Some thoughts from last night.
Freshmen/Newcomers:
Hollins - most impressive out of all from my perspective. Much more athletic than I expected, very fluid, smooth player. I can see why Tubby likes him; seems like a nice, quiet kid who plays hard. I expect him to be in the rotation all year long.
Armelin - I was intrigued by him based on earlier information. He is shorter than I thought (appeared to be just over 6 feet tall). Very athletic, quick and active on the offensive and defensive ends. However his shot mechanics are completely broken. It is a total knuckleball, and he has a kind of weird hitch when he gets ready to let it go. All in all he might play some this year, but I am not expecting much immediately.
Walker - the good: huge body, soft hands, good positional rebounder. The bad: he is slow. When stacked up against Colton and Ralph, those guys were more clearly able to beat him down the court nearly every time. I expect him to play some backup minutes this year, but behind Mbakwe, Colton and Ralph will be limited.
Ahanmisi - didn't see much either way. Not overly athletic, not overly quick, not a great shooter, not overly solid with the ball, just seems like a guy that is going to be here 4 years and in his senior year will be a solid role player. Before that, I'm not expecting much.
Eliason - when my buddy and I saw warmups, we looked at this guy and said "uh oh", in reference to his seemingly gangly body, uncoordinated movements and general lack of fluidity in movement. However, when the scrimmage started, even though he looked out of place, he was int he right position most of the time, showed a good touch around the basket, held his own against Colton and Ralph, and generally looked okay out there. I would highly recommend a redshirt however considering the lack of minutes available.
Osenieks - appears to be a good shooter, somewhat athletic, and generally looks like a basketball player. Made a 3 in the scrimmage but other than that looked a little overmatched athletically. A year of practicing should make him better.
Mbakwe - man among boys. Gifted athletically like few people in the world. His strength, athleticism, and overall energy should make him our best player this year. I am very excited to see him in Big Ten play, I think he is the perfect Big Ten player. Rugged, athletic, mean streak, etc. He wasn't even trying very hard in the scrimmage, yet was everywhere, rebounds, blocked shots, etc.
Halvorson - athletic big man. Could be a solid role player in 2-3 years. Very strong and athletic.
Returners:
Hoff - same old Hoff. Love watching him shoot it, thing of beauty. Always in position in defense, gets rebounds you wouldn't expect him to get, not much off the dribble offensively. I'm glad he is on our team, and he should make a bunch of 3s again this year because of our strength in the frontcourt should command some collapsing defenses.
Devoe - natural scorer showed it last night. Wasn't playing hard but was our best offensive player by far. I'm thinking 15 points a game this year, all Big Ten 2nd team. I am a Devoe fan.
Ralph - the big enigma. Didn't do much last night, but I expect some improvement over last year. Still does the fadeaway thing, which drives me nuts.
Colton - looked improved to me, showing the same activity level he did during the BTT last year. Looked much more fluid athletically than in past years. He is a HUGE body, and we are lucky to have him on our team. I wouldn't want to play down low against Colton, he's just big and strong.
Al - same old Al. Fits perfectly in Tubby's system. Defensively focused. Painful to watch him shoot it. I really like Al's game other than the shooting, so it will be good to have him back this year.
Dawson - not much to say.
Overall comments:
This will be the most athletic team we've had in a while. I am very excited to see Mbakwe, Devoe and what he can do in a go-to scorer role, Hollins playing a lot as a freshman, and getting Rodney back. We have some serious quickness and athleticism that should allow us to match up with the top teams in the league. I am usually a glass half empty guy but this year I feel really good about our prospects. The team can play fast because we have the athletes, can play slow because we've got the size.
The one concern is outside shooting. We really only have 2 reliable 3-point shooters who have played before. Hollins could have some impact here, but it is an unknown. We need to have a couple of other guys step up and hit some 3s. I was not a Westbrook fan, but at least he was a threat in addition to Devoe and Hoff. I am a firm believer that shooting depth is critical. Look at the teams in the championship game this year (Duke and Butler). Duke had shooters at all 4 non-center positions, Butler had the same. They also could bring guys off the bench that could be a threat. Again, I hope that Hollins can do that for us.
Freshmen/Newcomers:
Hollins - most impressive out of all from my perspective. Much more athletic than I expected, very fluid, smooth player. I can see why Tubby likes him; seems like a nice, quiet kid who plays hard. I expect him to be in the rotation all year long.
Armelin - I was intrigued by him based on earlier information. He is shorter than I thought (appeared to be just over 6 feet tall). Very athletic, quick and active on the offensive and defensive ends. However his shot mechanics are completely broken. It is a total knuckleball, and he has a kind of weird hitch when he gets ready to let it go. All in all he might play some this year, but I am not expecting much immediately.
Walker - the good: huge body, soft hands, good positional rebounder. The bad: he is slow. When stacked up against Colton and Ralph, those guys were more clearly able to beat him down the court nearly every time. I expect him to play some backup minutes this year, but behind Mbakwe, Colton and Ralph will be limited.
Ahanmisi - didn't see much either way. Not overly athletic, not overly quick, not a great shooter, not overly solid with the ball, just seems like a guy that is going to be here 4 years and in his senior year will be a solid role player. Before that, I'm not expecting much.
Eliason - when my buddy and I saw warmups, we looked at this guy and said "uh oh", in reference to his seemingly gangly body, uncoordinated movements and general lack of fluidity in movement. However, when the scrimmage started, even though he looked out of place, he was int he right position most of the time, showed a good touch around the basket, held his own against Colton and Ralph, and generally looked okay out there. I would highly recommend a redshirt however considering the lack of minutes available.
Osenieks - appears to be a good shooter, somewhat athletic, and generally looks like a basketball player. Made a 3 in the scrimmage but other than that looked a little overmatched athletically. A year of practicing should make him better.
Mbakwe - man among boys. Gifted athletically like few people in the world. His strength, athleticism, and overall energy should make him our best player this year. I am very excited to see him in Big Ten play, I think he is the perfect Big Ten player. Rugged, athletic, mean streak, etc. He wasn't even trying very hard in the scrimmage, yet was everywhere, rebounds, blocked shots, etc.
Halvorson - athletic big man. Could be a solid role player in 2-3 years. Very strong and athletic.
Returners:
Hoff - same old Hoff. Love watching him shoot it, thing of beauty. Always in position in defense, gets rebounds you wouldn't expect him to get, not much off the dribble offensively. I'm glad he is on our team, and he should make a bunch of 3s again this year because of our strength in the frontcourt should command some collapsing defenses.
Devoe - natural scorer showed it last night. Wasn't playing hard but was our best offensive player by far. I'm thinking 15 points a game this year, all Big Ten 2nd team. I am a Devoe fan.
Ralph - the big enigma. Didn't do much last night, but I expect some improvement over last year. Still does the fadeaway thing, which drives me nuts.
Colton - looked improved to me, showing the same activity level he did during the BTT last year. Looked much more fluid athletically than in past years. He is a HUGE body, and we are lucky to have him on our team. I wouldn't want to play down low against Colton, he's just big and strong.
Al - same old Al. Fits perfectly in Tubby's system. Defensively focused. Painful to watch him shoot it. I really like Al's game other than the shooting, so it will be good to have him back this year.
Dawson - not much to say.
Overall comments:
This will be the most athletic team we've had in a while. I am very excited to see Mbakwe, Devoe and what he can do in a go-to scorer role, Hollins playing a lot as a freshman, and getting Rodney back. We have some serious quickness and athleticism that should allow us to match up with the top teams in the league. I am usually a glass half empty guy but this year I feel really good about our prospects. The team can play fast because we have the athletes, can play slow because we've got the size.
The one concern is outside shooting. We really only have 2 reliable 3-point shooters who have played before. Hollins could have some impact here, but it is an unknown. We need to have a couple of other guys step up and hit some 3s. I was not a Westbrook fan, but at least he was a threat in addition to Devoe and Hoff. I am a firm believer that shooting depth is critical. Look at the teams in the championship game this year (Duke and Butler). Duke had shooters at all 4 non-center positions, Butler had the same. They also could bring guys off the bench that could be a threat. Again, I hope that Hollins can do that for us.
