Observations

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

Was able to sit in on a "practice" recently ("practice" in quotes because the team is really just participating in intrasquad scrimmages at this time) and thought i would share some thoughts on a few of the players who stood out in the limited time I was able to observe:


Jae Crowder --- Holy balls is this guy going to be a huge addition.   Solidly built, was ridiculously active on the boards.  Grabbed some monster rebounds, had some nice putbacks, even had a good midrange game.   If a shot went up he always seemed to be involved on the glass, if not getting the rebound then causing problems for the guys who did by getting a hand or a body to disrupt and make it difficult.   Easily the most impressive player out there.   

Jamil Wilson --- very nice player.  it probably helped that he was on the team with jerel and wes, but he was a scorer and also made some plays on defense.   needs to work on his frame, but was in total control and looked like the player he was hyped to be a few years back. 

Chris Otule --- added some bulk and was active on the glass.   looked a little winded at times, but keep in mind these were very fast paced up-and-down games.  he played on the team with wes, jerel, acker and wilson so didnt get many looks in the post but had a few putbacks.  overall, looked adequate but didn't blow me away.  seems like everyone has been pretty excited about him this preseason but i didnt really see it in the few games i watched.   

vander --- played the point (junior was not participating for whatever reason).  had some nice shots, but also forced plenty of bad ones too.   

Terry sanders was there watching too, and he mentioned that dave singleton has been impressive all summer.  didnt see him much so take that for what it is worth.   

like i said, crowder and wilson were the 2 players i was most impressed with.   obviously i only observed for a short amount of time so i could have just seen hot/cold days from each of the players mentioned, but it really does seem that we are going to be a strong 8-10 deep this year and much more balanced than we have been in previous years.   

if anyone is curious about any of the other players just ask and i will be happy to add a report on how i thought they played in the time i was able to watch.   

[willie warrior]

Crowder will start. Fulce will not/should not!

[TheRock]

Maybe I'm the only one, but how about the rest of the players on the team that you saw?  How did they all look?

[MarkCharles]

How did Jamail Jones look? What was his offensive mindset? (shoot mainly 3s, or attack the hoop?)

Obviously it seems like you would see Jae as a starter. That seems to fill the 1-4 starting spots (Junior, DJO, Jimmy, Jae). What is your best guess of who our last starter will be? Fulce? Otule?

How did Otule's hands/touch look?

How did Vander look as a pg, besides forcing shots?

Thanks a lot for the inside info!

[redbirdwarrior]

Thanks for the insight for us out of Milwaukee guys.  How did Williams and Fulce look?  Was Gardner there?  If so, how'd he look?

Thanks...

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

I could see a few different starting lineups depending on matchups, but I wouldn't be dissapointed at all with (from 5 to 1) Otule, Crowder, Jimmy, DJO and Junior.  

Again, I did not see Junior play but it would be hard for me to imagine anyone else starting at the point at this time.  

If Otule can be consistent and give Crowder an opportunity to play the 4 regularly we could be very good in the post this year.  Otule still had some difficulty holding on to rebounds (he went up against Crowder so chalk some of that up to Crowder's active play) but did have some nice putbacks.   If these games are any indication however, we are going to have to worry about foul trouble with Otule thus I could see him and Crowder splitting time at the 5.  

Fulce looked to be the exact same player he was last year, nice midrange game but still needs to step it up defensively.  

E Williams didn't do much of anything, although he made some very smooth 3's and looked good with his long range shot.  

Jamail Jones and Reggie Smith didn't stand out in any way (positively or negatively) but that could have a lot to do with my own unfamiliarity with them.  

Again, these games were very fast-paced street-style scrimmages with Wes and Jerel essentially dominating the action so most of the scoring was done in the paint (drives, putbacks) or on 3's.   Nobody really ran any set plays so it was difficult to determine Vander's effectiveness as a point guard as there were very few times where a basket was scored off an assist.   The games were scrappy even though the players were mostly in control.  A 24 second clock was set for each possession so there was a lot of back and forth.  

I did not see Gardener in any of the games.  

[MarkCharles]

Fulce looked to be the exact same player he was last year, nice midrange game but still needs to step it up defensively.   

E Williams didn't do much of anything, although he made some very smooth 3's and looked good with his long range shot. 

I don't like the sounds of this. I was hoping that Fulce would step it up as so many of our seniors have in the past. Not saying he can't, I'm just sayin. And I would prefer Williams play more down low, trying to create mis-matches with his quickness/explosion against opposing pfs.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Did any of you guys go to the Pro-Am this summer? You could of seen everyone, other than Crowder.

[ATL MU Warrior]

I don't like the sounds of this. I was hoping that Fulce would step it up as so many of our seniors have in the past. Not saying he can't, I'm just sayin. And I would prefer Williams play more down low, trying to create mis-matches with his quickness/explosion against opposing pfs.

You are not going to see any of that in these kinds of games.

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

I don't like the sounds of this. I was hoping that Fulce would step it up as so many of our seniors have in the past. Not saying he can't, I'm just sayin. And I would prefer Williams play more down low, trying to create mis-matches with his quickness/explosion against opposing pfs.

These were my exact thoughts as I was watching both of them, especially EWill.  

[TheRock]

A player can only do so much with the talent they have, and Fulce and EW simply do not have that much talent.  They seem to be great effort guys.  Fulce seems to have reached his potential based on last years play and how he looks this year.  It's hard to tell with EW because we haven't seen much of him.

IMO EW is just not good.  He looks uncoordinated at times and seems uncomfortable on the floor.  He still has time to improve, but Fulce seems to have maxed out what he can do.

[GGGG]

Fulce is an effort guy who can come in for 5 min or so a game when the team needs a boost.  Even if he starts, he won't be getting big minutes....just a reward for being a good locker room and practice guy.

I wouldn't be so harsh on EWill yet.  Let's see how the season starts with him to see if the extra experience and weight room work makes him more effective.

[PBRme]

If Jamil played with Wes and Jerel, does that mean Jamail and EWill were on the other team which means they were guarded by Wes, Jamil, and/or Jerel?  May explain some of the lack of production.  What were the teams?

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

Acker
Jerel
Wes
Wilson
Otule

This team won all or most of the games so stayed intact.   The incoming team would then shuffle the lineups to field a team of 5 -- there weren't fifteen players so the makeup of the teams changed, but I remember seeing at one time:

Vander
Singleton
DJO
Fulce
Crowder

another time I saw:
Vander
Jimmy
Ewill
Fulce
Jones

[MUFanatic5]

I've noticed Jerel McNeal has been in the area "practicing" with the team? Does he live in the Milwaukee area or you think he's just spending a few weeks here since most of the guys like Wes and Novak have NBA training camp starting up next week?

[PBRme]

Acker
Jerel
Wes
Wilson
Otule

This team won all or most of the games so stayed intact.   The incoming team would then shuffle the lineups to field a team of 5 -- there weren't fifteen players so the makeup of the teams changed, but I remember seeing at one time:

Vander
Singleton
DJO
Fulce
Crowder

another time I saw:
Vander
Jimmy
Ewill
Fulce
Jones

Thanks

[MarkCharles]

A player can only do so much with the talent they have, and Fulce and EW simply do not have that much talent.  They seem to be great effort guys.  Fulce seems to have reached his potential based on last years play and how he looks this year.  It's hard to tell with EW because we haven't seen much of him.

IMO EW is just not good.  He looks uncoordinated at times and seems uncomfortable on the floor.  He still has time to improve, but Fulce seems to have maxed out what he can do.

A bit harsh to say that a guy does not have much talent and that he is just not any good after only 1 year in the program. He seems to have been over-rated coming out of high school, but I still think he could be a great role player for this and future MU teams. Lets see what Buzz can make out of this guy

[Slim]

Are the practices open to the public? Do you need any credentials to get in? Is there a schedule posted somewhere? How about after midnight madness?

[ErickJD08]

The same people talking about EW will be saying the same thing about Jones about this time next year.  Since when is a 4 star a bust when they don't contribute their first year.  I am waiting til after his junior year before I judge talent or ability.  Look what Wilson did his first year...

When kids contribute their freshmen year, look at it as the exception, not the rule.

[4everwarriors]

The same people talking about EW will be saying the same thing about Jones about this time next year.  Since when is a 4 star a bust when they don't contribute their first year.  I am waiting til after his junior year before I judge talent or ability.  Look what Wilson did his first year...

When kids contribute their freshmen year, look at it as the exception, not the rule.

It's wise to reserve judgment for 5 years before commenting.

[ErickJD08]

It's wise to reserve judgment for 5 years before commenting.

Its better than eating your foot... plus, its only a little over 2 years.  And when I say "your", I don't mean you, but a person generally speaking.

[HoopsMalone]

Acker
Jerel
Wes
Wilson
Otule

This team won all or most of the games so stayed intact.   The incoming team would then shuffle the lineups to field a team of 5 -- there weren't fifteen players so the makeup of the teams changed, but I remember seeing at one time:

Vander
Singleton
DJO
Fulce
Crowder

another time I saw:
Vander
Jimmy
Ewill
Fulce
Jones

Wes, Jerel, and the biggest guy on the same team?  Not the fairest teams...

[nycwarrior]

Wes, Jerel, and the biggest guy on the same team?  Not the fairest teams...

i think thats the point.

add wilson to wes, jerel, CO and the sharp-shooting Mo and you've got the best possible talent vs the guys who can actually take the court next year.

welcome to the big leagues boys.