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Mali vs Latvia YouTube highlights: Coulibaly #12 in white

Anyone got his stats for the game? Latvia didn't look that strong, they ran a very orthodox offense.

Coulibaly was Mali's game mvp and the leading scorer for both teams with 22 points. Also had 6 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.

Watching entire game replay. He runs the floor well. Limited hops and lacking a strong inside game at the hoop. Not a great rebounder. Plays facing the hoop, jump-shooter (mostly fall-aways) with range out to 3-point distance. Shoots FTs well.

A true face the basket forward (a 4/3 guy), IMHO, from what I have watched. Absolutely not a post player. I would not expect to see him on the floor next season as a solitary big. That role will strictly go to Brown, Hamilton and Chukwuka (if or when healthy), IMHO.
 
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Coulibaly was Mali's game mvp and the leading scorer for both teams with 22 points. Also had 6 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.

Watching entire game replay. He runs the floor well. Limited hops and lacking a strong inside game at the hoop. Not a great rebounder. Plays facing the hoop, jump-shooter (mostly fall-aways) with range out to 3-point distance. Shoots FTs well.

A true face the basket forward (a 4/3 guy), IMHO, from what I have watched. Absolutely not a post player. I would not expect to see him on the floor next season as a solitary big. That role will strictly go to Brown, Hamilton and Chukwuka (if or when healthy), IMHO.
Pretty much the same take I had from seeing him in person last month.
 
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Coulibaly was Mali's game mvp and the leading scorer for both teams with 22 points. Also had 6 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.

Watching entire game replay. He runs the floor well. Limited hops and lacking a strong inside game at the hoop. Not a great rebounder. Plays facing the hoop, jump-shooter (mostly fall-aways) with range out to 3-point distance. Shoots FTs well.

A true face the basket forward (a 4/3 guy), IMHO, from what I have watched. Absolutely not a post player. I would not expect to see him on the floor next season as a solitary big. That role will strictly go to Brown, Hamilton and Chukwuka (if or when healthy), IMHO.

He has rebounded very well for his size at the high prep level. He has very long arms and good hands. He uses his body well to compensate for not having high end explosive athleticism (his fall away jumper). He also drew fouls at will last season.

He walks on campus as the most skilled big on the team- unless Hamilton is that guy. He would have been starting for Pitt last season.

He kind of reminds me of young Chevy at times. Only 18 until December 23rd- his best days are ahead of him.

I'm not a fan of a catapult jumper but no one will mess with it at this stage.
 
He has rebounded very well for his size at the high prep level. He has very long arms and good hands. He uses his body well to compensate for not having high end explosive athleticism (his fall away jumper). He also drew fouls at will last season.

He walks on campus as the most skilled big on the team- unless Hamilton is that guy. He would have been starting for Pitt last season.

He kind of reminds me of young Chevy at times. Only 18 until December 23rd- his best days are ahead of him.

I'm not a fan of a catapult jumper but no one will mess with it at this stage.
That’s a much more optimistic take than I would have but I sure hope you are right on.
 
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That’s a much more optimistic take than I would have but I sure hope you are right on.

On this year's team, I think he will play about 15 minutes a game. Maybe more if his defense becomes more consistent.

In the way, way back time machine- I also said Cam Johnson was the most skilled player on Pitt's team during his true freshman year.
 
On this year's team, I think he will play about 15 minutes a game. Maybe more if his defense becomes more consistent.
That could be reasonable. I think much will depend on other players.

Trey and X will play big minutes and I’ve heard good things about Murphy. So the question there is if any of these minutes sneak into the three spot (like last year when Sidy was in the court with X and Trey.)

From there, what happens at the three? If Drumgoole is legit, does AD still play plenty at the four?

If so, does this leave much time for Karim there.

As I’ve said, I see Hamilton and Brown taking all of the minutes at the five.

Could Karim find 15 mpg through all of this? Sure.

The best case scenario though is that he plays 15 minutes a game because Capel wants him on the court — not simply because we need players to take the minutes.
 
That could be reasonable. I think much will depend on other players.

Trey and X will play big minutes and I’ve heard good things about Murphy. So the question there is if any of these minutes sneak into the three spot (like last year when Sidy was in the court with X and Trey.)

From there, what happens at the three? If Drumgoole is legit, does AD still play plenty at the four?

If so, does this leave much time for Karim there.

As I’ve said, I see Hamilton and Brown taking all of the minutes at the five.

Could Karim find 15 mpg through all of this? Sure.

The best case scenario though is that he plays 15 minutes a game because Capel wants him on the court — not simply because we need players to take the minutes.

I liked what I saw today from Coulibaly and I think he will see some PT. I am not sure how much time since I am convinced he is not at all suitable to play the post at the ACC level. I believe he will need to get all but some “garbage time” minutes playing as a forward when someone else (e.g., Brown, Hamilton or Chukwuka) is in the game at the same time playing the post.

If Toney gets some time at the wing (3) I could see Coulibaly getting the minutes Toney gives up at the 4 spot. Could that be close to 13 to 15 minutes? I don’t know.

I think it will be instructive to see how and where Capel plays him during the Italy trip.
 
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I liked what I saw today from Coulibaly and I think he will see some PT. I am not sure how much time since I am convinced he is not at all suitable to play the post at the ACC level. I believe he will need to get all but some “garbage time” minutes playing as a forward when someone else (e.g., Brown, Hamilton or Chukwuka) is in the game at the same time playing the post.

If Toney gets some time at the wing (3) I could see Coulibaly getting the minutes Toney gives up at the 4 spot. Could that be close to 13 to 15 minutes? I don’t know.

I think it will be instructive to see how and where Capel plays him during the Italy trip.
I think it all depends upon matchups.
And we've seen Capel used a fair amount of zone.
I'd imagine we will continue to use zone on defense depending upon game situation and personnel in the game.
Also after watching Coulibaly play I think he'd actually be nice in the middle against a zone, for many reasons, he sets good picks up top,
He is calm.
He likes the elbow shot. He seems to pass well.
 
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I think it all depends upon matchups.
And we've seen Capel used a fair amount of zone.
I'd imagine we will continue to use zone on defense depending upon game situation and personnel in the game.
Also after watching Coulibaly play I think he'd actually be nice in the middle against a zone, for many reasons, he sets good picks up top,
He is calm.
He likes the elbow shot. He seems to pass well.

Yes anyone with some height and a good jumper from foul line and elbows will help us a lot vs a zone like Cuse’s when Brown, Hamilton or Chukwuka occupy the opponents center down low.
 
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I watched the film and formed no conclusion at this point. The team they beat was
an undersized bunch of jump shooting white guys who looked like they spent
their time learning how to play in their driveways. I want to see him up against
like sized forwards who are as athletic as he, and who have an inside game.
As others mentioned, he doesn't appear to be a Center, but that's fine with
me since we now have Hamilton to share minutes with Brown. I've already
posted that I'm hoping he can play alongside one of our Bigs. How will he
get his minutes?......That depends on how he competes with Toney and
Champagnie. If those three are ready to play, we're gonna be much better
because we had nothing after Toney last season.....Ellison hustled but
produced very little. If those three can all give us minutes with the two
revolving Bigs, we just might have an inside presence this coming season.
 
They play Canada tomorrow morning at 0645. We can watch live or later on u-tube. Don’t know if Canada is better than Latvia, though.
 
They play Canada tomorrow morning at 0645. We can watch live or later on u-tube. Don’t know if Canada is better than Latvia, though.
Canada is the #2 overall seed in the tournament. For reference, Latvia was the #16 seed, and Mali is somewhere in the #20’s. Given that Mali was playing without the four-star forward who signed with Gonzaga, Mali’s win today over a much higher ranked team was considered to be a major upset. Coulibaly was very impressive, and showed flashes of why as recently as last year he was a top 100 player. I’m very excited to see him at Pitt.
 
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Coulibaly will be talented enough to play the 4 in a big lineup and the 5 with a small lineup. I watched him in high school and where he will really help us is his defensive lateral movement. He can switch on pick and rolls, hedge and recovery back to his man quickly. On offense, he can post up and turn his position into a face up threat or use angles to get to his jump hook or turn around jumper. I’ve watched him and the only things he lack are ACC level strength (which he will gain very quickly with the strength coach) and elite athleticism or leaping ability. However, he has the motor to do it. He will be just fine.
 
On this year's team, I think he will play about 15 minutes a game. Maybe more if his defense becomes more consistent.

In the way, way back time machine- I also said Cam Johnson was the most skilled player on Pitt's team during his true freshman year.
I absolutely will not discount his being able to develop into a solid contributor over time, but it is instructive to note Cam did in fact redshirt, and still needed time to develop once he started seeing pt.
Just saying I have modest expectations for Coulibalys contributions this upcoming season, especially once the ACC grind starts.
 
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I absolutely will not discount his being able to develop into a solid contributor over time, but it is instructive to note Cam did in fact redshirt, and still needed time to develop once he started seeing pt.
Just saying I have modest expectations for Coulibalys contributions this upcoming season, especially once the ACC grind starts.
Cam probably weighted 160 lbs as a freshman , he was a rail and in no way ready to play and compete as a freshman . He showed a nice stroke and the potential to be a very good player , but Pitt also had better players on the roster at that time . There was a lot of hype about his potential especially when JD put it out there that it wouldn’t surprise him if Cam played in the NBA someday .
JC doesn’t have the luxury to spoon feed the freshman with this roster , especially Coulibaly due to the lack of team size . Expecting to see Chewy play any significant pt this yr seems unlikely leaving only TB and Brown with size which means Coulibaly needs to play . The only way he doesn’t see significant pt is if he’s really overmatched .
 
Cam probably weighted 160 lbs as a freshman , he was a rail and in no way ready to play and compete as a freshman . He showed a nice stroke and the potential to be a very good player , but Pitt also had better players on the roster at that time . There was a lot of hype about his potential especially when JD put it out there that it wouldn’t surprise him if Cam played in the NBA someday .
JC doesn’t have the luxury to spoon feed the freshman with this roster , especially Coulibaly due to the lack of team size . Expecting to see Chewy play any significant pt this yr seems unlikely leaving only TB and Brown with size which means Coulibaly needs to play . The only way he doesn’t see significant pt is if he’s really overmatched .
OK. Then chevy, or Gray, etc.
Again, I am not knocking him, or trying to say he can't be a decent, or even good, player.
I also fully recognize the lack of depth you note.
Just noting that it is not likely that he will be ready to actually help the team win games much over the course of this season, particularly as the ACC grind progresses.
Hamilton replaces Kene. That is who you are going to see a C the last half of the season, whoever is working best out of those two. Coulibaly might see a few minutes there if one of them get hurt or in a blowout.
Again, if no one gets hurt, X and Trey are going to play at least how much they played last year, Trey will probably play a little more. Murphy is going to get at least the minutes that NDir got. So, there will be some time you will see all three out there.
Toney similarly is going to see an uptick in minutes, and likely mostly at PF again if Drumgoole can give them good minutes at SF, and Champagnie will likely see time at PF, too, cause he just does not have the skill set to help on the wing at this point.
I know people want to think they HCJC will put out a big body at PF just to out a big body out there, but the depth does not support that, they only have three "big bodies" now with Coulibaly. But, more importantly, Toney's experience and skill for the PF spot will force his hand.
Just going to be more likely when they are trying to grind out wins in the ACC that he will use X, Trey, Murphy and Drumgoole if he is ready to play, at the 1 to 3 and Toney at the PF than leaving Murphy and Drumgoole on the bench to play Toney at SF just get Drumgoole in at PF.
 
Playing in this type of environment can only help and strengthen him as a player especially when they go to Italy. The experience he is getting is so valuable to his development that he won't be scared to play when his number is called.
 
Mali beat Canada this morning in what’s pretty clearly the biggest upset of the tournament, as Canada was the #2 overall seed and the defending champion. Mali is still playing without four star forward and Gonzaga signee Oumar Ballo.

Coulibaly had a tough day shooting the ball - only 6 points on under 25% from the floor, including 0-7 from three - but he did have 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks. Also of note, former target Tyrese Samuel played for about four minutes for Canada, and recorded a rebound.

Edit - looks like someone else already posted much of this!
 
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Mali beat Canada this morning in what’s pretty clearly the biggest upset of the tournament, as Canada was the #2 overall seed and the defending champion. Mali is still playing without four star forward and Gonzaga signee Oumar Ballo.

Coulibaly had a tough day shooting the ball - only 6 points on under 25% from the floor, including 0-7 from three - but he did have 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks. Also of note, former target Tyrese Samuel played for about four minutes for Canada, and recorded a rebound.

Edit - looks like someone else already posted much of this!

Not a great shooting day for Coulibaly, but he did rebound..... 11, which was
third best on his team. He also had steals, blocks, and assists (4). He's not
going to have to score a lot for us, but if he can rebound and play D as the
third Big.....that alone will make us better.
My guess is he'll not be used much as the only Big on the floor, but will play
occasionally alongside our two Bigs. How much he plays will IMO
depend on what Toney gives us, and how he competes with Champagnie.
Again, these games give us a glimpse, but we won't get a REAL look
until Italy where we'll see him against older, better, and more experienced
players. We'll also get a look at how he does in our lineup and in our
system.
 
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OK. Then chevy, or Gray, etc.
Again, I am not knocking him, or trying to say he can't be a decent, or even good, player.
I also fully recognize the lack of depth you note.
Just noting that it is not likely that he will be ready to actually help the team win games much over the course of this season, particularly as the ACC grind progresses.
Hamilton replaces Kene. That is who you are going to see a C the last half of the season, whoever is working best out of those two. Coulibaly might see a few minutes there if one of them get hurt or in a blowout.
Again, if no one gets hurt, X and Trey are going to play at least how much they played last year, Trey will probably play a little more. Murphy is going to get at least the minutes that NDir got. So, there will be some time you will see all three out there.
Toney similarly is going to see an uptick in minutes, and likely mostly at PF again if Drumgoole can give them good minutes at SF, and Champagnie will likely see time at PF, too, cause he just does not have the skill set to help on the wing at this point.
I know people want to think they HCJC will put out a big body at PF just to out a big body out there, but the depth does not support that, they only have three "big bodies" now with Coulibaly. But, more importantly, Toney's experience and skill for the PF spot will force his hand.
Just going to be more likely when they are trying to grind out wins in the ACC that he will use X, Trey, Murphy and Drumgoole if he is ready to play, at the 1 to 3 and Toney at the PF than leaving Murphy and Drumgoole on the bench to play Toney at SF just get Drumgoole in at PF.

"Hamilton replaces Kene. That is who you are going to see a C the last half of the season, whoever is working best out of those two."

Agree, unless Chukwuka is fully recovered by then.

"I know people want to think they HCJC will put out a big body at PF just to out a big body out there . . . . . . . . . more importantly, Toney's experience and skill for the PF spot will force his hand."

Agree to the extent HCJC will not put a big body at PF just to put a big body there.

On the other hand, I don't think Toney will get as many minutes at PF as last year unless Chukwuka is really truly out for the entire season. If he is back at some point and there are then 4-bigs then I think Coulibaly will see 10-15 minutes at PF backing-up Toney with Toney grabbing some minutes at the 3.


"Just going to be more likely when they are trying to grind out wins in the ACC that he will use . . . . .Toney at the PF [rather] than leaving Murphy and Drumgoole on the bench to play Toney at SF just [to] get
Drumgoole [assume you mean Coulibaly here not Drumgoole] in at PF."

I don't believe the situation is as "cut and dried" as you appear to suggest. It seems a lot more fluid to me. Although I don't believe Coulibaly will be getting starters minutes at the PF; I also don't believe he will be a near total bench warmer getting only garbage garbage time, blowout or injury minutes playing out of position for his skill set at Center.

In any event, Italy will tell us more and the OOC schedule even more about what HCJC will actually do.
 
Its pretty funny never would've guessed I'd be rooting for Mali basketball in my life.
 
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Rough game for AKC but the points he made were cool.
That lil right hand baby hook was nice.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but Pitt didn't have a scoring problem last year they had a rebounding problem.
From his 2 game stats that is -17 rebounds or 8.5 a game. How many more games would Pitt have won with 8 more rebounds , heck just 5 more rebounds. That would have put Pitt in the NIT at least.
So forget the playing time assumptions and all that mess.
He is here to rebound starter or not. That's what Capel (and Pitt) needed that's what he recruited, that's what he got.
 
For those of you who nothing about Mali, it's a landlocked country in northwest Africa. And its most famous city is Timbuktu. Most people have heard of the city, but few know it's in Mali.

And now, back to basketball....
 
"Hamilton replaces Kene. That is who you are going to see a C the last half of the season, whoever is working best out of those two."

Agree, unless Chukwuka is fully recovered by then.

"I know people want to think they HCJC will put out a big body at PF just to out a big body out there . . . . . . . . . more importantly, Toney's experience and skill for the PF spot will force his hand."

Agree to the extent HCJC will not put a big body at PF just to put a big body there.

On the other hand, I don't think Toney will get as many minutes at PF as last year unless Chukwuka is really truly out for the entire season. If he is back at some point and there are then 4-bigs then I think Coulibaly will see 10-15 minutes at PF backing-up Toney with Toney grabbing some minutes at the 3.


"Just going to be more likely when they are trying to grind out wins in the ACC that he will use . . . . .Toney at the PF [rather] than leaving Murphy and Drumgoole on the bench to play Toney at SF just [to] get
Drumgoole [assume you mean Coulibaly here not Drumgoole] in at PF."

I don't believe the situation is as "cut and dried" as you appear to suggest. It seems a lot more fluid to me. Although I don't believe Coulibaly will be getting starters minutes at the PF; I also don't believe he will be a near total bench warmer getting only garbage garbage time, blowout or injury minutes playing out of position for his skill set at Center.

In any event, Italy will tell us more and the OOC schedule even more about what HCJC will actually do.

Payside, folks are intimating that Kene's injury really is putting his ability to play this upcoming season up in the air.

Definitely won't be ready to play at the start of the season, and real unsure if/when he will be able to play.

That is factoring into my thinking.

IF he somehow gets healthy enough to really be able to contribute on game day, with the addition of Hamilton, it could change the math some.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but Pitt didn't have a scoring problem last year they had a rebounding problem.
From his 2 game stats that is -17 rebounds or 8.5 a game. How many more games would Pitt have won with 8 more rebounds , heck just 5 more rebounds. That would have put Pitt in the NIT at least.
So forget the playing time assumptions and all that mess.
He is here to rebound starter or not. That's what Capel (and Pitt) needed that's what he recruited, that's what he got.

In fact, in ACC play, Pitt was:

8th in rebounding offense
12th in rebounding defense
5th in offensive rebounds
10th in defensive rebounds
10th in rebounding margin
http://theacc.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2018

10th in scoring average
http://theacc.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2018

That said, yes, I do believe he could be a big man that posts good rebounding numbers over time.

I just want to set reasonable expectations for what he might help the team do next year.
 
For those of you who nothing about Mali, it's a landlocked country in northwest Africa. And its most famous city is Timbuktu. Most people have heard of the city, but few know it's in Mali.

And now, back to basketball....
Cheerleaders at a Timbuktu High School basketball game:

"Timbuktu, now we want two! Timbuktu, now we want two! Timbuktu, now we want two!"
 
In fact, in ACC play, Pitt was:

8th in rebounding offense
12th in rebounding defense
5th in offensive rebounds
10th in defensive rebounds
10th in rebounding margin
http://theacc.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2018

10th in scoring average
http://theacc.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2018

That said, yes, I do believe he could be a big man that posts good rebounding numbers over time.

I just want to set reasonable expectations for what he might help the team do next year.
Obviously we can get better at rebounding but I did not find that to be even close to our biggest issue.
 
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