Post by oldtimer1 on Sept 3, 2014 18:29:59 GMT -5
Viewed pick-up today and may not view the team again until practice begins. So what it's worth here are my observations.
1) Began by visiting the BB office. JD was in Florida for MAAC meetings so I had some insightful observations from our Assistant Coaches ( good guys). Overall opinion, as we all know, is that we again need that third scorer. That will be the focus pre-season.
2) Pick-up was OK with Desi and Fields being the best players on the court today. Desi hit everything he looked at, including a few nice drives. Spoke with him for a few minutes and he is definitely focused. Wants that MAAC Championship. Fields was outstanding hitting a high percentage of his ugly looking jumpers, definitely played aggressively both offensively and defensively. Should see significant back-up minutes.
3) Q....looks physically intiminidating! Wait untill you see his build...NBA body. Bad news is that he still has problems offensively. Made a low percentage of shots. Guarded by Marvin ( who more than held his own, strength wise ). Often settled for a jump hook which missed. That said, I was told by the Coaches that the previous day Q "ate up" whoever was guarding him. So the jury is out. Two things certain....Q will not be pushed around by anyone this year but that he still needs to work on his offensive gam.
4) Desport/Marvin....Desport was out with a minor injury and Marvin looked as good as ever, preferring to play team ball and not trying to take over the games as he undoubtedly will do this Season.
5) Chazz/Gaskins...Both looked fine. Made much fewer mistakes than the newbees. Yet were not forceful enough by my standards. I'm especially interested in Gaskins. Last year he opened with a 15 pt. performance then became injured. Never played the same thwarting the plan to take significant minutes from Chris Burke. Ty took a few good jumpers and threw one beautiful pass but we need him to be more aggressive. He looks tall, if not 6'5" he's close. Think, early on , he should be our #3.
6) Rolle...out like Desport
7) Denis/Hester (sp)....originally told by staff that Hester was more of a shooter and Denis more of a scorer. Earlier on Dennis looked pretty good both shooting and driving but IMO not the equal of Gaskins. Hester (sp) looks like he's a white guy. Very well built and basketball smart. Saw him miss his first 5/6 shots, some pretty bad. Then just when I was about to pan his performance he hit 2 long range three's. Both guys are lefties with good height. Bottom line, no superstar but players who can contribute.
8) Boone/ Hawkins...both are the wirery type but strong. Neither has a great shot but both drive to the basket quite well and are excellent in the open court. Wonder if we'll run more. Of the two I really like Hawkins. Has a great nose for the ball and is a scorer who finishes well. Scoring mainly underneath with moves I wish Q had and even when he misses grabs his own rebound and score. Although penned in as a #4 I think he could easily play the #3 should we need the scoring. Reminds me of Berlin although not as well built. Boone...also looked decent but needs to add polish to his game. Threw several bad passes but, on the other hand, also moves well towards the basket. Also willing to get fouled and go to the foul line. Bottom line...both are excellent recruits but may need some time to reach their upside potential.
9) Wyche - looked fine but although a point guard still needs to be somewhat of a scoring threat. I for one am not worried as he's quite solid...and smart!
Bottom line, for me, no real disappointments but also saw no player who is our automatic 3rd scoring option. I'm sort of betting (and hoping ) for Gaskins, Hawkins, Boone, Chazz an Denis/Hester in that order.
Take the above comments lightly as it's very, very early to label any player at this point.
PS Eport....read your post on Siena. Agree entirely. Most posters on other Boards, especially Siena, should concentrate on their own teams as they know little or nothing about others. But just for this once I'll comment that the Siena guards are just a bunch of chuckers who, in no way, scare me.
1) Began by visiting the BB office. JD was in Florida for MAAC meetings so I had some insightful observations from our Assistant Coaches ( good guys). Overall opinion, as we all know, is that we again need that third scorer. That will be the focus pre-season.
2) Pick-up was OK with Desi and Fields being the best players on the court today. Desi hit everything he looked at, including a few nice drives. Spoke with him for a few minutes and he is definitely focused. Wants that MAAC Championship. Fields was outstanding hitting a high percentage of his ugly looking jumpers, definitely played aggressively both offensively and defensively. Should see significant back-up minutes.
3) Q....looks physically intiminidating! Wait untill you see his build...NBA body. Bad news is that he still has problems offensively. Made a low percentage of shots. Guarded by Marvin ( who more than held his own, strength wise ). Often settled for a jump hook which missed. That said, I was told by the Coaches that the previous day Q "ate up" whoever was guarding him. So the jury is out. Two things certain....Q will not be pushed around by anyone this year but that he still needs to work on his offensive gam.
4) Desport/Marvin....Desport was out with a minor injury and Marvin looked as good as ever, preferring to play team ball and not trying to take over the games as he undoubtedly will do this Season.
5) Chazz/Gaskins...Both looked fine. Made much fewer mistakes than the newbees. Yet were not forceful enough by my standards. I'm especially interested in Gaskins. Last year he opened with a 15 pt. performance then became injured. Never played the same thwarting the plan to take significant minutes from Chris Burke. Ty took a few good jumpers and threw one beautiful pass but we need him to be more aggressive. He looks tall, if not 6'5" he's close. Think, early on , he should be our #3.
6) Rolle...out like Desport
7) Denis/Hester (sp)....originally told by staff that Hester was more of a shooter and Denis more of a scorer. Earlier on Dennis looked pretty good both shooting and driving but IMO not the equal of Gaskins. Hester (sp) looks like he's a white guy. Very well built and basketball smart. Saw him miss his first 5/6 shots, some pretty bad. Then just when I was about to pan his performance he hit 2 long range three's. Both guys are lefties with good height. Bottom line, no superstar but players who can contribute.
8) Boone/ Hawkins...both are the wirery type but strong. Neither has a great shot but both drive to the basket quite well and are excellent in the open court. Wonder if we'll run more. Of the two I really like Hawkins. Has a great nose for the ball and is a scorer who finishes well. Scoring mainly underneath with moves I wish Q had and even when he misses grabs his own rebound and score. Although penned in as a #4 I think he could easily play the #3 should we need the scoring. Reminds me of Berlin although not as well built. Boone...also looked decent but needs to add polish to his game. Threw several bad passes but, on the other hand, also moves well towards the basket. Also willing to get fouled and go to the foul line. Bottom line...both are excellent recruits but may need some time to reach their upside potential.
9) Wyche - looked fine but although a point guard still needs to be somewhat of a scoring threat. I for one am not worried as he's quite solid...and smart!
Bottom line, for me, no real disappointments but also saw no player who is our automatic 3rd scoring option. I'm sort of betting (and hoping ) for Gaskins, Hawkins, Boone, Chazz an Denis/Hester in that order.
Take the above comments lightly as it's very, very early to label any player at this point.
PS Eport....read your post on Siena. Agree entirely. Most posters on other Boards, especially Siena, should concentrate on their own teams as they know little or nothing about others. But just for this once I'll comment that the Siena guards are just a bunch of chuckers who, in no way, scare me.