Open Practice Today From 4 - 5 For STH
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Big guys doing defense drills vs. Gus, who looks like he’s been working out a bit. He’s scoring on them pretty well. He’s working on a nice little hook.
Scrimmage defense with coaches and starters on offense, BMac still our best PG on the floor. Ty breaking some ankles. Freshmen demonstrating that bite-on-everything experience. Lots of athleticism tho.
They’re working a lot on perimeter switching. They need a lot of work.
They’re working a lot on perimeter switching. They need a lot of work.
He’s missing a lot of interior passes and working on a little turn around from the free throw line. Low percentage so far, but I’d expect to see it in games.
Ty Berry looked ready to go and I believe he will be a focal point of the offense. I thought Clayton looked improved and Chris Collins had some praise for Mullins. Nicholson moves really well for a big guy. I just wish he had a better touch on his shots, although he did show a little half hook with his left hand that could help. I don't expect much immediate help from the Frosh. This team will go as far as the veterans and two transfers will take us, and we can't afford injuries to key guys that we managed to survive last year.
I thought Matt's shooting touch from 10-12 feet looked good in the pick and roll drills for the big guys. I suspect he has worked hard at it.
Gus Hurlburt, the kid from North Dakota?
It looks like they've been running those drills a fair bit for him, Keenan, and Luke.
If we ever see Gus in a game, I'll bet he gets off at least one of those bunny hooks because he's definitely been working on those.
Hurlbut was giving the two big guys a defensive workout under the hoop for quite a while, and he even made a few shots.
Not much to add. It was hard to get a sense of the rotation or who looked good just based on the offensive and defensive drills that they were doing. I did notice that Barkley was working with the wings not the big men. Still don't know if he'll be a contributor, but I was wondering how the coaches saw him fitting in.
I'm sure the dynamic will change a lot once Brooks joins in, but from what we saw yesterday I think Ty will spend a lot of the offense without the ball, moving around the arc for a three on the third pass.
Mullins, Windham, and Leach all look like they will be doing the drive and dish with Matt/Keenan, while Nick/Blake/Brooks (Luke) are moving and screening low. I think Leach had the best shooting results, but I was pretty happy with what Windham was doing.
Angelo looked 'the most' lost of the guys and I'm pretty sure I heard Collins say something to him like 'I know you don't know the plays, but try...'. Setting that aside, he has a nice touch and moves well. He just might not see too much court until he learns a bit more specifics to the team.
I was generally happy with everything I saw out of the guys and I'm confident that playing time will come down to who can get the best handle on the defense the soonest, because they all look like they can compete. The worst part of the practice for me, really, was just Matt flubbing so many of the passes to him on the move. There were some optimistic (bad) efforts to get him the ball, but there were several solid into-his-hands throws and he didn't capitalize on most of them. We need that to change by next week, imho. But even there, he was moving really well for a guy recovering from a foot injury earlier this year. Ty also moved well, btw.
Something to keep an eye on, to be sure, but I would chalk this up to just working on his timing now after being out of action for a while.
Oops, now I want to be clear that Collins was encouraging him, I just don't remember the specific advice he gave him to try. Maybe something about going over the pick instead of under? I'm not sure.
Honestly, as a Nicholson fan, his hands have got to get better. There's so much raw material there and his footwork on the defensive end is pretty good - he just needs the ball thrown in the right place or he's not been very good at catching it. To the point where a bounce pass to him was ill-advised. Still, glad to hear they're trying to run stuff to get him the ball in scoring position. He has gotten to be a pretty good passer.
Question to all attendees...
Is it safe to say Mullins is ahead of Smith who is ahead of Ciavarino?
And am I crazy to think Windham will play and score significantly for us?
Is it safe to say Mullins is ahead of Smith who is ahead of Ciavarino?
And am I crazy to think Windham will play and score significantly for us?
Based entirely and solely on the practice yesterday, Windham will get to see the court in the early games and have the chance to show he deserves minutes. What happens after that is really up to him.
Mullins vs. Smith playing time, I have no idea - I suppose it depends on how they're showing up in practice. Smith was better working in the defense last year, Mullins seems more athletic.
Mullins vs. Smith playing time, I have no idea - I suppose it depends on how they're showing up in practice. Smith was better working in the defense last year, Mullins seems more athletic.
Thanks for the observations.
I look at the roster and see two experienced guards, only one of whom has shown he can play in the Big Ten (Ty Berry).
Clayton was shaky all season, so a big step up seems unlikely.
Windham looked good in the videos from Europe - thats all I have to go on - and hit a bunch of 3's.
In my opinion, we need him to be pretty good right away.
Leach was a key target for CCC - had lots of really good offers. Plays great defense as well as very solid offense. I think we’ll be happy with him, especially as the year unfolds and he learns the systems well.
My concerns with Leach are...
He started out at Fairfield as a wing and played that position/role for 3 years.
He had season ending injuries his first two seasons, and missed the last 3 games last year due to injury, so durability in the Big Ten is a concern.
Last year he was considered a combo guard.
With the big step up in class, its just hard to see him being a good point guard for NU.
Torvik projects him as someone who won't have a lot of assists and will have slightly more turnovers.
He only played one game last year against Torvik's top 100 teams, so he isn't battle-tested.
The breakdown of his field goal attempts last season was 133/238 from 2 (56%) and 46/127 from 3 (36%).
Half of his 2 point attempts were at the rim, suggesting an advantage in athleticism over his opponents.
So while he had a really good senior year for Fairfield, it is entirely possible that he will find the quickness and size of the opposing guards to be a difficult challenge to overcome in the Big Ten, especially as the primary ballhandler.
Hopefully he can take another step forward and stay healthy.
I’m not sure how you reconcile: “he has an advantage in athleticism” but “he will find the quickness and size of opposing guards to be a difficult challenge”. I frankly don’t think BIG guards are all that scary athletically compared to other conferences. (Look at Wesley Cardet of Chicago State). He’s 6’4” and goes to the rim strong and often. If he stays healthy, learns our system and shoots well like last year, he should be quite an asset. Not saying he will shoot as well as Boo or Ryan, but he’s also likely to be a much better defender than Ryan. I also like to think our coaches and other big name schools’ coaches were high on him for lots of good reasons more so than concerns.
I suspect he was saying that the athletic advantage Leach had at Fairfield won’t exist in the B1G.
Based on the practice I watched, he seems like a shooter first and second, so I wouldn’t expect a lot of assists from him. But that’s a really limited sample size.
Based on the practice I watched, he seems like a shooter first and second, so I wouldn’t expect a lot of assists from him. But that’s a really limited sample size.
Big Matt just needs his sea legs back. He will be fine in the post if healthy. He is a BEAST
We need shooting. Period. Drop them 3s, Leach! Shoot until your arm falls off for all I care. This is a rebuilding season if we don’t have a point guard like Bryant, Boo, or Demps
Big Ten players get Big Ten Coaching and Big Ten Money advantages.
NU can not compete in football anymore. It is a dying sport.
Big Ten Basketball? Never been better
We need shooting. Leach can shoot. Brooks & Boo are ball handlers.
We need shooting from the perimeter.
Tom Izzo players have soft hands.
He learned how the Michigan way.
We want CCC to be Northwestern’s Izzo.
Great. Who cares?
Are we trying to win Big Ten games or beach masturbation contests? C’mon @EagerFan !!!
I actually think it matters because Brooks is a 6'6" guard who will be playing as a forward and will be doing a lot of banging inside against guys who will almost always be bigger and heavier than he is. And again, leading by example, he might be one of the guys motivating the freshmen towards getting into B1G shape.
Eager Fan answered for me, but yes, I'm saying Leach (presumably) had an athletic edge over the guys he was facing and was able to get past them and score in the paint.
There is a significant quickness difference between Power 6 competition and "bottom of D1" competition. Not to mention a size difference. Defenses are much better. So Leach is not likely to shoot as efficiently for NU. But he will get better coaching, so it isn't impossible.
Not disagreeing your statement overall, but I am of the opinion that Langborg was an underrated defender for us last year.