Is Maia Aaron Gray as a Freshman? The way he takes up space,runs and

[mdpitt]

shoots the ball. He might just be a gem for Pitt this year. We could have used a Gray for the last five years.

 

[passedout]

Maia is a sr. If hes playing like a frosh thats not good. From what I saw against Gannon he was badly out of shape. He did keep some balls alive though. I thinl once he gets his legs under him he will help on the boards. I dont look for any offensive production from him.

 

[wbrpanther]

shoots the ball. He might just be a gem for Pitt this year. We could have used a Gray for the last five years.

I'll say one thing. He is a foul magnet. Every time he moved the whistle blew.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Maia looked a bit better in this game then he has. Saw him doing a nice job on the hedge. Still a ways to go in getting into shape and into the swing of things.

Yeah, he will be needed if ANO cannot get his foul situation under control.

 

[JD1976]

Except Maia is a SR and Gray couldn't walk and chew gum until his JR season.

 

[Piranha]

Maia is 4 inches shorter than Gray. If he gets into shape, then he could be a decent backup Center.

 

[Chaos]

I don't have high hopes for him. I hope that I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[Jeffburgh]

Maia is 4 inches shorter than Gray. If he gets into shape, then he could be a decent backup Center.

Right ... gray also developed a really sweet post game offensively.
Outside of skin tone, I dont see it .

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I don't know about that .
People pretend gray was some oaf...
His problem early on was conditioning , he always has good hands and skills. He just wasn't capable of playing extended minutes .

Maia is likewise out of shape ... But doesn't have Aaron's skill set

 

[NTOP]

shoots the ball. He might just be a gem for Pitt this year. We could have used a Gray for the last five years.

I'm not sure he's at 100%, but he's not close to Aaron Gray in any way.

 

[wbrpanther]

shoots the ball. He might just be a gem for Pitt this year. We could have used a Gray for the last five years.

The main thing we are looking for out of Luther, Odoba and Maia is 15 fouls of which none are on Mike Young.

 

[Jeffburgh]

The main thing we are looking for out of Luther, Odoba and Maia is 15 fouls of which none are on Mike Young.

IMO, early returns are that ANO actually might be a player. They probably are better off if he plays 20 or so minutes vs the other two at thisnpoint.

 

[thebadby2]

I don't know about that .
People pretend gray was some oaf...
His problem early on was conditioning , he always has good hands and skills. He just wasn't capable of playing extended minutes .

Maia is likewise out of shape ... But doesn't have Aaron's skill set

Gray didn't come to Pitt with the offensive post game that he left with. Not even close. If ever there was an example of a player who developed at Pitt with hard work and good coaching, he's it.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Gray didn't come to Pitt with the offensive post game that he left with. Not even close. If ever there was an example of a player who developed at Pitt with hard work and good coaching, he's it.

I seem to remember him playing extended sub minutes against a great uconn front court due to Taft foul trouble earlly on an Aaron more than holding his own .

Maybe I'm misremembering .

 

[Jeffburgh]

There was a lot of chatter that gray was the better big man those first two years while taft was still on the team.

Times were a little different, the team was more settled and taft was more ready to contribute day one - I am sure Gray wprked on/was coached up on his game, but he definitely changed his body for the better his underclass years.

 

[Harve74]

There was a lot of chatter that gray was the better big man those first two years while taft was still on the team.

Times were a little different, the team was more settled and taft was more ready to contribute day one - I am sure Gray wprked on/was coached up on his game, but he definitely changed his body for the better his underclass years.

Actually, the chatter was that in the pre-season when both were incoming freshmen, Gray was BETTER than Taft. The plan had been to redshirt Gray but he did so well in practices that plan was scrapped. If I remember correctly, Gray started the first exhibition gsme ahead of Taft, but once the lights went on, Taft's athleticism came to the front snd he quickly passed Aaron.

Gray did have one very good performance late in the season. I'm too lazy right now to look it up but I think he scored something like 16 points against Villanova. His post moves were always there. His problem was strength and conditioning.

I think conditioning and the speed of P-5 ball are Maia's problems. Plus, Aaron was a legit 7-footer, actually the ONLY guy in his class to measure at 7-0 or above at the combine his year. I don't think Maia is any taller than Jeter. He has shown a smidgen of touch under the rim but mainly, as said above, he's here to bump and bang and save fouls on Young. Any boards or points are a bonus.