Open Practice | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Open Practice

bolt34 said:
Didn't think he stuck out too much. He is very vocal however, I love the way he communicates on both sides of the floor. He changes so many shots at the rim. Hope he can get some offensive game going, especially behind the arc. Looked to me like Samson should take over Akok's role sooner rather than later. That boy is a freak...
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Was pleased to see Sanogo somewhat struggled against Akok, Springs and Johnson after, according to Hurley, performing like a first team All-BE in the two closed scrimmages.

Also read in one of the newspaper articles that Akok and Whaley somewhat neutralized each other offensively.

Finally, the reports of Sanogo snuffing a big time dunk attempt by Jackson was nice to read. Sanogo isn't known for being a high riser and we all know Jackson can jump through the roof. Without seeing where Jackson took off from or how ill advised his attempt was, it's nice to see Sanogo being able to protect the rim while it's being attacked.
 
bolt34 said:
Didn't think he stuck out too much. He is very vocal however, I love the way he communicates on both sides of the floor. He changes so many shots at the rim. Hope he can get some offensive game going, especially behind the arc. Looked to me like Samson should take over Akok's role sooner rather than later. That boy is a freak...
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Thx!!
 
NJHusky said:
Thx!!
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I was there and I want to add to that. He felt like a coach. He knew where every single player was supposed to be. Even when he was watching the offensive set drills from the sideline, he was communicating and calling out guys out of position or where to go, based on where I was sitting it was easy to hear him talking behind the baseline. He was very impressive vocally. Looked solid defensively and looked for his shot, but certainly stayed within the offense. I'm not sure how much is reasonable to expect out of him, but he seems to know the system inside and out and is very clearly a hard worker. I hope he gets everything he deserves... seems like a great guy to have on your team.
 
Chin Diesel said:
I haven't changed anything. I think Cole is slow afoot for a PG and lacks vision to make up for it. Only player on roster with forward looking vision I trust is Jackson. I think Gaff and Diggins can push the ball and pace better than Cole. I don't think Diggins will play much this season.

You are the one dancing around it's okay if he's slow because he also doesn't play with urgency and trying to find the nuance there.
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When Cole was at Howard, his sophomore year his team was in the top 50 in pace. He played basically 100% of the PG minutes.
 
bolt34 said:
Didn't think he stuck out too much. He is very vocal however, I love the way he communicates on both sides of the floor. He changes so many shots at the rim. Hope he can get some offensive game going, especially behind the arc. Looked to me like Samson should take over Akok's role sooner rather than later. That boy is a freak...
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Gonna be interesting to see how Akok Akok responds in live game action... He's a vet... coming off injury, but he's been here before. I think once he gets a few games under his belt he'll step up for us ... he's my prediction for a pleasant surprise by the time March Madness comes around....
 
Ok, It was an open practice, yarders are saying that we are deep and there is no alpha on the team, Can we not wait till the start of the BE to determine where we are as a team? I think, if I'm not mistaken that is why the majority of top tier D1 schools play in to their conference start is to determine where they stand and to correct what is needed going into conference play. I think we will know where we stand as a team after B4A. With that being said we are a very scary team to play against. ! Can't wait till Tuesday.
 
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Umami Zen said:
I'll ask a question another way that has already been asked in this thread--For those who saw the scrimmage--How was AA moving within the flow of the practice/scrimmage? Is he showing signs of improved and confident mobility/physicality that fans are hoping for?? Don't care about points scored at this point.
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He did not look limited and has touch from outside.
 
Huskyforlife said:
That SJ drive and layup was not normal for a kid his age. I'm too excited about him.
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Looked like a pterodactyl the way he spread his wings. Two dribbles got him from three point line on the wing to a baseline reverse layup.
 
WestHartHusk said:
Ajax stroke is still painful to watch.
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Very, very difficult (if not impossible) to restructure a shot fully in one off-season. If he's more confident and smoother motion with tweaked shot, then he can make a reasonable % (enough for people to guard him out there). That's all we really need considering the rest of his game.
 
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auror said:
Very, very difficult (if not impossible) to restructure a shot fully in one off-season. If he's more confident and smoother motion with tweaked shot, then he can make a reasonable % (enough for people to guard him out there). That's all we really need considering the rest of his game.
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His form is still bad, but definitely more one motion, and he doesn't have such a weird hitch in his shooting wrist. If he's gotten enough reps up, it could result in significantly better %s... big "if" though.
 
Since he shoots foul shots at a good percentage, I wonder if he got some screens, if that would improve his percentage. Not trying he can ever be a Polley, but with getting an open look via good screening, it would be interesting if the percentage would increase.

But, if his shooting form is bad, that might be the real problem and not so much the open looks.

Maybe, Hurley nailed it in saying if he ups his game in all other aspects, the shooting might naturally improve.

Time will tell in game situations against tough competition.
 
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#2 overall folks
bil-mkg-nba.jpg
 
whosurdaddy2720 said:
72 million and nearly 10 years in the league. I'd call that a win.
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whosurdaddy2720 said:
If Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could make it work so can Andre.
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I'm well aware that MKG made decent money in the league. That's not what we're talking about--we're talking about if Andre will learn to shoot well despite hit crappy form. You said MKG "could make it work." No, he didn't make it work. He was one of the worst league shooters in the league.

He was also significantly bigger and more offensively gifted scoring the ball than Andre, so you're comparing apples to oranges here.
 
husky429 said:
His form is still bad, but definitely more one motion, and he doesn't have such a weird hitch in his shooting wrist. If he's gotten enough reps up, it could result in significantly better %s... big "if" though.
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Fully aware that scrimmage doesnt = game, but from that practice sample, all signs point towards pretty good chance of tangible improvements in AJ shooting.
 
I have watched a couple of Philly games. Drummond contributes whenever he is on the court. He also does little things like setting a very large screen.
 
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Waquoit said:
None of the news coming out of pre-season is helping with the nagging feeling that we are still going to have those long stretches where we can't put the ball in the hoop. Our D is going to have to live up to the hype.
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If we adopt the "punisher" identity Hurley has kind of hinted at, I think we will at least be able to get to the line in these stretches. Adama and an aggressive Jackson are going to draw fouls...and our offensive rebounders like Whaley should as well.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Sure, but they didn't. Didn't come close and there's a strong probability at least one if those white shirt players will be starting by years end.

Sounds like sour grapes.
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Bulletin board material for the bench.

May the bench rotate...
 
Protecting the ball, sinking free throws, and making defense stops ensures that the other team cannot catch up.

During successful seasons, UConn reveals a history of winning games by having the other team score fewer points, especially as the season moves forward, during which time somebody's shooting picks up.

None of which is meant to contradict what's written below.
Waquoit said:
None of the news coming out of pre-season is helping with the nagging feeling that we are still going to have those long stretches where we can't put the ball in the hoop. Our D is going to have to live up to the hype.
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Waquoit said:
None of the news coming out of pre-season is helping with the nagging feeling that we are still going to have those long stretches where we can't put the ball in the hoop. Our D is going to have to live up to the hype.
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Those concerns are valid. The defense is legit, they’re a top 10-15 type of unit. That will keep them in games and win them gamess in conference play. We know what to expect from the front court but they need good guard play when things start getting tight. I keep looking at the combo of Andre Jackson, Gaff, and Hawkins and thinking they need them to breakout. For them to compete at the top of the league, they need like two of those guys to score consistently and provide efficient guard play.
 
Hans Sprungfeld said:
Protecting the ball, sinking free throws, and making defense stops ensures that the other team cannot catch up.

During successful seasons, UConn reveals a history of winning games by having the other team score fewer points, especially as the season moves forward, during which time somebody's shooting picks up.

None of which is meant to contradict what's written below.
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During successful seasons UConn also had a guy that was just better than the guy who was guarding him and could put the ball in the bucket when he needed to. I'm hopeful Jackson's improvement is real and he's not just going to be a guy who "sees the court well" and he starts to actually attack the bucket, and I certainly hope Hawkins is the real deal. But I have the same gut feeling as Waquoit heading into the season.

A kid like Karaban - who's probably not going to be a lottery pick but is big and really skilled - is going to be a godsend.
 
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