Scrimmage Game with Va. Union

[Stork3]

Here are one man's opinions of today's scrimmage:

1 - Coach Mooney started ShawnDre, Kwan, TJ, Marshall, and Nick Sherod. DeMonte came into the game fairly early, as did Grant.

2 - Nick and DeMonte both give us an added dimension - Nick with his shooting and his skills around the basket and DeMonte with his shooting, his defense, and his rebounding. DeMonte was a beast rebounding at times. Grant looked like a freshman, looking to pass before looking to score, but overall played well. Nice shooting stroke for all three freshmen. Nick and DeMonte look like they are daring Coach Mooney not to play them.

3 - Kwesi is a good rebounder and a good inside presence who will give us quality minutes as an inside player. He plays within his limitations - but plays aggressively. He has the worst outside shot and foul shot stroke in the history of the Robins Center; but he will help us.

4 - Julius Johnson was held out for what looked like an ankle injury. Friendshuh did not play.

5 - Jesse Pistocache gives us nice depth at guard; but Nick and DeMonte are just at a different level.

6 - Marshall Wood had flashes of great play, then was invisible at times. No change there.

7 - Khwan played well and steady, as did ShawnDre.

8 - ShawnDre and TJ played like seniors. Hit key shots and provided leadership. Joe Kirby played like a scholarship guard. Nico and Solly didn't play.

9 - Defense was hard to rate. VUU had a couple of beasts inside who never shared the ball and just backed in and bulled their way to easy baskets; their outside shooting was generally poor; if they were running an offense, I didn't see what it was. Playground ball at its best. They also practiced a good deal of thuggery - so this may have helped us toughen up. We still gave up too many drives/layups. Someone is not picking up his man in our match-up zone.

10 - This will be a season with bright spots and probably some games where we pull our hair out because our team is so young. But it's gonna be fun...

 

[SpiderRick]

Kwesi the worst outside shot/foul shooter? He's worse than Taylor and Garrett? That's all we need, another guy we can't count on to be in at the end of the game because he can't make a foul shot.
Can't wait to see the freshmen play!

 

[spiderstudent17]

The positive was seeing the freshmen play so well. The negative was being rebounded 41-28 by a D2 school. Don't want to put too much value in a scrimmage, but with all the emphasis I thought we were putting on rebounding, I thought we would do better. Mooney even says we aren't the biggest team, which helps expose us down low.

http://www.richmond.com/sports/coll...cle_8fca5041-b437-502b-ae4a-02167e215889.html

 

[Eight Legger]

He has the worst outside shot and foul shot stroke in the history of the Robins Center; but he will help us.

Jason McKinney's ears just perked up a little.

 

[spider23]

Ugh, rebounding. As a few on here have noted, not going to believe the hype on Wood until I see it.

Great to hear Nick and Monte already living up to their billing. Just a scrimmage but still very concerned about interior depth and some one other than TJ to be able to score inside.

Hate to put so much pressure on the freshmen, but sounds like all 3 will need to carry a heavy load.

 

[spider23]

Stork, thanks for the good write up, nice job by JOC as well with the quick write up on Nick and RunDMB.

Just a scrimmage but if the other team didn't show much offense and we couldn't stop them that is a concern. Just a scrimmage so coaches aren't necessarily concerned with winning by a lot as a priorty.

 

[Spiders05]

I wouldn't read too much into the results (good or bad).

• Mooney implemented one lineup that had Grant, TJ and Marshall in at the same time.
• We ran one 3/4 court press and were very successful with it.
• More observations

 

[fan2011]

The leading scorers seemed to be Sherod and Buckingham, which is nice to see, but leads me to believe we did not play this game the way we would play against a normal D1 opponent. I wouldn't read too much into the results.

 

[bongturk]

The leading scorers seemed to be Sherod and Buckingham, which is nice to see, but leads me to believe we did not play this game the way we would play against a normal D1 opponent. I wouldn't read too much into the results.

Does this team have ten plus small guards and four undersized big men? Did Mooney say there would be an emphasis on improving offensive rebounding? Were there several thousand season ticket holders dressed as empty seats because of halloween??
I hope VUU has a really good year. They have some shooters and go to the boards like crazy.
our two frosh guards looked pretty good, may have shot a bit too much. Cline and Shondre didn't do all that much. Wood was invisible for much of the time he was in there. He still can't move his feet on defense.the transfer grad student must have studied at the deon taylor school of foul shooting. Do all of the coaches see that????? do any of them say anything? match-up defense still finds too many of our guards on their big men under the basket.
If you have two twenty minute periods and then add an extra ten minutes, shouldn't all the guys who didn't play in the first two periods get to play at least ten minutes of the extra period????
If they aren't good enough for some mop up time in an exhibition game how will they ever get to play when it counts?????
I know it is only an exhibition and it's the first game. I get it. However, after this one first game/exhibition it looks like the team has a long way to go when they start playing games that count. I hope they will be able to do that.

 

[sdspider]

Wouldn't read too much into the results either except for the rebounding which sounds much the same. Must be playing the same D. Could be another long year on the boards. Go Spiders!

 

[urmite]

The leading scorers seemed to be Sherod and Buckingham, which is nice to see, but leads me to believe we did not play this game the way we would play against a normal D1 opponent. I wouldn't read too much into the results.

Cline seemed to play a lot in the first 20 minutes, much less after. Sherod and Buckingham also played in the last 10 minutes with Pistokache, Golden, Kirby, and Oddo only.

 

[urmite]

 

[Marley13]

So what's the deal with PF? Didn't Ulla say he saw him practice and he looked great? Seems like if he's healthy he should be playing since he hasn't played any meaningful minutes yet. Will need his size this year.

 

[Eight Legger]

So what's the deal with PF? Didn't Ulla say he saw him practice and he looked great? Seems like if he's healthy he should be playing since he hasn't played any meaningful minutes yet. Will need his size this year.

Think about what you are saying here.

 

[Marley13]

I'm just saying that he needs playing time since he's played a total of 26 minutes and we could use some rebounding. Sorry to confuse you.

 

[Eight Legger]

I'm just saying that he needs playing time since he's played a total of 26 minutes and we could use some rebounding. Sorry to confuse you.

I know, I was referring specifically to the bolded part...

 

[Marley13]

Yeah, I finally figured that out. Was mostly wondering why he didn't play.

 

[gcarter52]

Does this team have ten plus small guards and four undersized big men? Did Mooney say there would be an emphasis on improving offensive rebounding? Were there several thousand season ticket holders dressed as empty seats because of halloween??
I hope VUU has a really good year. They have some shooters and go to the boards like crazy.
our two frosh guards looked pretty good, may have shot a bit too much. Cline and Shondre didn't do all that much. Wood was invisible for much of the time he was in there. He still can't move his feet on defense.the transfer grad student must have studied at the deon taylor school of foul shooting. Do all of the coaches see that????? do any of them say anything? match-up defense still finds too many of our guards on their big men under the basket.
If you have two twenty minute periods and then add an extra ten minutes, shouldn't all the guys who didn't play in the first two periods get to play at least ten minutes of the extra period????
If they aren't good enough for some mop up time in an exhibition game how will they ever get to play when it counts?????
I know it is only an exhibition and it's the first game. I get it. However, after this one first game/exhibition it looks like the team has a long way to go when they start playing games that count. I hope they will be able to do that.

The type of scrimmage played today is generally used an a study tool for players. Coaches will be able to break down plays and various combinations to see what works best for the team. Don't read too much into it.

 

[Ulla1]

In case you had not heard, Khwan can jump. OSC

 

[Ulla1]

To reinterate, Monte can too: OSC

 

[LongTimeLurkerFirstTimePoster]

Friendshuh DNP Sore Foot
JJ DNP Hip

 

[97spiderfan]

JJ better get well soon because Sherod will be pushing for his starter role.

 

[Ulla1]

One thing that was impressive about both Nick and Monte was their apparent lack of fear. Both repeatedly went after the ball no matter the circumstances. Several times Nick was in the paint scrapping for rebounds or underneath the basket putting up a layup in traffic. Moreover, both of these guys are big and strong. Monte's motor never stops running. One might add that Monte's propensity to play as a point guard came out with some great passes including a no-look pass that stunned everyone. Grant, while a bit reticent at first, came out of his shell to sink a couple of jump shots and put it on the floor to drive to the hoop. He also made his presence felt with some blocked shots. For those present, you saw how tall, long and athletic Grant is. (Grant has to be 6'11' and has very long arms.) He will be a major contributor when all is said and done. It was a nice event and I think the knowledge gained by our coaches was immense. OSC

 

[urmite]

JJ better get well soon because Sherod will be pushing for his starter role.

Hope his hip injury is of the 72 hour variety. Because we will need both Nick and Julius to play 10-20 minutes . And one will play 25-28 minutes...

 

[urmite]

Also hope we are simply holding Paul out of major contact against a physical team and he is playing closer to normal during practice.

 

[urmite]

Both Marshall and Kwesi missed a great but unexpected pass from DeMonte. Need more time playing together, but looks great for the future.

 

[Ulla1]

Both Marshall and Kwesi missed a great but unexpected pass from DeMonte. Need more time playing together, but looks great for the future.

Yep. Monte is a great passer. Once his team mates get used to him it will be great. The young man can play. OSC

 

[iSpider]

Freshman guards share splash in UR scrimmage vs. VUU

 

[Marley13]

If we're holding out a big then we're in trouble.

 

[SpiderK]

Kwesi the worst outside shot/foul shooter? He's worse than Taylor and Garrett? That's all we need, another guy we can't count on to be in at the end of the game because he can't make a foul shot.
Can't wait to see the freshmen play!

I agree Kwesi's shot is horrible, but he made 3 out of 5 from the line which is 50% better than Davis or Taylor's 40% lol

 

[SpiderK]

We still can't stop the guard driving to basket and as stated above the big men were backing down TJ and Grant. Kwesi held his own down low. Fore's jumping ability and the bigger freshman guards certainly disrupted their 3 point shooting. We tore up their zone defense with the outside fire power. Grant was acting like a dear in head lights for first 40 minutes and was deferring to the seniors. When he was playing last 10 minutes with the younger guys he did much better and he shoots the ball very well. Probably 80% FT shooter.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Does this team have ten plus small guards and four undersized big men? Did Mooney say there would be an emphasis on improving offensive rebounding? Were there several thousand season ticket holders dressed as empty seats because of halloween??
I hope VUU has a really good year. They have some shooters and go to the boards like crazy.
our two frosh guards looked pretty good, may have shot a bit too much. Cline and Shondre didn't do all that much. Wood was invisible for much of the time he was in there. He still can't move his feet on defense.the transfer grad student must have studied at the deon taylor school of foul shooting. Do all of the coaches see that????? do any of them say anything? match-up defense still finds too many of our guards on their big men under the basket.
If you have two twenty minute periods and then add an extra ten minutes, shouldn't all the guys who didn't play in the first two periods get to play at least ten minutes of the extra period????
If they aren't good enough for some mop up time in an exhibition game how will they ever get to play when it counts?????
I know it is only an exhibition and it's the first game. I get it. However, after this one first game/exhibition it looks like the team has a long way to go when they start playing games that count. I hope they will be able to do that.

Those who proffer that a scrimmage "doesn't mean anything" and "don't read too much into it" are free to fool themselves all that they want. No, this game did not carry the weight of the A-10 tournament final, and yes, some experimentation occurs in a scrimmage as it should.

The idea that a pre-season scrimmage doesn't tell us anything about the upcoming season is simply misguided. Wishful thinking is okay, and optimism to begin a new season is good (I start every year right here with you), but putting one's head in the sand and closing your eyes will not change the facts.

Cline & Jones can play competitively with anyone. Fore is on the rise, and I REALLY like the freshmen. As so many have said, these freshman have a large upside. Play the newcomers, A LOT. Live with the inconsistency for the sake of development.

Coaching strategy and in-game management are going to be very important. These have not been Spider strong suits for the last 12-years. We would likely be wise to put our seat belts on for a rough ride.

 

[Spideroldie]

There are clearly some pluses to take away from this "meaningless" scrimmage. One is that the coaches do seem to have confidence in the freshmen and that all four of our newcomers are likely to get substantial minutes. Another, which no one has mentioned so far is that our freshmen "guards" are likely to get far more rebounds per minute than some of our returning forwards, like MW and JJ. What is unclear is how many minutes the freshmen would have taken from JJ, and how that playing time will be allocated once he is healthy.

Another unclear factor is whether Marshall Wood will become our TD or DT for this season (the guy who gets more minutes than he earns). Will he consistently disappear in games yet still get significant minutes, when the freshmen could contribute more and have more upside?

My prediction is that if the coaches will play our freshmen more and will not provide undeserved minutes to JJ and MW, we will be fine. However, if there is too much weight given to "experience" alone, and JJ and MW get more minutes than they earn, then we will have another disappointing season. This is one season when I believe we should give out PT based more on upside "potential" and less on experience. Only time will tell which gets the larger weight, and I will hope for a change in philosophy until I see a clear repeat of past trends.

 

[fan2011]

There are clearly some pluses to take away from this "meaningless" scrimmage. One is that the coaches do seem to have confidence in the freshmen and that all four of our newcomers are likely to get substantial minutes. Another, which no one has mentioned so far is that our freshmen "guards" are likely to get far more rebounds per minute than some of our returning forwards, like MW and JJ. What is unclear is how many minutes the freshmen would have taken from JJ, and how that playing time will be allocated once he is healthy.

Another unclear factor is whether Marshall Wood will become our TD or DT for this season (the guy who gets more minutes than he earns). Will he consistently disappear in games yet still get significant minutes, when the freshmen could contribute more and have more upside?

My prediction is that if the coaches will play our freshmen more and will not provide undeserved minutes to JJ and MW, we will be fine. However, if there is too much weight given to "experience" alone, and JJ and MW get more minutes than they earn, then we will have another disappointing season. This is one season when I believe we should give out PT based more on upside "potential" and less on experience. Only time will tell which gets the larger weight, and I will hope for a change in philosophy until I see a clear repeat of past trends.

I don't think I have ever seen someone like JJ called a forward (6'3,185). DBM and NS both have an inch and 30 to 40 pounds on JJ, they should be better rebounders. Of course measurables aren't everything, KF might be the best rebounding guard we have had under Mooney and he is only 6'0, 175.

While our rebounding has always been a problem, it is an overblown problem. Yes, improving rebounding would make our team better, if everything else remains the same, but it is not the end-all be-all of defense. Last year was our best statistically in terms of defensive rebounding under Mooney, yet it was also perhaps our worst defense under Mooney. There are other things that have a much bigger impact on defensive performance than rebounding, and those are the things that really need to be fixed this year if we are going to do well.

As for playing time, who knows what will happen. I hope we see a lot of the freshmen because that will mean the freshmen are good. If we don't see a lot of the freshmen it is because they are not as good as we anticipated and need some more time to develop. Mooney has repeatedly demonstrated he has no problem playing freshmen when they are the best option.

 

[32counter]

"While our rebounding has always been a problem, it is an overblown problem."

What he say?

 

[I-M-UR]

I will debate this with anyone, rebounding is in large part about effort. We get out rebounded by taller teams, shorter teams, quicker team, stronger teams, and on and on. Now in a scrimmage we are out rebounded by a D2 team..good grief. An offensive rebound is virtually a turn over. Does anyone know what the OR totals were total rebounds can be deceiving if one team is shooting horribly.

 

[fan2011]

"While our rebounding has always been a problem, it is an overblown problem."

What he say?

Here is our defensive rebounding percentage last year: 68.3%

Here are the defensive rebounding percentages of the last few NCAA championship teams:

70.7%
69.8%
67.2%
66.7%
69.2%
66.5%
67.9%
68.3%

We pulled down an equal or higher percentage of defensive rebounds last year than 5 of the last 8 national championship teams did in their championship year. Yes I think our rebounding problem is overblown.

 

[Ulla1]

Here is our defensive rebounding percentage last year: 68.3%

Here are the defensive rebounding percentages of the last few NCAA championship teams:

70.7%
69.8%
67.2%
66.7%
69.2%
66.5%
67.9%
68.3%

We pulled down an equal or higher percentage of defensive rebounds last year than 5 of the last 8 national championship teams did in their championship year. Yes I think our rebounding problem is overblown.

Agree, 2011, and thanks for the analysis. OSC

 

[32counter]

Here is our defensive rebounding percentage last year: 68.3%

Here are the defensive rebounding percentages of the last few NCAA championship teams:

70.7%
69.8%
67.2%
66.7%
69.2%
66.5%
67.9%
68.3%

We pulled down an equal or higher percentage of defensive rebounds last year than 5 of the last 8 national championship teams did in their championship year. Yes I think our rebounding problem is overblown.

Offensive rebound analysis,please.Defensive rebound analysis is nice but can be extremely myopic given
the other team ease of scoring in the first place.Not analyzing offensive rebounding is very,very,very misleading and one sided.Please.Dont kid a kidder.

 

[fan2011]

Offensive rebound analysis,please.Defensive rebound analysis is nice but can be extremely myopic given
the other team ease of scoring in the first place.Not analyzing offensive rebounding is very,very,very misleading and one sided.Please.Dont kid a kidder.

What does offensive rebounding have to do with our issues on defense?