Tonight is the first look for those in the area who can make it out.

I've heard good things about the men and women's teams.

I think Coach Verdi has the women's team headed for a very good season. He has been building a very strong roster (strong recruiter); Verdi had a rebuild job to do after the Tavelyn James led team graduated.

Don't be surprised to see this team go deep in the MAC tourney.

As for the men, I keep hearing the names Bond and Nazione mentioned and the word 'deep.' Should add 'experienced.'

Scrimmage should be fun: Talley vs. Bond, Lee vs. Price, Ward vs. Nazione (?), Ajayi vs. Hunter, etc.

7pm at the REC. i'll see you all there.

(10-28-2014 08:41 AM)EMUAARON Wrote:  7pm at the REC. i'll see you all there.

Aaron, will you be Tweeting? :)

(10-28-2014 09:52 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(10-28-2014 08:41 AM)EMUAARON Wrote:  7pm at the REC. i'll see you all there.

Aaron, will you be Tweeting? :)

i don't tweet, but you know i'll be logged in here at 8:31pm with all of my thoughts. i'm so excited to have real basketball information to share.

I think I'm gonna head out there too. The dunk contest is worth the trip alone.

In an interview with Alex Alvarado for Hustle Belt, Talley says the offense is much improved. I don't know which aspects of the offense he meant in particular, but he expects big improvements in that half of the court.

Unfortunately I didn't make it out there tonight. Looks like a great crowd though.

https://twitter.com/eecho_sports/status/...4178379776

(10-28-2014 06:37 PM)FrankAnderson Wrote:  Unfortunately I didn't make it out there tonight. Looks like a great crowd though.

https://twitter.com/eecho_sports/status/...4178379776

Standing Room Only.

Who said we have attendance problems.

Okoloji beats Alvano head-to-head in the three-point contest finals. It's only a scrimmage/glorified practice, but I'd be very happy to see him establish himself as a solid shooter this season.

https://twitter.com/emuhoops/status/527249214951399425

And now it sounds like Okoloji is in the finals of the dunk contest with KWard. Welcome aboard, Anali!

I'm drooling.

http://instagram.com/p/ut1gIdBDmd/

Tim Bond is the dunk contest winner. Happy to have you here, Tim.

my friends, get on the Timmy Bond bandwagon while there's space. He stole the show tonight. He won the dunk contest, threw at least 1,000 alley oops during the scrimmage, and is destined to be my favorite player during his final three years here. here's what i noticed during the event:

- good turnout. i wasn't there last year, so i can't compare it to anything, but i'd guess there were 300-400 students there.
- Timmy Bond. not sure if he can shoot, and i'm not sure if he can play defense, but i'm thrilled that we have someone capable of leading the offense after Talley graduates. he's so smooth and he sees the entire floor. very good ballhandler as well.
- Okoloji. i'm curious to see how he pans out. in a sense, he's very athletic. he can jump, and he looks like he's probably very strong. but he also seems kind of mechanical in his movements. it's hard for me to explain. it's different than being uncoordinated. maybe the opposite of smooth? i dont' know how that will translate to real games. he seems like a good dude. he would win points from Bill Simmons for looking like a good teammate. i'm going to call him a mix of Wendale Farrow & Glenn Bryant for now.
- Raven Lee. didn't participate today due to injury. total bummer.
- Alvano. i don't expect much from him right away. i didn't see enough from him to tell what his role will be.
- Price. he didn't make a lot of shots today, but i love his release. i have a good feeling about him hitting a lot of 3s. i'm interested to see how he plays defense.
- Samuels & Hunter. both big dudes. if either of them were to play 30 minutes, i would guess their line would look something like 5 points, 7 boards, 2 turnovers, 1 block and decent defense.
- Ajayi. he looked like he's in great shape. i don't remember if he looked like this last season. he didn't start the scrimmage. not sure if there's anything to read into that. very clumsy with the ball. much more athletic than Samuels & Hunter.
- Nazione. at the very least, he looks like he'll be a competent backup. good athleticism.
- Talley & Ward were exactly what you expect.

also, Sweeney on the women's team is unreal. i'm going to make it a point to go to a few women's games just to see her play.

You're the man, Aaron!

It's kind of exciting to have a 6'6 freshman point guard with good instincts that can also jump out of the gym and win dunk contests. Reading Alex Alvarado's tweets from his interview with Murphy, I remember him saying "Talley will be our starting point guard to begin the season". This sounds like an odd quote, since everyone and their mother assumed this was Talley's team. Now we know why he said that...a potential stud is waiting in the wings.

Thanks for the run down of the players. How did Nazione look? What do you think the starting lineup will be, judging from today?

(10-28-2014 09:22 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  You're the man, Aaron!

It's kind of exciting to have a 6'6 freshman point guard with good instincts that can also jump out of the gym and win dunk contests. Reading Alex Alvarado's tweets from his interview with Murphy, I remember him saying "Talley will be our starting point guard to begin the season". This sounds like an odd quote, since everyone and their mother assumed this was Talley's team. Now we know why he said that...a potential stud is waiting in the wings.

Thanks for the run down of the players. How did Nazione look? What do you think the starting lineup will be, judging from today?

this is based on a scrimmage where there was no defense played, so take it for what it's worth. my guess for Nazione is that we'll see him catch the ball at 18 feet, take a dribble, and pull-up for a 12 footer. i can also see him catching the ball in pick n' rolls and making cuts from 12feet in for layups.

edit: to summarize, my guess for Nazione is Daylen Harrison with more athleticism.

my guess for a starting lineup:

pg: Talley
sg: Price 60% of games, Lee 40% of games
sf: Nazione 50%, Okoloji 50%
pf: Ward
c: Hunter or Samuels

i could be completely wrong about all of this.

Thanks, Aaron!

I've followed your basketball posts for years and I swear you see twice or three times as much as some one else watching the same game.

That was quite a report for a scrimmage which didn't last long (it was a tease, right).

Aaron, awesome info thanks for sharing.

Sam, a recent tweet from Alvarado reads different than you describe, "per coach Murphy: mike talley will be starting PG this season." Is this the same one?

Otherwise you have me geeked on Bond and the season!

(10-28-2014 10:25 PM)rayEMU Wrote:  Aaron, awesome info thanks for sharing.

Sam, a recent tweet from Alvarado reads different than you describe, "per coach Murphy: mike talley will be starting PG this season." Is this the same one?

Otherwise you have me geeked on Bond and the season!

Whoops I misread it! I thought it said to start the season, for some reason. Makes more sense in that context, but I still feel like everyone already knew Talley was the starter at point. Weird for Murphy to have to re-emphasize that. Again, I'm guessing it's because of how Bond has looked this offseason. Great to have the depth though!

(10-28-2014 09:35 PM)EMUAARON Wrote:  

(10-28-2014 09:22 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  You're the man, Aaron!

It's kind of exciting to have a 6'6 freshman point guard with good instincts that can also jump out of the gym and win dunk contests. Reading Alex Alvarado's tweets from his interview with Murphy, I remember him saying "Talley will be our starting point guard to begin the season". This sounds like an odd quote, since everyone and their mother assumed this was Talley's team. Now we know why he said that...a potential stud is waiting in the wings.

Thanks for the run down of the players. How did Nazione look? What do you think the starting lineup will be, judging from today?

this is based on a scrimmage where there was no defense played, so take it for what it's worth. my guess for Nazione is that we'll see him catch the ball at 18 feet, take a dribble, and pull-up for a 12 footer. i can also see him catching the ball in pick n' rolls and making cuts from 12feet in for layups.

edit: to summarize, my guess for Nazione is Daylen Harrison with more athleticism.

my guess for a starting lineup:

pg: Talley
sg: Price 60% of games, Lee 40% of games
sf: Nazione 50%, Okoloji 50%
pf: Ward
c: Hunter or Samuels

i could be completely wrong about all of this.

I missed you tonight.
It would have been great to catch up.
Hope all is well.

(10-28-2014 09:39 PM)emu steve Wrote:  Thanks, Aaron!

I've followed your basketball posts for years and I swear you see twice or three times as much as some one else watching the same game.

That was quite a report for a scrimmage which didn't last long (it was a tease, right).

thanks Steve! i appreciate the kind words. and yeah, it was such a tease. i just want this season to start.

(10-28-2014 10:52 PM)KPJ Wrote:  I missed you tonight.
It would have been great to catch up.
Hope all is well.

i saw you, but i was up on the track. i also noticed that you had two ninja turtles with you. awesome costumes!

Sam, those are very different statements indeed. But I agree that speaks volumes about Bond to have to reaffirm the status of a senior the caliber of Talley.

If Bond really is this freshman ready, he can still get 15-20 minutes backing both guard spots - with his height and the surprising Pg skillset.