I was able to go to practice today so I thought I would share some thoughts similarly to SSOM. I was really impressed all around. It seemed like Lansing was more relaxed than many of the practices I have attended over the years. There just looks to be more quickness than I can remember. As they have noted in facebook posts, the energy was outstanding throughout the whole practice except one point that they did not hustle between drills. It seemed like the first team today was JB, Scott, Demonte, D Thomas, and Murphy. I was surprised that Qiydar wasn't with the first guys today but that could just be Greg mixing it up or just simply as they start working on motions, he has more experience to set the example.
Demonte - Played well I just wonder if he had trouble picking things up last year. He could play the 4 in a small lineup and will see the floor more than he did last year. He strength will serve him well against physical small forwards.
Barnes - Will start at PG this year and probably for the next 3 years. The coaches want him to shoot more because he is more than capable as long as he goes up square. He's not afraid to mix it up and drive and dish. Some of the new bigs have to realize when they are open or he's going to hit them in the face with the ball.
Knight - Played very well and it appears he has worked extremely hard on his game. If he succeeds a lot at the defense end he could be a great situational defender. He did play a little point today but not enough for me to think he will see minutes there this year.
Scott - This should be his best year as long as he can stay healthy. He seemed more in control from the start to finish of a practice than anytime I have ever seen him in the practice setting. He was vocal and was leading by example and vocally. He didn't miss that many shots and drove for the finish and the pass. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in the record books.
Kessinger - Still has the best footwork of any of our bigs and is always under control. He finished a couple of nice plays around the rim and over or around the more explosive jumpers. He will continue to develop and provide much needed bench depth in the frontcourt.
Claycomb - Clearly the closest of the walkons to seeing time on the floor but I don't think he will see much this season unless we are up by a lot in the second half. If he continues to improve his 3pt shot he will eventually earn some time on the floor.
Hughes - It was interesting watching Hughes. He did much better later in practice than early. This is the first time I have seen many of these players so you have to take these comments for what they are. He would benefit from a redshirt year more because I just cannot see where the minutes will come from. He is super sneaky athletic and can surprise you with his ability on the drive and around the basket. My question is would he rather play 5 minutes a game as a freshman or play 20 minutes a game as a redshirt freshman next year?
Huenerman - I think he will struggle to find minutes as well unless we just need his length out there. He is already 20 years old so I am not sure if a redshirt would be a good option but I am always in favor of redshirting bigs at our level. I watched him work on his three point shot a lot with Belcher after practice and I think if he develops how it looks he can he might develop into the best stretch 4 we have had in a while. He has a way to go defensively but seem to be able to move pretty well and just need to develop more upper body strength.
Deady - Works really hard but behind Claycomb and I just don't see him getting minutes but he is invaluable in practice and really appreciates his effort all the time.
Davis - Shot the three much better than I expected. He kind of reminded me of Manny Arop without the same release. Not quite as tall but depending on his health I could see him play 25-30 minutes a game. He seemed to pick up on things very quick and brings a different level of athleticism at that spot that we have seemed to have missed. If he shoots the ball as well as he did from the outside he will be a really solid one year player for us.
Murphy - I think he will show the same improvement he has each year but the coaching staff is much more vocal with him and all the bigs about grabbing the rebounds with two hands and not just trying to tap the ball out. He will look to dunk the ball every time he gets a chance and he really ran the floor better than I had ever seen him today.
Thomas - It will be interesting to see how much he will change before the first game that counts. He will see the floor a lot and should contribute all season. He can step out and shoot it and seems to be a good passer from the top of the key. He was able to finish a couple times but was also blocked by Rickman a couple times as well.
Rickman - Looks to have improved all around but I still watch him and often struggle to understand why sometimes he is so explosive and other times he doesn't seem to get off the floor. He was much more aggressive going for blocks on his man and just not looking to make blocks from the weak side. He also seemed like he could get a second jump in much quicker than he could in the past.
Key - I saved this for last because he did some of the most expected and unexpected things. First off, he ran the point quite a bit. I think he could see minutes every game a 3 different positions. He drove the ball really well to the basket and finished over and through contact. He made some 3s and mid range 2s in early drills. I think he will be smoothing out his jumper over time. I was the most curious to see him because of his high school scoring ability. I was surprised because he is very well developed physically for a freshman. He missed a couple of dunks one of which was a lob but he has some crazy ups. I am interested to see where he see the bulk of his minutes. Lastly, I was most impressed with him during the final drill of practice where the run full court 3 man weaves where everyone ends up with a shot and he seemed to shoot a very high percentage on his midrange jumpers but what made it stand out was he was doing it after a long practice where he had the ball in his hands a lot.
One last note, this seems to be the most relaxed I ever saw Lansing at Practice since Jake Odum graduated. Not sure that means anything, just an observation.
Demonte - Played well I just wonder if he had trouble picking things up last year. He could play the 4 in a small lineup and will see the floor more than he did last year. He strength will serve him well against physical small forwards.
Barnes - Will start at PG this year and probably for the next 3 years. The coaches want him to shoot more because he is more than capable as long as he goes up square. He's not afraid to mix it up and drive and dish. Some of the new bigs have to realize when they are open or he's going to hit them in the face with the ball.
Knight - Played very well and it appears he has worked extremely hard on his game. If he succeeds a lot at the defense end he could be a great situational defender. He did play a little point today but not enough for me to think he will see minutes there this year.
Scott - This should be his best year as long as he can stay healthy. He seemed more in control from the start to finish of a practice than anytime I have ever seen him in the practice setting. He was vocal and was leading by example and vocally. He didn't miss that many shots and drove for the finish and the pass. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in the record books.
Kessinger - Still has the best footwork of any of our bigs and is always under control. He finished a couple of nice plays around the rim and over or around the more explosive jumpers. He will continue to develop and provide much needed bench depth in the frontcourt.
Claycomb - Clearly the closest of the walkons to seeing time on the floor but I don't think he will see much this season unless we are up by a lot in the second half. If he continues to improve his 3pt shot he will eventually earn some time on the floor.
Hughes - It was interesting watching Hughes. He did much better later in practice than early. This is the first time I have seen many of these players so you have to take these comments for what they are. He would benefit from a redshirt year more because I just cannot see where the minutes will come from. He is super sneaky athletic and can surprise you with his ability on the drive and around the basket. My question is would he rather play 5 minutes a game as a freshman or play 20 minutes a game as a redshirt freshman next year?
Huenerman - I think he will struggle to find minutes as well unless we just need his length out there. He is already 20 years old so I am not sure if a redshirt would be a good option but I am always in favor of redshirting bigs at our level. I watched him work on his three point shot a lot with Belcher after practice and I think if he develops how it looks he can he might develop into the best stretch 4 we have had in a while. He has a way to go defensively but seem to be able to move pretty well and just need to develop more upper body strength.
Deady - Works really hard but behind Claycomb and I just don't see him getting minutes but he is invaluable in practice and really appreciates his effort all the time.
Davis - Shot the three much better than I expected. He kind of reminded me of Manny Arop without the same release. Not quite as tall but depending on his health I could see him play 25-30 minutes a game. He seemed to pick up on things very quick and brings a different level of athleticism at that spot that we have seemed to have missed. If he shoots the ball as well as he did from the outside he will be a really solid one year player for us.
Murphy - I think he will show the same improvement he has each year but the coaching staff is much more vocal with him and all the bigs about grabbing the rebounds with two hands and not just trying to tap the ball out. He will look to dunk the ball every time he gets a chance and he really ran the floor better than I had ever seen him today.
Thomas - It will be interesting to see how much he will change before the first game that counts. He will see the floor a lot and should contribute all season. He can step out and shoot it and seems to be a good passer from the top of the key. He was able to finish a couple times but was also blocked by Rickman a couple times as well.
Rickman - Looks to have improved all around but I still watch him and often struggle to understand why sometimes he is so explosive and other times he doesn't seem to get off the floor. He was much more aggressive going for blocks on his man and just not looking to make blocks from the weak side. He also seemed like he could get a second jump in much quicker than he could in the past.
Key - I saved this for last because he did some of the most expected and unexpected things. First off, he ran the point quite a bit. I think he could see minutes every game a 3 different positions. He drove the ball really well to the basket and finished over and through contact. He made some 3s and mid range 2s in early drills. I think he will be smoothing out his jumper over time. I was the most curious to see him because of his high school scoring ability. I was surprised because he is very well developed physically for a freshman. He missed a couple of dunks one of which was a lob but he has some crazy ups. I am interested to see where he see the bulk of his minutes. Lastly, I was most impressed with him during the final drill of practice where the run full court 3 man weaves where everyone ends up with a shot and he seemed to shoot a very high percentage on his midrange jumpers but what made it stand out was he was doing it after a long practice where he had the ball in his hands a lot.
One last note, this seems to be the most relaxed I ever saw Lansing at Practice since Jake Odum graduated. Not sure that means anything, just an observation.
