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Practice Observations: Warm-up for open practice TODAY!


DoctorB

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1 minute ago, moytoy12 said:

I share ‘72’s frustration. Those center court lower bowl seats are often empty. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it’s damn frustrating. 

@Major Majerus, I don’t see any way we can redshirt Diarra. Our front court is thin enough as is.

We have 3 other guys who can play the 5, the only spot MD could play,  JB, HF and KCH.  French and KCH will also get some time at the 4 so basically there are 80 minutes a game available for the combination of 4 & 5 positions.  I can see JB-20 minutes, HF - 30 and KCH-20 leaving 10 for Perkins,  Hargrove and Thatch, all of whom will also be getting time at the 3.    Assuming Coach Ford is true to his word about playing a 9-10 man rotation, then I think MD is the most obvious scholarship player who would not be a part of that rotation and I'm not sure who the other non-rotation player would be.  If he is not going to be in the rotation, why not redshirt him.  If we have an injury to one of the bigs we could always ditch MD's  redshirt.

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35 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

Out of curiosity why do you think the lower bowl seats are sold?  Across from the bench is filled in nicely but everybody wants to see the bench.  The other side you have limited view of the benches and what is happening there.  This why those seats are not all sold in my opinion.  I just don't think those seats are all bought and nobody comes they are high dollar seats.

I heard both lower bowls were sold out when I went to the Temple game a while back. Someone said mostly to companies, but they were rarely used. 

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17 minutes ago, bauman said:

We have 3 other guys who can play the 5, the only spot MD could play,  JB, HF and KCH.

Can Hankton really play the 5? This is in no way a shot at Hankton (nor does it overly change the rest of your post which I tend to agree with), I just see him as more of a hybrid forward type.

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7 minutes ago, TheChosenOne said:

Can Hankton really play the 5? This is in no way a shot at Hankton (nor does it overly change the rest of your post which I tend to agree with), I just see him as more of a hybrid forward type.

Reports from some of those attending the open practice said that Hankton spent some time playing the 5.  I suppose that may be plausible against some teams.

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2 minutes ago, Quality Is Job 1 said:

Reports from some of those attending the open practice said that Hankton spent some time playing the 5.  I suppose that may be plausible against some teams.

There was a lot of rotation going on . I would not expect him to play the 5 unless it was an extreme emergency. 

 

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50 minutes ago, bauman said:

We have 3 other guys who can play the 5, the only spot MD could play,  JB, HF and KCH.  French and KCH will also get some time at the 4 so basically there are 80 minutes a game available for the combination of 4 & 5 positions.  I can see JB-20 minutes, HF - 30 and KCH-20 leaving 10 for Perkins,  Hargrove and Thatch, all of whom will also be getting time at the 3.    Assuming Coach Ford is true to his word about playing a 9-10 man rotation, then I think MD is the most obvious scholarship player who would not be a part of that rotation and I'm not sure who the other non-rotation player would be.  If he is not going to be in the rotation, why not redshirt him.  If we have an injury to one of the bigs we could always ditch MD's  redshirt.

We have 4 guys who could theoretically play the 4 or 5 for extended minutes.  2 are freshman and 1 is an unproven sophomore. French has been prone to foul trouble.  I don’t think you redshirt Diarra. In fact, I think it’s a really bad idea.

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32 minutes ago, willie said:

There was a lot of rotation going on . I would not expect him to play the 5 unless it was an extreme emergency. 

 

Last seconds of a game and up. Makes sense for FTs

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7 minutes ago, willie said:

There was a lot of rotation going on . I would not expect him to play the 5 unless it was an extreme emergency. 

 

Agree with you Willie, I don't see him playing that spot often.  I think JB and HF will usually split the 40 minutes at the 5, but as you say KCH could do it for short periods, if necessary.  I would not have thought that was even possible until I saw him today.  He has added quite a bit of muscle and was working at the 5 for short periods of the practice, including during the scrimmage.  He was able to at least hold his own.  I think he would do fine against some of the back-up 5's we faced last year.

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We are thin at the forward positions and an injury or absence of French for any reason, even within a game would put our backs to the wall.  In an interview last year, Ford said he was considering playing KC at the 5 last year, in order to play French at the 4, because he believes French will be much more effective there. 

I dont see any of our wings being able to defend 4s, very well.  Our lack of depth at the forward positions will occasionally mean one of them will have to step up.  Goodwin might even be the best option. In any event, there is no way we redshirt a healthy Madani. 

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I think the Hargrove talk is a little dramatic, IMO. I could be proven wrong, and I wasn’t at practice today, but it’s hard to judge guys based off of one practice. For instance, I was at practice a week or so ago and GJ was really struggling - making boneheaded mistakes and getting beat inn D. Coach was really on him. But he was apparently very good today.

These guys are 18-19 years old and are going to underperform in practice sometimes. It’s what we’re going to have to deal with this season. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Littlebill said:

I think the Hargrove talk is a little dramatic, IMO. I could be proven wrong, and I wasn’t at practice today, but it’s hard to judge guys based off of one practice. For instance, I was at practice a week or so ago and GJ was really struggling - making boneheaded mistakes and getting beat inn D. Coach was really on him. But he was apparently very good today.

These guys are 18-19 years old and are going to underperform in practice sometimes. It’s what we’re going to have to deal with this season. 

 

 

I know nothing about Hargrove other than he is a tremendous athlete with great energy. The thing that impressed me about his HS videos was that he would hustle back, I mean like Charley Hustle back, on D after he made a jaw dropping dunk. But that was HS. Who knows how he was coached. According to B'roy not real well. So, give him some time to pick up the nuances of D1 ball, which all of our FR will have to do because it's so different from HS and AAU ball. They are now playing against a lot of young men in their 20's who have been thru the wars so to say. It takes time. It's why Duke and UK can't win a national championship even with all their one and doners. Boys against Men. Men win most of the time. 

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I was at the practice today....Here are my general observations...emphasis on general because it is a preseason practice.  I leave it to the others to draw their detailed  conclusions on individuals after 1 practice....I focused more on the team dynamics.

These are the key words I came away with after practice......Athleticism...Raw...10......Uptempo......Press.....shooting

Athleticism...Some are quick and high jumping ....some are big and bruising . ...will be a fun team to watch.

Raw....The good news ...tremendous upside potential....the bad news ...there will be mistakes...bad passes....missed 1 footers....blown assignments...etc   If past history is any indicator Ford will work his magic and we will gel by Feb...Yes it will take time ....we will get better as we go....but may take a few months to gel....a lot of new people. Rawness will lose us some games in the beginning but by the end that experience should lead to some victories

10....The number of players we will use every game  per Ford....This is the depth indicator....Depth will get us a some extra victories this year.

Uptempo.....Ford indicated the old Billiken way may be done....we will run.....no more letting the clock run down on every offensive shot....More exciting bball.

Press....We will press 40 minutes per game per Ford.....No that is not a typo...press the entire game....see word topic 10 from above....The good news is we will win an extra few games as a result of wearing the other team down even if the other team may be better than us. Unfortunately this is a double edged sword...we seem to struggle when we are pressed which could neutralize our press going the other way or cost us a few games (see Raw topic above)  This should get better as time goes on.

Shooting....The good news...it is better than last year...which isn't saying much ....but it has potential to be a lot better. Today's small sample was not a WOW but showed flashes of possibilities....The bad news  is missed 2 footers ...3s...not finishing drives etc(see Raw again)...I think this will improve as the year goes on.....One of the things that led to poor shooting over the last few years was lack of depth....we would wear down and miss shots in addition to making turnovers. 10 players  per game will allow for better shooting in the 2nd half.

While I mainly wanted to focus on the team...some random observations....Hankton much improved....Bell is a pleasant surprise....While there is some rawness...he looks well beyond a freshman especially a Billiken big man freshman

Well I have to start gathering data for the Billiken and A-10 preview....It is almost time.....start the count down

tick...tick...tick

 

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2 hours ago, Aquinas said:

We are thin at the forward positions and an injury or absence of French for any reason, even within a game would put our backs to the wall.  In an interview last year, Ford said he was considering playing KC at the 5 last year, in order to play French at the 4, because he believes French will be much more effective there. 

I dont see any of our wings being able to defend 4s, very well.  Our lack of depth at the forward positions will occasionally mean one of them will have to step up.  Goodwin might even be the best option. In any event, there is no way we redshirt a healthy Madani. 

We have several forwards but French is far and beyond the best, so an injury would put us back a ton.  Same could be said with Goodwin and the guards.

 

hargrove is prob our 4th best forward 

 

 

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10 hours ago, bauman said:

We have 3 other guys who can play the 5, the only spot MD could play,  JB, HF and KCH.  French and KCH will also get some time at the 4 so basically there are 80 minutes a game available for the combination of 4 & 5 positions.  I can see JB-20 minutes, HF - 30 and KCH-20 leaving 10 for Perkins,  Hargrove and Thatch, all of whom will also be getting time at the 3.    Assuming Coach Ford is true to his word about playing a 9-10 man rotation, then I think MD is the most obvious scholarship player who would not be a part of that rotation and I'm not sure who the other non-rotation player would be.  If he is not going to be in the rotation, why not redshirt him.  If we have an injury to one of the bigs we could always ditch MD's  redshirt.

Jacobs has outplayed Weaver to this point.

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8 hours ago, thetorch said:

I'll share my observations from 4 practice viewings including this morning.  

The practices I have been to, the team has focused heavily on fast break execution and full court defense.  Ford saying we were going to run and press is not a lie.  It is the majority of what we have worked on.  

French - I have my reservations about his finishing ability but his shot looks good in practice.  He's completing moves to the basket and dropping layups more often.  I doubt if his FT shooting has actually improved, although I did see his team win a ft contest in practice, so it is imperative that he can finish.  We don't have anyone on our roter who can match up with him on defense so his performance can be a false indicator.

Goodwin - He looks more under control and confident.  I still don't think he is a pg though.  He's been more than solid though.

Thatch - His shooting is much improved.  More and more I think he could lead the team in scoring.  His defense is exemplary.  Will be first team all A10 defense.

Jacobs - He's not a world beater but he looks more comfortable.  Not great at anything but seeing that he can be a solid threat from all three spots on offense.  His defense looks great too.  All indications are that he starts as well.

Bell - I'm not as high on him as some.  A clone of Kenny Brown.  Can pass out of the post but his hands are not good.  Weak around the basket, drops the ball all the time.  He will get blocked by guards.  I do like his footwork and passing.  He works hard defensively but he doesn't utilize his size or strength well.  Better conditioned than I thought.

Hankton - Has improved the most.  Decent rebounder now, much stronger.  Needs better shot selection but I've seen him make some impossible shots and he has some nice bask to the basket moves as well.  I could see him leading us in scoring in a game or two.

Weaver - He's a gunner on offense, not much else.  Ballhandling is limited.  Defense is OK, he'll be our best bet against small guards.

Jimmmmmmerson - The best of the newcomers.  Sometimes is lights out shooting.  He has a green light all the time.  Not a poor defender either.  Has a knack for freeing himself to geta clear shot.

Collins - Seen glimpses of awesome vision and passing skills but is going a bit too fast now.  Gets to the basket but has a hard time finishing.  His problem will be figuring out what to do on offense without the ball.  If he isn't the ballhandler he really doesn't know what to do.  

Hargrove - Really raw.  He and Diarra are behind the rest of the team on learning the sets.  Hopefully his athleticism wins out and by midseason he is getting some run.  Otherwise he may be getting little PT throughout the season.

Diarra - Really really raw.  Total project.  Right now just a big body.  Still learning basic concepts.  Not sure if he sees PT this year at all.

Perkins - Sometimes further behind than Hargrove and Diarra.  Get by on talent but gets outworked a ton.  Don't see him getting much PT unless we are in a jam.  Strikes me as a total opposite of Bess.

I am sticking with my 2 or 3 games over .500 record projection.

Thank you for the detailed analysis.

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14 hours ago, TheChosenOne said:

Can Hankton really play the 5? This is in no way a shot at Hankton (nor does it overly change the rest of your post which I tend to agree with), I just see him as more of a hybrid forward type.

Exactly. Since when is a 6'7 215lb jump shooter qualified to play the 5? I understand that we're all pleased Hankton has put in the work in the weight room but the desire to make the Dance a year early has driven some folks to derangement.

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Yes. Thank you to all who appeared at the practice and provided updates. Much appreciation from those of us, even locals, who could not make it. Unfortunately I had a very very sad funeral at 10 AM that morning so I do personally thank everyone. 
 

in reading the various comments, though, a few things stand out:

1.  Does Bell still have more weight  to lose or not?  Is he truly ready to play, and perform well, this year, or is he just the next best we have after French and more ready than Diarra?

2.  Not too many comments from/about Weaver.   I am a little surprised   Happy if our long term option (Sophomore Jacobs) is truly beating him out. 

3.  Jevon Bess himself said that Perkins is our best player (or along these lines) two months ago and yet no one posted anything to similar or along these lines. If anything, the reports on Perkins have not been all that positive  Yes, he missed all summer with us as Thicks correctly pointed out but he is also 2 years removed from high school with two years of college/JUCO playing experience  I, for one, am surprised on hearing this.

4  Not surprised to hear about the learning curves and progress that both Hargrove and Yuri face.  Undisciplined, poor high school coaching catches up to even the best.  And leading a good D1 team at PG is alot to ask a true freshman.

5.   Marginal improvement is all that anyone can expect from returning players. Yes the weight room and age experience can greatly help players (Hankton and Jacobs)  but most do not all of a sudden become a 3 point shooter in a matter of a few months/summer.  Comments that Goodwin may increase his 3 point shooting by 3%, guys being decent FT shooters, etc seems more wishful thinking than reality.  I assume Goodwin played PG yesterday, but were there times when someone on his team else played PG? and if so, what position/role did Goodwin play?

6.   Who were our best outside shooters? I assume Jimerson was one, and curious if he is more of a spot up 3 point shooter like Highmark or if he can create his own shot like Claggett?

 

 

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