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He wasn't getting off the ground much at all on his jumper today
Open Practice 10/12
- Thread starter jkfer98
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He wasn't getting off the ground much at all on his jumper today
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Ahh okay. I'd call that of minimal concern as long as his release is high. The best shooters don't really jump that much these days
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Got there just before 2:00 and stayed til the end. Here are just a few more observations to add to what has already been said:
● Bouknight. He is going to be a big-time player. First part of practice I saw were half court 5-on-5 sets; Bouk was at the top of the key, jukes his guy, drives down the left side of the lane and puts in a beautiful, soft left hand layup off the glass - he got up HIGH. During the 3-pt shooting drill, his shot from the wing was good, less so from the baseline. They ended practice at the foul line. I think Bouknight swished every one of them.
● Gilbert looked solid if unspectacular. He tried dribbling through 2 defenders like he did numerous times last year; made a couple of deep threes during the halfcourt drills.
● Springs’ dunk on the fast break with Wilson defending was impressive! I was sitting 5 rows from the court and his slam over Wilson was what makes the nightly highlight reels on ESPN. This is no raw recruit that just started playing the game a few years ago.. Good hops, active, needs to work on his shot.
● Akok: He spent the practice on the sideline, so my one observation is that he has skinny legs - his thighs have no mass to them at all so he will be pushed around, I’m afraid.
● Polley’s shot looks better, and he even had a block on a fast break as he showed some hustle on defense. But still no rebounds...
● Whaley shot well, even threes, and defended Carlton well down low. He is going to earn minutes this year, possibly 15+ a game.
● During the 3-pt shooting drill, 8-10 players rotated taking shots, starting with the right baseline. The collective shooting was awful - maybe 15%. The next spot was the right wing, then left wing, and pct. was much improved. Onto the left baseline, and I actually tracked the shooting: 17 for 44, just under 40%. Sid needs to get much more arc in his shot. The best shooter were Cole, Whaley, and Vitale.
● Bouknight. He is going to be a big-time player. First part of practice I saw were half court 5-on-5 sets; Bouk was at the top of the key, jukes his guy, drives down the left side of the lane and puts in a beautiful, soft left hand layup off the glass - he got up HIGH. During the 3-pt shooting drill, his shot from the wing was good, less so from the baseline. They ended practice at the foul line. I think Bouknight swished every one of them.
● Gilbert looked solid if unspectacular. He tried dribbling through 2 defenders like he did numerous times last year; made a couple of deep threes during the halfcourt drills.
● Springs’ dunk on the fast break with Wilson defending was impressive! I was sitting 5 rows from the court and his slam over Wilson was what makes the nightly highlight reels on ESPN. This is no raw recruit that just started playing the game a few years ago.. Good hops, active, needs to work on his shot.
● Akok: He spent the practice on the sideline, so my one observation is that he has skinny legs - his thighs have no mass to them at all so he will be pushed around, I’m afraid.
● Polley’s shot looks better, and he even had a block on a fast break as he showed some hustle on defense. But still no rebounds...
● Whaley shot well, even threes, and defended Carlton well down low. He is going to earn minutes this year, possibly 15+ a game.
● During the 3-pt shooting drill, 8-10 players rotated taking shots, starting with the right baseline. The collective shooting was awful - maybe 15%. The next spot was the right wing, then left wing, and pct. was much improved. Onto the left baseline, and I actually tracked the shooting: 17 for 44, just under 40%. Sid needs to get much more arc in his shot. The best shooter were Cole, Whaley, and Vitale.
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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Nobody happened to get video of springs dunk? That's a shame.
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Can you please just spell out their names. I need a key to read some of these posts
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Thanks everyone for the report-backs. Still not sure Whaley drilling 3s isn't some collective hallucination - gonna need to see that for myself! The Bouknight stuff is very exciting - I chuckled when I saw that he just retweeted this on Twitter:
Overall, sounds like Hurley is running efficient, strategic practices and the players are buying in. The vibes right now are good.
Overall, sounds like Hurley is running efficient, strategic practices and the players are buying in. The vibes right now are good.
gtcam
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JC=James Calhoun
Tyler Phommachanh=Toilet Paper
AG=Attorney General
CV=Curriculum Vitae
JB=James Bond
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touche
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Cole looked undersized, like Al, but not nearly as skilled as Al. It also seemed like he deferred to Adams for bringing up the ball. I figured it was because he cant play this season, but Hurley semi called him out for it.
If Cole was our backup PG this year however, I would be thrilled. As is, if injury-prone Al goes down, it's CV or Adams playing PG. We need CV on the wing, and Adams can't handle the ball.
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Yeah, I was a bit dismayed to see him on his phone a whole bunch after I made that post. To be fair though, I think that’s par for the course with high schoolers these days.
XLCenterFan
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Anyone have an idea of starting 5? I was there today and can't tell who it will be after Al, Vital, and Carleton. After those three, I like Polley and Whaley the most, but they are kind of the same player. My guess is it will be at least one of them in the starting 5, maybe both?
intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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It'll be Gaffney probably. Even though he's a frosh.
XLCenterFan
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Was Gaffney on the sideline with a boot on today? When's that coming off?
intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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Who knows, but it's not long term or serious.
Dove
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lol
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in a week
QuickDraw
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Thats why I believe they went after Springs, to shore up the inside girth. He is bigger than most thought and will give good minutes in a grind it out type game
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I attended the practice too. Was impressed with the speed of the team. It’s hard to tell right now who will be the starting five but my guess would be Carleton, Al, Vital, Akok Akok (even though I didn’t see him practice) and Bouknight. Hurley likes a 3 guard line up and this one is extremely fast.
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Polley is starting
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Some notes on practice.
Practice is relentless motion for 2.5 hours. Except for huddles and waiting to drill maybe, they are moving. All 4 coaches very involved, each coach commenting, teaching, encouraging, correcting, keeping the flow moving. Several defensive drills, emphasis on fast feet, hustle, teamwork, rotating, physicality. Offensive spacing, screening, passing, finding the open shooter, inside or out.
Lot of 5v5. Blue was AG, Bouk, Sid, Tyler, and Carlton. Grey was Cole, CV, Adams, Springs, Whaley. Some half court drills where a defensive player will step out for 2 seconds and then step back in to give offense the advantage, then finish the possession. Plenty of full court, very physical, AG is rock solid in the open floor.
AG Looks sharp with the ball, tough on D, will be the catalyst on offense, transition, initiating the half court offense, most of it runs thru him. Shares the ball, scores it, penetrates at will, with more talent around him he should be more effective with his assists.
CV Looks solid, expect veteran play, hustle, toughness, rebounding, transition, and outside shooting
Sid Much more comfortable on the court, most athletic defensively, hit some shots during scrimmage, flashes to the open spot, outside shot looks the same, a little flat, very involved though on both ends.
Tyler I thought he moved well, faster feet than I expected on D, stayed with his man, open on the perimeter, hits his shots, hustles, understands what Hurley wants him doing, we'll see how physical he is come gametime
Carlton Man sized, the shoulders, chest, hips, legs all have filled out. Josh is decidedly very solid, strong, and looks to be one of the more sizable players in the league. In a drill with Kenya and the other bigs, Carlton doesn't use finesse so much to get position, he creates it with his strength and body, then makes his move, and as most of us know he has a variety of back to the basket post moves. Big key to our season, will definitely be putting up numbers this year.
Whaley Looks way more comfortable, looks and plays much stronger, looks to score, has developed some back to the basket moves, shoots better than previous, does not turn it over, will prove to be a reliable backup to Josh. Still light on his feet.
Springs Will definitely play this year, and have a frontcourt impact. Has a knack for being around the ball down low, can score it from inside, rebounds, plays D, still learning Hurley's defense. He is more athletic than I thought, bigger and stronger also, and will be a very valuable player especially as he develops.
Adams Heavily part of the mix, will see plenty of minutes in Hurley's 3 guard mixes. Tough, physical guard, a big guard, plays 100% all the time. Dribbles well, not flashy, doesn't turn it over, will penetrate perimeter D and make decisions, good solid player. If he has his shot going they'll feed him.
Cole Solid with the ball, crafty, finds way to penetrate, gets his shot off from anywhere, plays AG tough, will grow as a point guard with all this talent around him. Plays smart, aware, and controlled.
Bouknight Has an excellent handle and body coordination with the ball. Having more length and dribbling thru and around traffic, his athleticism and his sense of vision with what is peripheral to him, enables him to get to the hoop and score with dexterity. You shake your head and go wow, that was good. Difficulty level 8-10, but he makes it look, not so hard. Really good looking shot, shoots at a high percentage, will play major minutes and really be good in February. Does not look that strong right now, but has everything else going for him.
Would have liked to have seen Akok and Jalen Gaffney but they were held out.
First time going, recommend to anyone this as an opportunity to get a good close look at the team. You are pretty much courtside, there are not that many people there, a couple of hundred at best, and I have a much better idea of what the player's skill levels are this year. Very cool experience.
Comments from Hurley at the end. Will not play full court pressing D, does not feel he quite has the talent or horses for it. Would work against lesser teams but not against the North Carolinas of the world.
Wants to play 4 out.
Season is coming right up. Everyone enjoy the ride.
Practice is relentless motion for 2.5 hours. Except for huddles and waiting to drill maybe, they are moving. All 4 coaches very involved, each coach commenting, teaching, encouraging, correcting, keeping the flow moving. Several defensive drills, emphasis on fast feet, hustle, teamwork, rotating, physicality. Offensive spacing, screening, passing, finding the open shooter, inside or out.
Lot of 5v5. Blue was AG, Bouk, Sid, Tyler, and Carlton. Grey was Cole, CV, Adams, Springs, Whaley. Some half court drills where a defensive player will step out for 2 seconds and then step back in to give offense the advantage, then finish the possession. Plenty of full court, very physical, AG is rock solid in the open floor.
AG Looks sharp with the ball, tough on D, will be the catalyst on offense, transition, initiating the half court offense, most of it runs thru him. Shares the ball, scores it, penetrates at will, with more talent around him he should be more effective with his assists.
CV Looks solid, expect veteran play, hustle, toughness, rebounding, transition, and outside shooting
Sid Much more comfortable on the court, most athletic defensively, hit some shots during scrimmage, flashes to the open spot, outside shot looks the same, a little flat, very involved though on both ends.
Tyler I thought he moved well, faster feet than I expected on D, stayed with his man, open on the perimeter, hits his shots, hustles, understands what Hurley wants him doing, we'll see how physical he is come gametime
Carlton Man sized, the shoulders, chest, hips, legs all have filled out. Josh is decidedly very solid, strong, and looks to be one of the more sizable players in the league. In a drill with Kenya and the other bigs, Carlton doesn't use finesse so much to get position, he creates it with his strength and body, then makes his move, and as most of us know he has a variety of back to the basket post moves. Big key to our season, will definitely be putting up numbers this year.
Whaley Looks way more comfortable, looks and plays much stronger, looks to score, has developed some back to the basket moves, shoots better than previous, does not turn it over, will prove to be a reliable backup to Josh. Still light on his feet.
Springs Will definitely play this year, and have a frontcourt impact. Has a knack for being around the ball down low, can score it from inside, rebounds, plays D, still learning Hurley's defense. He is more athletic than I thought, bigger and stronger also, and will be a very valuable player especially as he develops.
Adams Heavily part of the mix, will see plenty of minutes in Hurley's 3 guard mixes. Tough, physical guard, a big guard, plays 100% all the time. Dribbles well, not flashy, doesn't turn it over, will penetrate perimeter D and make decisions, good solid player. If he has his shot going they'll feed him.
Cole Solid with the ball, crafty, finds way to penetrate, gets his shot off from anywhere, plays AG tough, will grow as a point guard with all this talent around him. Plays smart, aware, and controlled.
Bouknight Has an excellent handle and body coordination with the ball. Having more length and dribbling thru and around traffic, his athleticism and his sense of vision with what is peripheral to him, enables him to get to the hoop and score with dexterity. You shake your head and go wow, that was good. Difficulty level 8-10, but he makes it look, not so hard. Really good looking shot, shoots at a high percentage, will play major minutes and really be good in February. Does not look that strong right now, but has everything else going for him.
Would have liked to have seen Akok and Jalen Gaffney but they were held out.
First time going, recommend to anyone this as an opportunity to get a good close look at the team. You are pretty much courtside, there are not that many people there, a couple of hundred at best, and I have a much better idea of what the player's skill levels are this year. Very cool experience.
Comments from Hurley at the end. Will not play full court pressing D, does not feel he quite has the talent or horses for it. Would work against lesser teams but not against the North Carolinas of the world.
Wants to play 4 out.
Season is coming right up. Everyone enjoy the ride.
Last edited:
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Liked hearing about Whaley's improvement which could make a real difference, Bouknight is exciting offensively, and that Springs offers hope.
Hated hearing Polley isn't rebounding, Adams can't handle the ball well enough to play any effective PG minutes in a pinch, shooting is suspect, Gaffney & Akok are losing important development time due to injury, and Gilbert can't be hit without fear of reinjury. Health has been a huge setback for men's BB in recent years.
Hated hearing Polley isn't rebounding, Adams can't handle the ball well enough to play any effective PG minutes in a pinch, shooting is suspect, Gaffney & Akok are losing important development time due to injury, and Gilbert can't be hit without fear of reinjury. Health has been a huge setback for men's BB in recent years.
UconnU
If he blocks 100, he blocks 100
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With AGs injury history and JG in a boot right now our PG situation scares the crap out of me.
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The Courant said there were about 500 people there. Surprised there weren’t more. I would have definitely gone if I wasn’t away for the weekend. How many times do you get a chance to watch a real practice? I think I paid $150 once at a charity event to watch practice back in 2004. This was free.
