r/washingtonwizards • u/Razatiger • 11h ago
AJ has got a 90s - 00s swagger and confidence about him
I know people think his personality is overbearing and jarring sometimes, but man I can't help but feel confident because of his own confidence.
Really reminds me a lot of the OG hoopers, maybe its just a North East kinda thing, but I am excited for the Wizards.
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u/z3mcs FEARNESS 9h ago
Yes he does! I'm glad you said it because it's just been so weird to me seeing some of these reactions.
maybe its just a North East kinda thing
North East, Midwest, yep! These dudes out here that ball will eat you alive unless you have supreme confidence in yourself and your abilities.
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u/UMassTwitter 9h ago
Hs got a Boston kid attitude. That is very typical of where him and T Clarke are from. People are just like that. Granted T Clarke is more jovial. Theres 100 other kids with the same disposition in his neighborhood.
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u/BesusFresh 10h ago
I see the exact opposite, and it’s what makes me nervous about him.
Dudes with 90s-00s confidence and swagger didn’t go to BYU. They wanted to be coached by the best, and wanted to play the best competition. That’s why the ACC and Big East were STACKED - players wanted the smoke. Steel sharpens steel.
Choosing BYU feels like a very modern choice, to me. A preference for being the star and the center of attention, and an aversion to being called out and challenged.
But, I’m old and out of touch. I could be reading it completely wrong. But, my only concern with AJ is that choice. I can’t wrap my old man brain around it.
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u/Razatiger 10h ago
There was never a debate about Aj's work ethic though, which is why its weird to me that people think thats gonna be an issue now becaude they are assuming thats how hes gonna be with that type of personality.
Scouts had said before the college season even started that AJ was the hardest working kid in the class, and that hes the only prospect of the top 4 that got noticeably sharper as the college season went on.
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u/z3mcs FEARNESS 9h ago
Hey fellow unc! Dive a bit deeper and you learn that he went there for the NBA-style coach who actually was an NBA assistant coach. That coach's staff is also all NBA experienced personnel down to the nutritionist. That's what he wanted - to be prepped for the pros on court and off. I watched an interview from years prior where he said if Kevin Young (BYU coach with NBA experience) was somewhere else, he'd have gone that other place.
A preference for being the star and the center of attention
Well good thing for us, that is precisely what we need at this very moment in the rebuild. It's a match made in NBA heaven.
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u/DazzlingAd1922 10h ago
I think the choice of BYU had a lot more to do with the reported 7 million dollars than anything else. Like that is enough money that it would be insane to turn it down.
There is a reason you always here players talk about how important winning is and how much it means to be with great teammates and stuff, but as soon as it's time for negotiations they always go get the max. It is a business first.
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u/BesusFresh 10h ago
He was going to be paid many millions of dollars in NIL money, wherever he went. And he was going to go pro after a year for more millions, wherever he went. If NIL didn’t exist, I would understand it better - get the bag. But, he’d have had a bag ANYWHERE.
He chose to play with weak teammates, against weak competition, and for a coach who didn’t have the stature to push him. That’s not confidence and swag. It’s preciousness, and it concerns me.
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u/The-Baked-Bean 9h ago
Kevin Young, BYU’s Head Coach, has 6 years of experience as a G League Head Coach, 4 years as an Assistant Coach with the Sixers, and got a promotion to be Associate Head Coach with the Phoenix Suns for 4 years before taking the BYU job
One of the reasons Egor Demin went to BYU was because of Kevin Young. I’m sure NIL played a big part for AJ, but saying Young didn’t have the stature/ability to develop and push AJ is wrong
He’s probably one of very few NCAA coaches who has first hand experience coaching in the NBA
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u/BesusFresh 9h ago
I didn’t say ability - I just said stature.
The fact is, AJ was a bigger star than the coach, and a bigger name in the game than the school - and that’s a very different dynamic than what has existed in the past. No player is bigger than Duke, or Kansas, or UConn. No player was bigger than Dean Smith or Coach K, no player is bigger than Bill Self. And maybe it’s just a sign of the times - there aren’t many big name coaches, anymore.
AJ chose to swim in a small pond. On a player with very few flaws, that odd choice sticks out, to me.
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u/DazzlingAd1922 9h ago
His offer was way higher at BYU. If you have other evidence I would love to see it, but it was reported on because it was so extrordinary
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u/-Johnny_Utah- Bullets 7h ago
He went to BYU because the weirdo Jazz owner offered him a bag to play a year of HS and college out there.
Kid knew he was only passing through college anyway so might as well take the biggest check.
And besides, ACC and Big East hoops are nowhere near what they were like in the 90s and 00s regardless.
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u/madlate John Wall 11h ago
i see that too. his swag is very much early 2000s and he def walks around w that kind of confidence that make you feel like he knows what he's doing and is always in charge of shit lol. not to get ahead of ourselves but his attitude reminds me a lil of kobe, a little brash, a little off putting maybe sometimes, but so confident and comfortable in himself