bart Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Due to the refinishing of the West Pine Gym floor, the boys are scrimmaging at Simon Rec center late afternoons 3 or 4 days weekdays each week. I caught them yesterday. An interesting cast of characters including Chris Heinrich, Justin Tatum, Husek, (sp?) Fish, Johnson, AD, IO, a guard who a fan told me was Clarke, etc. Issac and Chris H.(who has been playing in Europe) were man on man as were Justin J. and Husak. I was told Frierichs (sp?) was in town but I have not seen him scrimmaging. Several things stuck out in my mind: JJ is quick and can run the floor. IF he could develop a consistent 12-15' jumper, he would be a threat. Issac has developed a better feel for the American game. He has gained some weight and is playing with much more confidence. Husak is every bit of 7'. I know he weighs 250#, but I sure hope he stays in town and Coach Lynn keeps him pumping the weights. I have heard a lot about how he is a stiff, etc. I watched him very closely -he cannot compete with IO or Chris H at this time. How many high school centers could? He will certainly be redshirted and probably won't contribute for a couple years. That said, I can see why Brad would take a chance on him as a "project." If we compare him with his peers - just graduated high school centers 6'9"+ I bet he runs the floor better than the vast majority of them. He has some court awareness, certainly better than most of his peers. He needs to develop his skills down on the block, offensively and defensively. Whoever worked with Kenny B last year on Brad's staff made remarkable progress, especially on defense. Kids like Husek are tough to project. I'm glad we took him. He could end up being 7'1 or 2" and 290# someday. I just hope it's when he is a junior at SLU and not when he is 50 years old. I also like the stylish haircut - white on top, dark on the sides. I was again reminded Fish and Anthony can be very tough on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Thanks for the report Bart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StLouBlue Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Thanks for the post, good to hear so many are in town and playing. I agree with Husak as a project. If you are going to have a project type of player, I would always go with the size. The one thing I haven't seen anyone mention is if he blocks many shots or at least alters them. I know his senior year stats he had a lot of blocks, but didn't hear anything mention in your report or from the all star game. I figure even if the rest of his skills are ready, he should be able to provide a large presence in the middle off the bench once he starts playing--hopefully after a redshirt year. A shot blocker is something SLU hasn't ever had in my memory unless you count Melvin's one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 My observations of Bryce Husak during the all-star game were inconclusive regarding his shot-blocking ability. He didn't block any shots during the exhibition. I'm sure he can alter and block shots, but in absence of data and observation, I would wonder if he's a prolific shot-blocker. His foot quickness and reaction time didn't seem to indicate that he would be, but I don't think the one time I saw him is enough for be to accurately gauge him. Melvin Robinson was a good shot-blocker. Also, he was with the Billikens for two-plus years. You said one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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