Pictures are up on Facebook and Twitter from Jamaica. The gym has a dark brown court. Interesting.

Wonderful job by the Tribe sports info department and, I would guess, Chris Sears with the timely updates.

Jihar Williams looks a little taller than listed, though that may be wishful thinking on my part. Does his background suggest he could make the transition to small forward at least for this year? It might get him some playing time rather than being stuck behind our current (relative) surplus of guards.

Cole Harrison looks shorter than Knight (perhaps an optical illusion).

(08-07-2017 09:33 AM)tribeinexile Wrote:  Jihar Williams looks a little taller than listed, though that may be wishful thinking on my part. Does his background suggest he could make the transition to small forward at least for this year? It might get him some playing time rather than being stuck behind our current (relative) surplus of guards.

Cole Harrison looks shorter than Knight (perhaps an optical illusion).

Maybe that was a picture of Cole Hamilton instead of Cole Harrison.

It's the hair

(08-07-2017 09:33 AM)tribeinexile Wrote:  Jihar Williams looks a little taller than listed, though that may be wishful thinking on my part. Does his background suggest he could make the transition to small forward at least for this year? It might get him some playing time rather than being stuck behind our current (relative) surplus of guards.

Cole Harrison looks shorter than Knight (perhaps an optical illusion).

Imagine it's the hair in both cases...

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Nevermind

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I know the competition level isn't great, but not a bad sign at all that Matt Milon dropped 13 in the first tonight in our first game in Jamaica.

Jihar could def play the 3 for us but honestly, the 2-3 positions aren't that different in our offense. It's all abt the defensive matchup. Jihar isn't a great defender yet so not sure you want him and Burch out there together.

I think Tot will play all 5 positions throughout the year and could play a good bit at the 3 or 4 spelling Pierce or Rowley depending on game situation and foul trouble.

It is defense and rebounding that I am worried about.

Going to be tough to move Tot out of backup PG unless Loewe can step into that role right away which is why I was thinking of Williams.

The more I think about it, our defense this year could be really, really unfortunate. Here's hoping some grit emerges along with team chemistry. (And maybe Knight turns into a shot-blocker extraordinaire who never fouls!).

(08-07-2017 07:33 PM)tribeinexile Wrote:  It is defense and rebounding that I am worried about.

I believe this has been posted every off-season the last decade.

And I was going to copyright it as original:(!.[/i]

Impressive first outings for Milon and Williams. If Jihar is an early producer, it will be an unexpected bonus.

No Rowley tonight?

(08-07-2017 07:42 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:  

(08-07-2017 07:33 PM)tribeinexile Wrote:  It is defense and rebounding that I am worried about.

I believe this has been posted every off-season the last decade.

Sure, but the annual nod isn't complete until Rocco seals it with 10 yrs worth of stats

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(08-07-2017 07:33 PM)tribeinexile Wrote:  Going to be tough to move Tot out of backup PG unless Loewe can step into that role right away which is why I was thinking of Williams.

Yeah, I think moving Tot to more of a point forward than PG will be out of necessity.
We lack depth in a bad way in the front court, and
Loewe and Glover even can play PG but Tot has the height and Euro style to his game to play a Laimus Kisilius type role His Senior year or a Toni Kukoc style of play.

Definitely interesting to see that Rowley didn't play. Jihar played a lot of minutes and shot well tonight.

Btw, Williams can shoot the rock. He has beautiful form and can hit from well beyond the 3 pt line. He is far from a finished product but he can shoot the ball along with good athleticism. If we ever put a line up on the floor with Williams, Burchfield, Rowley and Milon, all out there, the other team would almost literally have to guard us immediately after we crossed half court.

(08-07-2017 08:40 PM)Tribal Wrote:  

(08-07-2017 07:42 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:  

(08-07-2017 07:33 PM)tribeinexile Wrote:  It is defense and rebounding that I am worried about.

I believe this has been posted every off-season the last decade.

Sure, but the annual nod isn't complete until Rocco seals it with 10 yrs worth of stats

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Thought I did that already. I'd do a deep dive but I don't have enough liquor in the house at the moment.

(08-07-2017 08:47 PM)Naptown Tribe Wrote:  If we ever put a line up on the floor with Williams, Burchfield, Rowley and Milon, all out there, the other team would almost literally have to guard us immediately after we crossed half court.

That may be true, but defensively, our opponents would be able to drive to the hoop at will.

(08-07-2017 08:51 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:  

(08-07-2017 08:47 PM)Naptown Tribe Wrote:  If we ever put a line up on the floor with Williams, Burchfield, Rowley and Milon, all out there, the other team would almost literally have to guard us immediately after we crossed half court.

That may be true, but defensively, our opponents would be able to drive to the hoop at will.

Touché and absolutely true. Not advocating for that lineup; rather just highlighting that we have 4 lights out 3pt gunners on our squad not to mention others who are more than capable of hitting from deep at a good clip.

As has been aptly stated, defense and rebounding will be huge. I hope Luke L can help establish a new D culture and good on ball defense and intensity and commitment.

I found it encouraging in David Cohn's postgame comments tonight he specifically stated that they ran the offense well tonight and that led to a high point total. That will be vital this year too. Hope we are committed to that.