The coaches now can conduct individual workouts with no more than 4 players on the floor at a time. Wed.'s workouts were fast paced and very spirited. All the coaches were on the floor keeping the drills moving, giving instruction and encouragement. All three new players participated, as did Jeremy. The players were divided into groups of 4. The guards were AJ, Ed, Paul, and Armon...the wings were Robt, Channing, Trod, and Millsap....the bigs were Jeremy, Howard, Lawrence, and Camron. (Mike Jr. did not participate, but walked in at the end and said he had been sick and would start practicing next week.) The drills included defensive positioning, blocking out, rebounding, coming off screens and getting your shot off, and fighting thru blockouts to get the rebound. Several times during each session the drills would stop and each player would step to the FT line and shoot 2 shots. The bigs had to make 6 out of 8 FTs and the wings and guards had to make 7 out of 8 FTs, or everybody had to run. Coach Marsh ran this part and gave encouragement and instruction as the shots were made. Of the 6 FT sessions I watched, they only had to run 2 times.
My impressions for what it's worth;
Armon Bassett- quick, tough kid with a great shot
Elijah Millsap - rangy guy with some hops and a decent shot
Camron Moore- bigger than I expected. looked about the same size as
Lawrence. both he and Millsap were just trying to figure
out where to be.
Vaden- quicker and stronger, he was a beast during the rebounding drills
Millsaps tried to block him out on one of the drill and ended up
picking himself off the floor (with Vaden's help)
PDIII - the clear leader of the team
AJ - he was everywhere, a constant ball of energy.
I can ditto those remarks since I was sitting there next to my Shelby County buddy for the latter third of the proceedings.
For whatever it's worth.....why don't y'all rank the players you saw yesterday, from your perspective, by group or position (including the transfers who will sit out). I'd be interested in knowing how all of the new guys stack up with the returning players--or, any obvious improvements you saw from the returnees.
bftb Wrote:For whatever it's worth.....why don't y'all rank the players you saw yesterday, from your perspective, by group or position (including the transfers who will sit out). I'd be interested in knowing how all of the new guys stack up with the returning players--or, any obvious improvements you saw from the returnees.
Vaden is leaner and quicker than he has ever been while at UAB. T-Rod seems better down close to the basket than throwing up 3's. I missed seeing the "Bigs" and the smaller guards so Ill defer to SCB on those.
Of the 3 new guys, only Bassett looked like he was ready to contribute right now (well, next year). Moore will be needed this year, but I didn't see enough to have an opinion on him, Millsap just looked lost, but I guess that is understandable.
Vaden will be a lot tougher to guard than he was last year, I think we'll see him inside a lot more this year. Trod looked a lot better than he did in practice last year. Jeremy didn't look as bulked up as he did last year. AJ, Lawrence, and Paul looked ready to go.....it was clear they have been working hard this summer.
Coach Davis seemed really pumped. He sure seemed to like what he was seeing on the floor in terms of effort.
CBASS Wrote:What time today?
If I'm able to verify the time, I'll post it here.
CBASS Wrote:What time today?
bump. I'd like to go if its sometime this afternoon
Shelby County, do you know anything about Mayfield's academic eligibility or are they just hoping to get him eligible for second semester. You will like Bassett, he can play either PG or SG.
SunDance Wrote:Shelby County, do you know anything about Mayfield's academic eligibility or are they just hoping to get him eligible for second semester. You will like Bassett, he can play either PG or SG.
I can't get anyone who I trust to comment on his eligibility, which has always been info that is closely (as it should be) guarded. One positive aspect is that a couple of times in the past I've been told someone was not eligible before it became public, and this time some of those same folks are non committal about Jeremy.
I already like Bassett.
As far as pick up games / workouts today, the best I can tell they will play @ 3:30 or 4:00 today.
ShelbyCoBlazer Wrote:I can't get anyone who I trust to comment on his eligibility, which has always been info that is closely (as it should be) guarded. One positive aspect is that a couple of times in the past I've been told someone was not eligible before it became public, and this time some of those same folks are non committal about Jeremy.
I'm not sure I read what you say as positive.
Based on what you say, I would guess that he is not eligible at this time. Before, when it appeared he was not returning, they were free to tell you he is not eligible. Now that he is back on the team, I am sure they have their orders to not discuss it with anyone.
ShelbyCoBlazer Wrote:SunDance Wrote:Shelby County, do you know anything about Mayfield's academic eligibility or are they just hoping to get him eligible for second semester. You will like Bassett, he can play either PG or SG.
I can't get anyone who I trust to comment on his eligibility, which has always been info that is closely (as it should be) guarded. One positive aspect is that a couple of times in the past I've been told someone was not eligible before it became public, and this time some of those same folks are non committal about Jeremy.
I already like Bassett.
As far as pick up games / workouts today, the best I can tell they will play @ 3:30 or 4:00 today.
Sounds a lot like Squeaky Johnson's situation. Folks don't know how close we came to losing him his last 2 years. Hopefully, they'll pull off the same miracle with Jeremy. If he is "practicing", then that means he should, for now, be in good standing.
STLouis Blazer Wrote:Where was Kinnard?
He's been there.
SunDance Wrote:Shelby County, do you know anything about Mayfield's academic eligibility or are they just hoping to get him eligible for second semester. You will like Bassett, he can play either PG or SG.
I don't have any inside source about Mayfield but if he was ready to transfert and UAB denied it because he wasn't in good status for the apr crap .I don't expect him to play before december
UABFRENCHY Wrote:SunDance Wrote:Shelby County, do you know anything about Mayfield's academic eligibility or are they just hoping to get him eligible for second semester. You will like Bassett, he can play either PG or SG.
I don't have any inside source about Mayfield but if he was ready to transfert and UAB denied it because he wasn't in good status for the apr crap .I don't expect him to play before december
If he is "practicing" with the team, he is mostly eligible (although I'm not completely clear on the rules here). I don't put too much confidence in what ESPN's Big 6 (read BCS) a** kissers report.
In the past our insiders have gotten word on the rumor mill that a player wasn't eligible and we've sat on it until it became public. If we're not hearing it about Mayfield then there is at least a chance he'll be in good standing and playing. In general if things are doubtful they don't say much, but if there's no chance somebody eventually hears about it.
Sounds to me like at this point nobody is saying he's out. That does not mean he's *in*, just not out. We'll see.