Open Practice

[wadesworld]

Did anybody attend the open practice tonight? Any observations worth sharing?

I sure hope Wojo has them working on defense between Madness and tonight!

[DJO's Jaw]

Defense was definitely the focus. Mixed results there.

There was a bit of a scare when Markus rolled his ankle. Walked into the tunnel for a bit, but came back and practiced again after 5-10 minutes.

Sacar is going to be a solid contributor this year.

GE can definitely hit open 3's.

The PG's were trying to do to much, especially early. They had a lot of TO's.

[wadesworld]

Defense was definitely the focus. Mixed results there.

There was a bit of a scare when Markus rolled his ankle. Walked into the tunnel for a bit, but came back and practiced again after 5-10 minutes.

Sacar is going to be a solid contributor this year.

GE can definitely hit open 3's.

The PG's were trying to do to much, especially early. They had a lot of TO's.

What type of contributions will Sacar bring to the table? From the very limited highlights of workouts and such I’ve seen and from the very few minutes he played as a freshman it looks like a slasher that is fairly comfortable dribbling through traffic down the lane and a well built athlete which makes me think he has the potential to be a solid on ball defender.

[DJO's Jaw]

His offense was mostly from slashing. He also had a few quality steals on defense.

[Smokin' Jae]

Sacar looked like the best player on the court tonight imo

[moomoo]

Did anybody attend the open practice tonight? Any observations worth sharing?

I sure hope Wojo has them working on defense between Madness and tonight!

Moomoo's mumblings:

Sacar. Worth the wait. Super aggressive. Slashing all night. Finishes through contact. A starter at the 3.

Elliot. Pretty confident for a freshman. Long arms. Nice defender. Gonna see some time.

Theo. Lots of goaltending calls against him. People will think twice when going to basket.

Heldt. No one works harder.

Sam. Even smoother than last year. Looks like a PF now, size wise.

Ike. Rebound, and foul. He can do both. Well done this year.

Rowsey. Wojo ripped him for some untimely shots. Seemed more aggressive attacking the rim.

Howard. Big scare when he went down with foot injury. Came back and played fine. Seemed a little out of sorts. Couldn't find a shot to take.

Frohling. Big. Relatively athletic for someone his size. Some bad passes out of the post. Not afraid to foul hard.

Cain. A freshman. Needs some time. The hops are legit.

I'll end with this:

When Morrow and Theo play together next year and the year after, it's gonna be fun out muscling and intimidating every team.

[LoudMouth]

Heldt. No one works harder.

Matt Heldt...Excellent trier

[Nukem2]

Yes, Sacar was the man tonight.  Froling was a non-factor. Frosh looked good, though Eke is very raw.

[Mr. Nielsen]

With the event pushed to tonight because of the Bucks game on Friday, still had a nice crowd.

[wadesworld]

Thanks for the insights. Excited about Sacar. I liked the flashes of potential he showed in very limited opportunities as a freshman, moreso on the (I know, meaningless) international trip. Sounds like he put in a lot of work while redshirting.

I assume Cheatham was still not participating fully.

[Nukem2]

Thanks for the insights. Excited about Sacar. I liked the flashes of potential he showed in very limited opportunities as a freshman, moreso on the (I know, meaningless) international trip. Sounds like he put in a lot of work while redshirting.

I assume Cheatham was still not participating fully.

Cheatham did do some of the warmups, but did not play in the scrimmages as I saw.  If he did, it was very limited.   Morrow did not play either.

[cheebs09]

Ike really impressed me. I was expecting a guy pretty thin and overmatched, but he looks strong and really mixed it up.

[4everwarriors]

How did Grimes look, hey?

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Is Grimes there yet? 

[We R Final Four]

Moomoo's mumblings:

Sacar. Worth the wait. Super aggressive. Slashing all night. Finishes through contact. A starter at the 3.

Elliot. Pretty confident for a freshman. Long arms. Nice defender. Gonna see some time.

Theo. Lots of goaltending calls against him. People will think twice when going to basket.

Heldt. No one works harder.

Sam. Even smoother than last year. Looks like a PF now, size wise.

Ike. Rebound, and foul. He can do both. Well done this year.

Rowsey. Wojo ripped him for some untimely shots. Seemed more aggressive attacking the rim.

Howard. Big scare when he went down with foot injury. Came back and played fine. Seemed a little out of sorts. Couldn't find a shot to take.

Frohling. Big. Relatively athletic for someone his size. Some bad passes out of the post. Not afraid to foul hard.

Cain. A freshman. Needs some time. The hops are legit.

I'll end with this:

When Morrow and Theo play together next year and the year after, it's gonna be fun out muscling and intimidating every team.

Thanks for the update Moomoo! Now I’m even more excited to get this thing underway! Can’t wait to see the boys on Sunday!

[MuMark]

Is Grimes there yet?

I think he is expected to arrive tonight but he wasn't at the practice.

[warriorchick]

Foxconn showed up and gave everyone in the crowd a 100-inch 4K TV and a six-figure job.

They also presented Scott Walker with a giant check made out to the Great Citizens of Wisconsin for 110% of the amount of total state incentives they were originally given.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Foxconn showed up and gave everyone in the crowd a 100-inch 4K TV and a six-figure job.

They also presented Scott Walker with a giant check made out to the Great Citizens of Wisconsin for 110% of the amount of total state incentives they were originally given.

Ur attempt at political satire is embarrassingly poor.
 U should probably move to Illinois where they are much better at running state finances.

[94Warrior]

The biggest takeaways for me.
Anim - Nobody will be asking "Where is Sacar?"  - He is a physical defender and rebounding wing.  He attacks the rim with the ball.  I don't see how he doesn't log heavy minutes.
Heldt - Every time the team ran, Heldt was first!  He demands a lot from himself and his teammates.  His hard work is paying dividends.  He will also log heavy minutes, even after Froling is eligible.
Froling, John, Morrow, Heldt, Anim and even Eke are physically solid. Nobody will push us around in 2018.
Cain and Elliott are long, thin, can both shoot and are talented.  I don't expect either to log a ton of minutes this season.
Hauser is bigger, rebounded, defended, didn't shoot much.
Rowsey and Howard weren't great, but we know what we have there.
Cheatham is still recovering, from what I can tell.  Once healthy, he'll have to really compete to close the gap on Anim.

Starting 5:  Howard, Rowsey, Anim, Hauser, Heldt.
Next 5:  Cheatham, John, Eke, Cain, Elliott.
Froling in the mix with Heldt starting in December.
 

[MUMountin]

For those that have seen him play recently, who does Sacar compare to?  JJJ?  JFB?  Wes?

[94Warrior]

Also, if you are a basketball fan the Open Practice format is way more entertaining than Marquette Madness.

I'm far more interested in hearing Wojo explain their emphasis on defensive fundamentals/sing the praises of Sacar's hard work/tearing into the team for not communicating vs. attending a dance/light/fog/dunk/ATV/karate/stunt show.

[MUfan12]

For those that have seen him play recently, who does Sacar compare to?  JJJ?  JFB?  Wes?

Built like Wes, but will play a similar role to Jimmy at the end of his sophomore year. They won't ask him to create, but he'll end up guarding his fair share of 4s.

Sacar was the best player on the floor tonight, by some distance. Made great decisions, was quick and assertive, and shot it pretty well.

[Lennys Tap]

For those that have seen him play recently, who does Sacar compare to?  JJJ?  JFB?  Wes?

If he compares to JFB or Wes I'll be beyond happy.

[We R Final Four]

Also, if you are a basketball fan the Open Practice format is way more entertaining than Marquette Madness.

I'm far more interested in hearing Wojo explain their emphasis on defensive fundamentals/sing the praises of Sacar's hard work/tearing into the team for not communicating vs. attending a dance/light/fog/dunk/ATV/karate/stunt show.

I was with you until karate. Now I’m not sure if know what you are talking about.

[moomoo]

For those that have seen him play recently, who does Sacar compare to?  JJJ?  JFB?  Wes?

A poor man's Marcus Foster would be the closest comparison.

Fearless slasher, aggressive finisher, strong perimeter defender, high motor.

I know it's one scrimmage against teammates, so I know, settle down.

But I'm looking forward to Sunday much more now.

[94Warrior]

For those that have seen him play recently, who does Sacar compare to?  JJJ?  JFB?  Wes?

Think Trevon Bluiet and Jerel McNeal in a blender.  Junk yard dog.

[fjm]

It was great to be at tonight but I am going to be the minority here. Froiling looked clumsy and almost like he hasn't grown into his body yet. Will he be solid? absolutely, but tonight he just looked out of sorts maybe?

Otherwise everyone looked great.

[tower912]

The scouting report from Dodds is remarkably similar.      Sacar has made great strides.    Excellent.   Sam has filled out and doesn't like scrawny nest to Froling.   Wojo is emphasizing technique and communication on defense.    Apparently, he is simplifying it, too.    Hearing about the ankle rolls from Howard and Rowsey..... shudder....    Elliot is going to have to be ready.    Also, Haanif is going to have to work his way back into the rotation once he is cleared for contackt. 

[warriorchick]

Ur attempt at political satire is embarrassingly poor.
 U should probably move to Illinois where they are much better at running state finances.

432

Ur attempt at political satire is embarrassingly poor.
 U should probably move to Illinois where they are much better at running state finances.

I already live there. And as we speak,  Rahm Emmanuel is putting on a similar dog and pony show for Jeff Bezos.

[YoungMUFan4]

Anyone else on board with Trent Lockett as a comp for Anim?

[mu03eng]

Even Wojo said the same thing, but it is remarkable how much more useful this open practice is versus things like madness. Quite frankly, I love the open practice and if you're on the fence for season tickets, being able to go to the open practice should put you over the top.

Sequence of events(this was the second practice of the day FYI):
-warm-ups with guards at one end and bigs at the other playing one on one and light drills. (Sacar, Cain were with the guards)
-after warm-ups it was time for defensive drills. First was around managing the baseline defense (wing-center-wing responsibility hand-offs) against ball movement, Second drill was PnR defense (Froling struggled here which is....not good)
-All drills start with the defensive team players linking hands in the lane trying to drive home the need to run to the lane then out to your defensive assignments
-After a few more drills, they moved to a scrimmage format for the rest of the practice with positioning or fundemental screw ups resulting in sprints (at one point it started to look like the scene from Miracle where Brooks makes them skate suicides until they turn off the lights and Eruzioni finally realizes it's the name on the front, but I digress)
-At one point during the scrimmage Wojo was so pissed at the team he took them off the court and out of sight/earshot in the tunnel....I was very worried for whiteboards in the area
-Closed out the practice with half court shots from kids and a player of their choice to win Bucks-Cavs tickets. Wowsey went first and rimmed the ball at least twice before falling out. Sam banked it in as part of the second player-kid paring. I was curious how long it was going to take these kids to pick Heldtasauraus Rex, king of the half court shot. Now we'll never know.


Here are my random and not so random thoughts from the practice:
-Sacar will be a top 6 contributor this season. He looked most polished of all of the off ball/swing guards especially on the defensive end.
-Sacar will give us more defense than offense, but that's not a bad thing. Think Duane of last year or junior year JFB.
-Seriously, Sacar is going to be good.
-Haanif is clearly not cleared for contact yet, but I think he'll be better this season. In warm-ups he was doing a lot of driving to the right and looked smooth. Hard to say without the scrimmage but I think he put in good work in the off season.
-Morrow is a dude and I wish he was eligible this season
-Theo John will be a dude, but I'm a little worried about what level he can contribute at this season. Physically he's there but as with all freshmen, especially front court types, the mental part (positioning, focus, little mistakes) will be a concern. Stan was seemingly assigned as Theo's personal coach, don't think I heard 30 seconds go by in the scrimmage without Stan yelling at Theo and/or stopping the scrimmage to make the team run sprints
-Froling is in good shape and can move on the floor/keep up with the break. However, his fundamentals are not great, especially on defense. There is time to clean it up but I don't think he's going to make an immediate impact once he's eligible. Hope I'm wrong.
-Hauser was on the bike during warm-ups so I thought he might be injured, but he played almost the full scrimmage so not sure what that was about.
-Cain is going to get minutes as a rebounder and defender. Very active on the boards and wouldn't be surprised if he was competing for team lead in offensive rebounding.
-At one point, Wojo was talking to the crowd about the need for better defense and said something to the effect of "To be honest, the returning players we have didn't play good defense and the with the new players it's a whole new defensive concept, so we have work to do". But he said it in a positive way for what that's worth.
-Even with the mic turned off, at one point during the scrimmage we got several utterances in rapid succession from Wojo that were audible to everyone in attendance including gems like "man, our frickin point guards are killing us right now" and "GOD DAMNIT". Shortly afterwards, the team was escorted to the tunnel for a "talk".
-Wojo singled out Sacar as one of the most consistent players so far this season and heaped praise on him for all the hard work last season....seriously, he's gonna be good.
-Not sure Elliot is going to contribute early, looks tentative. I think he gets there by the end of the season, but other the Ike seems the least likely new player to contribute at this point.
-Place got super quiet when Markus went down with a knee or ankle injury that took a couple of minutes to get up and had him not putting any weight on the leg (later came back and played so I'm guessing he's good)
-Got almost as quiet when Wowsey turned an ankle as well and took a minute to get back up
-Wojo talked about this type of practice (under the lights and in front of people) good for the guys to figure out how to play in that type of environment. Guards really showed up trying to do more than they should (other than Sacar, who is going to be good, have I mentioned this yet?)

Overall, I'm really excited for this season. The guards/wings are going to be great(exceeded my expectations going in) and the 4s will be fine(met my expectations going in) and the 5 spot is worrisome(came in under my expectations). It's a single snap shot but I think we're in a good place, but the non-conference season will be a bit of a roller coaster.

It's good to have #MUBB back.

*edit: adding shameless plug for Scrambled Eggs podcast that will be rolling out likely Sunday evening. We're going to talk Open Practice, Madness, schedule predictions, odds and ends, and some dude named Drimes or Mimes or Grimes...something like that.

[Hards Alumni]

Even Wojo said the same thing, but it is remarkable how much more useful this open practice is versus things like madness. Quite frankly, I love the open practice and if you're on the fence for season tickets, being able to go to the open practice should put you over the top.

Sequence of events(this was the second practice of the day FYI):
-warm-ups with guards at one end and bigs at the other playing one on one and light drills. (Sacar, Cain were with the guards)
-after warm-ups it was time for defensive drills. First was around managing the baseline defense (wing-center-wing responsibility hand-offs) against ball movement, Second drill was PnR defense (Froling struggled here which is....not good)
-All drills start with the defensive team players linking hands in the lane trying to drive home the need to run to the lane then out to your defensive assignments
-After a few more drills, they moved to a scrimmage format for the rest of the practice with positioning or fundemental screw ups resulting in sprints (at one point it started to look like the scene from Miracle where Brooks makes them skate suicides until they turn off the lights and Eruzioni finally realizes it's the name on the front, but I digress)
-At one point during the scrimmage Wojo was so pissed at the team he took them off the court and out of sight/earshot in the tunnel....I was very worried for whiteboards in the area
-Closed out the practice with half court shots from kids and a player of their choice to win Bucks-Cavs tickets. Wowsey went first and rimmed the ball at least twice before falling out. Sam banked it in as part of the second player-kid paring. I was curious how long it was going to take these kids to pick Heldtasauraus Rex, king of the half court shot. Now we'll never know.


Here are my random and not so random thoughts from the practice:
-Sacar will be a top 6 contributor this season. He looked most polished of all of the off ball/swing guards especially on the defensive end.
-Sacar will give us more defense than offense, but that's not a bad thing. Think Duane of last year or junior year JFB.
-Seriously, Sacar is going to be good.
-Haanif is clearly not cleared for contact yet, but I think he'll be better this season. In warm-ups he was doing a lot of driving to the right and looked smooth. Hard to say without the scrimmage but I think he put in good work in the off season.
-Morrow is a dude and I wish he was eligible this season
-Theo John will be a dude, but I'm a little worried about what level he can contribute at this season. Physically he's there but as with all freshmen, especially front court types, the mental part (positioning, focus, little mistakes) will be a concern. Stan was seemingly assigned as Theo's personal coach, don't think I heard 30 seconds go by in the scrimmage without Stan yelling at Theo and/or stopping the scrimmage to make the team run sprints
-Froling is in good shape and can move on the floor/keep up with the break. However, his fundamentals are not great, especially on defense. There is time to clean it up but I don't think he's going to make an immediate impact once he's eligible. Hope I'm wrong.
-Hauser was on the bike during warm-ups so I thought he might be injured, but he played almost the full scrimmage so not sure what that was about.
-Cain is going to get minutes as a rebounder and defender. Very active on the boards and wouldn't be surprised if he was competing for team lead in offensive rebounding.
-At one point, Wojo was talking to the crowd about the need for better defense and said something to the effect of "To be honest, the returning players we have didn't play good defense and the with the new players it's a whole new defensive concept, so we have work to do". But he said it in a positive way for what that's worth.
-Even with the mic turned off, at one point during the scrimmage we got several utterances in rapid succession from Wojo that were audible to everyone in attendance including gems like "man, our frickin point guards are killing us right now" and "GOD DAMNIT". Shortly afterwards, the team was escorted to the tunnel for a "talk".
-Wojo singled out Sacar as one of the most consistent players so far this season and heaped praise on him for all the hard work last season....seriously, he's gonna be good.
-Not sure Elliot is going to contribute early, looks tentative. I think he gets there by the end of the season, but other the Ike seems the least likely new player to contribute at this point.
-Place got super quiet when Markus went down with a knee or ankle injury that took a couple of minutes to get up and had him not putting any weight on the leg (later came back and played so I'm guessing he's good)
-Got almost as quiet when Wowsey turned an ankle as well and took a minute to get back up
-Wojo talked about this type of practice (under the lights and in front of people) good for the guys to figure out how to play in that type of environment. Guards really showed up trying to do more than they should (other than Sacar, who is going to be good, have I mentioned this yet?)

Overall, I'm really excited for this season. The guards/wings are going to be great(exceeded my expectations going in) and the 4s will be fine(met my expectations going in) and the 5 spot is worrisome(came in under my expectations). It's a single snap shot but I think we're in a good place, but the non-conference season will be a bit of a roller coaster.

It's good to have #MUBB back.

thanks!

[Nukem2]

Anyone else on board with Trent Lockett as a comp for Anim?

Anim is more athletic, but not a bad comparison.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Great to hear consistent praise about Sacar from all of the attendees. Sounds like he can be an x-factor, which could be huge for a likely bubble team.

Was hoping to hear more positives about Froling so hopefully the next two months of practice are really useful for him before he becomes eligible.

[mu03eng]

One point of emphasis that may get lost in my novel. For those thinking Greg Elliot will be a contributor at PG this year, I would think something else. There is no doubting he has talent and will contribute at some point this season, but I don't think it will be as a PG and I think he'll have the 2nd fewest minutes of all the newcomers (behind Ike, who will struggle for minutes I think).

If you were going to ask who gets the most, I think it's Cain initially but by the end of the season, assuming he "gets" it I think Theo John will have the most including more than Froling.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Also, if you are a basketball fan the Open Practice format is way more entertaining than Marquette Madness.

I'm far more interested in hearing Wojo explain their emphasis on defensive fundamentals/sing the praises of Sacar's hard work/tearing into the team for not communicating vs. attending a dance/light/fog/dunk/ATV/karate/stunt show.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Myself and others at the school came up with the idea.

[mu03eng]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Myself and others at the school came up with the idea.

It's a great thing, please have it every year! Only problem was my two year old was pissed he couldn't go down and shoot hoops (dude is obsessed with basketball, shoots on his Fischer Price hoop for at least 15 minutes after he wakes up and at least 15 minutes after he gets home from daycare)

[Galway Eagle]

It's a great thing, please have it every year! Only problem was my two year old was pissed he couldn't go down and shoot hoops (dude is obsessed with basketball, shoots on his Fischer Price hoop for at least 15 minutes after he wakes up and at least 15 minutes after he gets home from daycare)

Get him doing defensive drills now basketball isn’t all offense!

[warriorchick]

It's a great thing, please have it every year! Only problem was my two year old was pissed he couldn't go down and shoot hoops (dude is obsessed with basketball, shoots on his Fischer Price hoop for at least 15 minutes after he wakes up and at least 15 minutes after he gets home from daycare)

glow jr. used to take a flying leap off his Fisher Price picnic table so he could dunk on his Fisher Price basketball hoop, complete with rim hang.

[LloydsLegs]

Thanks all, esp moomoo and MU03--I am so pleasantly surprised to hear about Sacar.

[mu03eng]

glow jr. used to take a flying leap off his Fisher Price picnic table so he could dunk on his Fisher Price basketball hoop, complete with rim hang.

Where'd he play D1 ball? I mean clear at this age this is a sign of scholarships rolling in. #NoredforOwen was even wearing his Recruit Me shirt last night, so Wojo is on alert. 

He's fired up for the season, after we got home last night I got a "Dada, put the phone down and shoot" chastisement.

[Smokin' Jae]

Great to hear consistent praise about Sacar from all of the attendees. Sounds like he can be an x-factor, which could be huge for a likely bubble team.

Was hoping to hear more positives about Froling so hopefully the next two months of practice are really useful for him before he becomes eligible.

On the positive end regarding Froling he did stroke a three with a man in his face, at the least he will be able to draw bigs away from the rim and create some more opportunities for our little guards to get to the rim. But agree with what everyone else said that he looks a touch slow and lost on D.

[warriorchick]

Where'd he play D1 ball? I mean clear at this age this is a sign of scholarships rolling in. #NoredforOwen was even wearing his Recruit Me shirt last night, so Wojo is on alert. 

He's fired up for the season, after we got home last night I got a "Dada, put the phone down and shoot" chastisement.

Unfortunately, the hoop went up to ten feet, and glow jr. stalled out at five feet and a half.

[jsglow]

Spot on analysis eng.

Let me add that simply adding big man depth is going to help.  More fouls to give.  More contested at the rim.  Way more bodies for practice which will help develop our lead guys like Matty.

Right now Sacar feels like the 6th man and a very solid contributor.  Cheatham will need to work his way into the rotation as he gets stronger and healthier.  Not his fault that he's behind.

Frohling has a ways to go, especially on defense.  But I no longer discount the possibility of seeing him at the #4.  The dude has a very nice stroke from 3.  I believe he hit 2 last night, completely in rhythm.

One thing I thought curious.  Why have Markus cover Marotta?  I would have thought Wojo would want to stress him more by putting him on Rowsey.  No disrespect to Cam who actually looked pretty darn good in the flow.  All that said, both Rowsey and Howard tried 'too' hard. Rowsey caught hell a few times and Wojo specifically talked about our experienced players needing to lead.

And I loved how the colorful metaphors started to fly as Wojo was clearly seriously pissed.  I think some of the guys might have thought that this was Madness Light but Coach was having none of it and the 'up and backs' reflected that.  Wojo even double ran them a couple times.  When he pulled the team to the tunnel I'm 100% sure he let loose with the full arsenal as I sensed he realized that he might have stepped over the line with little kids in attendance.  I was thinking Joe True was about to wheel out a cooking demonstration to keep us entertained as we all tried to figure out what to do! 

[mu03eng]

  I was thinking Joe True was about to wheel out a cooking demonstration to keep us entertained as we all tried to figure out what to do!

I'm sure the concession provider was just fine with the increased beer sales as there was a near stampede. 

[jsglow]

One more quick point.  The family that won the Bucks/Cavs tickets were sitting right behind us.  Two dads with probably 6-8 young kids under 8 years old.  The little guy that won them from his group had to be about 4.  It was nice to see because corralling that many kids meant those guys really didn't watch practice but made sure kids didn't dump sodas on each other or those around them.  Hopefully they get to go enjoy the game tonight.

[warriorchick]

One more quick point.  The family that won the Bucks/Cavs tickets were sitting right behind us.  Two dads with probably 6-8 young kids under 8 years old.  The little guy that won them from his group had to be about 4.  It was nice to see because corralling that many kids meant those guys really didn't watch practice but made sure kids didn't dump sodas on each other or those around them.  Hopefully they get to go enjoy the game tonight.

Biggest laugh of the night as Wojo was handing the courtside tickets to the little kid:

Wojo:  Are you a Bucks fan?

Kid:  No.

Wojo: Are you a Cavaliers fan?

Kid:  No.

Dad, waving wildly: I am!

Also, the dad was apparently a podiatrist.  When Marcus went down, he said, "If that's a sprained ankle, that's two weeks he'll be out".  One of his kids said, "But aren't you a foot doctor, Dad? Go down and help him!"

[94Warrior]

Biggest laugh of the night as Wojo was handing the courtside tickets to the little kid:

Wojo:  Are you a Bucks fan?

Kid:  No.

Wojo: Are you a Cavaliers fan?

Kid:  No.

Dad, waving wildly: I am!

Also, the dad was apparently a podiatrist.  When Marcus went down, he said, "If that's a sprained ankle, that's two weeks he'll be out".  One of his kids said, "But aren't you a foot doctor, Dad? Go down and help him!"

So, what did the fine Dr. say when Markus returned in less than 10 minutes? 

[We R Final Four]

On the positive end regarding Froling he did stroke a three with a man in his face, at the least he will be able to draw bigs away from the rim and create some more opportunities for our little guards to get to the rim. But agree with what everyone else said that he looks a touch slow and lost on D.

From what I have seen and read Harry seems more in the mold of a creighton or wisky big. But, if he can hit the open three, draw his defender out, and be serviceable on D we will be ok.

[wadesworld]

From what I have seen and read Harry seems more in the mold of a creighton or wisky big. But, if he can hit the open three, draw his defender out, and be serviceable on D we will be ok.

With Heldt, Hank, Joey, etc., I think MU under Wojo is going to have at least 1 of the Creighton/Wisconsin bigs on the roster most seasons.

[Herman Cain]

I focused on the Freshman , Sacar and Harry; as they are the new elements . I was pleased with the progress of all .

We are clearly getting a major upgrade in rebounding and defense with these freshman .  Ike “looks “ the worst of the freshman  , but I think what he brings to the table may actually be the easiest to convert into a game situation . There are lots of ball screens in our league and I think his combination of footwork and strength allows him to work through those. He will be a limited minutes high intensity guy .

The coaches were working Theo hard as he is going to play a lot and they want him to be prepared . They are riding him on the little things which is good . So I took their heavy practice focus on him positively.

Cain and Elliot are future stars and outright pogo sticks. Cain clearly upped his boarding skills.  Just give them time to grow their bodies . It was easy to see their length is a difference maker in so many ways. I also think we are a perfect program for both of these kids. We can give them plenty of minutes against the cupcakes and then work them in at a measured pace in conference play.

I was ok with Froling , I think he is right about where I thought he would be. I think Wojo will figure out a way to utilize the offensive tools he has ,but minimize his physical shortcomings which everyone at the practice saw.  It is too bad he is coming in a little later because I think he could have built some momentum against the cupcakes.  The Big East is going to present challenges which will take him some time to adjust to.

Sacar appears to be Big East ready, which was the best news of the practice. He is one of our few down hill players, which will come in handy if defenses over play our shooters. We definitely need his defense especially when the two small guards are playing together.  From what I saw I would not be surprised if he splits the 3 minutes with Haanif.

Overall I really liked where are team is. Wojo and Company are doing a good job with this group of kids.

Ps Marotta is having a great time. The kid brings a lot of positive energy to the the group.

[Mr. Nielsen]

It's a great thing, please have it every year! Only problem was my two year old was pissed he couldn't go down and shoot hoops (dude is obsessed with basketball, shoots on his Fischer Price hoop for at least 15 minutes after he wakes up and at least 15 minutes after he gets home from daycare)

I have a meeting tomorrow. I'll pass it on.

[warriorchick]

So, what did the fine Dr. say when Markus returned in less than 10 minutes?

It was apparently not a sprained ankle.

[The Lens]

Love going but both times I've gone I've worried it's trick and someone is going to come out and tell us we all have a problem; and that we need to reevaluate our lives and how much we care about #mubb.

[mileskishnish72]

I am so psyched to hear all this about Sacar. I think I had kind of written him off, thinking he'd be another Chief.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Assuming this was at the Al, for those that were there, did the entrance get fixed?

[cheebs09]

Assuming this was at the Al, for those that were there, did the entrance get fixed?

It was at the BC.

[jsglow]

It was at BMO Bradley.  First time the boys were on that floor. Wojo described it as an important step. 

[jsglow]

One other observation.  In Wojo's mind this is ALL about defense this year.  He's committed to teaching these kids the right way to play D up to the best of their ability.  Most of his ire last night was directed at defensive effort, positioning, 'ready position', etc.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

One other observation.  In Wojo's mind this is ALL about defense this year.  He's committed to teaching these kids the right way to play D up to the best of their ability.  Most of his ire last night was directed at defensive effort, positioning, 'ready position', etc.

I am happy to hear this, but I cant help but read this and think this should not be a revelation....

[Marquette4life]

It was at the BC.

I drove by the AL and the entrance wasn't fixed. They put a Marquette ad over the entrance. looks decent

[warriorchick]

I am happy to hear this, but I cant help but read this and think this should not be a revelation....

No one said it was.  He said they were focusing on defense, not that it was a new idea.

[jsglow]

I am happy to hear this, but I cant help but read this and think this should not be a revelation....

True dat.  But remember that he's got returning players who were all less than adequate last year on the defensive end.  Wojo's not going to say a damn thing when Howard's open 3 doesn't fall (like last night).  But he's going to get in his grill if he misses a defensive assignment.  The only time I remember coaches being upset with the offense last night was an ill advised shot by Rowsey.  They blew their whistle 20 times for defensive mistakes forcing guys to run

Oh, one more thing.  Wojo has a new defensive 'rule' that he discussed, especially in the last 6 minutes.  No layups, no open look 3s, and no fouls.  That's how guys are being graded and they know it.

[mu03eng]

Oh, one more thing.  Wojo has a new defensive 'rule' that he discussed, especially in the last 6 minutes.  No layups, no open look 3s, and no fouls.  That's how guys are being graded and they know it.

I think we should call it the Villanova rule.....HEY OH

[jsglow]

I think we should call it the Villanova rule.....HEY OH

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

No one said it was.  He said they were focusing on defense, not that it was a new idea.

Thanks for the clarification. Very helpful

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

True dat.  But remember that he's got returning players who were all less than adequate last year on the defensive end.  Wojo's not going to say a damn thing when Howard's open 3 doesn't fall (like last night).  But he's going to get in his grill if he misses a defensive assignment.  The only time I remember coaches being upset with the offense last night was an ill advised shot by Rowsey.  They blew their whistle 20 times for defensive mistakes forcing guys to run

Oh, one more thing.  Wojo has a new defensive 'rule' that he discussed, especially in the last 6 minutes.  No layups, no open look 3s, and no fouls.  That's how guys are being graded and they know it.

I would love us to get back to a lock down mindset on defense.  That was a really fun part about some of the best Crean/Buzz teams.  I miss it. 

[tower912]

For those who saw the practice, did Sacar ever kick out to an open wing after he started to drive?  Having a player with size who can drive, draw, and dish will certainly aid the shooters trying to get open looks.

[mu03eng]

For those who saw the practice, did Sacar ever kick out to an open wing after he started to drive?  Having a player with size who can drive, draw, and dish will certainly aid the shooters trying to get open looks.

Yeah he kicked to an open Hauser on the wing once that I recall

[MUMountin]

Given the accolades on Sacar, it seems the redshirt was a great idea.  How much was the redshirt his idea, and how much was it the coaching staff.  Who initiates that conversation?

[muwarrior69]

Foxconn showed up and gave everyone in the crowd a 100-inch 4K TV and a six-figure job.

They also presented Scott Walker with a giant check made out to the Great Citizens of Wisconsin for 110% of the amount of total state incentives they were originally given.

Wow! Two 100 inch TVs in the Glow house.

[Herman Cain]

Given the accolades on Sacar, it seems the redshirt was a great idea.  How much was the redshirt his idea, and how much was it the coaching staff.  Who initiates that conversation?

The coaches initiated it and Sacar and his family went along with the idea. Credit to both parties for making this happen.

[DCHoopster]

The coaches initiated it and Sacar and his family went along with the idea. Credit to both parties for making this happen.

He would have had a hard time getting any minutes last year with Katin and JJJ in front of him, wise choice.  I really like kids that take a year off to work on there craft.
Just see how many kids at Wisconsin that red-shirted, they have taken that year off to improve.  They grow up.  He has a chance to be very good, he schooled Jamil
Cain all night in that practice.  You could see his strength and just took Cain off the dribble.  In 2 years, that will be the opposite as Cain will probably get bigger and
improve as much if not more as he is the most athletic player on the team.  I really liked Elliott as well.  He could get 20-25 minutes just because the pigmys are not
good defenders.  MU is a different team this year but next year there going to have NBA size upfront, and on the bench.  Joey will give them a different look as I can
see the Hausers starting with Morrow at center at times.   Froling, John will be enforcers off the bench, and you can not forget about Matt.  Hope Grimes feels the same way.  Visiting those other schools are just different then MU, one and done type players, not sure how united they are together.  I do give Calapari credit for getting those kids to play together.   One last point,  lets say Grimes commits,  Bailey comes as a walk-on for one year, anything is possible.

[Dawson Rental]

He would have had a hard time getting any minutes last year with Katin and JJJ in front of him, wise choice.  I really like kids that take a year off to work on there craft.
Just see how many kids at Wisconsin that red-shirted, they have taken that year off to improve.  They grow up.  He has a chance to be very good, he schooled Jamil
Cain all night in that practice.  You could see his strength and just took Cain off the dribble.  In 2 years, that will be the opposite as Cain will probably get bigger and
improve as much if not more as he is the most athletic player on the team.  I really liked Elliott as well.  He could get 20-25 minutes just because the pigmys are not
good defenders.  MU is a different team this year but next year there going to have NBA size upfront, and on the bench.  Joey will give them a different look as I can
see the Hausers starting with Morrow at center at times.   Froling, John will be enforcers off the bench, and you can not forget about Matt.  Hope Grimes feels the same way.  Visiting those other schools are just different then MU, one and done type players, not sure how united they are together.  I do give Calapari credit for getting those kids to play together.   One last point,  lets say Grimes commits,  Bailey comes as a walk-on for one year, anything is possible.

Froling an enforcer off the bench?  Did you read this thread?

[Dawson Rental]

The coaches initiated it and Sacar and his family went along with the idea. Credit to both parties for making this happen.

I know you like Eke now, but I think that he's a great candidate for the Sacar plan, a sophomore redshirt.

[MUMountin]

I know you like Eke now, but I think that he's a great candidate for the Sacar plan, a sophomore redshirt.

+1

Not a ton of minutes available at 4/5 next year.

[Herman Cain]

I know you like Eke now, but I think that he's a great candidate for the Sacar plan, a sophomore redshirt.

That could be a viable plan that would benefit both parties.  Carawell says the most important thing for Ike is to get a taste of the game at this level , which happens this year. His ceiling is high so a skills year could put him in a position to be a Justin Patton.

[DCHoopster]

Froling an enforcer off the bench?  Did you read this thread?

I saw Froling as well, remember he is 6'11", he can help on the boards, he is a big kid.  They have lots of big bodies, he will have to learn how to physical or he will
not play, simple as that.

[tower912]

That could be a viable plan that would benefit both parties.  Carawell says the most important thing for Ike is to get a taste of the game at this level , which happens this year. His ceiling is high so a skills year could put him in a position to be a Justin Patton.

I have thought for some time that would be how it goes.   He gets time early in the year until Froling is eligible.    He gets spot minutes and garbage time the rest of the year.    He sits next year and does nothing but work and get stronger against Heldt, Froling, Morrow, John, Bailey, Hausers.  In two years, with Heldt gone and the inevitable early departures to the NBA after MU's national championship  , he steps in ready to be a beast in the BEast.