sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Someone I know attended a recent practice. Here are some observations that were shared with me:
Everyone is indeed in excellent shape. There was a heavy emphasis on conditioning in the practice and no one struggled with the extended sprints the players were forced to run.
The most improved player from last year was clearly Melo, who was constantly hustling down the court, very aggressive on offense and defense and a formidable force inside for the first time. Had a bunch of blocks, was easily the best rebounder out there and even scored some points. Had a couple of beautiful face up jumpers from 10 feet that were NBA quality. Made a bunch of dunks but missed a few too. Still looks very suspect from the FT line.
The scrimmage part of the practice was dominated by Dion Waiters on one side, and by Brandon Triche on the other. Both are lean, moving better than last year, passing the ball well, shooting well from the outside and looking very confident. Dion is able to get to the hole a lot better than last season, is jumping much better. Brandon knocked down a bevy of 3s. Is getting his jumper off quicker. Stayed late to work on his shooting and hit 11 in a row.
Keita has added some muscle to his arms but he is still light to play inside and has some problems keeping Melo from establishing position down low. Still not as aggressive as he could be defending the paint. Sometimes lets people drive by him for layups or dunks without trying to block or hard foul. Not acceptable. Has improved some offensively but still will be limited on that end. Rebounding better now that he has two hands again.
CJ looks about the same as last year. Was wearing an undershirt so it was hard to tell but it doesn't appear he is a lot stronger than last year...this will not help him play the 4 effectively. Has extended his shooting range to 16 or 17 feet but like a lot of young players, is slow getting rid of the ball.
KJ was practicing for the first time in a week and looked a little rusty and tentative. Still finished well and looks solid shooting free throws.
Scoop had a really quiet practice. Looked like he was toning down his scoring and focusing on running the offense, which he did very effectively. For this team, it might be best for him to be in pass first mode and focus on distributing the ball and getting it to players in good positions to score. Made good decisions but the quality of the defense he was facing was not great.
Rakim looks like a fine raw athlete. Has no offensive game to speak of in the half court right now...looks like he is capable of hitting a 10 footer but he isn't even looking at the basket when he has the ball now. Finishes well in transition. Is quick enough to do an adequate job on the wing in the 2-3. Didn't do much damage on the boards, has a tendency to leak out early to try and get an easy transition basket.
Trevor looks like he is having some problems getting used to the extreme nature of physical play at this level. He is a strong guy, has a nice build for a frosh but is getting pushed around some, is not really looking for his shot, doesn't appear to have much in the way of getting open and getting shots off running around without the ball and needs some work on the defensive end getting in the right position, cutting off angles, denying the ball, etc. Showed no evidence of being able to shoot off the dribble. He has great form on his jumper and gets it off fairly quickly. But he has some work to do to make a regular contribution for this team.
MCW was impressive. Has a knack of being in the right place at the right time. Was surprisingly adept at scoring in the paint, getting rebounds and follows down low, etc. Played almost exclusively at the point. Fine passer. Good handle. Appears to be one of those guys that has a high hoops IQ and may well play like a veteran from day one. Has a slow release on his jumper, does not show much in terms of ability to shoot off the dribble at this point in his career. Do not think he will be much of a factor early in his career shooting from the outside.
Forget to mention JS on the initial post. Another guy who wore a tshirt under his jersey, so it is hard to say with conviction, but it doesn't look like he spent a ton of time in the weight room during the off season. Still a fine outside shooter, still gravitates outside the 3 point circle, his ball handling appears to have improved a little but didn't see much in the way of development with his inside game. Did make a couple of nice 3s off the dribble.
The team was in great spirits, no sign of players not getting along, the vets worked regularly with the y0ungsters on ways to improve. A lot of good natured kidding. There are a bunch of work ons that get ribbed some. Reece, Nick and Big Mike are all unusually good players for walk ons (not sure if Brandon got a schollie this year or not).
Lastly, they cut a hole in the wall between the Hall of Fame and the practice courts so you can see the crystal 2003 NC trophy from the practice courts (it has fancy lighting so it looks very nice). If you have a desperate need to see a practice, you might want to try and watch from the Hall through the window. The view from there might be a good one.
Everyone is indeed in excellent shape. There was a heavy emphasis on conditioning in the practice and no one struggled with the extended sprints the players were forced to run.
The most improved player from last year was clearly Melo, who was constantly hustling down the court, very aggressive on offense and defense and a formidable force inside for the first time. Had a bunch of blocks, was easily the best rebounder out there and even scored some points. Had a couple of beautiful face up jumpers from 10 feet that were NBA quality. Made a bunch of dunks but missed a few too. Still looks very suspect from the FT line.
The scrimmage part of the practice was dominated by Dion Waiters on one side, and by Brandon Triche on the other. Both are lean, moving better than last year, passing the ball well, shooting well from the outside and looking very confident. Dion is able to get to the hole a lot better than last season, is jumping much better. Brandon knocked down a bevy of 3s. Is getting his jumper off quicker. Stayed late to work on his shooting and hit 11 in a row.
Keita has added some muscle to his arms but he is still light to play inside and has some problems keeping Melo from establishing position down low. Still not as aggressive as he could be defending the paint. Sometimes lets people drive by him for layups or dunks without trying to block or hard foul. Not acceptable. Has improved some offensively but still will be limited on that end. Rebounding better now that he has two hands again.
CJ looks about the same as last year. Was wearing an undershirt so it was hard to tell but it doesn't appear he is a lot stronger than last year...this will not help him play the 4 effectively. Has extended his shooting range to 16 or 17 feet but like a lot of young players, is slow getting rid of the ball.
KJ was practicing for the first time in a week and looked a little rusty and tentative. Still finished well and looks solid shooting free throws.
Scoop had a really quiet practice. Looked like he was toning down his scoring and focusing on running the offense, which he did very effectively. For this team, it might be best for him to be in pass first mode and focus on distributing the ball and getting it to players in good positions to score. Made good decisions but the quality of the defense he was facing was not great.
Rakim looks like a fine raw athlete. Has no offensive game to speak of in the half court right now...looks like he is capable of hitting a 10 footer but he isn't even looking at the basket when he has the ball now. Finishes well in transition. Is quick enough to do an adequate job on the wing in the 2-3. Didn't do much damage on the boards, has a tendency to leak out early to try and get an easy transition basket.
Trevor looks like he is having some problems getting used to the extreme nature of physical play at this level. He is a strong guy, has a nice build for a frosh but is getting pushed around some, is not really looking for his shot, doesn't appear to have much in the way of getting open and getting shots off running around without the ball and needs some work on the defensive end getting in the right position, cutting off angles, denying the ball, etc. Showed no evidence of being able to shoot off the dribble. He has great form on his jumper and gets it off fairly quickly. But he has some work to do to make a regular contribution for this team.
MCW was impressive. Has a knack of being in the right place at the right time. Was surprisingly adept at scoring in the paint, getting rebounds and follows down low, etc. Played almost exclusively at the point. Fine passer. Good handle. Appears to be one of those guys that has a high hoops IQ and may well play like a veteran from day one. Has a slow release on his jumper, does not show much in terms of ability to shoot off the dribble at this point in his career. Do not think he will be much of a factor early in his career shooting from the outside.
Forget to mention JS on the initial post. Another guy who wore a tshirt under his jersey, so it is hard to say with conviction, but it doesn't look like he spent a ton of time in the weight room during the off season. Still a fine outside shooter, still gravitates outside the 3 point circle, his ball handling appears to have improved a little but didn't see much in the way of development with his inside game. Did make a couple of nice 3s off the dribble.
The team was in great spirits, no sign of players not getting along, the vets worked regularly with the y0ungsters on ways to improve. A lot of good natured kidding. There are a bunch of work ons that get ribbed some. Reece, Nick and Big Mike are all unusually good players for walk ons (not sure if Brandon got a schollie this year or not).
Lastly, they cut a hole in the wall between the Hall of Fame and the practice courts so you can see the crystal 2003 NC trophy from the practice courts (it has fancy lighting so it looks very nice). If you have a desperate need to see a practice, you might want to try and watch from the Hall through the window. The view from there might be a good one.
