I largely agree with the observations above, and will try to add a different slant to what I took away from the "scrimmage" (mostly practice) today. First, I have been attending a couple of practices per year for many years, and believe that what is "practiced" tends to show up in games. Three "relatively new" drills I saw today were very encouraging. First, playing "practice time" with a lid (literally) on the basket, to force each shot (in or not) to be rebounded. I love this "innovation," because it means we may place a bit more emphasis on rebounding, and we may do more blocking out. All good! Second, we ended today with some drills in which one guy takes a charge (some were not gentle) and then the player has to dive on the floor for a loose ball. I love this drill too, because it suggests that we may be gearing up to be a more physical and "hustle" type of team. If we practice taking charges and diving for lose balls, my bet is we will do more of that during games. I loved these "changes," which I had not remembered seeing before.
Related to the above, it also looked like there were several forms of "motion" offense, and "screens" that were being practices, and I am already feeling better about of offense "clicking" nicely this season. We also seemed to practice a "massachsets" play and a St. Louis play, suggesting that scouting our opponent's tendencies (and offenses) may be a part of our preparation this year. The two paragraphs above suggest that we may have a stronger defense, rebounding and offense than in the past.
Second, the two squads that played against each other were instructive. At center, it was TJ for the red squad, vs. Paul for the blue, at PF, Deion vs. Terry, at SF Marshall vs. Trey, at 2G, Julius vs. Jessee, and at PG, mostly Khuan vs. Joe Kirby. What I take away is that Trey may start the first game at the 2-G spot, but he just may play most of his time at the SF, which I believe is a better fit. Also, Marshall seems to be competing with Trey at SF, which is also good. Deion appears to be competing with Terry at PF. My main take-aways from these line-ups are that we may get to see the two freshmen competing for 2-G time, and we may get to see "offensive/defensive substitutions of Trey for Marshall, and Deion for either TJ or Terry. It looks like we are deeper than usual, and it looks like there will be some good comptetitions for minutes. Jessee also did play some PG, and brought the ball up a few times, suggesting that his ball-handling and passing are likely strong, for a first-year player.
Third, individual player comments:
1. TJ looked very good. His passing is outstanding, as always, and I believe he will score more (15 pts+).
2. Deion appears to have his full vertical leap back, and flushed some amazing dunks during the warm-ups at this practice. If his defense continues to be rock-solid, and he can be fed the ball for more dunks, watch out! I also see him as able to play defense for the 4 or 5 positions, especially at the end of games,when we have an O/D sub pattern.
3. K Fore looks like he will be a very good PG for us, maybe as soon as this season. He had some very athletic dunks (warm-ups/practice) and seems to be learning the offense and defense. I see him playing along-side ShawnDre, unless the two freshmen (JJ and JP) develop very quickly. I see KF getting 15+ minutes per game.
4. Julius and Jessee both looked very solid, and also "close" in what they may contribute. Jessee may win our fan award for "Mr. Hustle."
5. Kovien Dominaus looks like a dead-eye 3-point shooter (and maybe a better outside shooter than eitehr Julius or Jessee). However, I am hopeful that he will focus on developing his muscle-mass, and choose to red-shirt. He is likely not going to contribute this year.
6. Playing Marshall Wood at SF could be a stroke of genius by our coaches. He looks like a good outside shooter, athletic, and capable of blocking some shots. I can see him pushing TD for significant time, and these two doing an offensive/defensive sub pattern at the end of games.
Very encouraging "scrimmage" today and I have a good feeling about this team. Can't wait for next Friday (and JMU) to arrive.
