Orange and White Scrimmage

[Tucson_Miner]

Here are my two pesos from yesterday's O&W Scrimmage. Obviously, this is based on one scrimmage ...

TEAM NOTES:
1. We still do not run any type of offense. Four guys standing around the three point line but this may come later on.
2. Our team is very small and player height's are grossly overstated. Players that are listed as 6'0" are closer to 5'7" and 6'8" closer to 6'4".
3. The recruiting talent level is the lowest I've seen in years. We have three players on the roster from Chihuahua.
4. Conditioning remains a problem. Players quickly tired during the dunk contest and looked gassed during the scrimmage.
5. Free throws will continue to be an issue. Not a lot were shot but many missed.
6. Best players on our roster ... Omega, Terry, Dominic
7. Best newcomers ... Kelvin, Adrian, Isiah (really Kelvin is best of all recruits)
8. I am not sure if Chris Barnes played ... I don't think he did but if he did he obviously did not do anything worth noting
9. Vince Hunter sat next to Floyd on the bench. Really wish we had him this season.
10. We are still far too thin to compete with bigger teams (e.g. NMSU, La Tech, UAB, MTSU)
11. My projection after watching yesterday is that it will be tough for us to win 15 games this season and 8th/9th in the conference is about right.
12. We are still missing the players with hair on their chest.
13. This might be the longest season in the CTF era because there is a serious drop-off in talent outside Harris, Winn, Artis, and possibly Jones.

Omega Harris ... by far the best shooter/scorer on our team. Still lightning quick. At one point he hit 5 three pointers in a row. Quick on defense. Will lead the team in scoring.

Terry Winn ... slimmed down, can handle the ball more, nice passing, still misses close to the basket but has a motor on him, made a couple of jump shots (nice stroke), will be very good this season. Will lead the team in scoring with Omega.

Dominic Artis ... was too quiet for being a senior with his credentials. Will probably average 10 and 5 again.

Trey Touchet ... had some nice moves to the basket but I still think he is too slow to guard anyone on the defensive side. Missed a lot of 3's

Kelvin Jones ... aggressively went after rebounds and had some nice layups around the basket but had 6 fouls in the scrimmage. I still think he will be very good in time.

Matt Willms ... was moving around well but stands around the three point line too much. Kept shooting it from around the free throw line. We need him to play inside more IMO.

Jake Flaggert ... same player as last season with no noticeable improvement. He did not take a single charge which is something that he did in every game last season. Made one three. Matt Willms blocked one of his threes. Just not going to contribute.

Ivan Venegas ... seemed to have a broken nose and did not play. Looks a lot leaner than he was last season.

Paul Thomas ... has improved but still lacks a killer instinct/a desire to take over. Scored 2 buckets.

Adrian Moore ... very athletic needs time.

Tim Cameron ... very athletic needs time.

Deon Barrett ... looks scared, shoots and misses a lot, lost the ball a couple of times while handling it, is about 5'5"

Isiah Osborne ... mixed feelings. Looks athletic but is super skinny. Didn't shoot all that well but looks comfortable on the floor.

Hudson Urbanas ... not sure why he is on the team. The best unsigned El Paso player would blow this kid away. Very small and shot a couple of airballs.

Jose Martinez ... new guy from Chihuahua had some rebounds but was overpowered by Matt Willms. They said he is 6-8 but he is closer to 6-4 if that. A mini Ivan Venegas.

 

[jdubb66]

Not sure what game you were watching. I was watching a completely different one.

Thomas and Harris were the best players on the court. Thomas outplayed Winn and scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, he didn't score just two buckets.

Jones, Wilms, Winn and Thomas will give us a much stonger inside presence than last year. As a whole, our 3 point game was very strong.

We scored well. We did run a high low post offense with picks and roll and a version of the triangle.

I think we'll rebound better than last year.

Overall, I think we're much improved over last year but of course it is just one scrimmage.

 

[Lil_Train]

Tucson-

Thanks for your observations, especially for us out-of-towners. I think your comments, sadly, fall in line with the general expectations prior to the scrimmage. In terms of overall talent level, this is probably as limited a team as we have seen in years. A realistic argument could be made that none of our starters would start on any of the top 4 or 5 teams in CUSA; and we have very little true depth on top of that.

It sounds like Thomas has improved some, so that may prompt the coaches to find a way to play both him and Winn at the same time. This will present challenges both in terms of outside shooting, as well as on the defensive end. It also sounds like Kelvin Jones will have some impact provided his conditioning level can improve, and he can adjust to the speed of the game quickly. I think we are looking at a long season.

 

[UTEP05]

Thanks for your honest and in depth observations Tucson. It's nice to see something than "this guy is a stud" and will be the next Jevin Durant, etc.

 

[miner1liner]

Hope that Tucson & Tiny_choo choo are waaaaaaay wrong. I think after a slow start the squad will begin to gel and we'll all be pleasantly surprised by season's end.

 

[miner1liner]

Thanks for your honest and in depth observations Tucson. It's nice to see something than "this guy is a stud" and will be the next Jevin Durant, etc.

Who is Jevin Durant?

 

[UTEP05]

His unknown brother. Lol

 

[CubsFan81]

It's tough to put much into a glorified practice. The wake forest game will tell us where we are at. There is no question that this year's team is very undersized and skinny. I still say our only chance of success lies in Jones and his rebounding.

 

[UTEPfan1966]

I think this is overly critical. Remember, this was basically just a practice game. Also, defense is stressed at this point in the practice sessions. Offensive schemes don't come in until later.
Thomas is vastly improved. He will start every game this year unless he gets stupid.
I LOVE cameron and his attitude. He is way too wild right now, but as he learns, he will be an El Paso favorite....mark my words.....but his is a kid.....so....
Moore can contribute a lot by January. He has discipline. I see it.
Jones will play in the NBA some day. Needs a lot of work, but it's there.
I heard Isiah won't be eligible this year, but that kid is VERY athletic. Great pick up.
I am ok with the returners. I know once we get going, they will produce. Trey is a perfect backup for Artis.

 

[UTEP05]

El Paso favorite, playing in the NBA some day. I would rather read the fan posts than the homer posts.

 

[minermx07]

Bump. Tucson was spot on.