I thought both Teske and Davis looked good. They will both play. I saw Davis pulling down rebounds and blocking shots.
I was watching Mathews on the 3 point shooting drill and I had him making 10 of 25. Also, he dunks with almost no effort. Very fluid.
The freshmen came ready to play.
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After rewatching the video several times I have to say Eli Brooks showed some serious promise. I think JB found another under the radar gem again! It might not happen this year but at some point Brooks is going to quietly destroy most everyone you put in front of him.
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How did Matthews look in shooting drills?
I would be very guarded in relation to expectations for Matthews this season.
Any potential hope of him being an iso candidate in the half court offense is just not realistic going forward.
Hopefully he can contribute on the glass, because we’re going to desperately need him.
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Brooks scored 7 points off 3 shots, 1 assist, 0 turnovers.
Z scored 4 points off 4 shots, 2 assists, 0 turnovers.
Simmons scored 6 points on 6 shots, 1 assist, 1 turnover.
Z and Simmons had several near turnovers. I don’t remember Brooks having a near turnover. Brooks looked in control constantly. My guess is that the 3 way competition for starting point guard is a very real thing…
(Z was fouled on a layup and I did not count it as a shot attempt because he was not given free throws .)
Brooks and Z both had a high level reads, on separate occassions, that led to an assist for each of them. Whereas Simmon’s assist was a very pedestrian pass to a 3 point shooter.
Matthews did not appear to have high level court awareness or ball handling skills. If he tries to take on an Irvin type role he will be a turnover machine, I think. I do however suspect he can be very effective for us if his role is simplified in the GR3 mold…On the other hand maybe he just had a bad practice.
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We can talk all day about his fluid motions, grace and athleticism. Doesn’t mean much if you’re clumsy with the ball.
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Am I crazy to see similarities between Lavell Blanchard and Matthews?
Whew. The early takes are strong… We’ll get to see them run a bit more today for media day and then I’ll have some more thoughts.
I’m not as down on Matthews as some, but I think I also probably had lower expectations on Matthews than some. I thought his jumper looked pretty decent. He had a few turnovers and didn’t look super comfortable playing out of the high ball screen, but were we expecting him to?
Brooks definitely a nice surprise. I said when he committed that I could see him playing a sort of microwave role off the bench to spark some offense and you can definitely see that potential.
As far as Simmons/Simpson… still need to see more. The defense that you get with Z and Matthews is impressive on the perimeter, but if you need a shot clock guy I think Jaaron is still going to be more comfortable there. Late in the game he missed 3 shots on one possession which obviously wasn’t great, but it is a practice and with his experience he’ll gravitate toward those spots IMO.
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I’ve been trying to tell you all not to sleep on Z.
That’s what I was hearing, but simply on the basis of his 6/8 pack, there was real reason to think he had turned a corner. I can’t find anyone in the know who will admit it, but Z was carrying extra weight last season. And a guy with his measurables and style of play simply cannot afford to saddle himself with that kind of handicap.
Not sure why so many are surprised by Brooks. He is a coaches son and came here with high credentials. I think he will shine even more now that he is surrounded by better players.
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Interesting quote from scout “2 spots locked up. 3 being fought for. Simpson has been the most productive pg. Unofficially whatever team he is on wins.”
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For giggles, I could do a detailed breakdown when I get a chance of what I’m seeing on a running basis from the practice video, but it’s just practice and a pretty early practice at that.
Meaning starting spots? So Moe and MAAR locked up then the PG spot up for grabs and maybe Duncan, CM, Livers for 2 spots on the wing?
I would put that ratio at 4:1, but that’s just me. Have a hard time imagining MAAR, Duncan, Moe and Matthews not starting.
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My take on the scrimmage from a first look is that we know what MAAR, Duncan and Wagner can do. For the freshman and sophomore’s Simmon’s and Brooks look like they can create or make a play in shot clock crunch time. They both just look like they know what to do. Livers is going to play a lot, he just has too and he has tools that JB can work with. Z is probably the best guard in getting the team into position and into the offense and one of the best defenders still not sure he can finish at the rim or shoot a consistent three. Matthews is going to be an energy guy who does the little things (which are big things) like defense, rebounding running the lanes on fast breaks, back door cuts (I see that as his game). Poole’s role this year will be what most have stated as a three point floor spreader. The bigs Teske and Davis just need to play good defense set picks and hit the occasional pop shot play big when they role to the rim. Ibi just seems like someone who has measurable’s but has not given any indication that he knows how to play or have any court awareness. There seems know purpose to his movement. But as others have said this is just one practice scrimmage.
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I thought all 3 PGs looked good. Simmons has a funky release on his shot, but he looked good finishing around the basket. Z is much improved and seemed to have good command of the team. He is a very good passer. Eli can play. I think he can play on the floor at the same time as Z or Simmons and get minutes. Livers at least appeared to be functional as a backup 4. Matthews is athletic, but appears to be limited with his ballhandling like Irvin, GR3 and Hardaway before him. It will be an interesting season with a lot less “knowns” than previous seasons. Should be fun to watch!
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Z will be exponentially more valuable if we can push the pace more this year. That’s his game.
We are going to need all of the run outs and easy baskets we can get to compensate for what I contend is going to be a very marginal shooting squad this year.
It may prove very challenging to consistently produce in the half court offense when teams inevitably load up to stop Moe and deny Duncan good looks.
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Speaking for myself I was not sure because his high school competition looked very weak. Plus he has a very unassuming on the court demeanor…Very efficient in his movements…
Last night He took z and Matthews off the dribble and scored. He sank a 3 with 6’8” Robinson in his face…
At best I was expecting a talented kid who needed a year or two to adjust to the speed of college…Brooks was the MVP of the practice and he was being guarded by our more high level defenders. I am sold on this kid 100%.
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As someone who was impressed with his first look, where do you see him as a more natural fit at, the 1 or the 2? @gtfomycourt
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