Zahar Vedishev
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 3:03 pm
I'm trying to confirm but I'm hearing he went home.
Yeah, good luck to Z. At least he will leave us with the Aggie lore of the Russian Rocket Launcher. Best foreign nickname since Thoseberry.AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:09 pmAwww man, my kids and I would look forward to him going in for some garbage time and guessing how many 3’s he could launch in limited minutes.
In all seriousness, I hate to see any Aggie career end like this. I don’t much blame him for leaving though. As the season wore on the less chance I saw of him contributing this year ... and fitting into the long term vision of a Craig Smith team.
Have some faith and patience my friend. Craig has really been talking up shulga and zapala. He did not do that with vedischev.Aglicious wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:36 pmYeah, good luck to Z. At least he will leave us with the Aggie lore of the Russian Rocket Launcher. Best foreign nickname since Thoseberry.AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:09 pmAwww man, my kids and I would look forward to him going in for some garbage time and guessing how many 3’s he could launch in limited minutes.
In all seriousness, I hate to see any Aggie career end like this. I don’t much blame him for leaving though. As the season wore on the less chance I saw of him contributing this year ... and fitting into the long term vision of a Craig Smith team.
BTW, I won't be surprised if none of the 3 Euro's recruited this past year finish their career as an Aggie. I'm not sure which staff member hit up the teenage European national team scene so hard this past season but I think they were clouded by visions of future Quetas dancing in their heads.
I don't purport to be an evaluator of talent, nor even play one on TV, but the few minutes I have seen Zapala play, I have liked what I have seen. He isn't going to be a freshman impact player like Queta, but I also think that he is the kind of guy that coupled with 4 years of Ashworth and Worster will be a solid big.
Some damning generalizations based off of limited minutes. We had more data when people were calling for Marco to never see the floor again.NVAggie wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:39 pmZahar wasn't very good. He was a chucker. I believe he would be best on the BYU roster. Zapala has some talents, but he is a turnover machine. His high rate of turnovers is only eclipsed by his ability to foul. It will be a long process to make him serviceable. Shulga seems like a typical timid Freshman. We shall see with him.
Portugal has worked out pretty well for us. Not just Queta, but Brito as well. I'm volunteering to be the full time Aggie recruiter in Portugal. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. For the team.Aglicious wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:36 pmYeah, good luck to Z. At least he will leave us with the Aggie lore of the Russian Rocket Launcher. Best foreign nickname since Thoseberry.AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:09 pmAwww man, my kids and I would look forward to him going in for some garbage time and guessing how many 3’s he could launch in limited minutes.
In all seriousness, I hate to see any Aggie career end like this. I don’t much blame him for leaving though. As the season wore on the less chance I saw of him contributing this year ... and fitting into the long term vision of a Craig Smith team.
BTW, I won't be surprised if none of the 3 Euro's recruited this past year finish their career as an Aggie. I'm not sure which staff member hit up the teenage European national team scene so hard this past season but I think they were clouded by visions of future Quetas dancing in their heads.
Zahar is actually VERY, VERY talented but he's always been the best player on every team he's been on. I believe he really struggled with being a team first guy.NVAggie wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:39 pmZahar wasn't very good. He was a chucker. I believe he would be best on the BYU roster. Zapala has some talents, but he is a turnover machine. His high rate of turnovers is only eclipsed by his ability to foul. It will be a long process to make him serviceable. Shulga seems like a typical timid Freshman. We shall see with him.
Thank you for your generosity my Aggie brother.LKGates wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 5:03 pmPortugal has worked out pretty well for us. Not just Queta, but Brito as well. I'm volunteering to be the full time Aggie recruiter in Portugal. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. For the team.Aglicious wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:36 pmYeah, good luck to Z. At least he will leave us with the Aggie lore of the Russian Rocket Launcher. Best foreign nickname since Thoseberry.AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:09 pmAwww man, my kids and I would look forward to him going in for some garbage time and guessing how many 3’s he could launch in limited minutes.
In all seriousness, I hate to see any Aggie career end like this. I don’t much blame him for leaving though. As the season wore on the less chance I saw of him contributing this year ... and fitting into the long term vision of a Craig Smith team.
BTW, I won't be surprised if none of the 3 Euro's recruited this past year finish their career as an Aggie. I'm not sure which staff member hit up the teenage European national team scene so hard this past season but I think they were clouded by visions of future Quetas dancing in their heads.
Idk 22, we've seen enough with the 5 minutes of PT that we can make a definitive, knee-jerk call, despite the numerous times you've told us otherwise.aggies22 wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 5:09 pmZahar is actually VERY, VERY talented but he's always been the best player on every team he's been on. I believe he really struggled with being a team first guy.NVAggie wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:39 pmZahar wasn't very good. He was a chucker. I believe he would be best on the BYU roster. Zapala has some talents, but he is a turnover machine. His high rate of turnovers is only eclipsed by his ability to foul. It will be a long process to make him serviceable. Shulga seems like a typical timid Freshman. We shall see with him.
Plus the COViD crap that has eliminated much of what makes it fun to be in college right now. Must make it difficult on all levels. I wish him well.Yossarian wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:12 pmI have to imagine it is very tough to be away from friends and family. Compound this with the frustration of not getting meaningful minutes, and it is easy to understand why one would want to break it off. Not many freshman see meaningful minutes - I wonder if Smith & Co. sat him down to lay out the next three years' worth of plans for the team and Vedischev and he wasn't on board? Still tough to see any Aggie leave. Hopefully he finds a chance to play back home, if the news is true.
IIRC, Gonzaga relied heavily on international players to really kickstart their run that started 20 years or so ago. Gonzaga no longer has to rely as heavily on international players to maintain its success. Not a bad way to build a program, but to be successful it will require Coach Smith to hang around for a few years to generate enough excitement and respect to draw in US players.Aglicious wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:36 pmYeah, good luck to Z. At least he will leave us with the Aggie lore of the Russian Rocket Launcher. Best foreign nickname since Thoseberry.AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:09 pmAwww man, my kids and I would look forward to him going in for some garbage time and guessing how many 3’s he could launch in limited minutes.
In all seriousness, I hate to see any Aggie career end like this. I don’t much blame him for leaving though. As the season wore on the less chance I saw of him contributing this year ... and fitting into the long term vision of a Craig Smith team.
BTW, I won't be surprised if none of the 3 Euro's recruited this past year finish their career as an Aggie. I'm not sure which staff member hit up the teenage European national team scene so hard this past season but I think they were clouded by visions of future Quetas dancing in their heads.
Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
Queta?AggiePT wrote:Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
We have won the Mountain West Conference two straight years. We are in first place this year after losing one of the best players in school history. If you don't think these are examples of recognizing and maximizing talent, then I can't help you.2004AG wrote: ↑January 21st, 2021, 9:36 amQueta?AggiePT wrote:Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
Who else has he “recognized” and then “maximized” ?
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2004AG wrote: ↑January 21st, 2021, 9:36 amQueta?AggiePT wrote:Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
Who else has he “recognized” and then “maximized” ?
I'd add Bean, Brito and Porter to the list. Not recruits but he saw the talent and maximized it.
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Thus far the trajectories for Worster and Ashworth are pretty positive. He essentially took the very same team TD couldn't win with that was projected to finish 8th, added Queta, and won the tourney twice. Porter improved with him as a coach, Merrill improved with him as a coach, as did Brito (vastly). Quinn Taylor got a lot better. Queta has gotten better as well.2004AG wrote: ↑January 21st, 2021, 9:36 amQueta?AggiePT wrote:Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
Who else has he “recognized” and then “maximized” ?
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Smith's utilization/development of Bean shouldn't go underappreciated as with Dorius. Most coaches wouldn't even give a walk-on much of an opportunity to prove themselves. Smith has also shown great patience with Miller in the past and it is paying off this year. Some coaches may have moved on and tried to chase transfers and recruit over him. I think he is taking the same approach with Bairstow and we will likely see him take a big step as his career moves forward as well.Madmartigan wrote: ↑January 21st, 2021, 9:50 amThus far the trajectories for Worster and Ashworth are pretty positive. He essentially took the very same team TD couldn't win with that was projected to finish 8th, added Queta, and won the tourney twice. Porter improved with him as a coach, Merrill improved with him as a coach, as did Brito (vastly). Quinn Taylor got a lot better. Queta has gotten better as well.2004AG wrote: ↑January 21st, 2021, 9:36 amQueta?AggiePT wrote:Smith has made a living off of recognizing potential and then maximizing it. I'm going to side with Coach on this one.hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑January 20th, 2021, 4:10 pmThat includes Smith then cause in his own words Zapala “is going to be a star”.
Who else has he “recognized” and then “maximized” ?
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While I don't know how these Euros will pan out, I think Smith does a fantastic job of getting the most out of his players.