Today's practice report: unannounced scrimmage at Dome

[RF2044]

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]:

• 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.

That's about all I can remember. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure my Dad will post to keep me honest. I like what I'm hearing, though--especially vis a vis the improved readiness of the bigs and the improved chemistry of the backcourt players. If a couple of things fall into place, this could be a really big year.

Let's Go Orange!!!

 

[EastCoast2]

Thanks, RF! Can't wait to see Fair explode on the scene this season

 

[EastCoast2]

Also - did Cooney not participate in the scrimmage, being the 11th man?

 

[orange03]

great report!

 

[RF2044]

Also - did Cooney not participate in the scrimmage, being the 11th man?

No, Cooney played. They rotated players in [including walk-ons] throughout the scrimmage.

 

[EastCoast2]

I still like CJ coming off the bench for that spark

 

[EastCoast2]

Any idea what the purpose of running M2M was? Just to get more of a workout and get some good competition going or what?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

They ALWAYS okay a lot of man in practice. If you watch a lot of practices you would be shocked we play so much zone.
Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk

 

[pfister1]

Any idea what the purpose of running M2M was? Just to get more of a workout and get some good competition going or what?

Our offense almost always plays against man, so you need to run man in practice to allow the offense to practice in game situations.

 

[cto]

Kris did not play because of slight "tweak" with his knee. No biggie. He's fine. But JB decided to keep him out of the scrimmage to rest the knee

 

[orangehomer]

thank you for sharing these RF

 

[arbitragegls]

sounds like Triche is on the way to being what some of us expected...a reallly good player...hopefully he explodes this year moving up the rung from servicable to primary scorer and top player

 

[Flacusian]

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]:

• 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 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. Had several put backs and 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--bang. Another where he hit a floater in the lane, with tons of arc, on a drive. Something important about 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 a great 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 Lamb [both the one from UK and Uconn] aren't bad, although it appears that MCW might have a more diversified skill set than either

• 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.

That's about all I can remember. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure my Dad will post to keep me honest. I like what I'm hearing, though--especially vis a vis the improved readiness of the bigs and the improved chemistry of the backcourt players. If a couple of things fall into place, this could be a really big year.

Let's Go Orange!!!

Awesome scrimreport! Much appreciated.

 

[Ghost]

Thanks RF, nice write-up.

 

[callmened]

/great write up RF!

thats the only issue i miss with Manley, there was more access to practices.

it wouldnt surprise me with JB goes with 9 players...That's exactly what happened last yr (with 9 players getting over 300 mins).RJ gets replaced by Xmas and its basically the same roster. i think the real battle is for the 9th spot between southerland and MCW. I give the edge to MCW cuz Southerland doesnt rebmound or play D well. If MCW shoots well and can play some D then, hell beat him out. I anticipate that JB will rotate more guards (since thats where the talent is)

PG Jardine
G Triche
C Melo
PF Xmas
SF Joseph
____
F Fair
PG Waiters
C Keita
G MCW/Southerland

however, if Melo continues to stumble then i predict
PG Jardine
G Triche
C Xmas
PF Joseph
SF Fair
____
PG Waiters
C Keita
G MCW/Southerland
C Melo

 

[HoustonCuse]

I assume DC2 was present at this scrimmage, but any word on that?

 

[kuethstheman]

Great stuff! Was jonesing for a Reese update!

 

[SaintTristan]

great stuff

 

[Fantasy Feud]

i am all for defence but with Melo and Xmas starting in the frontcourt who is going to score???

I agree that this is by far the most talent we have had in years on one team. But at the end of the day JB goes with 8 at most.

Triche
Scoop
Waiters
Melo
Xmas
Fair
Joseph
Keita

Then you have MCW, Cooney, Southerland, Mookie.

Mookie is done. He will never see one minute that matters. Cooney is likely to ride pine based on depth and I think maybe they should have red shirted him. Not sure what minutes MCW is going to get between Scoop, Triche and Waiters.
Can't figure out where Southerland fits in the rotation. He will be behind Joseph and Fair for sure and I think Xmas will get the nod defensively as Southerland is one of the worst weak side rebounders our zone has ever seen.

 

[SaintTristan]

i am all for defence but with Melo and Xmas starting in the frontcourt who is going to score???

I agree that this is by far the most talent we have had in years on one team. But at the end of the day JB goes with 8 at most.

Triche
Scoop
Waiters
Melo
Xmas
Fair
Joseph
Keita

Then you have MCW, Cooney, Southerland, Mookie.

I agree that Mookie is done. Appreciate his choosing SU and being a part of the team, but not everyone plays. As to MCW/Cooney, I really hope we RS one of them. for better or worse, Triche/Scoop/DW are the guys JB will play. maybe a 4th guard if we get into foul trouble. I hate the idea of wasting eligibility.

 

[Orangeyes]

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]:

• 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.

That's about all I can remember. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure my Dad will post to keep me honest. I like what I'm hearing, though--especially vis a vis the improved readiness of the bigs and the improved chemistry of the backcourt players. If a couple of things fall into place, this could be a really big year.

Let's Go Orange!!!

Thanks Ryan & Neal

 

[cuseclappy]

thank you much rf!

 

[Bayside44]

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]:

• 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.

That's about all I can remember. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure my Dad will post to keep me honest. I like what I'm hearing, though--especially vis a vis the improved readiness of the bigs and the improved chemistry of the backcourt players. If a couple of things fall into place, this could be a really big year.

Let's Go Orange!!!

Nice - thank you. Love CJ - kid just has it. Drove me nuts to see him on the bench at the end of the Marquette game.

 

[HenryC]

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]:

• 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.

That's about all I can remember. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure my Dad will post to keep me honest. I like what I'm hearing, though--especially vis a vis the improved readiness of the bigs and the improved chemistry of the backcourt players. If a couple of things fall into place, this could be a really big year.

Let's Go Orange!!!

Was there with my son - Class of '14. Report was right-on with one exception. Southerland made a bunch of plays. Went to the hoop and finished in traffic. One scrimmage means nothing. That said ,will have to play if he keeps it up.

 

[orangefan13]

Nice - thank you. Love CJ - kid just has it. Drove me nuts to see him on the bench at the end of the Marquette game.

CJ was good last year but not well oiled.
He had 4 fouls in 14 minutes, 1 reb 1 assist and 4 points that game. He played off of Rick last year. It will be a big step alone to not need Rick in isolation this year.

Southerland shot only 1-4 from three and put up 7 points a big reason we lost.

Strange enough I never realized it before but Dion shot 8-10 making all 7 of his two point shots 1-3 from three and his only foul shot. 100% from inside the arc and we still lost. Quite a way to end the season!