bart Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I was able to catch a bit of Tuesdays and Wednesdays scrimmages. Sloan played. He looked a little rusty but i haven't seen him out for awhile. Two or three things stood out. Josh, JJ, Anthony, and Reggie, Husek are regulars. Frierichs is a physical presence and doesn't mind banging one bit. I hope he isn't plagued by foul trouble. If so, our backup center may take on added significance. If Reggie can stay focused on defense he will get his minutes. He brings alot to the table offensively. Josh has been playing the point almost exclusively. I don't know if that is what the coaches have instructed him to do or if it simply reflects the combination of players available to scrimmage. On Wednesday the cast of players was the largest I have seen all summer. There were enough players for 3 + teams. Larry the Legend, Kenny Brown, Tatum, Love, Ferguson, several new faces I have not see before plus all the current roster players in town - including Phillip Hunt who I hadn't seen for a while - with the exception of Frierichs and Sloan. Some great games! I was remeinded how good Larry can be. His court sense is impressive and has really improved. His cross over absolutely freezes people. Josh Fisher had the task of going one on one with Larry for a couple games. I also was reminded how good an athelete Kenny Brown is for a 6'9" center. He runs the floor well and gets off the floor very quickly. He should be able to play for somebody looking for a good defender and average rebounder and make some bucks somewhere overseas. He and Frierichs are really different types of players. Frierichs is a big power type player and Kenny is an athelete. Their strengths and weakenesses are almost the opposite. It will be interesting to see how Brad tweaks his system given the very different big man who will be starting for him next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Did both AD and Reggie shoot with decent accuracy? IMHO we need to improve our outside shooting next year and these two players will be important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Too bad we didn't have some recruits in town for the return of the legend. Another question, do you thing Freirichs is a step down from KB, wash, or upgrade? Am sure KB was a better defender, but he really never showed us much on the offensive end and nothing on the foul line. Is there a trade off here in your opinion? More offense from Freirichs but less D? Thanks for the updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Thought he was around this summer. It seems to me he would benefit most by these scrimmages, especially with Tatum playing in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NashvilleBilliken Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Boy, I wish I was still on campus to check out those games. It seems like you have been over there to see a lot of the scrimmages, how is Husak doing? Sounds like he is there a lot and working on his game. With competition like Brown and Tatum, I'm sure he's getting some good practice and finding out what its gonna be like next year. Has he made any progress over the last month or is he still looking like a major project? Thanks a lot for the reports! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 an exception to your comment about kenny brown. he might not have been the best offensive player in a half court game, but imo, he was the best run the floor center we have had since bonner. he finished more fast breaks in two years at slu than probably all the rest of our centers combined in the last 10 years imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 who is hughes guarding? if love, how is that matchup looking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 if brad could develop a relationship with larry to assist him in the recruiting process? i know for example that magic johnson calls and talks to recruits for michigan state when possible. it would go a long way to at least locking up st louis kids to know larry wants to see them at slu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU Fan Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I saw IO on campus last week and he told me that he was leaving for home on Sunday and would miss the last week of scrimmages at the Rec Center. I guess everyone else takes off later this week for home and rest prior to the start of the Fall Semester. Can't wait for the official practices to begin in October, as well as the names of all the Fall signees in November. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Roy, I was wondering the same thing regarding getting Larry involved with the program in some positive way. Does Brad even know Larry's around I wonder. By the way, please reread my original post. I indicated how well Kenny Brown runs the floor. He is a very good athlete for a guy 6'9" and about 260. I really hope he finds a spot overseas. He is a good kid. AD and Reggie both have been somewhat streaky shooters in scrimmages. Don't read too much into that however. On some afternoons there's a whole lotta hacking going on. In my mind every time I see Frierichs play I wonder how he will fit into the puzzle. He will no doubt play the bulk of the minutes in the middle. He can't run like Kenny, he can't jump like Kenny, he won't block shots like Kenny. That said he is far more physical than Kenny and seems to relish mixing it up under the boards. He works hard under the basket in getting defensive and rebounding position. He might even enjoy playing against Cincy. He does have some offensive skills, but not alot better than Kenny. He did make a real nice reverse layup in heavy traffic a couple days ago in a scrimmage. He strikes me as a kid you wouldn't mind going into battle with. I don't think we have had a physical force like him in the middle down low - who can actually play and isn't just a stiff - in some long while. I guess all I will say is when somebody drove the lane there was a chance Kenny might block the shot. Frierichs won't block the shot, he doesn't jump that well, but he well might commit a hard foul and the number of opponents coming at him down the lane might decrease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillikenTX Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Maybe our new center can revive the old Detroit Pistons Chuck Daly ball. Let the guy who is charging down the lane know contact will be coming. Now if we can only find a Rodman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 bart my comments about kenny were aimed at slu72's post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Rodamn an undersized PF, Sloan fits the bill, but not a tenacious rebounder. Shaw would fit into that mold better. Izik can be Adrian Dantley, Fischer/Drejaj can be dumars. Too bad we don't have an Isaiah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Frericks sound like a keeper. You are right it has been a great while since we have a had a big man who is willing to mix it up and can be a rebounding force. Heinrich might have been close but he had athletic limitations. I think we are correct in assuming that Brad is going to be recruiting big, physical Big 10 style players. Guys like Frericks can exploit alot of teams that are soft in the CUSA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Even if Brandon Morris isn't an Isaiah Thomas, who knows -- Darren Clarke might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 broy, I thought that the NCAA adopted legislation about a dozen years or more that limits recruiting contacts to only the school's paid bball coaching staff. I would be very much surprised if Hughes could make recruiting calls/visits at Brad's request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 i remember reading just a couple of years ago when mich st was in the final four about all the help magic johnson has been encouraging recruits and answering concerns during recruiting. if it isnt legal, so be it, but like i said, i can remember that comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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