Switching gears...
- Thread starter FQDawg
- Start date
Only having about an hour to watch goings on it is hard to know. I would guess our second squad could challenge and probably defeat most other 1st team squads in the SEC. We are really deep it appears.
I am personally biased against Ravern and Barry's offensive games (I really don't know why?...maybe the inconsistency bothers me?) so I got stuck on them missing relatively open shots aGain, like last year. I know they both are probably improved from last season though.
*Backer moment* Bost appeared to have hit the weights 10 lbs and both Osby and Augustus have really tightened up and look more like basketball players than football players like they did last season.
Reik looked pretty solid vs Varnado, backing him down and going really strong to the basket. He could provide some nice minutes once he gets cleared.
The Wendell Lewis? guy from AL looked really athletic and is bigger than I thought he would be. Hard to know where he would get any minutes on this team. Sidney made a couple of really nice perimeter shots but didn't appear ready to bang down low. He is still a fatty, ×20lbs heavy.
I see Augustus being a real threat to score against anyone. He will create matchup problems for other teams to defend.
Props to Coach Stans for stacking us up with solid players. I may ***** about offensive strategy, or lack there of, and substitution patterns, but at this time of year, like Hanmudog made a good point the other day, you have to be excited about what our team could do.
I am personally biased against Ravern and Barry's offensive games (I really don't know why?...maybe the inconsistency bothers me?) so I got stuck on them missing relatively open shots aGain, like last year. I know they both are probably improved from last season though.
*Backer moment* Bost appeared to have hit the weights 10 lbs and both Osby and Augustus have really tightened up and look more like basketball players than football players like they did last season.
Reik looked pretty solid vs Varnado, backing him down and going really strong to the basket. He could provide some nice minutes once he gets cleared.
The Wendell Lewis? guy from AL looked really athletic and is bigger than I thought he would be. Hard to know where he would get any minutes on this team. Sidney made a couple of really nice perimeter shots but didn't appear ready to bang down low. He is still a fatty, ×20lbs heavy.
I see Augustus being a real threat to score against anyone. He will create matchup problems for other teams to defend.
Props to Coach Stans for stacking us up with solid players. I may ***** about offensive strategy, or lack there of, and substitution patterns, but at this time of year, like Hanmudog made a good point the other day, you have to be excited about what our team could do.
...the team was split up into 2 squads for the first scrimmage: The Maroon Team had Barry Stewart at PG, Phil Turner at 2 guard, Romero Osby at the 3, Jarvis Varnado at the 5, and Renardo Sidney at the 4. The White team for the first scrimmage had Dee Bost at PG, Shaun Smith at the 2, Ravern Johnson at the 3, Kodi Augustus at the 4 and Wendell Lewis at the 5. John Reik came off the bench for the Whites. The Maroon team won the first scrimmage. I stayed for both, and the lineups added Dee Bost to the whites and moved Phil over to Maroons as PG. So, Dee Bost, Barry Stewart, and Phil Turner all got turns at the PG. Here are my observations:FrenchQuarterDawg said:
1. Dee Bost is the best player on the floor. He is tremendously improved. He is a jet! He penetrates really well, had some great passes, and shot really well from the 3.
2. Jarvis looks about the same. He was supposed to have gained 15 pounds, but it is hard to see. He also is still Jarvis the Intimidator.
3. Kodi was playing with aggression and enthusiam and he looks much better, and more confident, really battles in there.
4. Romero Osby looks much improved. He knocked down most of his 3's. His Grandparents, Mom, Dad and little brother and sister were sitting behind me. If Romero's father, Darrell Osby, is reading this, just saying hello. Very, very nice people. Darrell says Ro is now about 241, but really looks cut.
5. Ravern looks like he might have gained a few ounces, could be 180 by now. Ravern really has worked hard on taking the ball to the rack. Spent a lot of time on the dribble drive.
6. Phil Turner is going to press "Randy" for PT. He was all over the floor, hit his shots, and handled the ball well.
7. "Randy" is just such a smart player. He just doesn't make mistakes on the floor. He is a real leader out there.
8. Wendell Lewis was the biggest surprise to me. This young man looks very close to 6-9 and looks to be about 235. He is really quick and plays very smart. He blocks out well, has excellent hops, and was an aggressive rebounder.
9. Shaun Smith is a very talented 6-5, close to 6-6, 2 guard. He is built very solidly, so could also play the 3. He can shoot the damn rock! However, he is still getting used to the speed of college basketball. Several times he made turnovers due to not coming to the ball or passing crisply enough. He moves really well without the ball, and looks an athlete.
10. John Reik is 7-1. He gives 100% effort on the floor, but is still a ways away from being SEC ready. His wing span is almost beyond belief. He blocked several shots, rebounded well, but is still very raw offensively.
11. Renardo Sidney. I was told Renardo Sidney reported to school back at the beginning of August at 303. He looked about 275 on the floor, not fat, but big. He has lots of skills, is very quick on post moves underneath, but I think he was playing about 75%. He was too slow down to the defensive end. He is not 6-11, but may nudge 6-10... barely. At the beginning of the scrimmage, he launched a 23 foot 3 pointer that clanked off the back iron. I think Rick cringed at that. I don't know what I was expecting from him, but he was a 275 pound disappointment to me. The effort wasn't as intense as everyone else and he was in no way ready to dominate a game.
What I was happy about was the relatively few mistakes made on this team. They looked like they could go into the SEC schedule now. If I had to name a starting 5 right now, it would be:
PG: Dee Bost
SG: Barry Stewart...pushed by Phil.
SF: Ravern Johnson...pushed by Romero.
PF: Kodi Augustus...backed by Wendell Lewis
C: Jarvis Varnado...backed by Wendell Lewis
Before I would put Renardo Sidney on the floor, I would want him to lose 25 more pounds, and work and run the floor harder. He made some great inlet passes to Jarvis and worked the boards when close. However, at this point I don't think he would out hustle Wendell Lewis. He is NOT NBA ready at all. I would work Shaun Smith in gradually, backing up at the 2 when Dee is resting and either Barry or Phil is at the PG. John Reik looks to be a promising project. He really tries his best, gives 100 percent, but is just not ready for regular SEC work at this time.
So there were three scrimmages - two 20 minute segments and a 12 minute.</p>
Like most, I guess, my eyes were on Sidney to begin with. To me, he looked horrible in the first two scrimmages. He mostly camped out at the three point line, took ill-advised shots, and missed the few he took around the hole. He looked agitated and would often get frustrated after missing a shot, being the last guy "running" down the court for defense. A minimum of three times, he passed the ball right to a defender standing in front of him. However, he lit it up in the 3rd scrimmage, nailing three or four 3pters and hitting some nice shots in the paint. The difference between the first 2 scrimmages and the last one was night and day. The guy I saw in the first 2 scrimmages had no business being on the court if he's gonna suck and give no hustle, but the guy that played in the last scrimmage looked to be a huge matchup problem and nearly unstoppable. Who knows which one we'll get, if either. The main thing that worries me was the lack of hustle. He looked like he had an attitude problem.
The 7'2" Reik kid is massive, with a big upper body and strong arms. He hit a couple of hook shots in the lane over Jarvis that looked nice. He reminds me of Marcus Campbell running down the court - looks laborsome for him to run hard - but I think he's going to be a huge matchup problem for anyone down there. He won't get pushed around under the goal. I think he can provide some solid minutes off the bench, but in spurts. His stamina was lacking, but I think you could count on at least 4-5 solid minutes per half. I wouldn't expect too much from him this year, as he still looked a little awkward, but I think he can easily fill in whatever minutes we "lost" from Brian Johnson. If you put him and Varnado in the paint, no one is getting a shot off down there.
I was also impressed with Wendell Lewis. He looked athletic and while he didn't always succeed against Varnado in the post, he was always confident and asked for the ball down there. I'm not sure if we'll need him this year, but he's athletic and he hustles. He was aggressive on rebounds and played his game - didn't try to show out with 3s or have a bunch of turnovers or anything.
Jarvis didn't really stand out (and I see now that he led all scorers), but I probably wasn't watching him too much - I already know what I'm getting there.
Ravern still seems streaky. He was ice cold from 3pt land, and didn't really have much else to offer. I think his two baskets were dunks. I wish he had a midrange game to fall back on when the 3s aren't dropping.
Barry was pulled during the 2nd scrimmage and ice was put on his left shoulder, but he returned in the 3rd scrimmage and hit a 3pter or two.
Phil was hot and hustling as usual, getting some second chance effort points and hitting some long threes. I like what I see from Phil - each year you can tell he's progressing, and even if his shots aren't falling, he offers good defense and can usually get some second chance points.
Bost looked more aggressive that last year and made some very impressive bounce passes in transition. He was hot in the first scrimmage from 3pt land, but cooled down later. I hoped to see a little more from his midrange game. The shots he made inside the arc were mostly layups, I believe.
Osby impressed me, too. He has developed a long range game, and nailed several 3s and looked very consistant throughout the scrimmage. If he keeps playing like he did yesterday, he could push for a starting spot. Quite the small sample size, but he looked to be the most improved from those that were on the team last year.
Kodi was okay, but I remember him having a good many turnovers and shooting too many 3s. He did rebound hard and give good effort. Still seems like a little of a ballhog, but the effort and energy was there.
Shaunessy Smith didn't do much, but I've seen freshmen look a lot worse. I think I'd take him over Beckham, though that's not necessarily saying a lot.
Elgin didn't play and neither did Benock. Beckman was on crutches.
Stats: http://www.mstateathletics.com/fls/16800/stats/mbk/200910/ms1024.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800</p>
Like most, I guess, my eyes were on Sidney to begin with. To me, he looked horrible in the first two scrimmages. He mostly camped out at the three point line, took ill-advised shots, and missed the few he took around the hole. He looked agitated and would often get frustrated after missing a shot, being the last guy "running" down the court for defense. A minimum of three times, he passed the ball right to a defender standing in front of him. However, he lit it up in the 3rd scrimmage, nailing three or four 3pters and hitting some nice shots in the paint. The difference between the first 2 scrimmages and the last one was night and day. The guy I saw in the first 2 scrimmages had no business being on the court if he's gonna suck and give no hustle, but the guy that played in the last scrimmage looked to be a huge matchup problem and nearly unstoppable. Who knows which one we'll get, if either. The main thing that worries me was the lack of hustle. He looked like he had an attitude problem.
The 7'2" Reik kid is massive, with a big upper body and strong arms. He hit a couple of hook shots in the lane over Jarvis that looked nice. He reminds me of Marcus Campbell running down the court - looks laborsome for him to run hard - but I think he's going to be a huge matchup problem for anyone down there. He won't get pushed around under the goal. I think he can provide some solid minutes off the bench, but in spurts. His stamina was lacking, but I think you could count on at least 4-5 solid minutes per half. I wouldn't expect too much from him this year, as he still looked a little awkward, but I think he can easily fill in whatever minutes we "lost" from Brian Johnson. If you put him and Varnado in the paint, no one is getting a shot off down there.
I was also impressed with Wendell Lewis. He looked athletic and while he didn't always succeed against Varnado in the post, he was always confident and asked for the ball down there. I'm not sure if we'll need him this year, but he's athletic and he hustles. He was aggressive on rebounds and played his game - didn't try to show out with 3s or have a bunch of turnovers or anything.
Jarvis didn't really stand out (and I see now that he led all scorers), but I probably wasn't watching him too much - I already know what I'm getting there.
Ravern still seems streaky. He was ice cold from 3pt land, and didn't really have much else to offer. I think his two baskets were dunks. I wish he had a midrange game to fall back on when the 3s aren't dropping.
Barry was pulled during the 2nd scrimmage and ice was put on his left shoulder, but he returned in the 3rd scrimmage and hit a 3pter or two.
Phil was hot and hustling as usual, getting some second chance effort points and hitting some long threes. I like what I see from Phil - each year you can tell he's progressing, and even if his shots aren't falling, he offers good defense and can usually get some second chance points.
Bost looked more aggressive that last year and made some very impressive bounce passes in transition. He was hot in the first scrimmage from 3pt land, but cooled down later. I hoped to see a little more from his midrange game. The shots he made inside the arc were mostly layups, I believe.
Osby impressed me, too. He has developed a long range game, and nailed several 3s and looked very consistant throughout the scrimmage. If he keeps playing like he did yesterday, he could push for a starting spot. Quite the small sample size, but he looked to be the most improved from those that were on the team last year.
Kodi was okay, but I remember him having a good many turnovers and shooting too many 3s. He did rebound hard and give good effort. Still seems like a little of a ballhog, but the effort and energy was there.
Shaunessy Smith didn't do much, but I've seen freshmen look a lot worse. I think I'd take him over Beckham, though that's not necessarily saying a lot.
Elgin didn't play and neither did Benock. Beckman was on crutches.
Stats: http://www.mstateathletics.com/fls/16800/stats/mbk/200910/ms1024.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800</p>
Sidney showed that he has as much talent as advertised, but the walk ons put more effort in than him. Wendell Lewis surprised me the most. He looked good enough to contribute off the bench in games. I was disappointed with Smith, but he should be good eventually. Riek really struggled but he could be a beast.
My starting 5 would be Bost, Turner, Ravern, Kodi, and Swat assuming Sidney isn't cleared. If Osby keeps playing like he did yesterday, he could take somebody's starting spot.
My starting 5 would be Bost, Turner, Ravern, Kodi, and Swat assuming Sidney isn't cleared. If Osby keeps playing like he did yesterday, he could take somebody's starting spot.
Sidney was far from impressive... Osby looks to be much improved...Augustus looked good hope his head stays out of his *** this year...Riek is a project he took it right at Jarvis sometimes and playing against him will only help but he looks to be the slowest human on earth... And it has become laughable to see our walk ons... Daddy must have lots of cash... One of our walk on looks like he is 12...
such a highly rated recruit that planned on going to the NBA out of high school if allowed would report to school in such bad shape. Even if he is cleared I can see alot of pine time for him early in the season.