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Message: [QUOTE="husky429, post: 2885581, member: 6696"] My practice observations... Keep in mind that this is just one practice, so grain of salt all that. Al Gilbert: Looked really good. Dove on the floor a few times. Didn't take very many shots, even when he was open. Got vocal leading the team a couple of times. Excellent handle as we know. Really bought into the defensive side of the ball. Jalen: Made some 3 point nice shots and finishes as you'd expect. Still obviously our most talented scorer. Didn't look terrible on the defensive end, but nothing special. I wouldn't expect to see a change on defense. Stayed within the defensive scheme most of the time though. Coach got into him towards the end of practice for goofing off calling out to sid when Sid was shooting free throws. Adams: I was very impressed by his game. Not that he'll be our best player, but surpassed what I expected. He hustled and worked really hard, defended Jalen almost the entire practice when going live. Had a few good deflections and steals. Kid is totally bought into Hurley and the assistants. Didn't seem to make many drives or dishes that I can recall, but his is a really good shooter in all of the drills. I wouldn't be surprised if he spends a good deal of time in a 3+D type role this year. Runs like his hips are pretty stiff. CV: Played tough as you'd expect, and didn't take any bad shots. Obviously, he's a good shooter when he's taking the right kind of shots, but he didn't really take many yesterday that I can remember. Didn't stick out much to me. Sid: Did not look very good at all to me. Missed rotations on defense, didn't look at passers, etc. From that practice, I don't think he's a starter. Hopefully, it's just an off day. Polley: Fantastic shooter, but doesn't do much else of note. Whaley: He has 0 offensive skill set, but seems to make the players around him elevate their game a little bit. Kind of a conundrum. Jumpman: Doubt he plays much at all. No IQ. I would consider him a top-notch walk-on this year. Cobb: Man he is slimmed down and strong. Didn't try to handle the ball like a guard, phew. He and Carlton had a nice battle going on. Seemed to outrebound Carlton--he's tougher. Look for him to step out for a corner 3 in a pinch, or out of timeouts. Carlton: Definitely the most skilled big. But soft. Got outrebounded by Cobb and the guards a few times. I wouldn't expect anyone to be going 1 on 1 in the post with any frequency except for Carlton. Overall: - Hurley's offense looks very different than at URI. More NBA-looking. Lots of handoffs, ball screens, and slips. - TONS of movement being trained in the offense. I doubt it looks like that come game day, but it's clear that Hurley is breaking a stand around and watch habit. - I like that Hurley isn't just teaching sets, but also concepts. In a shell to live drill, he had the guys practice handoffs, then handoffs or staggers, then ball screens, etc. Most scoring in a game is going to come out of broken down plays, so it's smart of him to train players conceptually. - They have two(?) different calls on defense I think Red vs White maybe? I'm not sure exactly how the defense changes structurally on that call. I didn't pay enough attention to notice. - Expect a TON of ball pressure, but less gambling off the ball. Kind of like a man/packline hybrid? Hurley wants his guards to turn the ball handler 4x and make him pass. But he got on the guards for gambling for steals. And he definitely wants to force ballhandlers to the baseline. I would picture it kind of like a high ball-pressure on the line/slightly off the line style of defense. - Practice was intense. - Kenya seems to be the bigs coach (Whaley, Carlton, Cobb) - Kimani seems to be the guards/wings coach. - Moore split his time between the two I think. Hurley was just everywhere all the time, lol. - Hurley swore a few times and covered his mouth after when he remembered fans were watching. Hysterical stuff, haha. [/QUOTE]

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