Posted a bunch of this sporadically in the other threads. But after seeing the team in person, here are my takeaways:
Eddie: is hurt. Period. Guy plays with heart and tries hard and is good at what he can do. I’m now a huge fan of his. I’ve come around. However, he is 1) not in shape and 2) is hurt. I’m sure the two are related and he hasn’t been able to get into his best shape. He wasn’t out for initial warmups. He was working his leg and his back when he wasn’t in. When he walked, he had a limp. I take back all my doubts about him from an effort standpoint. However, we have to get the most out of him in the spurts he can play bc he is not healthy. But it was awesome when we were coming back. He was getting the crowd fired up, dapping up Melo and Kiyan, and getting into it with a few UT guys. Didn’t go to him fast enough a lot of times. Or enough times. He needs more touches and he has to be our facilitator more as a point of emphasis.
Jyare: he’s a baller. Needs to be on the floor. He was our best guy moving without the ball. Anticipation level is off the charts. Right-time-right-place type. Like a poor man’s CJ Fair in that respect. BBIQ is awesome.
Donnie: he was cooking when he had a mismatch. His talent is starting to come thru. His shot is still funky a bit in the release. They’ll easily fix it at the next level. He has to play more.
Choppa: same as I’ve said before, not scared. Will need PT to grow. He’s a fighter. Want him to start taking minutes.
Lucas: defense all day. Was in Tre’s shirt. Was getting into it a bunch with him that the cameras didn’t show.
JJ: downhill-all-day should be his mantra. Good at angles, release point, body control.
Carlos: over it.
Bell: most has been discussed. A few final things from me: he needs to be reduced as a focus on O. His decision making when he gets the ball is too slow by a beat - thinking vs doing. He picks up his dribble too soon. And, in person, his lack of strength/slightness is startling. He gets bullied off ball a lot. Not saying he is a bad kid. But he looked like someone who was playing basketball bc he was supposed to, not bc he wanted to.
Coaching: I know the zone had them shook, but they missed some open looks right at the switch of it. With that said, our initial M2M was a complete joke. The coaching isn’t good enough on the defensive end and has to get better. However that comes to bear.
On offense, we absolutely need to push more. We need to be into our action before the other team gets set as much as possible. It allows Eddie to get a spot and big boy his defender and it allows JJ to find seams to get downhill.
Overall: loved the fight in this team. Loved it. I don’t think Carlos can start. He just isn’t capable at this level and it was clear as day in person. The length of runway Bell is getting for his level of effort is astounding. Red needs to reward the guys that are going to fight til the death to win.
I know FTs are the story, but going forward, Eddie, Donnie, JJ, Jyare, Lucas, Choppa have to be constantly in the rotation with big minutes. When Eddie is in, they have to either feed him or bring him up top to help run the O. He and Donnie can high / low. JJ needs the ball when we push to try to get into the seams and get that running one handed he has up way more.
There were clear moments where Eddie, Donnie and JJ, individually, were cooking their guys and the defenders KNEW it.
Lucas wiped the smile right off Tre’s face when he was in. Lucas brings the fight.
Red has some changes to make, but this team should be better.
