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Post by HCFC45 on Oct 8, 2022 11:33:55 GMT -5
Snotty kids It is clear that you have lost whatever control you may have had I did my best. At some point, we can’t blame the fans for becoming disinterested when we are terrible every year. My daughter was born shortly after RW left. Here are our records in the seasons in which she has been alive. 9-22 8-21 15-14 12-18 20-14 (oh what I wouldn’t give to have MB back) 14-16 15-20 (Won 5 out of last 6, including 4 on the road to the PL Championship and a W in the play in game in Dayton)15-17 12-19 16-17 3-29 5-11 9-22 Fixed it for you to add another bright spot over the last 13 years!  |
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 8, 2022 11:57:14 GMT -5
Remember when it was a big deal to have a 20 win season? Unfortunately, a 20 loss season is much more probable. Sad, so sad.  |
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 8, 2022 15:36:19 GMT -5
A few notes from this AM's open practice.
The overall size of this team physically is larger than any team of recent...Austin Lewis is really the only "skinny kid"..Tse (JT) and Batchelder are both bigger than I anticipated..
Everybody has good upper body physique...Louth looks like he is in GREAT shape..A total body re-sculpture.
I think this team will have great depth, good size up front, and they hustle..
Batchelder is a very good shooter. When the team started scrimmaging, he hit his first 6 shots missed one than hit a few more..Coach Nelson kept telling him to shoot the ball..Bo looks like he will have a big season, he was slashing and attacking the rim, along with sticking a few 3's. Gates is still a handful, he scored inside against everybody..Willbur is good size, works hard around the hoop, and can hit the 3 from the top of the key. Rabs look like he will finally get to play, no injuries and he has improved his total game...
Coach Nelson has the team working to take care of the ball.. He stopped the scrimmage at one point and had one team run some suicides because they were turning the ball over too much..One little piece that I noticed, when the teams went to a time out, the 5 players on the court sat by position number in front of the coach. the 1 on the left to the 5 on the right...Little thing, but shows how the staff has everything under control.
No way to figure out a "starting 5". Too many different groups playing together..One grouping had Gates and Louth as the 5 and 4. By the eye test, Batchelder will be the starting point guard, with Dorsey and Bo at the wings, Gates at the 5 and the 4 might be Wilbar...Octave, Kirkwood, Louth, Rabs and Lewis are in a battle for playing time... I'd say Octave will be in the early mix.
Caleb Kenney Might also fit in the starting 5..HC might adjust the starters to the opponent.
The team played mostly a matchup M2m on D. and looked to push the ball in transition. They ran a few sets to get Batchelder some 3's, and to get the ball into Gates.
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At one point, Coach Nelson told Batchelder to "Get his team ready". Looks like he is going to be the "one". Nelson also told Kenney to get away from the 3 point line, get inside and rebound and score! Looks like Octave will be a solid contributor, he is a good fundamental player..
Over all I was pleased with what I saw...Will HC contend for a championship? Not right now, however, I do thing we will be better than last year. NO injured player right now, Lewis was the only player I noticed that was tapped up, his right wrist, but it didn't affect his play...
Next Saturday is another open practice, for season ticket holders..
And finally, when the scrimmage ended and the team broke up, all the players came into the stands to thank the fans there...a nice touch! (and they are much bigger up close...lol)
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Post by WorcesterGray on Oct 8, 2022 16:01:19 GMT -5
Great report - thanks.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 8, 2022 16:34:50 GMT -5
Thank you Di for the detailed scout
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Post by HC92 on Oct 8, 2022 20:18:14 GMT -5
Thanks, DiMarz. Seems like the folks around the program are pretty optimistic about how we’ll do this season.
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 9, 2022 5:46:41 GMT -5
That team optimism is good to hear about.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 9, 2022 17:43:33 GMT -5
Di,
You mention that Tse looked bigger than you expected
How did he play .?
Also, you wrote of Batch’s strong shooting .
How was his dribbling and passing ?
Thank you.
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 9, 2022 17:52:39 GMT -5
Di, You mention that Tse looked bigger than you expected How did he play .? He is steady, and passes the ball vey well. He made a few feeds of his drive to cutters that were very nice to see. One to Bo cutting from the weak side wing for a layup.. His shooting is average, he looks to get that 10 to 15 footer of the bounce. I'd guess he shot about 50% or so..he is not explosive to the hoop, but works hard to get to spots on the court...I'd say he is a little better defender than Batch. He handles the ball confidently...My guess is he will be the 2nd pg |
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 9, 2022 17:58:23 GMT -5
Di, You mention that Tse looked bigger than you expected How did he play .? Also, you wrote of Batch’s strong shooting . How was his dribbling and passing ? Thank you. Batch handle the ball ok, not great. I hope he can improve quickly with the ball.. He does a nice job passing the ball, wrap around bounce pass into the post, and moved the ball quickly..A few HS passes that all freshman make. Nelson wants him to look to shoot it whenever! not pass as much. That is his strength.. |
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Post by hcnj on Oct 9, 2022 20:45:16 GMT -5
Di, You mention that Tse looked bigger than you expected How did he play .? Also, you wrote of Batch’s strong shooting . How was his dribbling and passing ? Thank you. Batch handle the ball ok, not great. I hope he can improve quickly with the ball.. He does a nice job passing the ball, wrap around bounce pass into the post, and moved the ball quickly..A few HS passes that all freshman make. Nelson wants him to look to shoot it whenever! not pass as much. That is his strength.. How would you compare Dorsey vs Batchelder and Tse as a PG? I happen to think we just need Batchelder's scoring on the floor and Nelson would move him over to the 2 if we had more firepower at the other 3 positions or a reasonably good scoring PG. If Dorsey was a better point than Batchelder and a better scorer than Tse we might try that combo sometimes. |
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 10, 2022 8:40:42 GMT -5
Batch handle the ball ok, not great. I hope he can improve quickly with the ball.. He does a nice job passing the ball, wrap around bounce pass into the post, and moved the ball quickly..A few HS passes that all freshman make. Nelson wants him to look to shoot it whenever! not pass as much. That is his strength.. How would you compare Dorsey vs Batchelder and Tse as a PG? I happen to think we just need Batchelder's scoring on the floor and Nelson would move him over to the 2 if we had more firepower at the other 3 positions or a reasonably good scoring PG. If Dorsey was a better point than Batchelder and a better scorer than Tse we might try that combo sometimes. I don't think Dorsey is PG material..We might see Bo handle the pg with Batch on the floor, depending on the opposition. Joe Octave brought the ball up the court on occasion, he is a very flexible player...I think if teams pressure us, there are a lot of options to look at. The offenses looks like a lot of players will have the ball, not just a pg...It appared to me that group will have a lot of different looks on the court, big team or small ball, both looked like viable options...We will see when HC gets to play somebody else...The speed and quickness factor will show up then..... |
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 10, 2022 8:44:20 GMT -5
Bring on those "secret" scrimmages.  |
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 10, 2022 9:54:04 GMT -5
Any observations on Jaden Kirkwood?
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Post by hchoops on Oct 10, 2022 10:00:29 GMT -5
Di,
You wrote that the primary defense was a matchup man. Did it resemble the RW matchup ?
Did the guards pass cutters off to the bigs ?
Was the low post doubled every time ?
I am curious since I saw nothing resembling a matchup the last three years.
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 10, 2022 17:55:26 GMT -5
Any observations on Jaden Kirkwood? Solid player, I think he will contribute at some point..He didn't show anything outstanding nor deficient....Seems like a nice kid, I got to talk with him for a minute or so after....Smiling and happy he was! |
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 10, 2022 18:16:11 GMT -5
Do, You wrote that the primary defense was a matchup man. Dot it resemble the RW matchup ? Did the guards pass cutters off to the bigs ? Was the low post doubled every time ? I am curious since I saw nothing resembling a matchup the last three years. RW's D was always different, every night out..This D is nothing as complicated as RW ran...He was ahead of his time... Guards did not pass cutters on to bigs. Double teams, if I remember, there were no doubles from the weak side help...Not a double every time. Defenders sagged into the lane and played more of a zone look, then bounced out on a ball reversal. No ball denial..Extended m2m on the ball coming over half court.. Guards passed on guards in the m2m, and forwards switched most of the time. Nelson stopped practice a few times, to go over how he wanted bigs to fight over bigs to gain positioning inside. It appears he wants to deny the ball to the low post on D...and wants the big to be physical getting position on offence. I questioned how many fouls would be called on the bigs doing this, and there were a few fouls called on it...However, we seem to have some depth up front this season! We will find out in the next few months!! |
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Post by hchoops on Oct 10, 2022 18:46:32 GMT -5
Thank you
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Post by efg72 on Oct 10, 2022 19:47:13 GMT -5
Sounds like a slight modification to year's past on D, hope it has some impact, and I think we have a chance to be better on offense
A former member of the coaching staff said something that explains a lot of the last few years--he has never deviated from the plan he brought to the program
Think about it
A definition of a word
Draw your own conclusion
I have my fingers crossed this will be a much different year, but then again hope is not a strategy
Good luck to Coach Nelson and the team
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 10, 2022 20:49:04 GMT -5
Did the former coaching staff member ever elucidate on what that plan was/is?
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Post by efg72 on Oct 10, 2022 21:14:37 GMT -5
Inndeed
And we have witnessed it for multiple seasons
That said this is a new group and it might be workable
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 11, 2022 0:52:48 GMT -5
Did the former coaching staff member ever elucidate on what that plan was/is? The former coaching staff member was talking from a phone booth down by the docks with a scarf against the phone to disguise his voice. It sounded like "attack and serve." All I know is we have a roster of players who want to be here, the ones who wanted out left, and all four coaches have been with Nelson for a while. We lost an ROY freshman point guard with talent but have another one who can replace his points from behind the arc and has to be coaxed to shoot more which could be a net plus. We also didn't have as tall a big as Wilbar with mobility last year, so there is something to look forward to. |
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Oct 11, 2022 6:50:22 GMT -5
Ok, here is my wacky idea for the day (and I bet you didn't see this Saturday, DiMarz): when it's time for GG to get a rest, put this lineup in: Bo, Dorsey, Kenney, Lewis and Wilbeck. Then, on defense, try a 2-3 zone, with Bo and Dorsey out front, and Kenney, Wilbeck and Lewis in the back. Just for kicks, nothing more. You can get some real length out there, all over the floor (with some decent mobility, I think). You've got some size; how else can you maximize it? Might not even be that bad offensively.
Something different, anything different.
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 11, 2022 6:52:53 GMT -5
I will withhold judgement on Crusader season prospects until I witness an actual game or two.
I do the same for football as I don’t have the expertise of many here. Watching practices and you see a good play is it because the offensive player was great or the defender was poor? I can speculate but not smart enough to know.
Last season, for example, I thought Austin Lewis was quick and a good outside shooter during an open practice. He hardly played. What do I know?🤷🏻♂️
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Post by efg72 on Oct 11, 2022 7:05:25 GMT -5
Eyeball test in game conditions always helps
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