Popular Post Zink Posted October 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 26, 2018 So I was able to attend practice today and wanted to share what I saw and heard from the coaches, staff, and players... First, as noted in some other threads, Welmer and Hankton spent practice icing their feet. Hankton is apparently alright and could potentially play on Saturday. Coach seemed more optimistic on Welmer than Stu's phrasing would imply. Ford also said he's been one of the best players in practice, so hopefully this really is a short-term setback and not a relapse. Jacobs hung out in street clothes - the highlight of his practice was standing under the hoop and 'rebounding' for Phil Forte as the latter made like 8-10 consecutive threes. Gordon was out sick today as well, but that was sort of brushed off. Ran a lot of 4v4 drills, although I don't know if that was because we only had eight healthy scholarship players, or if that is the norm. Due to who all was missing, Bess played the 4 pretty much the whole time and coach alluded to the fact that some of the guys are playing in spots they haven't practiced in ever before. So, caveats out of the way, here's what I saw: Goodwin was the vocal leader out there and ran the point for whichever group he was a part of. His outside shot looked improved and he shot it with confidence. Got out in transition well, and seemed fine playing with his new mask on. Nothing crazy to report here, although the outside shot could be a major addition. French looked like a beast. He really stands out physically, especially with Gordon not there. He'll be more of the same from last year, and he passed really well out of the post which should be a nice way to combat double teams this year. A lot of the guys who were spectating with me commented on how impressive he looked. Bess was a bit outside his comfort zone playing out of position, but he also looked more confident and smooth from deep. Hopefully this is borne out in games, but we shall see. He was also a leader out there and has respect from all of the other players and even the coaches. Everyone on the team calls him JB btw. Foreman looked like himself, aggressively cutting to the basket and finishing strong. He has a lot of enthusiasm and dove on the floor several times, tried to draw some tough charges. His energy is a plus for this group. Isabell is going to be fun. He made several of those old-man moves, but also can stop on a dime and lose his man. Shot very well, too. He can make things happen, and I'd be surprised if he didn't start. Still trying to figure out what coach wants from him at times, but ideally he can find a way to both fit-in and stand-out. Wiley really has a quick release and made the majority (yes, >50%) of his threes. Still getting up to speed, but Van Macon encouraged him quite a bit and he looked like a contributor. His shot does seem to lack rotation, but otherwise he has flawless form. Ingvi kept pace with the rest of the guys and even had a nice move to beat Isabell off the dribble in one of the drills (after Isabell was kind of bullying him earlier). His shot is a bit flat, but he still hit a good percentage. He'll be fine if we need him to play minutes this year. Thatch was the guy who caught everyone's eye. He played with the most intensity on the floor, and frequently picked off lazy 'practice passes' on defense. He also really hit the boards hard and his ups garnered a few wows. His stroke from deep was effortless and accurate. Someone asked if he was a starter and I said he probably wouldn't be a starter right away, to which they replied, "Well, he sure is trying to be!" He'll be a fun one to watch develop all season and across four years. All in all, it was really cool to watch practice, and afterwards all of the guys came over to say hi and were quite nice. Chris May and the coaching staff were also really kind and generous with their time, and excited about the team. If you have any questions, I'll answer as best I can. Looking forward to Saturday even more than I had been! billikens747, billikenbill, SouthSide_Billiken and 48 others like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobillsgo Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Nice report! Hopefully your impression is correct and Welmer can still be a factor at some point... really seems like we shouldn't count on it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon-Balls Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Post of the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniceMenace Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Shaft will not be denied!!! brianstl likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbilliken Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Was Welmer in a boot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zink Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 29 minutes ago, kmbilliken said: Was Welmer in a boot? Yup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Thanks. Much needed after the Wellmer news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseOfTheBillikens Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 So excited to see Fred Thatch. We are gonna play so hard this year. It's just going to be a fun brand of basketball to watch. Can't wait. Love the report btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 -thanks, a great recap -stay or get healthy Bills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken4life5 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I was able to see a practice two weeks ago as well. Had similar observations about Goodwin/Bess being the unquestioned leaders and 3 point shots looked better. Gordon looked good, definitely playing more inside with Santos gone. Although we obviously had two bigs on the floor most of the time. Lot of ball screen into hi/lo action. Thatch was super competitive and physically ready to compete at this level. Jacobs/Thor both have a ton of time to spend in the weightroom but both know how to hoop. Obviously every older guy was trying to get in Thor and be physical with him but he rarely turned it over. Knows how to get to his spots and get his shot off. Jacobs has to adjust to not being the best athlete on the floor but the coaches were raving about him. My biggest concern was with Isabell. Defensive effort was atrocious and it stands out when every other dude is playing their dick off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 20 minutes ago, Billiken4life5 said: I was able to see a practice two weeks ago as well. Had similar observations about Goodwin/Bess being the unquestioned leaders and 3 point shots looked better. Gordon looked good, definitely playing more inside with Santos gone. Although we obviously had two bigs on the floor most of the time. Lot of ball screen into hi/lo action. Thatch was super competitive and physically ready to compete at this level. Jacobs/Thor both have a ton of time to spend in the weightroom but both know how to hoop. Obviously every older guy was trying to get in Thor and be physical with him but he rarely turned it over. Knows how to get to his spots and get his shot off. Jacobs has to adjust to not being the best athlete on the floor but the coaches were raving about him. My biggest concern was with Isabell. Defensive effort was atrocious and it stands out when every other dude is playing their dick off. -if he wants time he will have to defend, unless we use the Spoon-Highmark metric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJumpUp Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 18 minutes ago, Billiken4life5 said: My biggest concern was with Isabell. Defensive effort was atrocious and it stands out when every other dude is playing their dick off. I'm hoping this is just the result of coaches asking him to take it easy in practice while nursing his injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moytoy12 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Billiken4life5 said: I was able to see a practice two weeks ago as well. Had similar observations about Goodwin/Bess being the unquestioned leaders and 3 point shots looked better. Gordon looked good, definitely playing more inside with Santos gone. Although we obviously had two bigs on the floor most of the time. Lot of ball screen into hi/lo action. Thatch was super competitive and physically ready to compete at this level. Jacobs/Thor both have a ton of time to spend in the weightroom but both know how to hoop. Obviously every older guy was trying to get in Thor and be physical with him but he rarely turned it over. Knows how to get to his spots and get his shot off. Jacobs has to adjust to not being the best athlete on the floor but the coaches were raving about him. My biggest concern was with Isabell. Defensive effort was atrocious and it stands out when every other dude is playing their dick off. Just curious, not that it matters much now, but was Welmer playing when you watched? Did he look healthy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken4life5 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I was able to see a practice two weeks ago as well. Had similar observations about Goodwin/Bess being the unquestioned leaders and 3 point shots looked better. Gordon looked good, definitely playing more inside with Santos gone. Although we obviously had two bigs on the floor most of the time. Lot of ball screen into hi/lo action. Thatch was super competitive and physically ready to compete at this level. Jacobs/Thor both have a ton of time to spend in the weightroom but both know how to hoop. Obviously every older guy was trying to get in Thor and be physical with him but he rarely turned it over. Knows how to get to his spots and get his shot off. Jacobs has to adjust to not being the best athlete on the floor but the coaches were raving about him. My biggest concern was with Isabell. Defensive effort was atrocious and it stands out when every other dude is playing their dick off. He looked healthy but like he didn't trust his body. Kind of like Gordon Hayward right now. It wasn't like he was limping, just a little hesitant to go full blow. Shot it well though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 16 hours ago, Zink said: Everyone on the team calls him JB btw. Boom. This is all I cared about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobillsgo Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 28 minutes ago, wgstl said: Boom. This is all I cared about. Can’t believe the team would disrespect him like that. I heard that’s why Santos left. They kept calling him LS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.