Blue v. Gold Scrimmage

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks EL G.  Great report.  Zaide is the freshman I am most looking forward to seeing play. Can't wait to get the season started.

Anyone know who we play for our secret scrimmages?

[Dickthedribbler]

I attended and sat in one  of the cushy leather seats usually occupied by the rich and famous.

A few very general observations:

1. The Blue team seemed to get a little lazy in the second half and the Gold took it to them. More defensive intensity from Mitchell, Ross, Lowery, and Sean Jones.

2. Chase Ross was very impressive. He has a confident outside shot and had several aggressive drives to the basket. I think he's primed to take on a much bigger role.

3. Lowery looks ready to play big time basketball.

4. I hope Oso never attempts a 3 point shot in a real game.

5. It looks like the team should have good depth, especially in the backcourt. I hope Gold is OK.  A couple of times he seemed to have some discomfort and I had to wonder if it's related to the shin splint issue. He does have a smooth outside stroke and knocked down a couple of long ones.

Can't wait to se these guys play against someone else.

I was there.

+1 on Ross and Lowery.
+1 on your assessment of Oso's 3 point shooting. At any given point in a game we're going to have a minimum of 3 guys on the floor at the same time who are competent to very good 3 point shooters. It's just not Oso's game. I'll put the over/under on Oso's made three pointers for the entire season at 4.

On Gold hobbling a bit, I believe I saw him get kicked in the shin during a scrum for a loose ball. It happened right in front of Shaka and didn't appear to amount to much. I think he'll be OK.

Good spirited scrimage.

[Dickthedribbler]

Thanks EL G.  Great report.  Zaide is the freshman I am most looking forward to seeing play. Can't wait to get the season started.

Anyone know who we play for our secret scrimmages?

scrimmage.

You're going to like Lowery. He's a player.

[YoungMUFan4]

Thanks EL G.  Great report.  Zaide is the freshman I am most looking forward to seeing play. Can't wait to get the season started.

Anyone know who we play for our secret scrimmages?

Michigan at the Al
Missouri in Chicago

[MuggsyB]

I was there.

+1 on Ross and Lowery.
+1 on your assessment of Oso's 3 point shooting. At any given point in a game we're going to have a minimum of 3 guys on the floor at the same time who are competent to very good 3 point shooters. It's just not Oso's game. I'll put the over/under on Oso's made three pointers for the entire season at 4.

On Gold hobbling a bit, I believe I saw him get kicked in the shin during a scrum for a loose ball. It happened right in front of Shaka and didn't appear to amount to much. I think he'll be OK.

Good spirited scrimage.

Do you think Benny can give us 20-25 mins?  Shaka seems very high on him.  This team has insane guard depth.  I think we'll have the ability to wear teams down while simultaneously barraging teams all over the floor like a unstoppable rebel force. 

[MU82]

Thanks to those who went to the scrimmage and gave their reports.

My best friend from Marquette is visiting us this weekend, and we picked the 5-6 games we're gonna go to.

So we're already psyched for this season - and these reports get me even more stoked!

[Dickthedribbler]

Do you think Benny can give us 20-25 mins?  Shaka seems very high on him.  This team has insane guard depth.  I think we'll have the ability to wear teams down while simultaneously barraging teams all over the floor like a unstoppable rebel force.

I think he probably could. But barring foul trouble or injury to Oso, I don't think he'll be called on to provide those kind of minutes. But you never know. Stamina can be a problem with big guys sometimes.

I realize it was a different era and comparisons seldom hold. But McGuire had his star system and that 1976-77 team was dubbed by Al and the media affectionately as "The Butch and Bo Show", and that's pretty much the way it played out. Shaka doesn't have a "star" system per se. But even though MU can go 10 deep and we're loaded with talent, and this is the deepest MU team I can remember in 55 years, I think this year becomes "The Oso and Tyler Show". It's their time, and they're that good. I think Oso stays on the floor as much as possible.

[MuggsyB]

I think he probably could. But barring foul trouble or injury to Oso, I don't think he'll be called on to provide those kind of minutes. But you never know. Stamina can be a problem with big guys sometimes.

I realize it was a different era and comparisons seldom hold. But McGuire had his star system and that 1976-77 team was dubbed by Al and the media affectionately as "The Butch and Bo Show", and that's pretty much the way it played out. Shaka doesn't have a "star" system per se. But even though MU can go 10 deep and we're loaded with talent, and this is the deepest MU team I can remember in 55 years, I think this year becomes "The Oso and Tyler Show". It's their time, and they're that good. I think Oso stays on the floor as much as possible.

If he can competently defend and rebound rotations will be super interesting.  Jop has slimmed down.  That said I do think we will see 4 guards on the floor at times. 

[Doo]

1) Ross ready for prime time - YES
2) Lowery will get lots of minutes and significantly contribute - YES
3) Al ( and maybe Caedin) are Oso in year 1 but slightly more advanced—-would be interested in others view on that - I think 2 years from now Cardin Hamilton is the stud of this freshman class

[Goose]

El G

Thanks for the report. Felt badly missing thd scrimmage today but the report answered a lot of questions.

This team is going to make a deep run in March and jacked to get the season started.

[El Guerrero 2]

Do you think Benny can give us 20-25 mins?  Shaka seems very high on him.  This team has insane guard depth.  I think we'll have the ability to wear teams down while simultaneously barraging teams all over the floor like a unstoppable rebel force.

I agree with the Dribbler that Shaka is unlikely to call on Ben to pay 20+ minutes a game. He'll get 15 or so and spell Oso. Meanwhile, I think you'll see a lot of Jop at the four and about 5-10 with Chase or Zaide playing the "4."  Shaka was constantly yelling at the guys to push the pace. I think the tempo will be ramped up even more this season and Shaka will try to run the Klingons and Kalkbrenners and Sorianos of the league into the ground.

[DoctorV]

I agree with the Dribbler that Shaka is unlikely to call on Ben to pay 20+ minutes a game. He'll get 15 or so and spell Oso. Meanwhile, I think you'll see a lot of Jop at the four and about 5-10 with Chase or Zaide playing the "4."  Shaka was constantly yelling at the guys to push the pace. I think the tempo will be ramped up even more this season and Shaka will try to run the Klingons and Kalkbrenners and Sorianos of the league into the ground.

Agree. I think Shaka is ready to run and gun, mainly because I think he's confident that he's got a squad full of talent.

Listening to his presser was remarkable in many of the typical ways- so well spoken, so candid, so insightful. Always seems to have a perfect pulse on his team while making it obvious that he's the mastermind behind it all.

He gushed for about 15 minutes on his guys and didn't once mentioned TyKo or Kam, barely mentioned Oso or Jop.
That's how you know this team should be elite.
If Stevie, Chase, Sean Jones, BennyG, Zaide, etc can be what Shaka thinks they can be the sky is the limit.

Back to the original point- it's obvious the 4/5 is his biggest concern, not because of skill, but because of health.
Oso will play 28-30 minutes in important (non blowout) games given health and no foul trouble because
A) he's awesome, an elite 5 man in this system and an all BE type of player
B) he can run with and play with any rotation Shaka puts out there.

So, Ben will likely get 15-18ish very valuable minutes. His most important role, as I've said before, will be to back up Oso at the 5. He will also get another 7-10ish minutes at the 4. His health is obviously very important to Shaka.

I also agree that Jop gets the majority of the minutes at the 4 (21-23ish) and that the remainder go to Ben, Chase and Zaide.

[avid1010]

+1 on your assessment of Oso's 3 point shooting. At any given point in a game we're going to have a minimum of 3 guys on the floor at the same time who are competent to very good 3 point shooters.

Can you explain this in greater detail?

[Dickthedribbler]

Can you explain this in greater detail?

Yes.

We are extremely blessed with many talented perimeter players. Kam Jones, Sean Jones, Kolek, Lowery, Norman, Ross, Mitchell, Joplin and Gold are all much better 3 point shooters than Oso. Those 8-10 foot jumpers in the lane and on the baseline, yes, Oso is very good with those and we need him to be a scorer on those. Same with those runners in the lane that he is so good at. But he is not a 3 point shooter, and I don't think it benefits the team to have our 6'11 Center standing out there firing up 23 foot jumpshots when we've got 9 other guys who can do it more effectively. If he wants to hoist one up now and then, fine.

[The Sultan]

Oso's three point shooting would only be used to drag his defender away from the basket. Last year his defender would just sag back and defend the rim because he was no threat. Even it if were minimal, Oso having the ability to hit that shot would allow the floor to open up for everyone else.

So he won't be shooting a bunch, but I can see the benefit of him occasionally doing so.

Also, let's not exaggerate about our outside shooting ability. Last year we were a good three point shooting team, but hardly a great one. 

[Shooter McGavin]

Michigan at the Al
Missouri in Chicago

Thank you.  It may have been discussed elsewhere but i couldn't recall.

[MuggsyB]

More detail on how Jones the Younger looked yesterday?  Better decision making?  What's the ultimate prognostication about our transition game?   Is Lethality quite possible?

[Uncle Rico]

More detail on how Jones the Younger looked yesterday?  Better decision making?  What's the ultimate prognostication about our transition game?   Is Lethality quite possible?

Read the posts

[bilsu]

I agree with the Dribbler that Shaka is unlikely to call on Ben to pay 20+ minutes a game. He'll get 15 or so and spell Oso. Meanwhile, I think you'll see a lot of Jop at the four and about 5-10 with Chase or Zaide playing the "4."  Shaka was constantly yelling at the guys to push the pace. I think the tempo will be ramped up even more this season and Shaka will try to run the Klingons and Kalkbrenners and Sorianos of the league into the ground.

It depends on how healthy Gold is. I think he plays more than 20 minutes, because his ability to shoot the three or put it on the floor makes him a hard player for the other team to cover.

[MuggsyB]

It depends on how healthy Gold is. I think he plays more than 20 minutes, because his ability to shoot the three or put it on the floor makes him a hard player for the other team to cover.

Can he defend and rebound?  If he can and drains the 3 ball?  Cancel Christmas bilsu.  We're talking about an MU team with the potential to make things miserable for their opponents and destroy their will. 

[muwarrior69]

Yes, but can we win more than one game in the NCAA tournament?

[Viper]

Yes.

We are extremely blessed with many talented perimeter players. Kam Jones, Sean Jones, Kolek, Lowery, Norman, Ross, Mitchell, Joplin and Gold are all much better 3 point shooters than Oso. Those 8-10 foot jumpers in the lane and on the baseline, yes, Oso is very good with those and we need him to be a scorer on those. Same with those runners in the lane that he is so good at. But he is not a 3 point shooter, and I don't think it benefits the team to have our 6'11 Center standing out there firing up 23 foot jumpshots when we've got 9 other guys who can do it more effectively. If he wants to hoist one up now and then, fine.

if Oso's low slow release outside shot is as bad as everyones report, why would he ever take one?  Draw the D out? Hardly. The D will let him take it all day every day. Again, based on the reporting here, it's not like Oso is going to get a hot hand from deep.
Oso...run the court and play in the paint!

[MuggsyB]

Yes, but can we win more than one game in the NCAA tournament?

Tyko had a disastrous game vs MSU.  I fully expect us to bounce back. 

[Uncle Rico]

Yes, but can we win more than one game in the NCAA tournament?

No

[panda]

Oso's three point shooting would only be used to drag his defender away from the basket. Last year his defender would just sag back and defend the rim because he was no threat. Even it if were minimal, Oso having the ability to hit that shot would allow the floor to open up for everyone else.

So he won't be shooting a bunch, but I can see the benefit of him occasionally doing so.

Also, let's not exaggerate about our outside shooting ability. Last year we were a good three point shooting team, but hardly a great one.

They could put you out there to shoot 3's and space the floor but no one will cover you when you go 0-1000. He's never going to be a good outside shooter. Best way for other teams to pull their bigs out is for him to take guys off the dribble from DHO (did that often last season) or for him to improve his mid range floater. He's never going to be a three point threat.