Report from Gampel...skills work for posts

[Blakeon18]

I got to see Glenn Miller work with the posts yesterday afternoon...I saw more of Bradley, Wolf and Drummond...a little bit with Oriakhi and Olander. The following is strictly FWIW....note: it was the first time I have seen Andre in person.....no scrimmaging/no full court runs....just skills work around the basket and some face-up work out to 15' or so.

Kemba was in the house btw...working hard by himself with a student manager [I assume]. he looks a bit more muscular than last winter....looks really good...shots were falling from all over.

Bradley looks as if he has put on some weight....still slender of course. He has a high release which will make it difficult to block his shot. He was hitting his face-ups pretty well....nice arc. He is going to get muscled around some but I would not be surprised if he carved out some PT this year...nice quickness and athleticism.

Wolf looks like a skinnier Olander. Looks to have some nice back-to-the-basket skills....jump hooks seem a speciality. Will he be able to create and hold his space down low?

Towards the end of my stay Oriahki and Olander took the court. Alex has improved his face-ups nicely based on this one look. If he does it in games it will add to his weapons since...imo...he is a powerful but undersized center against elite teams. Olander was doing OK.

Andre Drummond: around the basket he is explosive...quick and powerful. Is he still 17 at this point? He looks like a man-child in some ways....very imposing. With no defenders he finishes close to the basket with either hand very well. If he gets the ball down low he will be a load.
His face-up game is a work in progress. He has a bit of a funky release...kinda low and unconventional. His shots repeatedly come out without much arc...he was not hitting open shots with a good percentage from beyond 3 feet or so. Whether he takes face-up shots from distance in games we will see. Based on what I saw, defenders will give him those shots all night long. His back-to-the-basket abilities seem much more accomplished at this point.

I saw him take a few free throws and while the release looked similar to his field goal attempts there was much more arc to the efforts and he hit several. It will be interesting to see if the staff sees his release on face-up shots an area to work on for the next 7 weeks before Game One. His explosive athleticism and strength for one so young will really help our inside game....it is hardly a surprise that coming out of high school he has some things to work on. Running the floor sure seems to be a real asset based on the videos I have seen....but that wasn't the focus Monday. All 3 of the the ones I saw for quite a while were working very hard throughout.

Hopefully next week I'll see them scrimmage. Napier and Boatwright were there...just the posts doing the work.

 

[UChusky916]

thanks for the report!

 

[ctchamps]

Thanks for the write up. AD just turned 18. His shot reminds me of Harangody. It will be interesting to see if they ask him to change it. When he learns to hit the mid range shot consistently, he will be unstoppable.

 

[District-Husky]

Thanks.

 

[tykurez]

Great post! Thanks for the report.

 

[gibhunter]

I thought his back to the basket game needed work. Good to know that he's already good at it as that's most likely what he's going to be doing the most as a 5. Wolf sounds like a RS candidate. The 2012-13 season could be one where him, Olander and Bradley are battling for starting at 4 and 5. We could look like late 90s squad with most of the scoring load coming from the guards and the wings.

 

[MTHusky]

Thanks for the interesting post!!

 

[tykurez]

Thanks for the write up. AD just turned 18. His shot reminds me of Harangody. It will be interesting to see if they ask him to change it. When he learns to hit the mid range shot consistently, he will be unstoppable.

He really reminds me of a young Dwight Howard ... tough defender, freakish athlete, weird jumpshot, and huge upside

 

[Wolferowski]

Great post! thank you!

 

[Scot-e]

Thanks for the report.

 

[jibsey]

Great report, keep them coming!

 

[EricLA]

good stuff blake thanks. i realize this kid is #1 or #2 in the class depending on who you ask, but it appears t hat like any high school center, he definitely has some things that will need improvement.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Great report!!

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

can never get enough of this stuff. thanks for the report

 

[NittanyHusky]

Great info. Thanks!

 

[babysheep]

Where do they practice? How do you have access to their practices? If I (a student) were allowed in, I would totally go. What time are they?

Also, I see Roscoe alot and from what I gather it doesn't look like he's put on that much weight.

 

[arnie3]

Getting pumped for this season!

 

[bmayuc]

I am going to thoroughly enjoy this team. Size, Skill, Power. Gonna be a fun ride.

 

[mets1090]

I think this team is going to be explosive and exciting to watch. There will likely be a lot of face palm moments without Kemba around though. Should be a fun ride and hopefully it all comes together in March

 

[Blakeon18]

Baby: unless home volleyball games conflict, they are in Gampel open to everybody till official practices start.

Skills work tends to be early in the afternoon...say 1:00. Scrimmages follow....the men and women seem to alternate late/early in the afternoon. Maybe they take a break on Friday but Mon-Thursday you will generally see something.

 

[babysheep]

Awesome. Gonna go check it out today. It'll be my first in-person look at AD

 

[high-post]

The report is definitely appreciated. Keep them coming.
And please don't hesitate to use the embedded video function that the new board offers.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Allen and Marshall were both impressed with Andre Drummond, who in these early games has been as advertised. "Andre's a man-child," Allen said. "... He looks like he's already been here a year. He has a presence."
Allen, echoing many others, said Drummond reminds him of Shawn Kemp.

 

[Sportsman5]

Where do they practice? How do you have access to their practices? If I (a student) were allowed in, I would totally go. What time are they?

Also, I see Roscoe alot and from what I gather it doesn't look like he's put on that much weight.

Two things with Roscoe's weight. One, he is very ecto-mesomorphic. Therefore, any weight he puts on is going to be muscle. Muscle is much denser than fat, so he won't look much larger if he adds 5-10 lbs of muscle and no fat. Two, adding 10lbs of muscle to a 6'8" frame is not going to do much visually. Especially if he adds a lot of it to his thighs, glutes, and mid back. The team trains to make these areas bigger and stronger because that is what allows a person to become a faster runner, better jumper, and better at boxing out. What is noticeable with a tank top or t-shirt on is arm size, and back/chest width. However, a basketball player typically will not focus their training on these areas.

 

[tykurez]

Two things with Roscoe's weight. One, he is very ecto-mesomorphic. Therefore, any weight he puts on is going to be muscle. Muscle is much denser than fat, so he won't look much larger if he adds 5-10 lbs of muscle and no fat. Two, adding 10lbs of muscle to a 6'8" frame is not going to do much visually. Especially if he adds a lot of it to his thighs, glutes, and mid back. The team trains to make these areas bigger and stronger because that is what allows a person to become a faster runner, better jumper, and better at boxing out. What is noticeable with a tank top or t-shirt on is arm size, and back/chest width. However, a basketball player typically will not focus their training on these areas.

+1. Good post.