Billikens Open Practice

[SluSignGuy]

Just starting a thread for people to comment about the Billikens Open Practice this afternoon.

Relatedly, do people know if the Lou Fusz lot will be open (for free)?

[SluSignGuy]

Who is #14? 

[wgstl]

7 minutes ago, SluSignGuy said:

Who is #14? 

Deandre Jones from central Arkansas I believe 

[Basketbill]

can't make will appreciate hearing everyones opinions....

[SluSignGuy]

Hargrove not afraid to shoot 

[SluSignGuy]

Just now, SluSignGuy said:

Hargrove not afraid to shoot 

Neither is Williams 

[billikenbill]

18 minutes ago, SluSignGuy said:

Neither is Williams 

Any going in?

[wgstl]

2 minutes ago, billikenbill said:

Any going in?

He made an and-1 mid range jumper

[TMBilliken2013]

Nesbitt has had hardly missed, defends well, and just finished an alley oop from Yuri. Towel me. 

[DeSmetBilliken]

I’ve seen enough to declare this…Jordan Nesbitt is good.

[Littlebill]

1 hour ago, SluSignGuy said:

Neither is Williams 

Doesn’t seem like anyone is afraid to shoot. Not a bad thing either 

[SluSignGuy]

I will let others report more about the basketball side of things (I got somewhat distracted in conversation with my aunt and uncle).  But the event was very nicely done by SLU.  Had one drill in the beginning as people were wandering in, and then two 16 minute scrimmages.

I am sure people who know more about basketball than me can get things out the drills, but the scrimmages were entertaining.  Also much better than trying to attempt a dunk contest.  Good job SLU.

[brianstl]

So I assume nobody is going to say Nesbitt isn’t a starter anymore.

[Littlebill]

21 minutes ago, brianstl said:

So I assume nobody is going to say Nesbitt isn’t a starter anymore.

Yep. This team looked really similar to last year’s in terms of intensity. Didn’t seem like many weak spots. Traore needs more time, but held his own against two of the best bigs in the league in Linssen and Okoro. The only difference is it seems like we will take more shots from the outside and we will definitely shoot better from the line.

[Crewsorlose]

The big takeaway for me regards the youngsters:

Nesbitt is so physical, confident, and can also shoot. I didn't see him run point at all. 

Traore is not a stiff. He moved well, has size, and some skill. He's way ahead of where a guy like Diarra was. 

[BIG BILL FAN]

 

 

 

Frank Cusumano

 

@Frank_Cusumano

·

1h

 

Just watched some of the

@SaintLouisMBB

scrimmage. All I can say the next 4 years watching Jordan Nesbitt will be a delight. Mad skills.

[hmart23]

10 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

The big takeaway for me regards the youngsters:

Nesbitt is so physical, confident, and can also shoot. I didn't see him run point at all. 

Traore is not a stiff. He moved well, has size, and some skill. He's way ahead of where a guy like Diarra was. 

He ran the secondary point multiple times when he and yuri were on the floor together. The other team forced him to bring it up instead of Yuri. Side note: More emphasis on constant ball movement this year it seemed like.

[AnkielBreakers]

52 minutes ago, brianstl said:

So I assume nobody is going to say Nesbitt isn’t a starter anymore.

Yeah, I will probably have to delete my previous posts for posterity. Hopefully this keeps up. If he is a 40% type of 3 pt. shooter, he will be really hard to stop.

[Billikenbooster]

Was not able to attend, out of town. Was ALorentsen a factor at all, outside shooting or mixing it up inside?

[Band Legend]

7 minutes ago, Billikenbooster said:

Was not able to attend, out of town. Was ALorentsen a factor at all, outside shooting or mixing it up inside?

Lorentsen hit a couple of threes -stays out on the perimeter most of the time.  There are no long term projects on this team- I think every single player could get in the game and contribute if needed. 

[JohnnyJumpUp]

The most impressive big on the floor, by far, was Linssen. Nesbitt looked really good. Hargrove and Perkins looked noticeably bigger.

[3star_recruit]

For those who couldn't attend, Yuri, Perkins and Okoro mostly had the day off.  We probably saw more of Jones, Strickland, Lorentsson and Traore in this scrimmage than we will in any game this season. 

I was surprised to see Lorentsson's sweet pass off the dribble, leading to layup for his team.  That was a nice play for a guard, never mind a 6'8 guy.  Lorentsson-mania is too big to fit on a t-shirt, though.  

[Old guy]

I was not there but the comments from those who were are favorable. It is just fine that Yuri, Perkins, and Okoro did not do much today. I was mostly interested in Nesbitt's and Lorentssen's play.

[dlarry]

56 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

For those who couldn't attend, Yuri, Perkins and Okoro mostly had the day off.  We probably saw more of Jones, Strickland, Lorentsson and Traore in this scrimmage than we will in any game this season. 

I was surprised to see Lorentsson's sweet pass off the dribble, leading to layup for his team.  That was a nice play for a guard, never mind a 6'8 guy.  Lorentsson-mania is too big to fit on a t-shirt, though.  

 

[thetorch]

Perkins was in for limited stretches.  When he was in he dominated.  He gets any shot he wants.  He looked like a NBA player out there.  Was active on the glass as well.  He'll be hard pressed to set the scoring average record, but he will average over 22 points a game and break Larry's total points record.

Okoro also had limited time.  Had a couple decent post looks.  

The star was Nesbitt.  Stu says he had 28 points on 8-10 3 pt shooting.  I thought it was more like 8-12 or 13.  He has a quick out in front release like Perkins.  Played with more intensity than anybody else on the court.  He needs to work on some defensive fundamentals but he gets after it on that end.  If he stays he'll be an all A10 defender in year 2.  He just does everything.  Imagine if Goodwin was 4 inches taller, could shoot, and was nastier on the court, you have Nesbitt. His on court personality is the complete opposite of Perkins.  Perkins is cold as ice, Nesbitt is almost too intense, he was barking the whole scrimmage.  These two will be our best duo since Claggs and Highmark.

I liked the ball movement on offense.  We seemed more fluid, but we have more shooters now so that helps.  We shot way more 3s than I've ever seen in this type of scrimmage.  Nesbitt, Williams, Hargrove, Lorentsson, all had double digit attempts with Jimmerson and Jones not far behind.  I think Hargrove shot 2-11, Williams 5-15, Lorentsson maybe 2-10.  

I liked William's game.  He can shoot at anytime.  He'll have his good games and bad but for a guy who's probably not going to start he's going to be a big weapon for us.  We'll see some 5 point games from and we'll see some 25 point games.

Just from this scrimmage Traore won't play but he's much better than Diarra.  I like Jones too, he'll only get a few minutes but he has nice handles and can hit shots.

I'm more upbeat about the team now.  I knew Nesbitt was going to be good but he's real good right now.  I don't see any team in our conference who can hang with our two wings.  Okoro can match up against the best bigs in the conference and Linssen would start at center for probably all but 4 teams in the A10.  We have so much shooting, Yuri's only problem will be trying to keep everyone happy.  We are a solid 2nd in the conference and an NCAA team with Nesbitt playing at this high a level.