Open practice

[We R Final Four]

Bahama makes some great points.

Nolan is ahead of DO.
Nash has a beautiful release...shoulder still hurting.
JC is stronger, bigger.
Adrien seems ready for the next step.
Sunny can shoot the three.
18 was 18.
IMO, Ian is outmatched and will have an uphill battle....may be last year here.
Ethan was impressive for someone with little attention.
I don't know what to think of Alex.....huge upper body.

JB—MP more confident overall, yet still a half step slow on reaction D.

[MuggsyB]

Bahama makes some great points.

Nolan is ahead of DO.
Nash has a beautiful release...shoulder still hurting.
JC is stronger, bigger.
Adrien seems ready for the next step.
Sunny can shoot the three.
18 was 18.
IMO, Ian is outmatched and will have an uphill battle....may be last year here.
Ethan was impressive for someone with little attention.
I don't know what to think of Alex.....huge upper body.

JB—MP more confident overall, yet still a half step slow on reaction D.

Tyvm. 

[BM1090]

Mark Miller writes: "Sophomore Michael Phillips (6-6) is up to 215 pounds. Smooth jumper and bouncy in lobs. Will battle for starting spot for Marquette."

Who would Phillips be battling and beating out for a starting spot? Not Parham. I suppose Owens, who might be the most "vulnerable" among the presumed starting five.

Four starters locked in. NM, MP, and DO for the fifth

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Not much mention of Owens.

[WearGold]

Nolan handled the ball well ... he can play the 1, 2 or 3. Liked his overall game. Plays fluid and athletic. Fru is a bit thinner than I expected ... has the tools to be active and agile. Impressed by what Clark did for much of the scrimmage. Seems to have filled out and is bouncy ... had a number of lobs and put back dunks. Phillips played well ... seems more confident and played with abandon for much of the scrimmage. NJ is unbelievable ... the quickest player MU has had in long, long time. Stevens was solid.

[JTJ3]

Owens was really good towards the end.  Was on the team with Nigel and Stevens so he didnt get a ton of chances on ball.  But he does well playing off them as a spot up shooter and cutter.  Was very locked in defensively on ball as well.

[BCHoopster]

So how do you see the rotation?

[JTJ3]

Starters:  Nigel, Stevens, Owens/Minnesale, Royce, Fru

Rotation: Minnesale/Owens, Phillips, Hamilton, Johnston

Not sure yet: Clark, Egbuonu

Deep Bench: Miletic, Walker

Based on watching them play today and how the coaches rotated them through the scrimmages today.

[PointWarrior]

any PISSED kids?

they had hotdogs - wife had one and LOL'd a bit.

[Jay Bee]

they had hotdogs - wife had one and LOL'd a bit.

TMI

[MUbiz]

I am a bit miffed at the Nolan love. I counted 5 turnovers he made and he was 0/5 from 3 in scrimmage. He also did not use his left hand at all and Stevens realized it and stole it from Nolan.

Nolan was also blocked underneath the basket and then later had a steal and NJ chased Nolan down and rejected Nolans dunk . (Insane block)

There is a lot of room for improvement if you ask me. I think Owens starts the season and Nolan is a bench guy.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Good thread from one attendee:

https://x.com/i/status/2080477873136087513

[mug644]

Good thread from one attendee:

https://x.com/i/status/2080477873136087513

Dr. Tyler was surely wearing some blue and gold glasses.

[MU82]

As long as Dr. Kolek isn't a dentist, we can assume he knows ball.

[JakeBarnes]

As long as Dr. Kolek isn't a dentist, we can assume he knows ball.

He did go out in public into the scary world, so probably not a dentist.

[JoanofArcMascot]

Minnesale apparently was unaware of Nigel's explosi
What's your overall impression of Minnesale?  Ty. 

Minessale relentless at both ends of the court. Terrific driver and passer, moves well on defense, equally hood at both guard spots. Very polished. Only criticism is he's a little too eager to take 3-pointers, which don't appear to be his strength. Great pickup.

[Bahama]

Minnesale apparently was unaware of Nigel's explosi
What's your overall impression of Minnesale?  Ty. 

I think he will easily run the floor while NJ is taking a breather on the bench. He definitely has the ability to drive the basket in a similar fashion to how Ross did in previous seasons. I could even see them both on the floor simultaneously to free each other up in the pick n roll.

He's got some good playmaking ability, and is really good with a layup going to the left and finishing with his right hand.

I almost view him currently as what we hoped Sean Jones would've been last year...obviously that was not the case

[Bahama]

Josh Clark up to 250 lbs per Shaka. Forgot to report that. So slightly improved Slenderman build.

[MuggsyB]

Minessale relentless at both ends of the court. Terrific driver and passer, moves well on defense, equally hood at both guard spots. Very polished. Only criticism is he's a little too eager to take 3-pointers, which don't appear to be his strength. Great pickup.

Nice! 

[Bahama]

Owens was really good towards the end.  Was on the team with Nigel and Stevens so he didnt get a ton of chances on ball.  But he does well playing off them as a spot up shooter and cutter.  Was very locked in defensively on ball as well.

Yeah that last scrimmage he locked in,, I admittedly was concerned with his lack of involvement early on. Everyone was gassed towards the end, but it seems Nigel/Stevens/Owens just had more drive and stamina then the rest of the crew. I can see Owens being similar to how he was last year - a few games where he is lights out, few games where he is not a factor. Which is why I think the posts about his starting position being in question is valid. I can see him starting, but being quickly subbed out at the 12 min or 16 minute mark for MP or NM.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Dr. Tyler was surely wearing some blue and gold glasses.

He's a bit hyperbolic at times, but I appreciated that he took time to mention every player.

[The Sultan]

He's a bit hyperbolic at times, but I appreciated that he took time to mention every player.

Yeah, he was definitely wearing rose-colored glasses. I would just caution people about making too many assumptions, either positively or negatively, based on one intra-squad scrimmage.

[Uncle Rico]

Yeah, he was definitely wearing rose-colored glasses. I would just caution people about making too many assumptions, either positively or negatively, based on one intra-squad scrimmage.

Sounds like we suck again.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I appreciate all of the observations posted here.  Here's how I feel the roster currently stacks up:

Tier 1

James
Stevens
Parham
Fru

Locked in starters

Tier 2

Owens
Minessale
Phillips

5th starter and main rotation players.  5th starter spot might be fluid until one player separates themselves early in the season.

Tier 3

Clark
Hamilton

This is based more on positional need than straight talent.  What can they provide besides 10 fouls?  TBD.

Tier 4

Johnston
Walker

Two specialists who might earn spot minutes.  Johnston for defense, Walker for shooting.

Tier 5

Egbuonu
Miletic
Crowdis

EGB is physically ready, but his game is still raw, especially on defense.  Probably a year away.

Miletic, still a work in progress.

Crowdis, scout team PG.  If he becomes more than that in the future, it's a bonus.

[MUbiz]

Sounds like we suck again.

I wouldn't go that far. Did it look like Tyler, Oso, and Kam were out there last night? Definitely not. But it also didn't look anywhere near as bad as last year. And with roughly 100 days before the season starts, there's plenty of time to clean things up.

I was at the practice, and the takes I'm seeing on social media are wild. I'm a positive guy, but some of what's being posted is straight-up embellishment, to put it nicely.