Back to the Pro-AmWritten by: noreply@blogger.com (Alan Bykowski)I got out to IWB's Milwaukee Pro-Am (http://www.milwaukeeproam.com/) at Greenfield High School again today. As always, it was a good time, and I was especially glad to be joined by a number of other Marquette fans. A small group of us took in the action and tried to get some impressions of what we might have in store for next season. Here's what I came away with after another look at some of these guys.
Junior Cadougan: If the Pro-Am is any indicator, Junior is on the verge of stardom. His shooting form has improved, though he still has problems when he adjusts in mid-air. He was very good at the line, hitting 9 in a row at one point. He's in better shape, accelerates very well (sometimes too fast for teammates), and is faster than I ever expected. I also liked his defensive instincts. He seemed aware of Otule, and when he couldn't cut a guy off he would funnel them inside to CO, who was constantly altering shots. He did run into some frustration when teammates wouldn't put the ball up despite him getting them the ball in position and when he outran everyone else on the fast-break, but when he's surrounded by guys like DJO and Jamil Wilson, that shouldn't be a problem.
Chris Otule: When Chris is down low, he seems to have an impact on virtually every shot that goes up. It will surprise no one that he is a flat-out shot-changer. But what I really liked was what I saw on offense. On more than one occasion, Otule demonstrated a reverse-pivot move that allowed him to finish with his left hand. I can't remember seeing this from him last season. If Otule can develop another reliable post move or two, he could really help open things up for us by keeping defenses honest.
Jamil Wilson: He is one heck of an athlete. Jamil seems to be able to do a bit of everything. At times he brought the ball up, he showed off shooting range with a few 3's, he got rebounds and put-backs in traffic, and even tried to take a charge (though was called for blocking). He looks like the basketball version of a "five-tool player".
Juan Anderson: When I think of JA, I think of a guy that has a very high basketball IQ. He has excellent court vision, unbelievable creativity when passing, and is willing to defer to his teammates. Some of the passes he makes, including one stunning left-handed bounce pass while on the run, are simply things of beauty. He needs to bulk up a bit, but when he does, expect him to be an exciting and intriguing player to watch.
Jake Thomas: This guy is going to have a positive impact on Marquette next year. I know, he's not eligible to play until 2012-13, but he will be a dynamite practice player. Thomas ran the point for his team today and also continued to demonstrate ridiculous shooting range. Thomas isn't your typical walk-on. He looks like a high-major contributor. Jake's a hard worker, a great shooter, and a tough defender. I have no doubt that our guards will be better players for having to play against him on a daily basis. I'm looking forward to this kid being a Warrior.
Vander Blue: I only watched the first half of Blue's game. He can drive and score and put in a good effort, but his shot still needs work. He tends to push it more than he does shoot it. On the plus side, it's actually falling more than it did last season. If nothing else, hopefully the Pro-Am will help build his confidence. Still, I can't see him as anything more than a sixth or seventh man right now.
Jamail Jones: I love Melo's new body, but I want to see him use it more. He tends to stick to the perimeter on offense, just waiting to knock down the three. He got inside a few times, but I think with his strength he could actually develop a bit of a post-up game. Physically he looks like he should be ahead of the curve, but if he doesn't add more diversity to his game, I could see people like Mayo and Anderson passing him in the rotation come fall.
Other Thoughts:
- Dwight Buycks is built for the Pro-Am, but if and when he plays professionally, he needs to be a 2-guard. He's a score first, score second, score third, pass fourth kind of guy. Still, he's fun to watch. Some of the fade-away 3's he hit were incredible.
- Dunk of the day goes to Trend Blackledge (no surprise there). At the end of their game, Cadougan fed him an alley-oop that saw Trend's hand a good foot above the rim as he just seemed to hang for a second before slamming it down.
- The best non-Marquette guy I watched today was Dejuante Wade. The big man was matched up against Jamil Wilson and looked unstoppable early, hitting shots down low, from mid-range, and displaying good post moves. The former UW-GB Phoenix player led his team to a rout today.
- Watching Junior, Otule, and Keaton Nankivil on the same team makes me wonder what might have been. Nankivil played well both in the post and in shooting from outside. He's the kind of mismatch player that would have really helped Marquette over the past four years, and it's no surprise that the Scion Dental team, even without Wes Matthews, is dominating the MPA.
That's about all I have for now. I hope to get out to the Pro-Am at least once next weekend, and definitely want to make it out the next weekend for the playoffs and the final. For anyone who hasn't made it out, the games are at Greenfield High School, located just south of Layton on 60th Street. Remaining games will be from 6:15-9:15 on Friday, July 29, from 11:30-2:30 on Saturday, July 30, from 6:15-9:30 on Friday, August 5, and the finals will be on Marquette's campus at the Al McGuire Center on Sunday, August 7. If you haven't been out, definitely try to get there. Admission is free, concessions are cheap, and the basketball is fun. And if you can't make it, I'll definitely try to post some more updates.
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2011/07/back-to-pro-am.html
Thanks for the scouting reports.
Appreciate the reports!
I am a JuanA fan. There lots of highlight reels of recruits on the 'net, but when you see his, you see a good number of clips of Juan distributing the ball. His court vision already seems better than some of his MU teammates.
His unselfishness will earn him time and respect from his teammates instantly.
Nicely done!
Big thanks for the reports! I LOVE reading about the guys in the pro-am.
Can anyone who has been to the pro-am expound on a potential lineup including Gardner and Otule at the same time? I believe Buzz has already stated it will happen at times next season. Has the leaner Gardner shown an ability to move his feet better for defense? Or is he going to be qualified to "defend" the 4 by simply outscoring his defender? Also, has Gardner shown a realistic ability to stretch a defense with his outside J? While I don't think a lineup with Otule and Gardner in at the same time is close to our best look, I do think there will be times where they could really beat down teams. It's super exciting to have TWO quality and promising big men when we usually very optimistically say we have one.
Thank you very much for these reports. They are very much appreciated!
Quote from: DomJamesToTheBasket on July 23, 2011, 11:30:39 PM
Big thanks for the reports! I LOVE reading about the guys in the pro-am.
Can anyone who has been to the pro-am expound on a potential lineup including Gardner and Otule at the same time? I believe Buzz has already stated it will happen at times next season. Has the leaner Gardner shown an ability to move his feet better for defense? Or is he going to be qualified to "defend" the 4 by simply outscoring his defender? Also, has Gardner shown a realistic ability to stretch a defense with his outside J? While I don't think a lineup with Otule and Gardner in at the same time is close to our best look, I do think there will be times where they could really beat down teams. It's super exciting to have TWO quality and promising big men when we usually very optimistically say we have one.
I seriously doubt we'll see Chris and Davante in the lineup together for any extended minutes this season. If and when, it will be a very situational thing.
In regards to DG and CO together, I don't foresee much of it. It's clear that center is both of their best position. But there are two major problems I see with trying to get them out there together.
The first is endurance. They are big guys and both were sucking wind at points yesterday. I think the ideal scenario would be to start CO for the first 4 minutes, then go to DG for 3. Back to CO for 3, DG for 2, CO for 2, then alternate the rest of the half so neither gets too tired. Barring foul trouble, that should work out to 22 minutes for Otule and 18 for Gardner. If they're out there together, who comes in if
they both have to go out? I know Jamil and Jae can fill in, but you want to try to always have one of those guys out there.
The second problem is the fast break. When Junior was playing with Otule and Nankivil yesterday, he frequently tried to start the fast break only to find himself alone by the time he crossed half-court. His team simply couldn't keep up. With guys like Jamil, DJO, Jae, Blue, and Melo, that shouldn't be as much of a problem. But put him out there with CO and DG and they won't be able to keep up. Junior accelerates quickly and has the mindset and skillset to turn transition in a hurry. It will help us more to have at least 2-3 guys that can keep up.
There are two scenarios I can see them out together. First, if we have a significant lead and are playing slow. CO is a great defender, and it would be nice to have DG's rebounding and sure hands when you're trying to kill a game. The second is against a slow opponent that tries to limit transition (like Bucky). That pace would allow both guys to play more minutes, and our own transition being limited would make the second point above less critical.
The only problem with playing them together against Wisconsin is the inside / outside nature of their offense. Their bigs step out and take threes.
Quote from: brewcity77 on July 24, 2011, 10:49:06 AM
There are two scenarios I can see them out together. First, if we have a significant lead and are playing slow. CO is a great defender, and it would be nice to have DG's rebounding and sure hands when you're trying to kill a game. The second is against a slow opponent that tries to limit transition (like Bucky). That pace would allow both guys to play more minutes, and our own transition being limited would make the second point above less critical.
I think it would be much more specific. Probably plays at the end of a half or end of a game either for defensive or offensive looks.
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on July 24, 2011, 11:38:26 AMThe only problem with playing them together against Wisconsin is the inside / outside nature of their offense. Their bigs step out and take threes.
One positive...Otule yesterday was guarding a big that spent most of his time on the perimeter. CO did a good job of stepping out to prevent him from getting looks, but even near the perimeter he has the quickness to get back inside when needed. Against Wisconsin, I could see a scenario where Otule played the 4 role on defense and DG played the 4 role on offense. I think they could be pretty effective doing that.
And Nukem, I agree for set plays, they could be out there for scenarios like that. But as far as any extended minutes (which is what I guessed Dom was asking) it would be only in very special circumstances.
I doubt we will see the twin towers much. If Buzz does use it from time to time I would expect us to be in a zone.
One other note on Junior's game. He seems to have worked to bring his dribble down. His first two years, it was common to see him dribbling near his chest level. At the Pro-Am this year, he is keeping his dribble at waist level or below. This could help him prevent turnovers in the upcoming year as he definitely seems to maintain better ball control in the process.
Quote from: brewcity77 on July 24, 2011, 02:05:32 PM
One other note on Junior's game. He seems to have worked to bring his dribble down. His first two years, it was common to see him dribbling near his chest level. At the Pro-Am this year, he is keeping his dribble at waist level or below. This could help him prevent turnovers in the upcoming year as he definitely seems to maintain better ball control in the process.
Awesome! More than shooting, this was what I wanted to see Junior improve the most. I think he's going to have a break-out, MVP of the team type season this year. This past year he had the type of intra-season improvement that Jimmy Butler did in 08-09, and I think that will carry over to this season much the same. When he's playing with confidence, MU is unstoppable on offense.
I think Gardner can play the four. However, after watching him in the pro am to be effective, I think he will max out at 17 minutes a game. Give him 17 at center and Otule 21 that leaves 2 minutes for someone else. There simply is not enough depth at center to allow Gardner to play the 4.We need to hope Crowder can average 30 minutes a game, which would include 2 minutes at center. That leaves 12 minutes at the 4 for other players to pick up with no good answer for those minutes.
I think Jamil could pretty easily give us those 2+ mpg at center, too. With his 7'2" wingspan he may be a more natural fit there than Crowder.
Quote from: brewcity77 on July 24, 2011, 05:25:21 PM
I think Jamil could pretty easily give us those 2+ mpg at center, too. With his 7'2" wingspan he may be a more natural fit there than Crowder.
Seeing as the average center we play is garbage, Jae and Jamil can both play minutes at the 5 and outperform the other guy. However, it sure is nice to not have to resort to playing undersized frequently. It's exciting to have two quality big guys. They are going to improve a ton just beating each other up in practice. DG has to be extra crafty to score on Chris and Chris is going to really hone his defense going up against the polished offensive moves of DG.
Quote from: bilsu on July 24, 2011, 04:26:18 PM
I think Gardner can play the four. However, after watching him in the pro am to be effective, I think he will max out at 17 minutes a game. Give him 17 at center and Otule 21 that leaves 2 minutes for someone else. There simply is not enough depth at center to allow Gardner to play the 4.We need to hope Crowder can average 30 minutes a game, which would include 2 minutes at center. That leaves 12 minutes at the 4 for other players to pick up with no good answer for those minutes.
Do we really have a "4"? Don't we have a 1, a 5 and three switchables?
Quote from: AZWarrior on July 24, 2011, 06:51:33 PM
Do we really have a "4"? Don't we have a 1, a 5 and three switchables?
On offense, yes, but on defense we have multiple guys who can guard 4's, and I'd argue Crowder is a 3/4 and better suited to guarding a college 4 than a 3.
Quote from: bilsu on July 24, 2011, 04:26:18 PM
I think Gardner can play the four. However, after watching him in the pro am to be effective, I think he will max out at 17 minutes a game. Give him 17 at center and Otule 21 that leaves 2 minutes for someone else. There simply is not enough depth at center to allow Gardner to play the 4.We need to hope Crowder can average 30 minutes a game, which would include 2 minutes at center. That leaves 12 minutes at the 4 for other players to pick up with no good answer for those minutes.
+1. Exactly what I've been thinking.