Odem Vs. Sylvester

[rebelrebelman]

Ok, I've been talking a little too much about Central, and I've been ignoring what I'm truly looking forward to in the Big 9. The race for #1 between not only between Science Hill and DB, but Josh Odem and Justin Slyvester, the two early season front-runners for player of the year. South looks pretty mediocre this year, and so my interest has turned elsewhere in the Big 9. Back when I went to South, people always got excited about basketball, but since my school days, I started to cool to our basketball program and focused more on the top teams. Of course, I'd be cheering the boys on if they could put a good team on the court, but for now I'd rather get out around the region and see the top teams play. So I should be seeing a lot of both players this year. I've talked to people and they seem to think Slyvester is going to win it regardless of what anyone else does. I hope the voters can be a little more impartial than that. I'm going to keep tabs on both players during the year, giving my opinion on the race. I'm looking forward to it, should be a lot of fun.

[rebelrebelman]

Bump. Yeah, that's right, bump.

[TylerDurden]

I have seen both play and Odem is a little better and will win POY this year and SH will win the conference!

[tricitiessportsfan]

From what I saw on Tuesday in attending the Science Hill/Knox Central and Dobyns Bennett/Farragut games in Knoxville, Chris Smith of the 'Toppers and Ashlon Adams of the Indians may very well find themselves in consideration for Player of the Year honors due to teams focusing on trying to stop or slow down Odem and Sylvester. It will be interesting to watch.

 

rebelrebelman, you can join me anytime at the Dobyns Bennett games.

[rebelrebelman]

From what I saw on Tuesday in attending the Science Hill/Knox Central and Dobyns Bennett/Farragut games in Knoxville, Chris Smith of the 'Toppers and Ashlon Adams of the Indians may very well find themselves in consideration for Player of the Year honors due to teams focusing on trying to stop or slow down Odem and Sylvester. It will be interesting to watch.

 

rebelrebelman, you can join me anytime at the Dobyns Bennett games.

 

 

Thank you sir. I went through the other day and put every game I'm going to attend on my calendar. I'm excited for it to start, I was born for high school basketball!

[rebelrebelman]

I'm going to need some help with this thread if it's going to take off like I hope. I can't be two places at once, only twice this season will I get to see Slyvester and Odem on the same floor. When I watch Odem, it'd be nice to get updates from Slyvester's camp, and vice versa.

 

In the first installment of the POTY race, Odem vs. Central. I'm sure Odem pushed his total to close to 20 this game, I don't have the exact numbers yet. But Odem struggled shooting the ball from the floor in the first half and pretty much did all of his work down low against a disorganized Central defense. His point totals were not very impressive at all. He shot looked off, and at one point, was stuffed by the rim. In fact, Odem didn't even look to be the best player on the court, an honor I'll give to Central's Tyler Devault. I'm downgrading Odem, despite what the box score says, I know what my eye saw. Any word on Sylvester's perfomance?

[crawdad]

I'm going to need some help with this thread if it's going to take off like I hope. I can't be two places at once, only twice this season will I get to see Slyvester and Odem on the same floor. When I watch Odem, it'd be nice to get updates from Slyvester's camp, and vice versa.

 

In the first installment of the POTY race, Odem vs. Central. I'm sure Odem pushed his total to close to 20 this game, I don't have the exact numbers yet. But Odem struggled shooting the ball from the floor in the first half and pretty much did all of his work down low against a disorganized Central defense. His point totals were not very impressive at all. He shot looked off, and at one point, was stuffed by the rim. In fact, Odem didn't even look to be the best player on the court, an honor I'll give to Central's Tyler Devault. I'm downgrading Odem, despite what the box score says, I know what my eye saw. Any word on Sylvester's perfomance?

 

Odem will put up big numbers because the Hill leans on him. Slys numbers will pale in comparison because he has more offensive balance around him and he plays within CMs system. I believe Sly is the better overall player but the nod will go to Odem if the teams are close in overall success. DB should prove to be decisively better and Sly will be the POTY, IMO. I have watched both play since middle school and view both as exceptional players.

[JcToPpEr103803]

Josh and Justin are both very good players, and each plays a style that differs from the other. Justin is a system guy who takes what the defense gives him, and makes plays for his team. Josh also makes plays for his team, but in a more freelancing manner because Coach Cutlip allows him some freedom after teaching him the system for the last 4 years. The head to head matchups will determine POTY IMO. DB-SH are usually the toughest games of the year, and how each player shines will be key. Last year, DB beat SH 4 times, and Odem wasn't a big factor in those games. If SH is to beat DB at all this year, Odem is going to have to play very well. Teams can game plan to stop him, but his length and quickness make physically stopping him a difficult task. Sylvester has more polished and fundamental players around him, while SH has athletic, but sometimes sloppy players complementing Odem. It's a toss up right now, but the way Sylvester played last year, he is surely going to be mentioned as one of the top players in the Big 9, as will Mr. Odem. The POTY race should be very interesting this season.

[skunk3]

I truly think Chris Smith is the best player on the Hill.

 

Roll Tribe Roll

[JcToPpEr103803]

I truly think Chris Smith is the best player on the Hill.

 

Roll Tribe Roll

 

There is definitely something to that, Chris is an outstanding player. He might actually be the best overall "player". Josh is just in a better position to put up bigger numbers when he runs the point and signing with UTC puts him in the spotlight early in the year. Chris is just a terrific athlete, he could succeed at any sport he tried. I vainly tried to convince him to play football before I graduated but spring ball would've interfered with tennis and he is also a very good tennis player. Chris has scored in the 20s in his last 3 games, and was recently named POTW. The article is on tricitiessports.com I believe. Having a D1 signee and a potential D1 signee in 2 different sports is a good problem to have, I can't complain /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[PlayFearless101]

Everyone is saying Odem didn't look that tough, but looking at the box scores, 21, 11, 5 steals and 4 assists sounds pretty tough. If everyone is saying he played bad, then on a good night he might be scary. Plus, if you can get 11 boards and 5 steals you are affecting the game a lot, which is the kind of stuff good players do, if their shot is off, they find a way to contribute.

[rebelrebelman]

Everyone is saying Odem didn't look that tough, but looking at the box scores, 21, 11, 5 steals and 4 assists sounds pretty tough. If everyone is saying he played bad, then on a good night he might be scary. Plus, if you can get 11 boards and 5 steals you are affecting the game a lot, which is the kind of stuff good players do, if their shot is off, they find a way to contribute.

 

 

11 rebounds is nothing against Central, especially with Albright out. 5 steals is nothing with how out of sync Central's offense was. He didn't have a bad game, obviously, but the box scores are misleading. Odem was certainly active, but he was picking on guys shorter than him, and not that much bigger. I wrote that Devault was the best player on the court last night, but he didn't get 1/3 of the touches Odem did. Odem just didn't look like a player I want being named the best in the conference. From just last night, of course.