RF2044
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Hey gang--got a great first hand account from my father, who attended a scrimmage today at the Carrier Dome. Learned about the scrimmage [which was unannounced to the public for some reason] last night at the WVU game, and made the trip up to check the team out, since he wasn't able to see them scrimmage in the practice he attended earlier in the week.
Here's a summary of his observations [apologies in advance for the length / stream of consciousness--trying to hastily type this out while my one-year old is napping]:
Let's Go Orange!!!
Here's a summary of his observations [apologies in advance for the length / stream of consciousness--trying to hastily type this out while my one-year old is napping]:
- Team goes 12 deep, and the talent even on the second unit is impressive. Not as top heavy star-power wise as past SU teams, but top to bottom this is the most talent we've ever had on the team. Starting lineup consisted of Scoop, Triche, Christmas, Melo, and Fair [more on this in a second]. Second team was MCW, Waiters, Mookie, Keita, and Southerland.
- Teams played at a break neck pace, and mostly played man [although they worked in some zone later in the practice]. The relentless, fast-paced tempo led to some minor sloppy play, but it also was played with more intensity than a typical SU practice [anyone who's attended practice over the years knows what I mean by that].
- Kris Joseph didn't participate in the scrimmage. Before anyone panics, he was out there during warmups, shot around, went full speed, etc. but then headed to the bench and didn't scrimmage. According to my father, he seemed fine--no sign of injury whatsoever.
- Lots of solid play today, nobody really distinguished themselves as head and shoulders better than anyone else. If MVP were given out for today's performance, it might be split between Fair / Triche. I'll talk about Triche first. Kid looks aggressive and explosive, hit a bunch of threes, a little quicker feet this year [he's in peak shape, has paid off a bit with his quickness]. Three point stroke looks smooth.
- Fair might be the best player on the team. He is a better version of Kris Joseph--comparable skill set, just less experienced / refined at this stage of his developmental curve. Doesn't shoot it like Joseph yet, but hit some mid range shots [including some baseline jumpers]. According to my dad, every movement the kid made today was purposeful; no wasted motion. Fair has a knack like Moten for being in the right spot, which leads to an unbelivable amount of hustle plays--put backs, snaring rebounds in traffic, deflected passes, always in the right place at the right time, etc. Had a nasty follow-up dunk on a Scoop miss, over several bigger players. Has the best feel for the game of anyone on the team.
- Waiters played well--hit several mid range shots, after making nice upfakes and juking his defender, then blowing past them into the lane. Had one play where he pulled up from about 1o feet after that type of shot fake--bang. Another where he hit a floater in the lane, with tons of arc, on a similar drive. Here's what my dad was most excited about seeing with Waiters: he is moving the ball quickly, and isn't hesitating to make the extra pass. Last year, he held onto the ball and forced some offense. This year, he is giving it up and making the extra pass, knowing that it will eventually come back to him. Entire backcourt swings the ball around better than last year, in fact. Great sign.
- Waiters guarded Triche, and Triche had a really big night. Competition between these two is intense
- On that note, competition is solid up and down the roster. With this much talent on the team, it should make for some spirited practices [and competition for PT]. No player will be able to slack off this year in practice. Hope that the improved competition they see every day will help the team take it up a notch in games.
- Both teams really pushed the ball today. Scoop didn't have a bad practice--hit a bunch of tough shots [including a sick left handed shot off of a drive, with defenders draped all over him]. My dad didn't get a good feel for him today--he looked to pass, and other guys were hitting shots, so...
- MCW had an impressive practice. My dad isn't sure that he has the skill set to be a PG, per se, but he handles the ball well. On the other hand, he got guarded by Scoop, who really looked to pressure the ball, and ripped MCW a few times. MCW is very smooth, a good passer, and he nailed several threes, including a couple in a row at one point. Seems like those comparisons to Lamb [both the one from UK and Uconn] aren't bad, although it appears that MCW has a more diversified skill set than either of them. Shaun Livingston sounds like a better comparison to me.
- As a team, we shoot the ball more consistently than last year. Mulitple, multiple experienced shooters. I'll list Kris even though he didn't practice in full today--Kris, Scoop, Triche, Waiters, Southerland, MCW, Mookie--to say nothing of Cooney. That's a lot of shooters.
- Cooney did some nice things, didn't really stand out today.
- Mookie had a solid albeit unspectacular practice. What impressed my Dad was the carryover from a few games last year, where he just looked to play without necessarily looking for his shots. Didn't force anything. Accordingly, he hustled, got a bunch of rebounds, made a few nice passes, and of course--when the shots were there he knocked a few threes down. Mookie is a guy who might surprise as a bench weapon if he brings this type of approach to games--come out and look to hustle / rebound / defend first, and shoot second. That's what he did in practice today.
- Melo runs a lot better than last year. My Dad makes no prediction about the statistical improvement, but being lighter / better conditioned enables him to be much more active out there, and will probably make him less foul prone. Looks more comfortable out there; I'd say the summer of playing quality competition in international ball paid dividends.
- Keita is scrappy and hustles. Knocked down a mid range shot or two, but mostly is a hard-nosed kid who isn't afraid to battle / mix it up inside. Above average rebounder--perhaps attributable to not playing with one hand this year.
- Southerland [like several others] didn't stand out. Hit some shots, got a few rebounds. One thing that stands out is that Dirty is a bit of a throwback in that he's merely a SHOOTER--not a three point specialist, but rather a guy who can hit from lots of different spots and looks as comfortable inside the arc as he does outside. Wish he had a better feel for the game / intensity, because he is a stud athlete.
- Christmas rebounds pretty well and runs. Doesn't have big offensive upside at this point, but plays within his limitations. He's in the starting lineup as of now.
- Brandon Reese is a much better player than your typical walk on. I doubt that he'll ever see any playing time during his collegiate career here at SU, but under different circumstances he would be a player who could contribute as a rotation guy.
Let's Go Orange!!!