I watched about an hour of practice tonight. I will be the first to say I am not a very good determiner of talent.
But, I think we look tough, trim, and mean.
Whittington could seriously push Stainbrook out of the way. He seems like a better overall ball player.
David Brown looked less than impressive, and Hawk snapped at him more than once (Stating: you have been here for 3 years...etc).
Welcome to the start of the 2011-12 season Bronco fans!
We were able to attend the first Bronco practice of the year yesterday with another 40 fans in attendance. After viewing 90 minutes of practice here are my first impressions of this year’s squad.
Shayne Wittington: Shayne looked faster, stronger and quicker than this time last year. He has added about 20lbs of muscle and was very impressive in drills with his effort, length and athleticism. I can see him playing some significant minutes this year.
David Brown: David looked like he has spent a lot of time working on his jump shot. I immediately noticed he has much better technique and more arc to his 3 point shot which consistently found the bottom of the net. The main 2 questions this year are his ankle and his commitment to the defensive end.
Matt Stainbrook: Matt is wearing prescription eyewear. I noticed he has improved in his stamina and leaping ability compared to last year (He can now jump over 2 telephone books! LOL). Seriously though he is much better shape to start this season. My biggest concern with Matt is that he constantly goes to his left hand for all his interior moves. I expected to season some sort of right hand but nothing noticeable the first practice.
Demetrius Ward: Looked like his usual self with nothing flashy or noticeably different from last year to this point.
Mo Conteh: Same observation as D Ward. Mo showed his trademark hustle and intensity.
Mickey Douglass: Looked in great shape and was shooting the ball nicely from 3 point range.
Flenard Whitfield: Flen looks great! Excellent physique and intensity noted with some yelling at guys to pick up their performance. Showed some smooth interior moves with both the right and left hand. I think he is going to have a big season for us!
Brandon Pokley: Brandon still has that smooth 3 point shoot. He tends to blend in during the drills and I did not notice anything new or different with him.
Tim Brennan: Tim is a walk-on from Chicago. He has some nice height for an off guard and plays hard.
Nick Stapert/ Dan Loney: Both guys looked steady and compete very hard.
Caleb Dean: Caleb showed lots of energy and looked good in shooting drills. When they switched over the defensive drills he seemed to struggle some. If he can sure up his defense he will give us some point production.
Nate Hutcheson: Nate looks to be in excellent shape with some added muscle noted. Nate brings a ton of athleticism and a great guy to match up on the other team’s best player. I was anxious to see his revamped jump shot but I personally didn’t see a huge difference from last year. I hope I am wrong as Nate could help fill some of the offensive production we lost from JH.
Austin Richie: I personally saw Austin play last season in High School and he has definitely added some upper body strength from last year. Austin looked smooth on the court and seemed to fit right in with the other returning players. His 3 point shoot was inconsistent during practice drills but it was just one practice.
Hayden Hoerdemann: I had never seems Hayden play and I was pleasantly surprised. Hayden buried about 90% of his 3 point shoots and has a nice physique. It will be interesting to see if either he or Austin is able to get some minutes behind Mickey.
Overall, I was very impressed with the team as a whole and their intensity throughout practice. My expectations have only risen since viewing the opening practice and will be watching closely at next Saturday’s scrimmage to see how they perform. Should be a very exciting year! Go Broncos!
Thanks for the report, WBS! It would be cool if WMU actually hyped up the first practice of the year and got more fans involved. (Midnight Madness anyone?)
Hawk has said that they tried a midnight madness for a couple years but it was too hard on the players staying up late then being expected to be back early in the morning. Also from experience staying up that late screws with your internal clock and that can take awhile to reset to normal. So now they do the Breakfast with the Broncos after a couple weeks of practice are in so the team looks better for the fans.
Overall with Brown back (assuming his ankle holds) and one of the freshman will get some good time (still think one needs to red shirt), the team should be able to absorb losing Howard, especially if Whittington has developed and can be a treat from the 4/5 to spell Whitfield and Stainbrook.
I am not joking...I hope Whittington gets a shot being a starter. I realize that Hawk is very loyal to his players...and if you started once, you will likely forever be a starter (ie Hershberger).
However, Whittington looks a lot better than Stainbrook...granted Stain has very good offensive skills, which are hard to teach...he has good hands and great instincts.
However, I hope that if Whittington has truly worked his arse off in the past 2 seasons, if he deserves it, I hope he can play starter minutes. Granted after Flen graduates, he will still have 2 years of eligibility...perhaps that is where he will be significant.
Moving forward into 2012-2013, it will be interesting. Who will the starting 5 be?
Klein (1)
Richie (2)
Hutcheson (3)
Whittington (4)
Stainbrook (5)
Not to point out the obvious, but WMU is turning into a very white squad. We will go from being the team D1 with the most Detroit kids, to being the team with the least diversity.
Interesting...not racist...just interesting. I know some have stated something about white plodders (probably in reference to Joe Reitz) However, Hutch ruins that stereotype.
Remember when we had all the kids from Indiana? Bunch of white kids on one side vs all black kids on the other most games. Should have made the refs job easy judging who touched it last out of bounds, but...
^^^ Save one of those 2012-13 starting spots for David Brown.
Quote:I know some have COUCH has stated something about white plodders (probably in reference to Joe Reitz) However, Hutch ruins that stereotype.
Fixed.
I am willing to later retract this statement. However, I am not as impressed with David Brown as a lot of people on this board.
I hope I am proved wrong about Brown, but I don't see his skills as clearly as others on this board.
(10-17-2011 07:14 AM)wmutkelaw Wrote: [ -> ]I am willing to later retract this statement. However, I am not as impressed with David Brown as a lot of people on this board.
I hope I am proved wrong about Brown, but I don't see his skills as clearly as others on this board.
I have too been wondering about David. Not about his ability to play but will he to his God given talent level.
One thing I am sure that sticks at least in the back of his mind is his ankle. Another "turn" is more likely than not due to the condition of it and the rigors of D1 hoops. It wouldnt surprise me that he is trying to find the fine line between being calculating (avoiding situations without needing to pull up short) and cutting loose. It doesnt serve him nor the team if he sits be it due to reinjury or otherwise.
I have heard the claim that Defense is a short coming. I havent seen David play enough to vouch for that but if you don't play D it will show.
In a vacuum, sans ankle issue, he is the 2nd or 3rd most physically talented kid on the team. In a 2+ hour session of scrimmaging that I observed he was mostly opposite Demetrius, with whom I would say is the most physically talented. David held his own, particularly on offense. That isnt to say defensively I noted lagging. Demetrius was going all out. He was attacking looking to finish. He wasnt playing like the first 4-5 games of last year when he looked to be deferring to others.
Sans ankle, the other thing that I believe likely ruminates in Davids head is that he is yet to emerge offensively. He's a scorer and that takes a mentality, it isnt happenstance. So far, he has yet been able to express himself fully in that manner. Pyschologically I'm sure he's thinking, "If I could just do it like I know I can "they" (the staff) will see that I belong. The staff, Hawk specifically, is both thinking and saying, "Hey, you want to be on the floor? Then play Bronco ball (defense) then you will get the opportunity." Simply, this is a long time standing issue for all coaches and many players. In the end, the coach wins out. I hope David can grasp that and equally his ankle can and does stand that. If he were to play to his capability, he would be all MAC caliber.
Something David needs to understand is that physically and mentally he has what it takes. Again, other than Ward, no one has the physical skills to match David. He may not be the absolute quickest or strongest, but next to Spartacus David is.
He can take that physical gift that he can use so effectively on the O end to physically control the D end. As a scorer he knows what other like minds are thinking. He can apply that and then physically dictate the opposite because of the aforementioned ability. But like anything it takes maturity that comes with experience.
I am a David Brown fan and WMU NEEDS him on the floor. As far aa D he certainly is superior in effort and ability to our recent departure. We might even see him playing at Pg this year.
The dude really has the jets on the break. He can steal the ball and score as well. I think David's talents are more of the nature of playing at a pretty wide open and adventuresome game. To some extent that tendency may not fit the mold, and secondarily his fear of further injury may not lead him to play at the breakneck speed he is fully capable of.
I'm a fan of his. I hope it can come together that he can play valuable minutes.
Great reviews and insight guys.
What I love about this team is the DEPTH. We have lots of real good players, and when debate exists about who should start or get the most playing time, that means we will have "arguable starters" off the bench. When the guys off the bench can replace starters without loosing much in terms of performance, that means we should be good in the second half of games. Depth is usually what distinguishes BCS type schools from mid-majors, and for us to have it could be our winning advantage.
I love what is going on in Bronco athletics lately!!!!!
Like I said, I hope I am proven wrong. WMU can only benefit from him being better than my (likely flawed) impressions.
(10-18-2011 08:05 AM)wmutkelaw Wrote: [ -> ]Like I said, I hope I am proven wrong. WMU can only benefit from him being better than my (likely flawed) impressions.
Though in town that night for dinner and around that time I didnt have time to drop in passing through on my way to New Baltimore.
So your observations may be valid. I havent seen DB in action since that pre-season scrimmage of last year.
(10-18-2011 09:44 AM)gobaseline Wrote: [ -> ] (10-18-2011 08:05 AM)wmutkelaw Wrote: [ -> ]Like I said, I hope I am proven wrong. WMU can only benefit from him being better than my (likely flawed) impressions.
Though in town that night for dinner and around that time I didnt have time to drop in passing through on my way to New Baltimore.
So your observations may be valid. I havent seen DB in action since that pre-season scrimmage of last year.
coming to Breakfast this saturday?
(10-18-2011 10:04 AM)wmutkelaw Wrote: [ -> ] (10-18-2011 09:44 AM)gobaseline Wrote: [ -> ] (10-18-2011 08:05 AM)wmutkelaw Wrote: [ -> ]Like I said, I hope I am proven wrong. WMU can only benefit from him being better than my (likely flawed) impressions.
Though in town that night for dinner and around that time I didnt have time to drop in passing through on my way to New Baltimore.
So your observations may be valid. I havent seen DB in action since that pre-season scrimmage of last year.
coming to Breakfast this saturday?
Mens retreat this weekend up in Kenosha Wi.
Another year, maybe.