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Some quick hits from today's scrimmage...

● D. Watts looks to be about 75%. Given that, he still looked to be the solid stating point.
● Cokley is legit. He looks the part and has the game to back it up. He is MUCH more ready than Tosin was this time last year.
● Sullivan would be 2nd for me as far as game ready froshes go. Wow. We have some size depth. I'm not talking about Faz no handle size. We have some 6-8 6-9 guys who can ball and move with it.
● Norton seems to have the best "handle" of anyone on the team. He can really shoot from 3 as well. He should be solid fit for backup point.
● I was really pleased sit Calhoun's play. He can play at D1 speed but just doesn't quite have it upstairs yet. He will come along quick. He is not just a 3 shooter either. He has the ability to slash and spot up mid range.
● CJ, Tosin, and Madison are IMO solid starters. Of the 3, I'd say Tosin is the most likely to give up time to the younger guys.
● Robert Brown is the best player on the team. He looked like he was on cruse control today and got any shot he wanted. He's a much more dependable scorer than Chad. He gets open well and slashes really really well.
● Baxter is a pretty solid role player. He has Rob Williams 6th man grit in him.
● Collins is no where near ready for this level of play. He isn't bad by any means. I'd compare him to having the playing confidence equal to QT a couple years back.
● Last but not least, Lee. The small glimpse of him full speed I caught before the scrimmage showed me he has a knee injury that is still coming along. Coach kept him out of the scrimmage. I firmly believe he will compete for staring minutes by Bahamas time. He looked really good when he was on the court even at about 75%.

"I'd say Tosin is the most likely to give up time to the younger guys."

i would too, given his history of foul trouble. It's good to hear that we've got some bodies to plug in.

So Cokley can start over Mehinti? Did Lew get some time on the perimeter?

...I thought Tosin was the stronger inside player, particularly defensively...
...The most "comfortable" players were Tosin, CJ, Robert, Tyler, Denzell, Norton, and Baxter
...If I had to pick a starting 5 TODAY, I'd say its the returnees
PG Denzell
SH Brown
SF Tyler
PF CJ
C Tosin

I agree Western. I love having Sullivan, Coke, and Lee. So excited with this depth.

Lew hit an open 3 but his game is in the paint. He has a body ans a skill set that can play immediately.

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  ● Robert Brown is the best player on the team. He looked like he was on cruse control today and got any shot he wanted. He's a much more dependable scorer than Chad. He gets open well and slashes really really well.

Bingo. RB didn't have any trouble scoring today, and seems like a reliable go to guy.

I am optimistic that we will be very good this year. The media have poo-pooed on us because we lost Chad. However, overall, we have upgraded a lot since last year.

Chad, bless his heart, did his best to pick up and carry the team on his back, and there were a couple of games where he did just that. OTOH, there were other games where he played out of control, forced it, couldn't hit water falling out of a boat, or was a turnover machine. If he'd had an A.J. to feed him in rhythm at his spots and just played shooting guard he'd have been three times better.

We've added some very nice pieces, and if things jell fairly quickly and the freshmen gain traction early we just may surprise hell out of some folks. I'm not writing this season off by any means, and really look forward to the next couple of years as the kids settle in.

I keep saying we will be a better team than last year. No comparison talent wise. No one will want to deal with us by the latter part of the season.

The way HCJH coddled and withheld Lee yesterday really leads me to believe he has something special. I think he didn't want a single person to see him not near 100%. I just so happened to catch a couple minutes of their normal practice scrimmage before folks got there and got to see him play.

A couple of us sitting together yesterday noticed something in the scrimmage. Mehinti plays very similarly to Foz in the way he is a bit soft offensively at the rim. He will almost always go off the glass or will dribble when he is at the rim. That's a confidence thing. I was really really pleased to see Coke and Lew be the exact opposite around the rim. Coke had 3 or 4 situations where he skied above everyone and went for the put back dunk. Yes, this isn't always a great thing. However, the finesse game can be taught and learned. Mehinti and Faz lack(ed) the confidence which is almost impossible to teach. I think Coke and Lew are going to be really special players.

EDIT*** I have not lost faith in Mehinti. I just think his starting point was much lower the Coke and Lew.

(10-29-2014 11:41 PM)the Dragon Wrote:  I am optimistic that we will be very good this year. The media have poo-pooed on us because we lost Chad. However, overall, we have upgraded a lot since last year.

It's not just Chad. We lost the second most production in the conference. Only Southern Miss lost more.

I could see us following Tulsa's trajectory last year. Starting slow with a young team and difficult schedule, but growing and improving and finishing strong.

I thought Washington and R.Brown were going half speed during the early stage of practice , when the scrimmage started you could see both were the better players and played with confidence. C.J was vocal with most of his words focused at Sullivan

I believe we will see a starting 5 of Tosin, CJ, RBrown, Tyler and Watts if healthy if not I see Collins.
This class of freshmen are ready to contribute, we will be okay because none have to start for the team to be successful. The freshmen can be thrown into D-1 ball relaxed and hungry.

When Ha Ha is ready the team will look different, I noticed Ha Ha, C.J, Tosin, RBrown and Watts on the floor together during some of the practice prior to the scrimmage. This line up make sense because of depth. This year we can play big and be okay, because we can bring Cokley and Sullivan off the bench for quality minutes and give the starters a breather..

We will be able to evaluate the team better after a few games. Right now its difficult measuring yourself against yourself but a player or two made the game look easy.

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  Some quick hits from today's scrimmage...

● Cokley is legit. He looks the part and has the game to back it up. He is MUCH more ready than Tosin was this time last year.
● Sullivan would be 2nd for me as far as game ready froshes go. Wow. We have some size depth. I'm not talking about Faz no handle size. We have some 6-8 6-9 guys who can ball and move with it.
● Norton seems to have the best "handle" of anyone on the team. He can really shoot from 3 as well. He should be solid fit for backup point.
● I was really pleased sit Calhoun's play. He can play at D1 speed but just doesn't quite have it upstairs yet. He will come along quick. He is not just a 3 shooter either. He has the ability to slash and spot up mid range.

This is all great to hear. I had only heard good things about Cokley and Sullivan. Good to know it's more than just hype. Not worried about Calhoun, since he's the freshman we'll be relying on the least.

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  ● Robert Brown is the best player on the team. He looked like he was on cruse control today and got any shot he wanted. He's a much more dependable scorer than Chad. He gets open well and slashes really really well.

Anybody want to take a guess at how many points he'll score this year? For reference, Chad had almost 18 a game, CJ had 13 and Rucker almost 11. I think the scoring will be more balanced this year, but it would be great if he could put up 15+ a night. CJ will probably put up the same amount.

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  ● Baxter is a pretty solid role player. He has Rob Williams 6th man grit in him.

You know he played 30 minutes a game as a freshmen? He's a gamer. It was mostly against MEAC competition, but he was also the best player on the team. He won't be the main guy here. He could be a heckuva sixth (or seventh) man for us this year.

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  ● Collins is no where near ready for this level of play. He isn't bad by any means. I'd compare him to having the playing confidence equal to QT a couple years back.

This is the only disappointing news. I didn't know what to expect from him. Hopefully he is still coming up to speed and will contribute more than Riddeau last year.

Was this an intrasquad scrimmage or the super secret scrimmage against another team?

Does anyone know what injury Lee actually had? Please spare me the privacy and HIPAA lectures..

Our super secret scrimmage is against Mississippi State on Sunday.

Thanks.. Will be interested to hear how that goes..

(10-30-2014 12:13 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  Was this an intrasquad scrimmage or the super secret scrimmage against another team?

Does anyone know what injury Lee actually had? Please spare me the privacy and HIPAA lectures..

This was an intrasquad scrimmage open to the public and announced by the athletic dept. as a "Meet Your Seat" event for season ticket holders.

Lee injured his knee. It was reported on AL.com via Birdsong last week, so it's no secret: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/...sketb.html

I somehow missed that. It's awesome that Mehinti put on that much weight. Does he look any bigger to those who saw him?

(10-29-2014 07:01 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  Some quick hits from today's scrimmage...

● D. Watts looks to be about 75%. Given that, he still looked to be the solid stating point.
● Cokley is legit. He looks the part and has the game to back it up. He is MUCH more ready than Tosin was this time last year.
● Sullivan would be 2nd for me as far as game ready froshes go. Wow. We have some size depth. I'm not talking about Faz no handle size. We have some 6-8 6-9 guys who can ball and move with it.
● Norton seems to have the best "handle" of anyone on the team. He can really shoot from 3 as well. He should be solid fit for backup point.
● I was really pleased sit Calhoun's play. He can play at D1 speed but just doesn't quite have it upstairs yet. He will come along quick. He is not just a 3 shooter either. He has the ability to slash and spot up mid range.
● CJ, Tosin, and Madison are IMO solid starters. Of the 3, I'd say Tosin is the most likely to give up time to the younger guys.
● Robert Brown is the best player on the team. He looked like he was on cruse control today and got any shot he wanted. He's a much more dependable scorer than Chad. He gets open well and slashes really really well.
● Baxter is a pretty solid role player. He has Rob Williams 6th man grit in him.
● Collins is no where near ready for this level of play. He isn't bad by any means. I'd compare him to having the playing confidence equal to QT a couple years back.
● Last but not least, Lee. The small glimpse of him full speed I caught before the scrimmage showed me he has a knee injury that is still coming along. Coach kept him out of the scrimmage. I firmly believe he will compete for staring minutes by Bahamas time. He looked really good when he was on the court even at about 75%.

Thanks for the info. I so pumped for Blazer basketball this year. I think we have a very good shot of contending for the conference this year.