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Billiken Bash Observations


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Reggie didn't really do too much on offense, but tanner made some real nice shots. Mike looked like a veteran out there

Did Reggie even play? I was in the concession line when the scrimmage started, and there were about 12 minutes left when I first started watching. The score was 8-6 Blue. I never saw Agbeko on the court.

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Sorry, DWorld, I put my post right in the middle of yours. I'm a techno eff up.

No worries I found it. Milik definitely showed flashes from my perspective, but just didn't do too much with the ball for me to really analyze his game. The biggest impact player in the short scrimmage was definitely Jolly, he was getting fed the ball the entire time. Again that really surprised me and probably everyone else.

I just don't see it in McBroom. I don't know how well he will match up against bigger guards, especially on D.

Reggie just didn't touch the ball much today, I think we will see more of him on Tuesday. It is a toss up between him and Tanner for the 4 spot, though crews could possibly play Reggie as an undersized 5

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I don't post much but here are my observations...

  1. Ash is the best player on the team, had another gear that the other players on the team didn't have. Has a D1 body.
  2. Roby looks like he has big upside to me. Maybe didn't play as well as Reynolds in this scrimmage but his game looks very well rounded
  3. Bartley thew a pretty no look pass at the beginning of the game. He tried 1-2 more no look passes later in the game, but they didn't connect. He doesn't appear to look for his own shot, more of a pass first player perhaps.
  4. Gillmann looked very raw. I wouldn't mind if he redshirted.
  5. Jolly got off to a slow start missing his first two shots pretty badly, but then seemed to settle in an play pretty well.
  6. Glaze make some crafty buckets around the basket.
  7. Nothing new from McBroom or Manning, they gave the same thing they gave last season. McBroom made a couple shots and Manning looked good on defense.
  8. Crawford and Agbeko played but didn't really do anything that stood out. I think Crawford hit a 3 and a layup on a pretty feed from Reynolds, but other than that I don't remember him doing much else.
  9. It was noted during intro's that Yarbrough has the longest wingspan on the team and appears to be strong. Might end up being an Evans type player.
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I don't post much but here are my observations...

  1. Ash is the best player on the team, had another gear that the other players on the team didn't have. Has a D1 body.
  2. Roby looks like he has big upside to me. Maybe didn't play as well as Reynolds in this scrimmage but his game looks very well rounded
  3. Bartley thew a pretty no look pass at the beginning of the game. He tried 1-2 more no look passes later in the game, but they didn't connect. He doesn't appear to look for his own shot, more of a pass first player perhaps.
  4. Gillmann looked very raw. I wouldn't mind if he redshirted.
  5. Jolly got off to a slow start missing his first two shots pretty badly, but then seemed to settle in an play pretty well.
  6. Glaze make some crafty buckets around the basket.
  7. Nothing new from McBroom or Manning, they gave the same thing they gave last season. McBroom made a couple shots and Manning looked good on defense.
  8. Crawford and Agbeko played but didn't really do anything that stood out. I think Crawford hit a 3 and a layup on a pretty feed from Reynolds, but other than that I don't remember him doing much else.
  9. It was noted during intro's that Yarbrough has the longest wingspan on the team and appears to be strong. Might end up being an Evans type player.

Agree with most of these observations. Ash and Roby seemed the best of all new players...I disagree with some posters, McBroom has the quickness and nose for the ball to carry this team for most of the minutes at the point.

\

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Some additional thoughts.

I was very impressed with Miles Reynolds. If I were head coach, I'd make him my opening day starter at PG and take my lumps, Yes, Freshman mistakes will happen and no he is not that good/polished that he is ready for the NBA, but he has good dribbling skills, he has presence, he has confidence and he took charge of his team from the get go. I also believe that he blocked AM's shot after first getting beat.

Brett Jolly was good but let's not get too carried away. Nice shot, good hands, runs the floor well but strength will be a limitation. At the same time, I would play him if JM does not take charge like a Senior should.

Davell Roby has real athlete ability and talent. Yes, he displayed raw ability and need more polishing, but this guy can play. I would play him.

Maybe Milik was simply try to do too much, trying to dribble too much... and yes has skill and ability but his performance today was not that of a starting player. Frankly, this type of scrimmage is probably not one that best suits him. Malik is bigger and stronger than the other guards. He could definitely play the 3 but not the 4 or 5. At the same time, he looked to me like he wanted to dribble and create like a PG and he lost control several times.

Austin Gillman will be a good player. He has definite skills and he has height/size. Adding strength and quickness will help. Believe he had 3 fouls in almost no time. I am not expecting all that much from him this year.

Marcus Bartley will be good. Right now, though, he looks really thin. He does have skill but I am not expecting all that much from him this year.

As to the Sophs, they each looked bigger, stronger and better than last year. At the same time, they did not come out and take charge. In short, I'd say that the Frosh upstaged the Sophs. And while that is good for the Frosh and may be good longterm, the Sophs did disappoint. Tanner shot a 3 every time he touched the ball. Again, I am hoping the format just did not suit them best.

JM and GG did some nice things. At the same time, they did not show, in today's limited practice game, that they have improved all that much from last year.

And yes, Ash started off looking to pass the ball, but then as stated previously, he was able to find another gear and blew past his defender. I was very impressed but not sure if he is selfish enough to keep taking the shots. I do hope he is.

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Ash looked good. Nice outside shot and looked good finishing in transition. A man amongst boys the same way Kwamain was at the outset of the 2009-10 season.

Roby had a nice game. Hitting open 3s, bringing the ball up the court on several possessions, looks the least green of the freshmen. I think he's a starter at this point. Roby and Ash guarded each other.

Lancona has gained muscle and a bit of swagger. Had a nice give and go with Crawford. Based on this limited sample, I've raised my expectations for Lancona. He's going to be a factor this year.

Not super impressed with Crawford, but didn't look bad either. Passed on a 3 that I feel a 'scorer' needs to shoot. I still expect him to be a key bench contributor, but I'm not sold on him as a double digit scorer the way some have projected.

Reynolds was solid. Didn't see anything to change my outlook. I expect that he will challenge McBroom for minutes over the course of the season, but he's going to need time to adjust to D1 ball.

McBroom showed his early 2013-14 form. He's the high floor, low ceiling PG option. I expect him to start early and (hopefully) get surpassed by one of the freshmen by season's end.

Manning looked rusty. Squandered several nice passes. I'm willing to give him a pass since I know he missed practice time, but I'm a bit concerned.

Grandy is the high floor low ceiling PF option.

Agbeko didn't show much. He needs to develop rapport with one of the guards. I've tempered my expectations a bit, but certainly he's got the physical tools to be a key contributor.

Bartley needs to put on some muscle, but he made some nice passes. Don't remember him making any outside shots. I don't expect much from him this year, but long term I like his potential as a long, pass-first PG on a roster full of combo guards.

Yarbrough looked okay. Scored a nice transition basket on the offensive glass. Don't remember him making any outside shots. Tempering my short term expectations, but long term I like his potential as a combo forward with above average passing shooting and rebounding.

Jolly is going to be the Billiken opposing A10 fans love to hate. I see bits of Conklin and Ellis in him. Chip on the shoulder and not afraid to shoot. I had no expectations going in, and now I expect him to be in the rotation this year.

Gillmann is a big man project. No surprise there.

Prediction for opening night starting lineup:

McBroom

Ash

Roby

Lancona

Manning

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Good to see all the commentary on here based on what people saw. I would temper any idea that you may have developed about the players based on the fact that this was a glorified open court run, you have 3 players coming off injury list this week (GG,JM,RA), and guys came off a 3 hour practice session before this run. I will add that it is easy to showoff in such a format so to guess a starting line based on 16 minutes of play vs guys you play with every day is ridiculous. Just a thought! Otherwise good to see guys are healthy and ready to start the season.

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So, do first impressions of our talent leave you thinking we might at least be an NIT team, or still too early to tell.

Too early to tell in my opinion. We saw a lot of Freshman guarding Freshman, so no real chance to see if they can handle the elevated competition. Not sure we will know much until the SIU game.

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I think it is too early to tell. Run tonite did not answer any questions. I am really going to see what observations will come after closed door Memphis scrimmage. Either way we will know soon enough.

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Good to see all the commentary on here based on what people saw. I would temper any idea that you may have developed about the players based on the fact that this was a glorified open court run, you have 3 players coming off injury list this week (GG,JM,RA), and guys came off a 3 hour practice session before this run. I will add that it is easy to showoff in such a format so to guess a starting line based on 16 minutes of play vs guys you play with every day is ridiculous. Just a thought! Otherwise good to see guys are healthy and ready to start the season.

Small sample > no sample.

Guessing the starting line for the next game tonight is less ridiculous than guessing the most common starting line for the season 10 days ago.

I don't think Roby showed off at all (not for a guy who is billed as the 'best athlete' of the freshman class), but his ability to hit open 3s along with the fact that he was tasked with bringing the ball up court and assigned to guard the consensus best-player-on-the-team makes me think he's (considered by the coaches) the most ready for battle (i.e. most likely to start) of the freshman.

So, do first impressions of our talent leave you thinking we might at least be an NIT team, or still too early to tell.

Until they go into someone else's building and win a game, it's too early to tell much of anything.

Let's wait until the first road game at Indiana St, that will be a much clearer indicator of the team's trajectory. Today was just a small taste

FIFY

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Seemed as though Manning and Reggie were still affected by their injuries. Reggie started the scrimmage but didn't play after the first couple minutes. Manning was in and out more than he should be.

It appeared that the Blue team was the starters and Gray was backups, save for Yarbrough on the Blue squad.

Ash is a beast. Total package, handles, shoots, scores, defends. Best player on the team. Get the ball in his hands.

I'm not as down on McBroom as many are. He is taking defense much more seriously, appears to have bulked up a little and is still a good shooter and can create for himself. He was not outplayed by any of the freshman.

Glaze got plenty of buckets, was the leading scorer in the scrimmage. None were more than inches from the basket. He cleaned up on the boards and got loose for some backdoor layups. Showed some nice touch too, wasn't missing easy shots, he may not have missed all scrimmage. He has beefed up but is still effective defending the perimeter.

Yarbrough looks like a player. 7 foot 1 wingspan, combo forward. His handles aren't good enough to be a full time wing. Didn't see any post play. Likes to run the floor and had a nice rebound putback on a break. He's a rotation player maybe, definitely not a starter at this point.

Crawford was solid, not the star but wasn't terrible. Hit a nice 3, missed a layup because Ash was defending him. He's in the discussion for starters but not a shoe in.

Lancona was out on the wing mostly, he and Crawford play well together. He looks stronger but have yet to see it translate to a better inside game.

Roby was a nice surprise. Most physically ready of the freshman. He had a few buckets, hit a 3, and was handling the point as well. Most vocal on the court of the new guards.

Reynolds really went after McBroom but just not quite there yet. He threaded the needle on a couple passes, among them a Waldmanesque bounce to Crawford on the break. Has nice handles and a good floor game. Another 15 lbs of muscle and he's a big time player.

Bartely is the least developed of the freshman guards. Shot a couple threes and can handle the point in a pinch but I doubt he plays much this season.

Gillmann is a project but by no means a stiff. He's slight of build but he mixes it up. Once again I don't see him getting tons of time but he has skill. He saw some time on the court with Manning, intriguing lineup there.

Jolly was the other surprise. He will be a rotation player. Defense is a question mark but on offense he is the real deal, inside and out. Physically ready to play just like Roby.

Hines the walk on had some nice minutes as well. Only walk on to get in the scrimmage. He could fill in for a pinch.

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Seemed as though Manning and Reggie were still affected by their injuries. Reggie started the scrimmage but didn't play after the first couple minutes. Manning was in and out more than he should be.

It appeared that the Blue team was the starters and Gray was backups, save for Yarbrough on the Blue squad.

Ash is a beast. Total package, handles, shoots, scores, defends. Best player on the team. Get the ball in his hands.

I'm not as down on McBroom as many are. He is taking defense much more seriously, appears to have bulked up a little and is still a good shooter and can create for himself. He was not outplayed by any of the freshman.

Glaze got plenty of buckets, was the leading scorer in the scrimmage. None were more than inches from the basket. He cleaned up on the boards and got loose for some backdoor layups. Showed some nice touch too, wasn't missing easy shots, he may not have missed all scrimmage. He has beefed up but is still effective defending the perimeter.

Yarbrough looks like a player. 7 foot 1 wingspan, combo forward. His handles aren't good enough to be a full time wing. Didn't see any post play. Likes to run the floor and had a nice rebound putback on a break. He's a rotation player maybe, definitely not a starter at this point.

Crawford was solid, not the star but wasn't terrible. Hit a nice 3, missed a layup because Ash was defending him. He's in the discussion for starters but not a shoe in.

Lancona was out on the wing mostly, he and Crawford play well together. He looks stronger but have yet to see it translate to a better inside game.

Roby was a nice surprise. Most physically ready of the freshman. He had a few buckets, hit a 3, and was handling the point as well. Most vocal on the court of the new guards.

Reynolds really went after McBroom but just not quite there yet. He threaded the needle on a couple passes, among them a Waldmanesque bounce to Crawford on the break. Has nice handles and a good floor game. Another 15 lbs of muscle and he's a big time player.

Bartely is the least developed of the freshman guards. Shot a couple threes and can handle the point in a pinch but I doubt he plays much this season.

Gillmann is a project but by no means a stiff. He's slight of build but he mixes it up. Once again I don't see him getting tons of time but he has skill. He saw some time on the court with Manning, intriguing lineup there.

Jolly was the other surprise. He will be a rotation player. Defense is a question mark but on offense he is the real deal, inside and out. Physically ready to play just like Roby.

Hines the walk on had some nice minutes as well. Only walk on to get in the scrimmage. He could fill in for a pinch.

Thanks for the summary on the players. Very interesting to see how this team gels into a top 25 contender or are we bound for NIT.

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I don't remember us trapping the ball carrier as he crossed mid court as much as they did yesterday. Almost like they were getting used to VCU's trapping.

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