** Directly following yesterday’s exhibition game against Clarion, I had the pleasure of going to Heinz Chapel for a good friend’s daughter’s wedding. I took my spot in the congregation next to another good friend who asked me if I attended the game, as the son of an acquaintance of his plays for Clarion (I don’t recall what player it was).
** I provided a very brief rundown on the game, but concluded with “Clarion seems really bad.” He replied that according to his friend, “they are terrible.”
** Last night, @gary2 asked if our 15 steals were part of a less passive defense by the Panthers, our if Clarion was just this bad. I responded a little of both. The Panthers were demonstrating nice traps and pressure on Clarion’s high ball screens. But it’s also worth noting that the Clarion players seem to pick up their dribble more than some fifth grade teams I’ve coached.
** Still, it was nice to see our guys out there having a good time balling and having things go their way, because that wasn’t often the case this year.
** And if you weren’t impressed with the 31-point halftime margin (as I wasn’t), @Chris Peak reminded me at that point that it surely beats a score of something like 37-23, which we have seen too often of late against a few teams like this.
** Nonetheless, the reason I joined the 300 or so others who attended this game was to get some impression on our players, particularly the newcomers. And while I found the afternoon enjoyable, my take is that we are still a bricks short of encouraging.
** That said, Nelly and Hinson were in fact somewhat encouraging. Blake is a big strong boy who can put the ball in the hoop from down low or along the perimeter. Despite his is offense, he still needs to demonstrate if he can defend and rebound.
** Nelly is quicker, wiser and more complete than I expected. He’s a little bit sloppy with the ball and I hope he’ll correct that. But I believe it’s more than possible that he’s an upgrade from Femi.
** As we know, @Matt Steinbrink was sitting courtside with his wonderful son, and he texted me afterward saying he likes the twins. It’s worth noting the Matt is usually pretty on the money with his assessments. But if Matt is right, I think the better bet is that they are a good 1-2 years away from being worthwhile contributors. The biggest issue is that both need to get much, much stronger. Their bodies are so slight that Clarion defenders basically push through the screens they set while that were also pushed away from the glass by smaller rebounders, especially in traffic.
** I’m also concerned about the lateral quickness of the twins. In man defense they were beaten easily off the dribble several times. I’ll keep an open mind, but against bigger stronger opponents of the ACC, I see it hard to see how that can provide any noteworthy production.
** Fede was almost invisible in the first half, but was the player of the second half with 10 points and 7 boards after the break. He doesn’t really have any offense to speak of, scoring only on power put backs, but at least he plays strong. My guess is that he’ll become the main understudy to John.
** It was nice to see Greg Elliott hit shots, because I think it proves he’s a legit piece for this team. He was also strong with perimeter traps along with Nelly, Nike, and Jamarius.
** In fact, Jamarius was probably the Panther’s best player, even if a significant step forward from last year wasn’t immediately evident. I’ll even say that I like Burton as a player, but after watching him through all of last year, I still have some fears that somehow his game takes away from others.
** Nate’s afternoon wasn’t disappointing, and he still has a wonderful release on his deep shot. But the Clarion defense was not best barometer to learn if he’s made any progress.
** Nike might have been the only guy on the team who performed below my expectations. He didn’t make mistakes, but he seemed less aggressive that I expected.
** I have no idea if Edinboro will provide even a little bit of a stronger test. I also have no idea how close Big John as Will are from getting to the court. I sure hope it is sooner than later. If this group has any real shot of finishing any kind of decent chunk higher in the ACC than the predicted #14 spot, we need to get everyone on board and working together as soon as possible.
** I provided a very brief rundown on the game, but concluded with “Clarion seems really bad.” He replied that according to his friend, “they are terrible.”
** Last night, @gary2 asked if our 15 steals were part of a less passive defense by the Panthers, our if Clarion was just this bad. I responded a little of both. The Panthers were demonstrating nice traps and pressure on Clarion’s high ball screens. But it’s also worth noting that the Clarion players seem to pick up their dribble more than some fifth grade teams I’ve coached.
** Still, it was nice to see our guys out there having a good time balling and having things go their way, because that wasn’t often the case this year.
** And if you weren’t impressed with the 31-point halftime margin (as I wasn’t), @Chris Peak reminded me at that point that it surely beats a score of something like 37-23, which we have seen too often of late against a few teams like this.
** Nonetheless, the reason I joined the 300 or so others who attended this game was to get some impression on our players, particularly the newcomers. And while I found the afternoon enjoyable, my take is that we are still a bricks short of encouraging.
** That said, Nelly and Hinson were in fact somewhat encouraging. Blake is a big strong boy who can put the ball in the hoop from down low or along the perimeter. Despite his is offense, he still needs to demonstrate if he can defend and rebound.
** Nelly is quicker, wiser and more complete than I expected. He’s a little bit sloppy with the ball and I hope he’ll correct that. But I believe it’s more than possible that he’s an upgrade from Femi.
** As we know, @Matt Steinbrink was sitting courtside with his wonderful son, and he texted me afterward saying he likes the twins. It’s worth noting the Matt is usually pretty on the money with his assessments. But if Matt is right, I think the better bet is that they are a good 1-2 years away from being worthwhile contributors. The biggest issue is that both need to get much, much stronger. Their bodies are so slight that Clarion defenders basically push through the screens they set while that were also pushed away from the glass by smaller rebounders, especially in traffic.
** I’m also concerned about the lateral quickness of the twins. In man defense they were beaten easily off the dribble several times. I’ll keep an open mind, but against bigger stronger opponents of the ACC, I see it hard to see how that can provide any noteworthy production.
** Fede was almost invisible in the first half, but was the player of the second half with 10 points and 7 boards after the break. He doesn’t really have any offense to speak of, scoring only on power put backs, but at least he plays strong. My guess is that he’ll become the main understudy to John.
** It was nice to see Greg Elliott hit shots, because I think it proves he’s a legit piece for this team. He was also strong with perimeter traps along with Nelly, Nike, and Jamarius.
** In fact, Jamarius was probably the Panther’s best player, even if a significant step forward from last year wasn’t immediately evident. I’ll even say that I like Burton as a player, but after watching him through all of last year, I still have some fears that somehow his game takes away from others.
** Nate’s afternoon wasn’t disappointing, and he still has a wonderful release on his deep shot. But the Clarion defense was not best barometer to learn if he’s made any progress.
** Nike might have been the only guy on the team who performed below my expectations. He didn’t make mistakes, but he seemed less aggressive that I expected.
** I have no idea if Edinboro will provide even a little bit of a stronger test. I also have no idea how close Big John as Will are from getting to the court. I sure hope it is sooner than later. If this group has any real shot of finishing any kind of decent chunk higher in the ACC than the predicted #14 spot, we need to get everyone on board and working together as soon as possible.
