coolhandluke
Starter
Fun fact: They went on to clinch the championship that year. Just saying.
SWIPA-MONK 5-0
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Ozymandias
All-Star
Thread puts a big smile on my face. Reminds me of so many things. I still kinda feel like a bandwagon fan around here tbh, but looking back I'm probably one of the first responders to the scene in my bandwagoning, so I'll wear that I guess
.
As a UK/Coach Cal fan I had such fun watching these 2 in college, they were must-see TV, and tbf that was after Jamal Murray was insane the year prior, he left massive shoes for Monk to fill. We had the 39-1 team (with Trey Lyles) the year before that. Coach Cals teams can have the type of talent where ya know Devin Booker comes off the bench, so sometimes crazy talent sorta can seem marginalized to the casual or even hardcore fan. these situations involve so much to try and unpack in a limited window of time.
I can honestly say going into that college season, before a game was played, I was arguing with my friends (some of whom are basketball lifers and have coached future NBA guys in AAU) that FOX was the #1 player in the draft, they were telling me I'm crazy and that Fultz was #1 by a mile.. As the season progressed I bumped him down a few spots, but hey, looking back now, I'm glad Fox had a bit of a coldspell from 3 to start that season, Lonzo only goes before Fox in that draft cuz the Lakers thought he was a better 3pt shooter. (funny aside - that summer I was vehement in the belief that the Lakers should take Tatum #2 and play him at SG between Russell and Ingram, and every Lakers fan thought I was a fool for saying that.The media really does sway opinions in an extremely effective manner its scary tbh.)
But ya know for all the great players and great teams UK/Coach Cal has had, Fox and Monk really stood out as a pair who demonstrated phenomenal chemistry beyond a shadow of a doubt, n they developed that chemistry in one season, as teenagers. It wasnt one of those things where in hindsight it was special,it was apparent that it was special back then, totally abnormal.
I forgot exactly what it was but to me the best play of that college season was when Fox pushed the ball up the court in 1 or 2 dribbles really fast n threw a really long pass to Monk, who was hot as can be, in the left corner for 3, they just had a great feel for each other, not only like understanding strenghts and weaknesses, I mean something rhythmic, it was like watching confidence compounding, trust. What the game is all about. Monk just always had this look about him too when he's on fire. In that game where my favorite play of the season happened Monk had at least 30, it might've been vs UNC but my memory's fuzzy.
I wanna take it back even a few years before that, Monk hit these back to back crazy game winners in Highschool, I recall someone saying "The next Michael Jordan is from Arkansas" this is when some were hopeful Monk would grow to 6'5... At this time Scouting Services were listing Fox as A SHOOTING GUARD n questioning his PG skills and he wasnt yet minted 5-stars he was being gatekept at the top of the 4star players. Fox got his UK offer very late. Coach Cal was concerned about his skinny legs, so the story goes.
By the time the summer of 2017 rolled around I was just so confident in Fox's future in the NBA, I knew Itd be highly entertaining to see his career up close no matter where he landed. He was often compared to John Wall and to me at that point it was obvious he was gonna be better. So that summer before the 2017 draft, I jumped 2 feet first on the Kings bandwagon, with the expectation Fox would be the pick.
Fox has been more of on a steady progression but Monk really had to hit a few speedbumps along the way to get right, which makes it all the better, and here we are, both still young and entering their prime and Monk's locked in for dirt cheap next season. and freaking Trey Lyles is a big contributor on our team too.
I could always ramble on about this stuff n this post jumps across the years in an odd way but I just wanna say that those were all very fond memories for me n I'm so excited not only moving forward but that I get to reminisce about that stuff too. In a world filled with so many crapty news headlines basketball, after the opening tip, there's just such purity to it all. To me Basketball is the best game ever invented, n stories like these really show why.
.As a UK/Coach Cal fan I had such fun watching these 2 in college, they were must-see TV, and tbf that was after Jamal Murray was insane the year prior, he left massive shoes for Monk to fill. We had the 39-1 team (with Trey Lyles) the year before that. Coach Cals teams can have the type of talent where ya know Devin Booker comes off the bench, so sometimes crazy talent sorta can seem marginalized to the casual or even hardcore fan. these situations involve so much to try and unpack in a limited window of time.
I can honestly say going into that college season, before a game was played, I was arguing with my friends (some of whom are basketball lifers and have coached future NBA guys in AAU) that FOX was the #1 player in the draft, they were telling me I'm crazy and that Fultz was #1 by a mile.. As the season progressed I bumped him down a few spots, but hey, looking back now, I'm glad Fox had a bit of a coldspell from 3 to start that season, Lonzo only goes before Fox in that draft cuz the Lakers thought he was a better 3pt shooter. (funny aside - that summer I was vehement in the belief that the Lakers should take Tatum #2 and play him at SG between Russell and Ingram, and every Lakers fan thought I was a fool for saying that.The media really does sway opinions in an extremely effective manner its scary tbh.)
But ya know for all the great players and great teams UK/Coach Cal has had, Fox and Monk really stood out as a pair who demonstrated phenomenal chemistry beyond a shadow of a doubt, n they developed that chemistry in one season, as teenagers. It wasnt one of those things where in hindsight it was special,it was apparent that it was special back then, totally abnormal.
I forgot exactly what it was but to me the best play of that college season was when Fox pushed the ball up the court in 1 or 2 dribbles really fast n threw a really long pass to Monk, who was hot as can be, in the left corner for 3, they just had a great feel for each other, not only like understanding strenghts and weaknesses, I mean something rhythmic, it was like watching confidence compounding, trust. What the game is all about. Monk just always had this look about him too when he's on fire. In that game where my favorite play of the season happened Monk had at least 30, it might've been vs UNC but my memory's fuzzy.
I wanna take it back even a few years before that, Monk hit these back to back crazy game winners in Highschool, I recall someone saying "The next Michael Jordan is from Arkansas" this is when some were hopeful Monk would grow to 6'5... At this time Scouting Services were listing Fox as A SHOOTING GUARD n questioning his PG skills and he wasnt yet minted 5-stars he was being gatekept at the top of the 4star players. Fox got his UK offer very late. Coach Cal was concerned about his skinny legs, so the story goes.
By the time the summer of 2017 rolled around I was just so confident in Fox's future in the NBA, I knew Itd be highly entertaining to see his career up close no matter where he landed. He was often compared to John Wall and to me at that point it was obvious he was gonna be better. So that summer before the 2017 draft, I jumped 2 feet first on the Kings bandwagon, with the expectation Fox would be the pick.
Fox has been more of on a steady progression but Monk really had to hit a few speedbumps along the way to get right, which makes it all the better, and here we are, both still young and entering their prime and Monk's locked in for dirt cheap next season. and freaking Trey Lyles is a big contributor on our team too.
I could always ramble on about this stuff n this post jumps across the years in an odd way but I just wanna say that those were all very fond memories for me n I'm so excited not only moving forward but that I get to reminisce about that stuff too. In a world filled with so many crapty news headlines basketball, after the opening tip, there's just such purity to it all. To me Basketball is the best game ever invented, n stories like these really show why.
Last edited:
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
It’s because he’s not a chucker. He typically plays within the “team” concept until it’s determined time not to.
During the 1st half when the KINGS were struggling to make shots, I was clamoring for Swipa to start attacking the Warrior interior defense. But he was seemingly lying back and pacing himself. Instead it was Malik Monk that took on that role. And thank the basketball gods that he did.
Often I do feel that De’Aaron needs to be more aggressive early on. But if the KINGS have another player or two capable of taking on that responsibility each game, then I understand why he continues to pace himself. It’s been a winning formula most this season.
Also, it’s a lot harder to score 40, 50, 60 points efficiently when expending a lot of effort on the defensive end of the floor, which De’Aaron is certainly doing.
Caccia
Starter
"Golden State had a plan for Domantas Sabonis. It had multiple plans for Fox. But what the Warriors didn’t plan for in Game 1 was Monk."
https://theathletic.com/4417276/2023/04/16/malik-monk-kings-warriors-game-1/?access_token=11304489
https://theathletic.com/4417276/2023/04/16/malik-monk-kings-warriors-game-1/?access_token=11304489
