Carleton Exhibition

[mdchick]

Anybody know if Morman is hurt?

Cronin said he has a groin injury, he said he could have played, but didn't want to risk it on a pre season game. He will be back at practice Monday, Thank god.......... I was worried about that too

 

[JumpinJack5]

One thing I want to mention about the new rule on hand checking-I like some aspects of it, as now players like Aaron Craft finally won't be able to get away with hacking someone to death, but all of the ticky tack stuff must go. The phantom KJ foul is a perfect example of over-officiating.

 

[Scheids21]

Many have said Lawrence didn't give any effort. I didn't get that impression. I just thought he played scared. He looked awkward with every move or decision he made, and generally just looked terrified to be out there.

As I assume everyone thinks, I don't expect this play to continue. Our last big recruit (Lance) looked awful early in the year and developed into a solid player by February.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

As I assume everyone thinks, I don't expect this play to continue. Our last big recruit (Lance) looked awful early in the year and developed into a solid player by February.

Disagree about lance... Lance was at a much higher level than lawerence coming in. Zero chance he is an NBA guy after one yaer.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Disagree about lance... Lance was at a much higher level than lawerence coming in. Zero chance he is an NBA guy after one yaer.

Lawrence is a 2-3 year player. Just because he was ranked so high doesn't mean anything. I will be surprised if he contributes anything significant this year, we will see glimpses but he has a ways to go. I've been saying this since he committed.

 

[Cataclysmo]

Impressions:

1. Justin Jackson looks completely different. He hustled, he played great defense, and dare i say, he looked like a competent attacker. If he can keep that up all year, we will be fine.

2. Troy Caupain and Kevin Johnson are perfect mick cronin players. They both play hard and without fear. Alot of people said that Johnson wouldnt contribute this year but I would be suprised if that was the case, he looked like he belonged.

3. Lawrence didn't look like he lacked effort, he looked rusty. Often times he appeared confused but ultimately showed some potential.

4. Kilpatrick driving the lane and not jacking up three's was a pleasure to see.

5. Our biggest improvement from last year concerns shot decision. I don't think i saw one 3 pointer taken at the buzzer and, furthermore, Rubles didnt take one all game.

6. Finally, the chemistry between the team seems great. Kilpatrick has to be one of the best leaders Mick has ever coached and the freshmen just seem to enjoy playing with one another.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Many have said Lawrence didn't give any effort. I didn't get that impression. I just thought he played scared. He looked awkward with every move or decision he made, and generally just looked terrified to be out there.

As I assume everyone thinks, I don't expect this play to continue. Our last big recruit (Lance) looked awful early in the year and developed into a solid player by February.

Let's not forget the young man has played 4-5 games in 2 years due to injury.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Cronin said he has a groin injury, he said he could have played, but didn't want to risk it on a pre season game. He will be back at practice Monday, Thank god.......... I was worried about that too

It wouldn't surprise me if at some point we see an all freshman pg rotation. Though I really like Mormon on the wing with his athleticism.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I saw a lot that I liked yesterday. First off the team we played was the perfect test because they obviously lacked size and talent but they played very smart and fluid together. They were like a pesky mid-major team come March. So with that said, I really liked our defensive effort. A couple guys got burned here and there, but I expect that game one and it will show good on film to improve upon. Jackson looked like a different player. What I liked most was him getting in guys' face after plays and encouraging them. Mick said he was taking a leaderrship role and that showed yesterday. Caupain and Johnson both looked good. Lawrence, not so much. He will take some time to adjust. The worst thing I saw from him was him putting both hands around a guy trying to strip a ball. Obviously it's maybe 15 minutes of playing time to form an opinion, but he seems to me maybe to be one of those players who never really was taught the game of basketball at the high school level. I liked to see us attacking the rim, especially with the new emphasis on hand-checking. Smart teams will have their guards just attack their defender because you will get a whistle or a free look to the basket everytime because it's impossible for a defender not to make contact with you when driven into. The refs were bad, but they were fair. They seemed to only look for the hand-check call and didn't watch the rest of the game. They missed some blatant calls on both ends. I'm hoping these were some sort of rent-a-refs and not what we will see all year. Things we need to improve upon are free-throws and finishing around the rim. We left a lot of points out there as usual. I have a fear that some games this year will become free-throw shooting contests and we are not going to win those games.

 

[JumpinJack5]

The offense was much improved, way less 3's.
Officiating made me want to stangle someone toward the end.
Jackson was much improved, not shy but not befuddled when attacking and finishing. Defense was strong too.
Thomas, if he can improve his defense, I think he could graduate and play in the league. One of the few guys who can create and finish in tight spaces.
Rubles had the misfortune of having a few just fall out but he still scored and made good moves, had boards and got called for some very suspect fouls.
Sanders, played a heady game. He made a couple, left one or two that should have been...
Lawrence- Bleh. I know the potential is there but he's definitely not there. The only forward today who I think wouldn't get minutes is Lawrence.

Nyarsuk, he had two that were in and out. Played good defense and rebounded. He also stayed out of foul trouble for the most part.

When it comes to the guards:
Caupain was hot and cold but you can see for a frosh he has a pretty good skill set.

Johnson wasn't bad, had a very nice strip that was called a foul. Made a
decent 3 and didn't have any "WTF!!!" moments.

Kilpatrick, I'm glad he showed restraint from behind the 3 point line. He a couple rim out. Good day overall.

Guyn had one foul that was stupid but he seems to have a better handle
than his would be successors. Had a shot from 3 rim out and he got absolutely hammered on a no call going to the basket.

Davis had one good 3 and was sort of quiet beyond that.

Morman was abscent



Overall, need to finish when given the oppurtunity. With what we left on the floor, this could have been a real blow out today. Free throws need a little work. I'm not trying to read too much into this game but I actually think we'll be all right this year. Justin Jackson, Titus Rubles and Shaquille Thomas all made me feel a bit easier today. The fowards were a pleasant surprise.

I thought Caupain was really solid. He didn't make dumb mistakes with the ball, minus one pass that was sort of risky (it did work out without a turnover, however). He also had the best pass of the day to David Nyarsuk. I don't care if Guyn is a better defender, we need Caupain out there as much as possible. He will be a stud by the end of his career here, mark my words. I don't want to see anymore KJ and SK at the same time. SK shouldn't be a ball handler, he needs a PG to set him up so that he can get open 3s and nice driving lanes. KJ is the same way, he is a scorer who needs someone like Caupain to set him up to succeed. Lawrence will be fine and I expect him to be scoring 7-8 points a game by the end of the season. Look for him to struggle from now to the beginning of conference play, and then I think things will start to click. He is definitely going to be a 2-3 year player, IMO. He needs another offseason to bulk up and become truly dominant, like NTS said. He could still be a nice role player this year, he just needs time to adjust. Shaq looked really good offensively, he needs to just be a decent defender. I know Mick loves defense, but Shaq can do things that many on our team cannot do and he must receive tons of PT, as that is the only way to improve. Titus had his moments and looked better overall. He needs to be used on the block more this year just like JJ, because he isn't a great perimeter player. He can finish inside and he is an excellent passer. I want to see more of JD3, especially if and when we play teams that play lots of zone defense. I am very excited about this year and I think this team has a great chance to overachieve, as last year they were disappointing with all the experience they had. This looks like a nice mixture of more skilled players (the highly rated freshmen we have) and tough, experienced players (SK and JJ).

 

[Scheids21]

My only point was that the game Lawrence had yesterday didn't concern me at all despite how poorly he played.

 

[CaptDale]

Let's let Lawrence prove himself before we make him out to be the Messiah. Right now he's a tall kid who played HS basketball. That's all we know. This is not HS. We have a lot of unproven depth, but from what I saw vs Carleton, every one of the players has potential. I would venture to say that all of our players, that played, demonstrated that they are above average in capability (except Lawrence). It's like respect. It's not a right, you have to earn it by your actions.

 

[rogerOH]

observations

I do think J.J. is finally getting it.Caupain looks like the kind of player does a lot of little things right and not a lot wrong. Lawrence will be a huge part of this team by the first of this year and finally J.Davis has by far the best stroke on the team and needs to be a bigger part of the offense

 

[waterhead]

I know it's just one game but I am LOT more comfortable today than I was before the game.

There were some major questions answered at PG and C. Although they may not be our strongest assets this year...I don't think we will be held back by either position...which was a major concern for me coming in. We still have to see what happens when our guards and centers go up against a little bit better talent but I think we will be OK. We played a very good team but they didn't necessarily challenge us at the C position or put heavy pressure on our PG's.

JL had a shaky game but...BUT...Mick raved about him in practice and how he wasn't concerned from an effort or skill standpoint. He just said he's got to get stronger and like most frosh has to make the adjustment to D1 BB. Give him some time to catch on and he will be fine. Even if it's just on defense...we can use his length and athletecism.

I thought KJ looked like he is ready to contribute this year and not redshirt. I think DM will be too versatile to redshirt. He has the ablitly to play 3 positions (if we need it) and can probably defend all three competently as well.

On the suface it seems as if Cronin sees something in JS that he doesn't see in JDIII as a player who will give us minutes. I don't know if it's attitude or defense related but it certainly isn't offense related. I also hope I am reading too much into it because if we were just talking offense...if all of our players played the same amount of time...JDIII would be #2 on our team in points...maybe #1 (yes I am serious). SK probably averages about a half a point per minute played and JDIII is probably historically closer to a 1-1 ratio (although usually against weaker competition). The kid is and has been INSTANT offense IMO!

I gotta give credit to our veterans for obviously working their asses off in the off season. Well done Bearcats! Out of all of our players including frosh I think only one player graded out below my expectiations...and I don't expect that player to continue that trend. I think we might be a tourney team...and I was skeptical about that coming in.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

On the suface it seems as if Cronin sees something in JS that he doesn't see in JDIII as a player who will give us minutes. I don't know if it's attitude or defense related but it certainly isn't offense related. I also hope I am reading too much into it because if we were just talking offense...if all of our players played the same amount of time...JDIII would be #2 on our team in points...maybe #1 (yes I am serious). SK probably averages about a half a point per minute played and JDIII is probably historically closer to a 1-1 ratio (although usually against weaker competition). The kid is and has been INSTANT offense IMO!

JD NEEDS MORE MINUTES.... Its completely shocking that he barely played.

Someone please explain to me what Mick sees in JS?? I just simply dont see it.

JD can score points and has a great feel for the fastbreak.

This topic really confuses me.

 

[JumpinJack5]

JD NEEDS MORE MINUTES.... Its completely shocking that he barely played.

Someone please explain to me what Mick sees in JS?? I just simply dont see it.

JD can score points and has a great feel for the fastbreak.

This topic really confuses me.

Agreed. Sanders actually looked somewhat coherent for once on Saturday, but he hasn't shown anything close to what JD3 has shown offensively, albeit limited minutes.

 

[waterhead]

Sanders played solid BB but he was on the court 20 minutes and came up with 3 points and 1 rebound. I don't think we can use that type of production at a position where we need scoring and rebounding. Shaq Thomas had 7 rebounds and 11 points in 24 minutes. That's more like it.

I think Sanders gets so many minutes because he "understands where to be". But that also means you are sacrificing points for someone who is just going to be in the right place and then pass it to someone else.

 

[waterhead]

After taking a closer look at the box score here are some stats that stood out to me going by per minutes played.

JJ (32)...led in blocks and tied in rebounds...second in pts
SK(30)...led in points and tied in steals and assists
TR(24)...had a solid line of stats
ST(22)...tied for rebounds and solid points
GG(21)...Zero assists one TO and 4 points
JS(20)...1 rebound, 1 assist, and 3 points
TC(16)...tied for lead in steals 2
KJ(12)...tied for lead in assists 3
JL(10)...led in fouls 5
DN(9)...led in rebounds per minute played...decent points
JDIII(4)...led in points per minute played

I think we are going to need a little more production out of 41 minutes from GG and JS. I understand it's just one game...but we have game history on them as well. Lawrence would like to forget this game and move on.

 

[UCBearcats]

Lawrence is a 2-3 year player. Just because he was ranked so high doesn't mean anything. I will be surprised if he contributes anything significant this year, we will see glimpses but he has a ways to go. I've been saying this since he committed.

Agreed, Lawrence to Lance comparisons shouldn't be made. Lawrence was ranked in the high 20's or low 30's by most recruiting services which doesn't usually translate into a one and done type of guy. Lance was a top 5 talent with an NBA ready frame. Also factor in that Lawrence has a much different body type than Lance did and he missed the majority his last 2 seasons of organized basketball.

Hopefully this kid develops into something special but recruiting rankings don't always get it right and it's going to take some time for Lawrence to get to where he wants to go.

Anyone who wants to try to make a determination on this kid's future at any point this season should be ignored. If you were counting on Lawrence, or any of these freshman, to be the reason why this team succeeds this year you might be in for a long year.

 

[CaptDale]

Agreed, Lawrence to Lance comparisons shouldn't be made. Lawrence was ranked in the high 20's or low 30's by most recruiting services which doesn't usually translate into a one and done type of guy. Lance was a top 5 talent with an NBA ready frame. Also factor in that Lawrence has a much different body type than Lance did and he missed the majority his last 2 seasons of organized basketball.

Hopefully this kid develops into something special but recruiting rankings don't always get it right and it's going to take some time for Lawrence to get to where he wants to go.

Anyone who wants to try to make a determination on this kid's future at any point this season should be ignored. If you were counting on Lawrence, or any of these freshman, to be the reason why this team succeeds this year you might be in for a long year.

Finally someone making sense about the newbies!