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Post by thetulsawarrior on Oct 25, 2014 18:57:35 GMT -6
Off the top of my head the biggest surprise was Henry Uwadiae. Raw but with a 7-5 wingspan he will impact the opposition in the paint. Uwadiae can run the floor and needs to pump some iron. He looks to be a year or two away. Kerem Kanter appears to be all of 240 and if he isn't 6-9 -- he is pretty darn close. KK was tentative today -- that seems normal for a late arrival on the scene. A year in the Nix weight room and GB will have a solid pro body frontcourt player. Daeshon Francis might be in the same league as Kiefer Sykes in terms of athleticism. He may be able to contribute this season. Khalil Small's size/muscle should allow him to get minutes at the point. In terms of physical development coming into the program this group of newbies is special. They are much more along than most incoming classes.
As for the returnees -- Jordan Fouse showed a bit of a shooting touch today and his defense looks even better than last season. Turner Botz has put on muscle and hit a couple threes today. Clearly a heady player. Speaking of smart players -- Sykes is a coach on the floor. Did you see him pushing and talking to Uwadiae to get him in the right defensive position? Alfonzo McKinnie was another player who seemed a touch tentative but we know the talent is there. The same with Greg Mays. Kenny Lowe doesn't look like a talented freshman anymore. He has spent time with the weights and on the practice court. Carrington Love and Tevin Findlay are players you generally know what you're going to get. They didn't stand out today but we have a track record of development
This is the deepest team with the most individual talent in school history. Lets hope they come together as a team without any stupid distractions.
I'm genuinely impressed with what I saw.
One question -- I thought the Nix might have a walk-on or two? Anyone have insight on the issue?
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Post by shooting the J on Oct 25, 2014 19:28:05 GMT -6
I wouldn't say Uwadiae is a year or 2 away. He'll play right now. He is a clone of Moussa Gueye who controlled the paint for Valpo last year. Hendo's armspan is just amazing. His blocked shots today included McKinnie and Mays. He's strong and sets a mean screen. Like Gueye, who's also Nigerian, Uwadiae will be best when GB plays zone.
Offensively he doesn't have much in the way of skill, but he did execute a pick and roll today the resulted in him getting a dunk off of a nice dish from Sykes. Not a big need for offense from him. I thought he was the most pleasant surprise of the scrimmage.
I agree with Tulsa that Findlay was MIA. Love knocked down a few long jumpers, which is key to helping spread the floor.
Francis is explosively quick. Huge upside. It will be interesting to see how fast he develops. Mays had a few nice drives when guarded by Botz. Botz did hit 2 corner 3's and rebounded well. Kenneth Lowe had an attic plan on offense and will continue where he left off against Belmont.
Keifer Sykes is just amazing. Seriously, amazing.
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Oct 25, 2014 21:31:25 GMT -6
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Post by stillaphoenixphan on Oct 26, 2014 8:19:51 GMT -6
Thanks for the updates men. I had to be at UW RiverFalls and couldn't make it. It was a 8AM-11PM day trip, but worth it lol. Great to hear Henry has the defensive skills to help GB right away. Having him and Fouse guarding the paint will help. I thought that could be our achillies heal this season. I know we can score with anyone but we need stops also.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Oct 26, 2014 10:11:50 GMT -6
I was really impressed by Kenny Lowe. He was a ton in the paint, just a vastly better player than last year.
I was really surprised by Henry. For sure I would use him over Kerem at this point. He doesn't have the best hands but when he did catch the ball at the hoop good things happened. The athletic ability on his defense was really solid.
I was pleased to see Turner Botz look for his shot. If he can have his defense catch up to his offense there will be minutes for him. His defense was really rough but he was going against bigger more athletic players.
Jordan Fouse was so much more confident. His defense was rock solid as always but on offense he hit a pull up jumper, went to the hoop and took a few decent looking 3's. It could be a big year for him.
Greg Mays had few nice runners and looked confident shooting out to the three point line. By the way he doesn't get a lot of media sound bites but I am always impressed by him when he does have the chance. He comes across as a guy who wants to win, improve and represents himself well.
Carrington Love likes to look for his offense in moments like these but he looks very confident and he was very vocal on the court. I see another step up for him this year.
McKinnie and Findlay didn't put their best foot forward but they also made plays. I think they will be just fine when the bright lights come.
Humphrey and Kanter didn't really stand out on either end.
Small had some issues handling the ball but also made some plays. I would say that Francis looked more impressive at this time, he seemed less rushed and was able to blend in better.
This was my first time attending a men's event at the Kress. I do like the atmosphere there. A small amount of people can make a lot of noise in there.
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Post by phoenixphan87 on Oct 26, 2014 13:06:29 GMT -6
My thoughts on the scrimmage- Overall a very well put together event and a solid turnout.
Biggest surprise was Henry Uwadiae. Going into this I wasn't sure about how much playing time he might get. He showed me enough to think he will get 10+ minutes a game and maybe more depending on the match up. Impressed with both Francis and Small, both guards give this team a different dimension that that did not have. Will be interesting to see how much time they can get on the floor.
Kanter looks like he has a ways to go. Probably will not redshirt but I dont see how he will get very much time with guys like Mays, Lowe, Mckinney, Henry and even Botz ahead of him. Botz looked improved on defensive and we may see more games like the Tulsa game where he will give a spark off the bench.
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Post by shooting the J on Oct 27, 2014 9:21:48 GMT -6
Another positive from the event is the increased attendance. It's a great event and everyone there loves it and will come back for more.
The shorter scrimmage time leaves me wanting more basketball. I'm actually excited for the exhibition game Thursday. I know what Sykes, Mays, Fouse, etc can do, but I want to see more of Francis, Findlay, and Uwadiae.
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