Here are my thoughts from today's scrimmage:
Artis: During a play in the second half, possibly the one where Artis threw a bounce pass in traffic to Vint for a layup, someone behind me said "That man is a magician!" He certainly appeared to be one today. From making incredible passes to his amazing drives to the basket to some nice outside shooting, he was fantastic all game.
Moore: He, too played a fantastic game. He can score from everywhere, both outside the arc and taking it to the hole.
Morris: Another player who played great ball today, scoring in a variety of ways. These three players are sure to start, and will form a great three guard attack.
Harris: He ticked me off. Not by anything he did on the court, where he was exceptionally quick and did a fantastic job of taking the ball to the basket. I was upset at his stupid academic issues. During those times after he comes back when he and Artis are in the backcourt our opponents are going to struggle against their quickness.
Vint: Hooper was our best big today. He showed some nice post moves, hit some threes, and scored a ton of points, many thanks to Artis assists. I don't know if this is a sign of how much he's improved, or a sign of how bad our front court is.
Winn: Our second best big today. He was all energy around the basket, and was the only one besides Vint to show any nice post moves. He went through a spell where he had a lot of balls go in and come out, but over all he looked good. I expect him to start alongside Willms or Vint.
Thomas: He didn't look good today. He's an athletic guy, but he looked stiff out there.
Jones: "Buddha" is tall, skinny, and athletic, but didn't show anything in the way of skills.
Flaggert: The last we saw of Flaggert he was a decent spot up shooter but didn't seem to want to handle the ball and couldn't create his own shot. He's probably a better spot up shooter right now (he did really well in the 3 point contest, though I think he only took a couple during the game, hitting one), but still did nothing in terms of driving or creating his own shot.
Romine: Had a couple of solid defense rebounds, but didn't really stand out.
Caldwell: Still all hustle, still worked really hard defensively, he didn't seem as hesitant to shoot, but that might be because he was playing with guys he knows.
Touchet: This guy won the 3 point contest, hitting 15 out of 15 in the first round, but a "mere" 13 out of 15 in the second round. Unfortunately he can't create his own shot. Given how much of a sharp shooter he is, the staff might want to create some plays to get him open.
Mbachu: He looked solid out there.
Venegas: The big walk on from Mexico was able to us his body to get into position to make some nice offensive boards, but consistently had his shot blocked down low. He did surprise me by hitting a 3.
McSwiggan and Willms sat due to injury.
If Omega was eligible, and we were fielding a team for a 6'4" and under league, we'd be awesome. Unfortunately, aside from Vint and Winn, we don't look to have much in the post, and even then, Vint's and Winn's success might have something to do with playing against our other bigs. Also, defensive rebounding is still an issue. A truly successful season will depend heavily on an unexpectedly quick improvement by our young bigs. I really don't see that happening.
Artis: During a play in the second half, possibly the one where Artis threw a bounce pass in traffic to Vint for a layup, someone behind me said "That man is a magician!" He certainly appeared to be one today. From making incredible passes to his amazing drives to the basket to some nice outside shooting, he was fantastic all game.
Moore: He, too played a fantastic game. He can score from everywhere, both outside the arc and taking it to the hole.
Morris: Another player who played great ball today, scoring in a variety of ways. These three players are sure to start, and will form a great three guard attack.
Harris: He ticked me off. Not by anything he did on the court, where he was exceptionally quick and did a fantastic job of taking the ball to the basket. I was upset at his stupid academic issues. During those times after he comes back when he and Artis are in the backcourt our opponents are going to struggle against their quickness.
Vint: Hooper was our best big today. He showed some nice post moves, hit some threes, and scored a ton of points, many thanks to Artis assists. I don't know if this is a sign of how much he's improved, or a sign of how bad our front court is.
Winn: Our second best big today. He was all energy around the basket, and was the only one besides Vint to show any nice post moves. He went through a spell where he had a lot of balls go in and come out, but over all he looked good. I expect him to start alongside Willms or Vint.
Thomas: He didn't look good today. He's an athletic guy, but he looked stiff out there.
Jones: "Buddha" is tall, skinny, and athletic, but didn't show anything in the way of skills.
Flaggert: The last we saw of Flaggert he was a decent spot up shooter but didn't seem to want to handle the ball and couldn't create his own shot. He's probably a better spot up shooter right now (he did really well in the 3 point contest, though I think he only took a couple during the game, hitting one), but still did nothing in terms of driving or creating his own shot.
Romine: Had a couple of solid defense rebounds, but didn't really stand out.
Caldwell: Still all hustle, still worked really hard defensively, he didn't seem as hesitant to shoot, but that might be because he was playing with guys he knows.
Touchet: This guy won the 3 point contest, hitting 15 out of 15 in the first round, but a "mere" 13 out of 15 in the second round. Unfortunately he can't create his own shot. Given how much of a sharp shooter he is, the staff might want to create some plays to get him open.
Mbachu: He looked solid out there.
Venegas: The big walk on from Mexico was able to us his body to get into position to make some nice offensive boards, but consistently had his shot blocked down low. He did surprise me by hitting a 3.
McSwiggan and Willms sat due to injury.
If Omega was eligible, and we were fielding a team for a 6'4" and under league, we'd be awesome. Unfortunately, aside from Vint and Winn, we don't look to have much in the post, and even then, Vint's and Winn's success might have something to do with playing against our other bigs. Also, defensive rebounding is still an issue. A truly successful season will depend heavily on an unexpectedly quick improvement by our young bigs. I really don't see that happening.
