Men's BBALL First Look Thoughts!

[BlueBleeder]

THIS TEAM LOOKS GOOD FOLKS! We should be really good on the perimeter, both offensively and defensively. I think we will be okay on the inside, just not as strong as at the guard position.

A few things that stood out to me:

Myles Walker is a beast. He's put on another 10-15 pounds of muscle and looks to be in better shape than last year. He ran the floor well all evening and out muscled everyone else in the gym....big surprise, I know.

Koang Dolouny looks much much better! He's put on a lot of muscle and has really work hard over the summer....ITS OBVIOUS! His shot was really on tonight and his dribble drive was good. This could be Koang's break out year.

Jake Odum is such a great leader....and he's only a sophomore. He has really worked on his perimeter shot and it looks much better. His release seemed a little quicker and appears to have had a slight makeover. We'll see how much it's improved over time. His floor leadership is second to none and his handles with the ball are ridiculous. Twice tonight he made good defenders look silly putting moves on them that were SICK.

THIS FRESHMAN CLASS IS REALLY GOOD! Justin Gant was impressive at times and has a really good motor for a big man. I'm starting to think he may not redshirt, but we'll see. He needs to add some weight, but he did okay battling for rebounds against a much bulkier Walker.

I think the steal of this class may be Brandon Burnett. What a physical specimen.....6'6" and around 225 pounds and in really good shape. This kid can really shoot and drive the ball. He kind of reminds me of Rayvonte Rice from Drake only a little taller. He may have something to say about Freshman of the Year in the MVC!!

The other freshman, Devonte Brown, looks good as well. He didn't do a whole lot offensively that was impressive, but he looks to be a great defender.

I cannot wait to see this team in another week at the block party night....I HAVE A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS SEASON!!!

 

[True Blue]

Damn man. I just quoted you!

 

[BlueBleeder]

LOL...i just saw that. Yeah, funny Backer and I were so similar on our thoughts except for Burnett. Hopefully I'm more right about Brandon than he is....no offence Backer!!

 

[Eleven]

The good news is that Walker gave the first practice a C+ Saying that it can only get better....

 

[BlueBleeder]

oh yeah....i wouldn't say that they are anywhere near where they can be....but you can see we have some really good pieces to put together!!

 

[SycfromBirth]

Were any of the players vocal (other than Odum)?

Additionally, did KD seem to have any fire in him? I've always loved his skill set, but I know he has battled the injury bug. I hope he is eager to prove himself.

 

[sycamorebacker]

Were any of the players vocal (other than Odum)?

Additionally, did KD seem to have any fire in him? I've always loved his skill set, but I know he has battled the injury bug. I hope he is eager to prove himself.

I would say yes and yes.

 

[BlueSycamore]

I particularly agree with BlueBleeders comment concerning Brandon Burnett...................."I think the steal of this class may be Brandon Burnett. What a physical specimen.....6'6" and around 225 pounds and in really good shape. This kid can really shoot and drive the ball. He kind of reminds me of Rayvonte Rice from Drake only a little taller. He may have something to say about Freshman of the Year in the MVC!!".

Don't know if I'm ready to put a FOY tag on him yet but he looks like a player hard to keep off the floor? He gave no slack on the defensive end and that is always a good sign.

It was a hard and no nonsense practice and I'm thinking only the first of many that will be that way? Game Day is going to be like a day off when compared to practice. The Sycamores are going to be a "Contenda" every time out.

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Rather than creating a new thread here are my thoughts on the first practice. It's difficult to do a player by player assesment having just watched one practice but I will give it a shot.

Odum: If you don't like reading overly positive comments about Odum then you should just not read my comments the rest of the season, because they are going to be just that, "overly positive". The kid just makes the game look easy and he's having fun. His shot looked pretty solid on this night and he goes hard the entire time.

Richard: Was probably the best player in the gym last night. He looked healthy and he was physical inside as always. You can tell the kid has been around the program forever and he's got some experience because he himself and then some last night.

Walker: Not sure that he's added 15 pounds of muscle? I don't know him personally, maybe he has? If so, it's not really noticeable, I mean he's a big fella already so I don't know how you come up with 15 pounds but ok. Anyway, Walker is going to be solid for us inside again this year. He really is a vocal leader on this team and at one point even yelled out, "you aren't here to work hard then get the hell out of the gym"... Got a chuckle out of Odum who was just singled out by coach for being in every drill and he had asked someone to "get Odum" and said, "I'm tired of seeing Odum be the first one out on the floor for every drill".

JP: Looked to be really fit and healthy. He's going to give us a big boost this year, I really expect for him to have a big year. He handles the ball so well and his shot is a work of art.

Steve: Looked like he had put in a lot of work in the off season and looked to be one of the most improved players on the floor. I don't think I ever thought he was a bad ball handler but last night really showed how good of a ball handler he was. He also talks well on D and if you have never been to a Lansing practice that is a huge emphasis of coaches - Steve does a very good job of talking.

KD: Agee with above comments - did put on a little bit of muscle and he really shot the ball well. If he plays like that in practice I think he will find himself some mins. for sure, no doubt about that. He gives us good length on the perimeter that can go inside and rebound. I like what he did last night a lot.

RJ: Of all the player he's probably put on the most "noticeable" muscle and weight. It's a bit of a catch 22 because he was probably the most out of shape player on the floor last night. He was winded about an hour in to practice, that's not to say he didn't keep fighting because he did that and actually played better as practice went on when he was tired.

Lathan: You could tell he hand't been doing much with being sick and all, but he got in and got after it pretty good. You can tell that kid just loves to play basketball, he's such a physical player I'd hate to guard him and you see why he get's to the line so much. Just difficult player to guard when he jumps up and into you so much.

Kitchell: He's a stump man - our tallest player and pretty physical kid. I wish he would work on his hands a little bit, seemed to fumble the ball around a lot on passes - that happens in the league it's going the other way and your getting dunked on. I think he might get a look this year but he's going to have to make the most of it. If I had to set a depth chart based on what I saw last night it would be: Walker, Gant, RJ, Kitch in that order - just the way I seen it last night.
Gant: Honestly of all the freshman yesterday Gant had the best practice hands down. He really is athletic, he can get up and dunk the ball with ease (obviously) and he can step out and shoot the shot. I think a lot of people will be surprised with what Gant can do, he's a really smart kid that doesn't try to do to much - just need him to look to shoot a little more, that will come in time.

BB: Not sure if I would put him in contention for FOY just yet. I don't want to really judge freshman like BB and Brown on one practice, that's the first I've seen of these guys. BB is physically impressive, big athletic guard that can shoot the ball - I will give him that, no doubt. Last night I didn't see him do ANYTHING that would scream FOY or even impact player on this team. That's not to say he won't be good because I think he probably will be in the future. But last night he wasn't as impressive as has been described above and my comments are based only on what I saw last night.

Brown: Is a really quick guard - get him in a 1 on 1 break down situation and he's got some good moves. Worked Steve over pretty good one time. He took 2 outside shots with defenders in his face that missed by a wide margin. Probably not shots he would have taken in a game, within the drill it was probably ok though. I would say he will probably redshirt Brown - it makes a lot of sense to do so.

Manny Arop: Has a heck of a knee brace on that kind of cut down his mobility. Good news is whatever I saw last night doesn't really matter because he's out this - he can really stroke the 3 ball and seems to have a good feel for the game. He's not really quick (at all), one of the slower guys on the floor actually and this concerns me - we have a team that at times get's up and down the floor at a good clip and he had trouble keeping up. But I think he will be a nice player a year from now - let him get healthy with whatever he has going on with that knee.

 

[sycamorebacker]

Gant looked too good to redshirt, didn't he?
Defense may be the key there for our backup center. I would like to see one-on-one matchups with Gant, RJ and Kitchell.

 

[Southgrad07]

Thanks for the update guys! Team sounds like it is looking pretty solid, but a couple questions for those in attendance. Who was the guy guarding Walker in the scrimmages or drills? That might tell us a lot on who has the upper hand at being the backup center and was Carl working more with the 3's or the 4's?

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Carl was working with the 3 most all of practice - good question.

Walker didn't have any one guy guarding him, remember it was just the first practice and the way Lansing runs practices it's not clear who is the first, second, third team or any team in-between. Does a lot of up and down stuff, face paced - don't have time to get people matched up. Basically you get matched up against who's ready to be in the drill and get dirty.