Halloween hoops

[mubb3434]

Coach Smart referenced that 11 were ready.   Rumor that Itejere may be a red-shirt candidate.  Coach Smart says EE is erratic, that Morsell needs to get in game condition.

Thanks to all posting their observations.

For all who were there, are you more optimistic or pessimistic after watching?

I'm more optimistic honestly. We can throw a lot of different guys out there for different situations. We can go big with Kuath, OMax, Lewis or go 4 guards. Really liked what I saw out of Kam Jones. He's going to score a lot of buckets at MU.

[MuggsyB]

Can Jones attack downhill off the bounce?  We need someone om the perimeter that can make things happen.

[wisblue]

I went to the scrimmage more to give me a head start on recognizing the players than to try to do any serious evaluating.

But, the theee guys who stood out for me were Lewis, Prosper, and Jones (who struck me as a very confident and capable scorer).

There are going to be some interesting battles for playing time. I assume that Morsell will be a starter if and when he can get into game shape, but Mitchell looked pretty capable running the point on the other team.

Kuath will be a nice rim protector.

[mubb3434]

Can Jones attack downhill off the bounce?  We need someone om the perimeter that can make things happen.

Absolutely. And he's a crafty passer. Thinking about a fast break in transition with the ball in hand and Kolek going to the wing while Kuath is running the court....

[Dr. Blackheart]

Best costumes?

[MuggsyB]

Absolutely. And he's a crafty passer. Thinking about a fast break in transition with the ball in hand and Kolek going to the wing while Kuath is running the court....

That's excellent news because he also has size.  I expect a learning curve for the Frosh but if he's an immediate impact guy I really think the needle will be moved more quickly than anticipated.  I'm eager to see Kuath in game action.

[Herman Cain]

It was closer than the score would indicate. It was like 48-44 with 8ish minutes left. White started hitting every one of their threes and Blue couldn't buy a bucket.

Itejere played for a hot 30 seconds. Seems like an obvious redshirt candidate. Greg came off the bench for White but I think that he is still playing hurt.

Individual defense is really really good. Players can stay in front of their men and pick pockets very well. Team defense has a long way to go. We're not playing havoc but it is extremely aggressive and features a lot of pressure, double teams, and traps. When we get turnovers it is a thing of beauty. But both squads gave up a lot of open threes (White made theirs, Blue didn't). Team needs to get better at their rotations and then it will be a top 50 defensive unit.

We are aggressive on offense as well. Pushing the tempo every time down the court. Multiple guys can get to hoop on their own which is nice but they had trouble finishing. I noticed that a lot of guys went straight at defenders for dunks and layups that had no chance of going down but had a good chance of drawing a foul. There will be some nasty posters made this season. O-Max, Lewis, and Jones were hitting their threes today. Mitchell, Kolek, and Joplin also had threes but weren't hitting as consistently. Ellis and Greg missed all of their attempts IIRC. There were a lot of skip passes, I think our height allows us to do that.

Kur is quickly becoming my favorite player. Dunks on everyone and such a versatile defender.

I doubt that stat sheet would have showed it, but I think Mitchell was the hidden gem of the scrimmage. Made a lot of really good defensive plays had some very nice finds off of drives. Kam looked as good as the rumors have said. Both along with Morsell and Kolek were the ones bring the ball up the floor.

Oso showed some life on offense but is still a work in progress on that end. His defense was very good. Chased down Joplin and stuffed him on two consecutive possessions.

If I had to guess the starting 5 and bench order based on just this scrimmage I would say:

Mitchell
Jones
Morsell
Lewis
Kuath

O-Max
Kolek
Oso
Joplin
Ellis
Elliott
Itejere

Also, for those who were there, TAMU, Mrs. TAMU, and Lil' TAMU were the Ghostbusters in the costume contest 

Thank You for this excellent analysis . Glad you participated in the festivities as well.

[Markusquette]

Any video footage of the scrimmage besides short clips?

[brewcity77]

Also, for those who were there, TAMU, Mrs. TAMU, and Lil' TAMU were the Ghostbusters in the costume contest 

Wow, no sh!t? We were the Al McGuire/Buzz Lightyear/Baby Yoda family. I stood next to you and had no idea.

[Farls]

Also, for those who were there, TAMU, Mrs. TAMU, and Lil' TAMU were the Ghostbusters in the costume contest 
[/quote

You guys had the best costume.  Lil' TAMU as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was priceless.

[bilsu]

I went to the scrimmage more to give me a head start on recognizing the players than to try to do any serious evaluating.

But, the theee guys who stood out for me were Lewis, Prosper, and Jones (who struck me as a very confident and capable scorer).

There are going to be some interesting battles for playing time. I assume that Morsell will be a starter if and when he can get into game shape, but Mitchell looked pretty capable running the point on the other team.

Kuath will be a nice rim protector.

Shaka plans on using a lot of players. Playing time may be more determined by how much a player fouls.
Freshmen always seem to get called for a lot of fouls.

[Viper]

12/04 @ RED. Just win, baby!

[MU82]

Re Elliott's injuries that have been mentioned multiple times ...

Are these new injuries, or the same ones he's been trying to recover from for years?

[MuggsyB]

Do we have the personnel to play a little havoc/press?  I always worry about playing 10 guys major mins  because it can disrupt rhythm.  But maybe I'm overthinking this....I dunno.  What most excites me is that while it will take some time, I do believe we will establish ourselves defensively.  Once we do it will lead to a tremendous resurgence for MU hoops.  We need to be patient but it will happen.  The years of complete ineptitude are over.

[TedBaxter]

Can Jones attack downhill off the bounce?  We need someone om the perimeter that can make things happen.

One of the questions I had after watching the scrimmage is if the team has anyone who is quick enough to break down another teams guard and get into the lane and it's hard to tell when you are going against your own teammates. 

- I thought Stevie Mitchell did a good job and he keeps the dribble low and finds his way into the lane and isn't afraid to take some body to do it. 

- Tyler Kolek isn't going to blow by anyone and will use his passing ability to work in the offense.  May be better at Marquette playing off the ball with his shooting ability.  He attempted a three pointer from the corner yesterday where it looked like he shot the ball by starting his shooting motion before he got the ball like he was attempting a buzzer beating shot.  Rimmed out the shot and the attempt was pretty amazing to me. 

- Kam Jones is a guy who can really handle the ball with a guy right on him and is shifty enough with his dribble and change of direction to make things happen.  Could see him playing the point a lot right away.

- Darryl Morsell hadn't played the point in his 4 years at Maryland, but did a decent job handling the ball.  Muscles his way into the lane.  I see him playing off the ball most of the time if he isn't getting MU into the offense and of course, his defense is on another level.

- Emarion Ellis is a guy people aren't talking much about or when they are, they are saying he isn't going to play much.  Ellis led the blue team with 6 assists and is a natural passer either in the halfcourt or on the break.  He made some passes yesterday that showed me that he has above average vision and his passing ability seems natural.  He's the youngest player on the team just turning 18 late summer, so watch for his progress during the non-conference season.  Can handle the ball and get into the lane.  Uses his length and ball handling ability to slither into the lane.

Not sure how this team will do record wise, but am excited to watch it evolve.   

[muwarrior69]

Agree on Mitchell. Probably the least flashy guy on the floor, but has a very calming presence on the ball. Jones and Mitchell are ready to play right now.

This team is much better than the pre season predictions.

Not that it means much at this point I find it interesting that 3 of the 5 players TAMU believes will start are WOJO recruits. I guess will find out soon what kind of team we have.

[panda]

Not that it means much at this point I find it interesting that 3 of the 5 players TAMU believes will start are WOJO recruits. I guess will find out soon what kind of team we have.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, identifying talent and recruiting was never Wojo's issue.

[BCHoopster]

After all this analysis on the players, do you think this team will have a winning record in the Big East?

[panda]

After all this analysis on the players, do you think this team will have a winning record in the Big East?

Yes - there is enough talent and experience on the team to accomplish that.

[tower912]

I am more optimistic than I was.   I now have an idea about likely rotations.

[Uncle Rico]

After all this analysis on the players, do you think this team will have a winning record in the Big East?

No

[Scoop Snoop]

After all this analysis on the players, do you think this team will have a winning record in the Big East?

Still doubtful. I know this is a simplistic approach but list who you think the top 5 teams will be. If its Nova, UCONN, and - in no particular order - St. John's, Xavier and Seton Hall, how many wins for Marquette in these 10 games? I think there may be only two and they would probably come from the "gang of three". Even if you counter balance this with sweeps over DePaul and Georgetown, this scenario still has us at 6-8 before factoring the remaining games. Okay, now for a CYA. No one here knows. I think we are all guessing on a greater scale than ever before. 

[panda]

Still doubtful. I know this is a simplistic approach but list who you think the top 5 teams will be. If its Nova, UCONN, and - in no particular order - St. John's, Xavier and Seton Hall, how many wins for Marquette in these 10 games? I think there may be only two and they would probably come from the "gang of three". Even if you counter balance this with sweeps over DePaul and Georgetown, this scenario still has us at 6-8 before factoring the remaining games. Okay, now for a CYA. No one here knows. I think we are all guessing on a greater scale than ever before.

All of those teams are beatable.

Xavier is the cream of the crop this season IMO.

Nova may struggle this year (relative to their usual dominance).

UConn really struggled to score without Bouknight last year. They're retiring the same team sans Bouknight. We'll see.

SJU is going to be a fun team and I think they'll be really tough. Champaigne is the best player in the conference IMO and Posh is so unique. Transfers should play a big role. Two quality A10 guys. Can they make the step up? If so, they'll challenge Xavier at the top.

SHU is a top 3 team as well. Deep and super big inside. Kadary Richmond was vastly under utilized at Cuse last year. Along with returning talent, he can take this team to another level.

Sorry long winded answer, but I feel we can steal games from Nova and UConn for sure. SJU and SHU will be very tough and I don't see us beating Xavier.

[Scoop Snoop]

All of those teams are beatable.

Xavier is the cream of the crop this season IMO.

Nova may struggle this year (relative to their usual dominance).

UConn really struggled to score without Bouknight last year. They're retiring the same team sans Bouknight. We'll see.

SJU is going to be a fun team and I think they'll be really tough. Champaigne is the best player in the conference IMO and Posh is so unique. Transfers should play a big role. Two quality A10 guys. Can they make the step up? If so, they'll challenge Xavier at the top.

SHU is a top 3 team as well. Deep and super big inside. Kadary Richmond was vastly under utilized at Cuse last year. Along with returning talent, he can take this team to another level.

Sorry long winded answer, but I feel we can steal games from Nova and UConn for sure. SJU and SHU will be very tough and I don't see us beating Xavier.

Thanks for a great reply. Not saying I'm in agreement but this is what I was looking for- optimists laying out a scenario for a winning record in the BE.

I should have added that my guess on the remaining six games (from my post) is 3-3, bringing us to 9-11, and that's as optimistic as I am willing to be.

[panda]

Thanks for a great reply. Not saying I'm in agreement but this is what I was looking for- optimists laying out a scenario for a winning record in the BE.

I should have added that my guess on the remaining six games (from my post) is 3-3, bringing us to 9-11, and that's as optimistic as I am willing to be.

No problem, I just don't see world beaters at the top of the conference this year. A few really good teams, but not a pre season lock top 10 type.