"Madness" Scrimmage !

[Murffieus]

Predictably kind of ragged this early----but some encouraging tidbits:

Acker was the best player on the floor----very sound fundamentally and is an outstanding trey shooter as he hit 3 in a row(also won the Madness trey contest last year)-------will be tough to keep him out of the lineup.
As I have mentioned many times, ideally we need a proficient trey shooter at one of the 3 guard positions at all times, which allows a more traditional #4 type to play there (Mbakwe has the tools/athleticism).

Blackledge has improved but still very rough around the edges-----has NBA type athleticim though. Will  play the #4 position-----ideally should have been red shirted last year as it's tough to refine a project in 2 years.

DJ's perimeter shooting form has improved (was hitting 2 out of every 3 treys in warmups)----some from NBA range-----the bad news though is that his release is slow and need room to get it off-----was 0 for 2 on treys during scrimmage as he was being dogged by Acker-----Mathews and McNeal didn't shoot well at all on treys going 0-6 between them.

Mechanically Barro is sound as a postup (had several RARE opportunities last night), but is very slow on postup moves-----needs a lot more reps on that so to gain a conditioned reflex-----right now he's like a baby taking his first steps on his postup moves------he's at his best when he gets the dish of and can make his giant "gathering step" to the hoop for the slam-----rather quick and confident on that move which leads me to believe he could develop a much quicker postup move.

The main thing I took away from the scrimmage was a reinforcement of the concept of having a proficient trey shooter at one of the 3 guard positions----this would mean that one of the 3 main guys heretofore sits (as they were 0-8 collectively from the perimeter) and either Acker or Fitz assumming one of those 3 positions at all times----this also allows to put a more traditional #4 in the lineup (Mbakwe, Hazel, Blacledge, Haywood). IMO (unless one of the 3 guards starts hitting treys consistently)---this would be our best lineup-----remains to be seen if TC will bite the bullet on this one though-----but I think it's crucial-----as if we don't have trey production from at least one of the 3 guards, the opposition will keep packing in the defenses as they did a lot late last year!

[jutaw22mu]

having a guy like acker on the team sounds like it will pay dividends.  if crean has him guarding dj in practice everyday, theres no doubt it will make dj a better player.  glad we will finally get to see acker in the game this year, he and cubby will definetely make a difference.

im extremely excited about lazar hayward...the box score seems to indicate he had no problems scoring last night.

i think sc should redshirt, a year of development with these core players will make him a better player and quite a threat in the coming years, however i dont see much time for him this year.  if he's not going to see much time on the court, might as well keep him around for an extra year.

[Murffieus]

Lazar still has trouble from the perimeter (0-2)----still letting his trey go on the way up instead of at the height of his jump------continually hits the back part of the rimm as a result-----however inside the arc he lets the ball properly right at the height of his jump!

[muwarrior87]

I'm thinking MoAck is going to take some of James' minutes since it seemed like he and Jerel were really playing well.  They've played together before and it've visible the chemistry they have.

[ecompt]

Nice recap, Murff. You may be right about Acker, but I still think that if he plays it will have to be in a lineup with Barro, Fitz and either Lazar or Trevor up front. He's just so small. That leaves only one spot for the Three Amigos at the other guard spot. Wes, I guess, could take Fitz's spot without too much of a downgrade in size.

[muwarrior87]

his quickness evens the playing field against other players. He's so quick. there were times in the scrimmage when he'd have a crossover dribble that blew by DJ.  And he's so scrappy and always flying around on D that he will be able to play w/ a lineup of Jerel, Wesley, and two of Barro, Lazar, Trevor, Hazel and Burke up front.  Dwight looked like he improved again from last season and he keeps getting bigger! He may surprise us with his minutes and contribution this year. who knows.

[Murffieus]

And Acker CAN HIT TREYS-----absolute essential!

[DAtruth]

mo ack 2 take minutes from dj?  minutes will mesh accordingly but i dont consider it taking minutes..if anything cubi sees less playing time..the 4 best players on the team are the 3 amigos and mo ack..as a coach u have to find a way to utilize every bit of these guys skill and have them on the floor as much as possible..like jm said expect a 4 guard lineup sooner rather than later..im glad people got to see  a glimpse of the mo ack ive seen in the past..when u give him the lane hes going to make a game into a layup drill.

[marquette09]

Acker was also a 79% free throw shooter his freshman year.  That high percentage could get him some important minutes at the end of close games

[augoman]

I was unable to attend scrimmage, so greatly appreciate the synopsis, Murf.  Agree re Ack minutes, if at expense of DJ..., til he learns to share the ball, or starts hitting 3's.

[muwarrior87]

my personal favorite part of the night was being able to judge the dunk contest sitting right next to DWADE!!!

[drewm88]

Hmm, I guess that's understandable.  How did you get chosen?

I think the most underrated part of the evening was the revelation that somebody actually makes a living running games of Simon Says. Maybe I should just forget about these midterms and drop out.