiles says junk about that about every player it seems.... so I dont see how that makes him lazy. Again you are jumping to conclusions based on very little. A reporter that from what I heard has ripped TT since day 1 and Skiles who calls out every player not named Hinrich.

 

Show me where he has said stuff like that about any other player recent.

[Chombi]

It's funny how this teams problem a couple years back was they had "no post scorer" and no "superstar". We had a playoff team but that was the element we were missing. So we draft Aldridge, a gift, since he was a center w/ potential and we got him because of the knicks being terrible.

 

Of course we all know he was dealt for Thomas. I was a wash on the move in hopes of it meaning we had another option for inside. I didn't follow LSU outside of Big Baby so this Thomas guy who came out of nowhere by having a nice run in the postseason tournament did scare me. They said he was "long" and we went without that scorer.

 

So we get bumped from the playoffs again and have the same problem this offseason....Whatd we do? Didn't draft another center w/post moves in Spencer Hawes, we took the fluke nutjob out of Florida because now we are "long". I love that we got AG in the 2nd round but realistically, this "problem", this "last piece" was put on the backburner again.

 

Aldridge went out last night and looked pretty damn good against a very good Spurs team. Obviously it's game 1, and his total points is not what I am getting at. It's the fact that he is a guy we had, who could do what we needed, and we dealt him for length. Thomas is alright but I don't see this potential to be a stud in him. He is a super athlete but he isn't a basketball player.

 

Some guy on the radio compared him to James Worthy. I nearly choked from laughing so hard.

[GoodAsGould]

Show me where he has said stuff like that about any other player recent.

 

The other guys have been here for awhile now, but when they were new you heard crap about Deng and Gordon.. especially Gordon. I've heard lots of positive stuff about Tyrus this off-season including the shooting however many free throws each day and working out with Deng. Im not going to let typical Skiles garbage make me think Tyrus is lazy now, its like how Parcells was in Dallas and always saying bad stuff about Romo lol.

[Dick Allen]

You have seen the rest of his quotes, right?

 

This was from two days ago.

Or this from the beginning of camp...

Or this from after their first exhibition game

He pretty much called him lazy, unfocused, and out of shape.

 

Heck even the "compliment" you posted was pretty weak.

 

From the Daily Herald,

After a month of light suspense, the starting power forward job was given to Tyrus Thomas.

 

"The first four or five days of two-a-days in the Berto Center, that first unit (with Thomas) played really, really well together," Scott Skiles said. "I wanted to take a look at something a little bit different late in camp, basically because we had injuries. He certainly didn't do anything in exhibition to hurt himself."

 

Certainly doesn't sound like lazy, unfocused and out of shape to me. You must take Skiles' jabs with a grain of salt. He is an old school coach who believes in constructive criticism. He tends to exagerrate the negative to get a small point across.

[rockren]

From the Daily Herald,

After a month of light suspense, the starting power forward job was given to Tyrus Thomas.

 

"The first four or five days of two-a-days in the Berto Center, that first unit (with Thomas) played really, really well together," Scott Skiles said. "I wanted to take a look at something a little bit different late in camp, basically because we had injuries. He certainly didn't do anything in exhibition to hurt himself."

 

Certainly doesn't sound like lazy, unfocused and out of shape to me. You must take Skiles' jabs with a grain of salt. He is an old school coach who believes in constructive criticism. He tends to exagerrate the negative to get a small point across.

 

Skiles was blowing smoke about Tyrus not meeting standards. If the Bulls get what they want in the Kobe talks (somehow trading only Wallace and Gordon, which I hope to God happens) Tyrus will become their new stopper inside.

 

This organization thinks the world of Tyrus and rightfully so.

[Chombi]

By the way, Thomas has added about 10 pounds of muscle over the off-season and reportedly has been taking 600 to 700 jump shots every day.

 

 

Rick Mount used to make us shoot 2000. So until he figures out great shooters like RM shoot 5 times the amount, and lil 5th-12th graders shoot 3 times his amount, he is going to continue to be pathetic.

 

And 10 pounds on a guy 6'9'' is nothing.

[Dick Allen]

21 points, 12 rebounds,3 blocks, 42 minutes. Not bad for a lazy, unfocused, out of shape joke.

[DBAHO]

Only 1 game though Dick, let's see how he does now teams know that he's actually capable of pulling games like that.

 

Would still take Aldridge over him in both the short and long - term.

[Kyyle23]

Only 1 game though Dick, let's see how he does now teams know that he's actually capable of pulling games like that.

 

Would still take Aldridge over him in both the short and long - term.

 

In think this thread was a little ahead of itself to be either calling Thomas a joke or saying he is going to be a solid-to-great NBA player.

 

The whole deal with Aldridge was that you knew what you had with him. Low post scorer, rebounder, good size and hands. Everyone knew Tyrus was raw but can see that his potential takes him past Aldridge should he realize that potential. But we all know the double edge sword that potential is and the inherent risk that comes with a player that has to be developed.

 

 

We just wont know what we have with Thomas right away, and posting every game "HE WAS GREAT", or "HE SUCKED" isnt going to sway anyone. Not like that will stop anyone though

 

Regardless, Thomas had a really good night last night. He hit a couple of outside shots, was very active around the basket, kept himself out of foul trouble, and looked to be in control of himself throughout the game. Thats all skiles can really ask of him right now. Sure, he had a few out of control shots after he hit a jumper and a dunk, but he got himself back under control and started playing within the offense again and stopped trying to go one on one every play.

[Steve9347]

21 points, 12 rebounds,3 blocks, 42 minutes. Not bad for a lazy, unfocused, out of shape joke.

Wow, I'm shocked by this.

 

Let's just crown his ass. haha.

 

Seriously, his next 15 effort will probably be in December, but good point, he's erased everything from the past.

[whitesoxfan101]

Tyrus was really focused last night, he ran the offense great and even hit a few 15 foot jumpers. I'm not sure if he can consistently hit the 15 footer yet, but if he plays as focused as last night every game, no reason he can't have 10 points and 10 rebounds every night IMO.

[rockren]

Wow, I'm shocked by this.

 

Let's just crown his ass. haha.

 

Seriously, his next 15 effort will probably be in December, but good point, he's erased everything from the past.

 

Tyrus is the most talented player we have.

 

Tyrus hit four or five 17 foot jumpers last night. If he continues to do that, he'll average 15 pts/game for the year.

 

His biggest problem is getting in early foul trouble, which significantly cuts into his PT. Another problem is how Skiles is all over Noc late in the game and Noc always plays the 4 in the 4th quarter.

 

If Ty can get 35-40 minutes a night consistently, the sky is the limit ALREADY this season for him.

[Steve9347]

Tyrus is the most talented player we have.

 

Tyrus hit four or five 17 foot jumpers last night. If he continues to do that, he'll average 15 pts/game for the year.

 

His biggest problem is getting in early foul trouble, which significantly cuts into his PT. Another problem is how Skiles is all over Noc late in the game and Noc always plays the 4 in the 4th quarter.

 

If Ty can get 35-40 minutes a night consistently, the sky is the limit ALREADY this season for him.

Tyrus followed up his amazing effort with a 2 point, 6 rebound effort... and thus the thread lives on...

 

where you at after that performance Dick Allen? Oh yeah, not showing up, because it takes actual balls to make a statement when you aren't just regurgitating facts and bulls*** that you feel is relevant.

[bmags]

does the entire team suck after that performance then?