Peoplke said GG was going to be a beast on the boards too when he came in. If this kid is really closer to 6'6, the last thing this program needs in an undersized power forward.
Yes they did. And Gift grabbed 7 boards or more 13 times, 9 or more 5 times. Our leader this year, in winning Big East Rookie of the Year, had 7 boards or mor 10 times, and 9 or more 4 times.
Context, context, context. Gift did that on a team of all freshmen, with only 1 other player above 6'6. Moe filled in admirably but GG was the only non-guard or wing on the whole team.
Where were the rebounds going to go? To Phil Greene? To Dangelo?.
Just standing under the basket for a full game there were going to be defensive rebounds that literally fell into his lap.
We seem to have this debate every time GG's name gets mentioned. But you're using stats to paint a picture of GG's production that is very misleading. He's not a terrible player and he did have a few big rebounding games but they came in games we lost by double digits.
Look at GG in the close games we played..
OT loss to Villanova 1reb in 30min
Close win v UCLA 2reb 18min
Close Win v Cinncinnatti 5reb
Close Win v ND 6reb
Not terrible, but not the picture you're painting.
Saying he got 10+ boards against Kentucky or Pitt when we lost by 15+ is a poor indicator of how much he contributed.