At Practice Today

[68grad]

Was a guest of the coach at practice. Here are some observations:

- Boone (sprained ankle), Rolle (leg fracture) and Welton (patella injury) are coming off injuries. All three came to practice after rehab exercises, and were involved in individual drills and limited . They did not participate in running up and down the court. Rolle and Boone looked OK and it's a mater of a week or so until they're back to normal. Coach said that Welton will continue his rehap and slowly will work himself into full practices. He indicated optimism that Welton will be ready for the season opener. No surgery until after the season. Fields was not at practice because of a strep throat.

- Welton and Boone are in terrific muscular shape. Visually, Boone is an excellent overall athelete: good size, hardly any body fat, with long arms and Coach says that he will play this season. However, as the coach pointed out, Boone has to work on his shooting.

- Wyche looked good, but still has the 'push from the shoulder" jump shot that will limit his offensive productivity. More than once it was blocked. The few times he was left alone, he was accurate. Very quick with the ball, always looking to penetrate and pass.

- Dominique also looked good. The coach got on him, more than once, on him flailing his elbows causing obvious fouls.

- Desport looked good. Uses his body well. Needs to finish better. Likes to mix it up underneath. Has a great outside shot.

- Hawkins looked very good. Coach is very high on him. He went head-to head with both Dominique and Desport and really held his own. He's also got quick feet and can run the court well. Will be a great asset when he's eligible in January.

- Washington played point against Wyche (normally Fields would do that in practice) and looked good. Still has that quick jumper.

- Patterson, Gaskins and Dennis, all blended together and none stood out. Although this isn't necessarily bad and shouldn't be taken as a knock. They just didn't catch my eye on anything special.

Practice was well planned in a 2 hour session - to the minute. It was also intense with lots of hustle and bodies on the floor. Everyone is fighting for a job. Coach said that he will probably go 9 - 10 deep.

Also, observed the women practice in the adjacent court. Interesting thing is that they had 3 men practice with them, 2 in the backcourt and 1 frontcourt. The 3 guys were 'players" and really made the ladies work hard.

I'll probably be at practice again late next week.

[Peacock]

How about Hester

[loyal]

Appreciate the observations.

Encouraging news about Q's rehab path. Keeping fingers crossed; Q is key.

Hawkins sounds like a player, from multiple observers. Is he coming with frosh or soph eligibility in the second semester?

Boone seemed to have good rotation on his jumper in the "Top 100" camp highlight films. Guess that is why they are called highlight films. :-) That aside, seems like he can give JD real toughness and some scoring ability from the SF spot, even as a frosh.

The arrow is pointing up.

[spcfan]

Hawkins is a redshirt freshman. never played at Del State in his one semester there.

[oldtimer1]

Attended practice today. Met another Board member...nice conversation. Some observations:


1) Things seem very fluid with "good performances" changing daily. One such example is Chazz. Working with the second team I saw Chazz make 4 beautiful jumpers in a row...nothing but net. When talking with JD about this, Coach responded that Chazz has been looking good for several practices. Said that he is, at least, reevaluating Chazz's potential contribution and minutes. That's how fluid things are.

2) When I asked Coach who will be the backup #2 when Desi gets a rest, Coach said that he has "plenty of options" mentioning Chazz, Tyler and Dennis. Interestingly all can play both the #2 and the #3. As JD said....plenty of options.

3) Tyler, again, was working with the first unit. I would assume therefore a starting lineup of Wyche, Desi, Gaskins, Marvin and Elias/Q. Q, by the way was involved in some drills but not in full court scrimmage. Was sitting, icing his knee. Given that I would hope that the trainers and doctors be careful not to rush him back too soon. It's along season.

4) Fields looks good and very confident as Wyche's backup. Brings more to the table then other message boards realize.

5) Boone looked very intense and , more importantly, willing to listen and learn. Will see major minutes once ready to contribute. Coach is high on his upside.

6) JD has a lot of decisions to make and I predict that some of us will second guess his choices....too many good players and not enough minutes. Makes for lively debate.


PS Marvin has a great nose for the ball. His offensive board follow up dunks are amazing. Just a natural talent

[eport]

Thanks for the update..... looks like we dodged a bullet with the injuries. Lets hope for the best and hopefully we'll be at 100% strength at tip off time.

[oldtimer1]

As the Season nears we all have reason for optimism but we still have some significant obstacles/hurdles to overcome.

1) We still need that 3rd scoring option. Marvin and Desi cannot bring us a Championship without some more offensive firepower. Someone needs to provide that. Plus Q needs to be healthy and have developed an offensive game.

2) We have always been known as a strong defensive team although, last year, Manhattan, by far, had the best defensive team in the Conference. Looking at this years team, individually we do not have great one on one defenders. Desi and Marvin are below average while Wyche and Gaskins average. Chazz is way above average but how many minutes he will see is open to question. Boone, by the way looks pretty good defensively. The answer...team defense. Hope this unit is molded by JD into an outstanding defensive team but individually

3) Need to find the right combinations . Lot's of talent but meshing into a team is not an easy thing.

[loyal]

Interesting observations re: offensive firepower and defensive capabilities.

OT is correct......individually, SPU defenders are average at best.

While team defense can mask that to an extent, I suspect SPU points per game will need to improve significantly if success is to be achieved this year.

JD has a pure PG (great recruiting!) two outstanding senior transfers (Fordham and Delaware State) and promising recruits (Boone and Hawkins).

It will be interesting to see if a club that is offensive oriented by nature will be morphed into a team that plays in the low 60's, or if things open up this season, out of necessity.

[eport]

I think with all the new additions and players like Gaskins and Chazz we'll be able to fill the number 3 hole......we have many options. At first it will probably be filled by a committee approach based on who has the hot hand and is playing sound defense. Once we get through the non conference schedule, I'm sure Dunn will have figured out the number 3 spot.