(2023) - PG Gabe Cupps to O$U via Indiana

[ap2345]

9 hours ago, Demo said:

For anyone looking to watch a Cupps game, this one has the added bonus of being Logan Duncomb’s last HS game. Small sample size rules apply, but a couple of thoughts: 1) I’d love to see his measurements, but I’m confident he has plus length. 2) He’s no Jakai Newton, very few are, but he’s a solid athlete. He moves well laterally. He changes direction easily. He has a quick little gear change. 3) He plays within their structure, almost to a fault. He takes a couple of open baseline drives, but otherwise he is hyper-disciplined playing within the offense. As a result, he doesn’t really create much, though his vision is clearly plus.  Will be really interesting to see how much more assertive he gets as he matures. 4) Don’t really have a comp for him off of a single viewing, but the comps I’ve seen in a few  places strike me as pretty far off. He seemed more in the vein of the Jay Wright Arcidiacono/Brunson/Gillespie PG lineage of super efficient, versatile kids who can play on or off the ball. 

Aside: Duncomb was the best player on the floor, Centerville had no matchup for him, and it was coaching malpractice that he didn’t get a touch every trip. If they play through him they win this game.

After watching a couple of games I don't like the Aaron Craft comp. I know I stated that but it came from someone else's evaluation. I agree with you that I don't have a great comp. What I see in this is a sophomore PG who knows his role on this team. It is to protect the ball and get the team in the offense. I would expect that him playing within the structure of the offense is what he was told to do by his coach "dad" in order give his team the best chance to win. I like that because it tells me the kid wants to win and isn't all about himself. He's going to be a PG though because I don't see him as a guy you'd want playing off the ball because he isn't a natural scorer. 

[Demo]

2 hours ago, ap2345 said:

After watching a couple of games I don't like the Aaron Craft comp. I know I stated that but it came from someone else's evaluation. I agree with you that I don't have a great comp. What I see in this is a sophomore PG who knows his role on this team. It is to protect the ball and get the team in the offense. I would expect that him playing within the structure of the offense is what he was told to do by his coach "dad" in order give his team the best chance to win. I like that because it tells me the kid wants to win and isn't all about himself. He's going to be a PG though because I don't see him as a guy you'd want playing off the ball because he isn't a natural scorer. 

Agree that he’s not a natural scorer. But, I like him playing next to a kid like Newton, who’s gotta play with the ball in his hands to maximize his game, because Cupps seems comfortable as a catch and shoot spacing option. They don’t really look like a fit at 1st glance, but I think they could work together very well.

[ap2345]

Ohio State just got a committment from George Washington III. He´s a CG that is ranked in the top 70. He is listed at 6´2 so he´s on the shorter side of height for a CG. 

[Hoosierfanyuh]

51 minutes ago, ap2345 said:

Ohio State just got a committment from George Washington III. He´s a CG that is ranked in the top 70. He is listed at 6´2 so he´s on the shorter side of height for a CG. 

what class

[Stuhoo]

7 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

what class

2023 -- same as Cupps. Also a similar build as Cupps, though he appears to be more of a shooter and a little less of a distributer.

Lots of overlap -- that's gotta be good news for the 'Cupps to IU' odds.

[Demo]

6 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

2023 -- same as Cupps. Also a similar build as Cupps, though he appears to be more of a shooter and a little less of a distributer.

Lots of overlap -- that's gotta be good news for the 'Cupps to IU' odds.

Washington is 1 of the cleanest comps imaginable. He IS Lou Williams. Same body. Same smooth athlete. Completely ball dominant. Same stroke. Same shot hunting machine. Has the floater. They are the same guy. 

[Stuhoo]

6 minutes ago, Demo said:

Washington is 1 of the cleanest comps imaginable. He IS Lou Williams. Same body. Same smooth athlete. Completely ball dominant. Same stroke. Same shot hunting machine. Has the floater. They are the same guy. 

So then, maybe no effect on Cupps's interest in OSU?

[Demo]

1 minute ago, Stuhoo said:

So then, maybe no effect on Cupps thoughts on OSU?

It would have an effect if it were me.  I watched a game of his while I was digging into Kaleb Glenn last spring, and, when I say ball dominant, I mean he didn’t give it up. At all. That may not be completely fair and seeing him play AAU might be a better indicator. But, if I was Cupps, I’m not sure that’s who I’d want to play next to.

[Chris007]

1 hour ago, Demo said:

It would have an effect if it were me.  I watched a game of his while I was digging into Kaleb Glenn last spring, and, when I say ball dominant, I mean he didn’t give it up. At all. That may not be completely fair and seeing him play AAU might be a better indicator. But, if I was Cupps, I’m not sure that’s who I’d want to play next to.

Add in Bruce Thornton being on the roster and that would make me not want to go to OSu if I was Cupps

[Demo]

16 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Add in Bruce Thornton being on the roster and that would make me not want to go to OSu if I was Cupps

Fair point. Would ordinarily think that Washington isn’t an ideal fit with Thornton either, except that Thornton currently plays with Kansan Carlyle, who is similar to Washington, and there is zero question who the alpha is. Thornton’s just 1 of those guys.

[Uspshoosier]

28 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Add in Bruce Thornton being on the roster and that would make me not want to go to OSu if I was Cupps

IU could possibly  have Lander, Bates, JHS and Newton on their roster.  I’m thinking whichever team he chooses probably knows he isn’t a kid  that will start or contribute day 1 but will be a valuable piece later on.   

[Stuhoo]

14 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

IU could possibly  have Lander, Bates, JHS and Newton on their roster.  I’m thinking whichever team he chooses probably knows he isn’t a kid  that will start or contribute day 1 but will be a valuable piece later on.   

For sure. 

I would say it's primarily a potential issue when there are two players with semi-matching skill sets in the same class.

Lander is a true point, but he'd be in his fourth year at IU by the time Cupps would arrive. 

[ap2345]

6 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

For sure. 

I would say it's primarily a potential issue when there are two players with semi-matching skill sets in the same class.

Lander is a true point, but he'd be in his fourth year at IU by the time Cupps would arrive. 

Cupps knows he’s not a day 1 guy but that also doesn’t mean he’s not going to try and prove people wrong. Shoot IU’s staff would love to still land Cupps and Little. He’s going to have to most likely have to compete anywhere he goes but that’s a good thing imo.

[MikeRoberts]

2 hours ago, ap2345 said:

Cupps knows he’s not a day 1 guy but that also doesn’t mean he’s not going to try and prove people wrong. Shoot IU’s staff would love to still land Cupps and Little. He’s going to have to most likely have to compete anywhere he goes but that’s a good thing imo.

When you say things like this, are you talking to Cupps and he’s telling you “that he knows he’s not a day one guy?” Never seen this

[ap2345]

3 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

When you say things like this, are you talking to Cupps and he’s telling you “that he knows he’s not a day one guy?” Never seen this

Multiple people have said this. I’ve heard it from people. Rabby has hinted at it. It’s pretty well known but that doesn’t mean he won’t try and compete to be. He’s just more likely to really contribute in years 3 and 4

[Gnet550]

12 hours ago, ap2345 said:

Multiple people have said this. I’ve heard it from people. Rabby has hinted at it. It’s pretty well known but that doesn’t mean he won’t try and compete to be. He’s just more likely to really contribute in years 3 and 4

That’s how I’d see him too….Frosh year probably works on body and adjusts to the speed, plays sparingly…Soph year primary backup ball handler plays 12-15 minutes a game, picks up strong at the end of the year…junior year, lead distributing PG borderline all conf…senior year, fearless leader all conf…just my two cents

[Uspshoosier]

11 hours ago, MikeRoberts said:

When you say things like this, are you talking to Cupps and he’s telling you “that he knows he’s not a day one guy?” Never seen this

Kids are not going to go into a situation and voluntarily say they know they are not a day 1 guy.   He is going by what what others have said their opinion is on the matter.   Always tricky forecasting what any recruit will be while they still have a junior and senior year of high school to play.     Also would depend on where he ended up going.   If he went to Stanford my guess would be that he would be good enough to be a day one guy.    When IU was recruiting Tyrell Terry a few years back many on here wondered why IU was going after him at the time and that he would take time to develop and was a backup plan.     He ended up going to Stanford and started day 1 and was probably one of their best players and ended up a one and done.    

[Stuhoo]

 

Yeah -- ya never know. Hanner Perea and Jeremy Hollowell were supposed to be "day one guys." They showed they weren't on the court. By the time Hollowell was a junior at Georgia State he was ready ... for that level. Perea never wasdid become ready, even when he started at ETSU. 

Victor was supposed to be a developmental project. He pretty much a day one guy, though on a bad team, because of defense and energy. 

I think this is an easy one for coaches; they generally tell kids "prove that you deserve minutes."  Straightforward--applicable to all--truthful. Five star freshmen almost always do just that. Low four star/high three stars like Cupps tend to need more time, but the proof is in the pudding.

 

[Gnet550]

Wasn’t sure to put this here or Jakai’s page but figured since Jakai  already committed it made sense here

[Uspshoosier]