uneblinstu's post scrimmage chatter

[uneblinstu]

Since @49r asked, here are a few thoughts from the scrimmage. 

 

• New PA guy. Came over from the women’s side, i believe. Handles "Thorbrjanson" pretty well. 
• The Carolina kids all got bunches together. 
• Nana got a little swag to himself. Didn't appear to be in the top 10, though. 
• Thought the teams were actually fairly balanced. Game coming down to the final shot seemed to indicate that.
• Duby can sky!
• Jordy has a couple nice finishes at the rim. 
• Palmer's missed dunk was pretty brutal. Rebounded nicely, though. Seemed to be able to get to the rim a lot.
• Thomas Allen’s shot looked pretty smooth. He's gonna play.
• Tanner didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. 
• Miles said they’re gonna push it more. That drew some applause. I laughed.
• Roby was all over the place defensively. Very hit or miss offensively.
• Best player in the floor was...Evan Taylor (Palmer gave him a run at the end.)
• I bet Palmer and Copeland have some fierce battles in practice. 
• I thought for sure Glynn had that last one.

 

Those are just a few thoughts. Think we've got a few toys to play with this year. Can't wait for the real games!

[hskr4life]

Best thought that I had was... "Wow, we get to take the best guys from Red and the best guys from White and put them together.  There was 3-4 strong players and a decent team of 5 on each team."

[khoock]

What were the starting 5's for each team?

[Norm Peterson]

5 minutes ago, khoock said:

What were the starting 5's for each team?

 

Whites were

 

Thomas Allen

Anton Gill

Evan Taylor

Isaac Copeland

Jordy Tshimanga

 

Reds were

 

Glynn Watson

James Palmer

Jack McVeigh

Isaiah Roby

Duby Okeke

[Silverbacked1]

"I bet Palmer and Copeland have some fierce battles in practice"

 

Thought that they did get after each other that one time.  Was some quiet jawing between them one end to the other.

 

Not at a bad level or at something that will be a problem, just two aphla males just making each other better.

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by Silverbacked1

[Norm Peterson]

Really balanced teams, I thought.

 

First I saw the whites and saw three starters plus Gill and Thomas Allen and I thought, oh man, reds are gonna get killed.

 

Then I looked over at the reds and saw Watson and Palmer plus McVeigh and Roby and Okeke and I thought, wow, these teams are really well balanced.

[Norm Peterson]

1 minute ago, Silverbacked1 said:

I bet Palmer and Copeland have some fierce battles in practice

 

Thought that they did get after each other that one time.  Was some quiet jawing between them one end to the other.

 

Not at a bad level or at something that will be a problem, just two aphla males just making each other better.

 

 

Palmer's a stud.  Clearly understand now why everyone who'd seen them was saying Palmer would be the leading scorer for the team. No doubt about it. But he doesn't come off like a ball hog.  He's just able to score when he has a chance.  He's going to be very efficient.  I didn't think we'd be able to replace Tai's ability to get to the rack, but Palmer is at least as good, plus he's probably a lot better from 3-point range.

 

Really impressed with Palmer.

[Norm Peterson]

For those who couldn't go and maybe this part wasn't streamed, but there was a 3-point shooting contest.  Man do we have some guys who can bury the 3 ball.

 

Jack McTrey (did you see what I did there?) won against Justin Costello in the finals.  Scores were how many they could hit in 60 seconds.

 

Prelims were:

 

McTrey 19, Nana 11

Anton Gill 13, Costello 18

Thor 16, Palmer 16

Thomas Allen 16ish, Watson 14ish

 

Finals McTrey hit 20 and Costello 18.

 

Really impressive shooting. At one point in the prelims, Jack hit somewhere between 9-11 in a row. I think 11 and then missed #12.

[Norm Peterson]

The I's: Isaac and Isaiah.

 

Isaac, do you feel that warm, humid wind coming from somewhere behind you?

 

That's Isaiah Roby breathing down your neck.

 

Copeland might be in the starting lineup right now ...

 

But he better look over his shoulder and keep an eye out for that youngster coming up behind him.  There's not much Isaac can do that Isaiah can't and there's some things that Isaiah does better.  Yeah, I said it.

 

At a spot where we had a hole in our lineup a year ago, we now have two very capable players, either one of whom could start.

[uneblinstu]

I am a little concerned about our defense. There's still a ways to go, there. Also, gave up a couple offensive rebounds that just can't happen. 

 

Conversely, I liked how they crashed the glass on offensive rebound opportunities. 

Edited November 3, 2017 by uneblinstu

[Huskerpapa]

I will stay mostly positive with my takes, but trust me, there were a couple of warts. 

- Jordy is still recovering.  He does so many good things, but still has bouts of well...issues with stupid little things.  He still tended to bring the ball to his waste and lets all the little buggers come after the ball.  But he looks good, and he made some good plays.  I only saw him go left, he needs to develop moves that allows him to go to his right. 

- Duby is better than I thought he would be.  The dude can sky and although a bit limited, he has offensive skills.  He CANNOT shoot free throws and he is prone to fouls, but he will provide a solid 15 minutes a game.

- Tanner looks much better and he seems to be in the right spots.  But he plays under the rim.  He will be a benefit if he only plays spot minutes. 

- Isaac sort of disappointed me a bit.  I am going to pass that off as being rusty.  Because if it is rustiness, then he has the size and is athletic enough to really help.

- Isaiah did some really good things, and yet he is still prone to silly mistakes.  Zay needs his game to mature.  If he can gain consistency and improve his outside game just a bit, he is going to be a player.

- Jack shaved his beard...I yelled something to him and he came over and said it was starting to feely icky, or something like that.  He looks much calmer this season.  He won the three point contest, and if he can maintain that stroke...

- James Palmer = stud.  The dude can take over.  Kind of a funky looking shot, but man oh man, he is a player and plays with a bit of an attitude. 

- Glynn = stud.  He is even better than last year.

- Thomas Allen - His shot is beautiful.  He is going to keep getting better, and better, and better.

- Evan is sort of like a silent fart, you know he is there, and it/he can be powerful, but you really don't see or hear him/it.  Good things seem to follow Evan around.

- Anton did some nice things, he still appears to me as not all the way back. 

- Thor was better than I thought he would be.  I am a bit embarrassed by saying that.  I am not sure what I expected, but he has size and ability.  Kind of makes me believe we have a diamond in the rough.

- Nana is an athlete, and he has ability, and he has a ways to go before he finds the floor on a consistent basis.  He just seemed a bit lost, but that said, don't be fooled, I believe he can be a player, but he and we need some patience. 

- I want to mention Costello.  The kid can shoot the rock. He finished second in the three point contest, and he doesn't appear overwhelmed, at all.

 

All in all, a good event.  Maybe 1000 fans or so.  Visited with Norm.  Miles said some cool things.  I am pumped by the prospects of what really may be a very positive year.

Edited November 3, 2017 by huskercwg

[Timforthewin]

I have a feeling that a couple years down the line Thor is going to be a very fun player for us to watch. Once he settles down, he could be a very crafty piece for us. I was very impressed with his passing and vision, especially the half court alley oop that he put right on a dime to Roby. Excited for this team!!

[hskr4life]

I didn’t see a lot of Defense.  I also didn’t expect to either.  Usually in these fun scrimmages, there isn’t a lot of defense to begin with.

[Norm Peterson]

Two Glynn Watson highlights:  

 

Early in the scrimmage, red gets a rebound or steal (can't recall which), Glynn fills the center lane dribbling up the floor, sees James Palmer on the left wing, lobs it over the defense for an alley-oop flush.  Second, remember that play the team from Omaha ran so much last year where their little PG would dribble off the screen looking like he was going to attack the basket only to flip it up near the rim and have their center flush it?  Yeah, Glynn can do that too.  Okeke on the receiving end. Glynn just flipped it perfectly.

 

Glynn, you magnificent bastard.  So damn glad he's on our team.  

[Dean Smith]

You could see defensively that Nana struggled with the team concept.

After a couple of ugly shots I thought Palmer took the game over in transition and was definitely the best offensive player on the floor scoring from all three levels and the line. I had him as the best player on the floor tonight.

Glynn was Glynn and that's more than good enough.

Evan Taylor is going to help in a lot of different ways, even hitting from three.

Roby still no confidence on offensive when he doesn't have a dunk but still another level athlete,

Gill looked good, very confident player now.

The offense played the fastest when the ball was being pushed by Allen and he's not afraid the make the pass or take the shot. Being aggressive and not just trying not to make mistakes.

And the biggest surprise for me, after watching the post drills, transition drills and the scrimmage, I'm willing to say Okeke is a better offensive player than Jordy.

Edited November 3, 2017 by Dean Smith

[Norm Peterson]

I would echo much of what CWG says.

 

Also mention Costello.  The kid can really shoot the ball.

 

So let's say we're up 20 but still half a dozen points from getting Runzas and there's 2 minutes left in the game.  Just sayin.

 

Costello in the game will get us Runzas.  OK?

 

Justin Costello is our Runza boy.  When it's garbage time and the game is out of reach, we'll still be able to score because Justin Costello can really shoot the ball.

[Huskerpapa]

I also enjoyed the red team in the pre-scrimmage lay-ups.  Some pretty good looking dunks.  Gotta love the display that Glynn provided.  The dude can sky.

[uneblinstu]

I'm not a coach. I'm not a very good analyst. I think this team has more pieces than the one that actually went to the tournament. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and get my hopes up...

Edited November 3, 2017 by uneblinstu

[hhcmatt]

During the impromptu dunk competition Nana was throwing down....easily the most ooohs throughout the night. Roby had some big ups but Nana attacks the rim.

The two surprises there were Watson and Thorir.  Watson's throw down on an oop might have been the loudest cheer of the night.

Didn't really know what to expect from Thor but he had the moves of someone who'd been in such a competition before and ups to carry them out.  

No one got hurt so it was a lot of fun.

[khoock]

I for one think we have really good walk ons. We already know Tanner will contribute to some degree this year. And if Costello can find a niche as a knock down 3pt specialist maybe he can build a role a few years down the road. Also, Trueblood is a good player for a walkon.

 

Leads me to a question: who is better Costello or Trueblood? Are they similiar players? If not, how do their games differ?

[FredsSlacks]

3 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

I'm not a coach. I'm not a very good analyst. I think this team has more pieces than the one that actually went to the tournament. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and get my hopes up...

david rivers played 29 minutes in our ncaa tourney game. he'd be lucky to play 10mpg game on this team.

[Norm Peterson]

Just going off of what I saw tonight, I'd say we're going to field a much better team this year than last.  One big reason for this is that we'll have guys coming off the bench who are going to be capable and effective at scoring the basketball.  

 

I'm expecting that we'll have probably 3 guys in the 40s when it comes to 3pt%: Watson, McVeigh and Thomas Allen.  Two of those guys will come in off the bench.

 

And, like Dean said above, Anton Gill looks like a different player this year.  Much more confident.  Scored in ways I didn't see him do a year ago.  

 

When the starters get a blow, we still have some guys who can keep the scoring going.

 

[Norm Peterson]

3 minutes ago, TimSmiles said:

david rivers played 29 minutes in our ncaa tourney game. he'd be lucky to play 10mpg game on this team.

 

Love David's attitude and what a great kid, but you're almost certainly correct here.  David would be lucky to be get 10 mpg with this group.  I'd see him being outside the top 10 in the rotation.

[hhcmatt]

2 minutes ago, uneblinstu said:

I'm not a coach. I'm not a very good analyst. I think this team has more pieces than the one that actually went to the tournament. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and get my hopes up...

 

That was just a 7 man team at the end but one that had 4 guys capable of scoring in double figures most any night and a team that played well together. We're 10 deep easily at this point. Who are the guys that will reliably score along with Palmer and Watson?  Can we depend on points from the 4/5? Will all of these pieces fit together well?

[Huskerpapa]

There is no question in my mind that we are more talented and better than last year.  To me, it isn't even close.  Also believe we have more talent than our NCAA tournament team.  BUT, can we perform as a team the entire year.  We shall soon see.

 

Also, the LJS indicated in their just published article...they indicated 2500 fans.  Hmm, I guess I under guessed at 1000. 

Edited November 3, 2017 by huskercwg