Started out with:
Wright - Parquet - Battey - Bey - Schwartz
Substituted Kountz and Walton early, then Daniels, Siewert, and Gatling. Strating, Ryder and Dombek seem to be the odd group out or the guys called upon for special situations, end of game plays, and end of half fouls to give.
Battey started out hot and looked solid in there. More than anything, he is the vocal leader of the team and really got in people's ear. He looks quicker of foot definitely but still lapses at times defensively. He is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
McKinley was mostly out there setting other people up. He got a few jumpers in including a 3 that looked nice but didn't fall. Not a lot to say here. Was not in midseason for yet.
Schwartz was active early as was Bey but were both struggling a bit to get their offense going while Parquet was defending the ball as his primary job.
Kountz and Walton came in and Walton is clearly going to be the crowd favorite this year (like Battey a year ago). His offense was crisp and dominating against the smaller team. Had little trouble getting to his position and putting in impossible to block jump hooks. Added a sweet looking 3 ball to top it off to standing ovations from the crowd. Didn't do a ton defensively but positioned himself well. He's still going to have some trouble pushing people out of the lane, but was better at it now than previously. Needs more girth in his lower body still but his quickness in and out of the lane was apparent.
Kountz is the 2nd PG as evidenced by this scrimmage. He was the main ball handler with McKinley off the floor. Daylen had a couple of nice drives to his right that impressed me. When he's going to the basket, good things happen. He also had a drive pull up jumper that got to the hole. Defensively, he was 100% better. He gets under screens and still sticks with the dribbler. When switching, he switches hard and boxes out. He shows improved strength for sure. Quick hands got him a few steals as well.
At this point, it was suddenly Schwartz time. A new D'Shawn I had not seen before suddenly appeared on CU's court. This was a D'Shawn that showed a multi-varient offensive attack. It started with a jab step and drive to his right with a finish with his right hand (you heard that right). He then added a variety of drives and pull ups with jump stops, fade-aways, and up and unders. He then added a sweet 3 pointer that hit its spot, followed by the play of the day... a 1 handed jam over 2 defenders. There is simply no way he tries that dunk a year ago. His confidence was SKY high. Something I don't think anyone has ever seen before. This looked like a guy capable of taking over a game. Thick in both his upper and lower bodies, he really does look like a force out there. Want to see him on the boards more, but he was decent defensively.
Siewert came into the game and was a little so so. First of all, you can tell he's much stronger this year than last year. He had no problem posting up deep, but he needs to work on his post moves with Battey, Strating, and Walton. He gave his initial move then turns into the defender and tries to shoot it over him front rim side. He was like 0 for 4 on that move. Problem with the move is he needs to fake front side and then go baseline for the hoop. Strating literally did the same move with success later in the scrimmage. If Lucas could learn his post moves, he's probably a 14-15 ppg scorer. Not kidding. He would probably be the most dominant offensive player on the team. Later in the scrimmage he resorted to shooting his 3's and was ripping the cord on them. Still our best 3 point shooter without question.
Maddox Daniels... obviously, we were all excited to see what this newcomer brought. He showed a willingness first of all to jab step his way out of a shot and attack the basket. He has to work a little bit on the first step but he was able to put the ball on the floor comfortably. He was fouled both times he took it to the rack but liked that he was willing to do it. Otherwise he did a good job of finding his spot to shoot. His shot comes off pretty most of the time. He did miss an open, uncontested, 3 which kind of irked me since this is his job but otherwise did well offensively. Defensively, he wasn't bad and showed some willingness to rebound. He'll need to close out a bit quicker at times but he was trying to rebound/box out a lot and it's tough when you are under the bucket. Jury is still out here, but he'll get on the floor.
Gatling. Like Siewert, was a little so so. Had some great moments. Did his volume shooting thing. Also had a couple of selfish shots/drives where there were better plays to be made. He also had some nice dump off drives which he's good at. He was solid from long range and the free throw line which was great to see. He had a nice finish on a layup after he had already missed one badly. Otherwise though, he struggled at times. Defensively, he comically let #10 beat him too often late in the game. He wasn't sharp outside of the free throw line and the 3 point line. Just couldn't get things to fall despite his volume. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do with him. I expect better from a JUCO All American. He should be a double digit scorer and not because he took double digit shots.
Frank Ryder. I watched Frank in the warm ups and he's a pretty dang good athlete. He is a lot more athletic than I was expecting. Quick footed, explosive leaping ability, and obviously is very well built. Behind Schwartz and Wright, he might be the best built guy out there. He is NOT 6'10". LOL. He's maybe 6'9"... maybe. Frank was solid pushing the big #50 out of the lane whom was tough for others to match up with due to his girth. Showed a willingness to play some defense and get up and down the court. He hedged hard and recovered quickly to his man. Offensively he wasn't really a factor but did have a bucket running the floor on a great pass from Barthelemy. Instant energy guy who will fight hard defensively could be a role for him. He is not a rim protector though. He's not nearly that long but he gets up when he jumps so he can at least be an effort guy there. Was impressed with him.
Strating. Strating was actually really good in this scrimmage and you can tell he wanted to be. He wants to be a good player and goes hard. He got physical with their bigs #50 and #22. He fights hard in the paint and defends as best as he can in the post. Not particularly athletic as we know but his effort is strong. Again, he has better post moves than Siewert sadly. He basically schooled Siewert on back to basket moves. Will never be a good shooter but is worth a bucket or 2 when he's on the floor like late last year. Again, we could have a role for him on those certain nights like Ryder but in his own situation.
Dombek. My God this kid is skinny. OK, we knew that. Everyone including Jack Boyle wanted a piece of him. Wanted to see him shoot so badly but he never did in the game. He did get a rebound... barely. Caught it then dropped it after being touched by someone, then grabbed it again. I kind of chuckled. He is not playing this year unless Walton is out and we just need that big in there. He is VERY long and in fact looked as tall and long as Walton. Outside of the 40 pound difference, they are about the same size. Very similar length and athleticism. Really need him to be ready next year when we lose Bey and Siewert as he's going to have to have a role. I really don't want him to be another foreign failure. The skill is certainly there when you watch him in warm ups but he's a ways from playing in a rotation. He was the furthest away of the players on the court.
Barthelemy. He's not quite ready either, but he was very slick with the ball. Missed a layup that should have been a dunk. Not sure he can thrown one down Kountz style, but didn't use the backboard and missed an easy layup. Was a high school type play for a guy that should still be in high school. He did have a bucket on a great drive where he got clobbered by their big house #50. A redshirt is certain without a major injury to Wright. He'll be very good in a couple of years. You can see the ball skills and he's quick on the jumper in warm ups.
Parquet. He is not comfortable yet on the offensive end. He passed often on open jumpers. When their scrubs came in only then did he get assertive offensively. Could not hit a jumper though. I'm not convinced he is used offensively at all and he's currently a liability on that end of the court. Defensively, he is as good as we have. Big, strong, great wing span, and gets after it. We can use him to press and we would do well if we did. Can't be on the court a ton though due to his offensive inefficiencies.
Bey. Not sure why I put him last, but I did. He did not have a great scrimmage as we struggled to get him the ball. Our chemistry is not very good there right now. McKinley has some work to do with his chemistry there. We need to get him the ball more in transition. Bey was struggling with his finishes otherwise. Missed a couple of jump hooks and on his jumper. I know Bey will be fine but he's not in midseason form yet and neither is the team in using him. He had some alley-oop opportunities that our guards never took. Maybe by design for the day. Who knows, but there were 6 dunk opportunities left out there he could have taken.
Overall, this is definitely a very good team. They are about what I was expecting. Had high marks for Schwartz, Battey, and Walton. Had solid marks for Kountz, Ryder, Strating, and Daniels. Got what I expected from Siewert, Gatling, and Parquet. Bey and McKinley will be better when the lights come on. Dombek is basically a 2nd redshirt and Barthelemy is a redshirt. It will be great to see who we play against ASU. I think we'll see 10, maybe 11 depending on the game situation. 9 will see significant action is my guess. We need to come out and put it on ASU by the way to make believers out of the remaining doubters. Really want to go 11-2 in the non conference.
As for the game, first half was super dominant. Schwartz got it going along with Walton. Both were sizzling hot about midway through the first half. The second half was sloppy for sure. Line ups we'll never see out there and just some shoddy defense at times. It was more about seeing what some of these guys have in that 2nd half and it showed. Still, they scored more than they should have and we were not solid offensively with movement being poor at time and spacing not there. First half team would beat probably every team in the Pac 12 if it keeps going like that. Add a midseason form McKinley and Wright to that and we're a top 25 type team. Just need to avoid whatever that was in the 2nd half.
Wright - Parquet - Battey - Bey - Schwartz
Substituted Kountz and Walton early, then Daniels, Siewert, and Gatling. Strating, Ryder and Dombek seem to be the odd group out or the guys called upon for special situations, end of game plays, and end of half fouls to give.
Battey started out hot and looked solid in there. More than anything, he is the vocal leader of the team and really got in people's ear. He looks quicker of foot definitely but still lapses at times defensively. He is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
McKinley was mostly out there setting other people up. He got a few jumpers in including a 3 that looked nice but didn't fall. Not a lot to say here. Was not in midseason for yet.
Schwartz was active early as was Bey but were both struggling a bit to get their offense going while Parquet was defending the ball as his primary job.
Kountz and Walton came in and Walton is clearly going to be the crowd favorite this year (like Battey a year ago). His offense was crisp and dominating against the smaller team. Had little trouble getting to his position and putting in impossible to block jump hooks. Added a sweet looking 3 ball to top it off to standing ovations from the crowd. Didn't do a ton defensively but positioned himself well. He's still going to have some trouble pushing people out of the lane, but was better at it now than previously. Needs more girth in his lower body still but his quickness in and out of the lane was apparent.
Kountz is the 2nd PG as evidenced by this scrimmage. He was the main ball handler with McKinley off the floor. Daylen had a couple of nice drives to his right that impressed me. When he's going to the basket, good things happen. He also had a drive pull up jumper that got to the hole. Defensively, he was 100% better. He gets under screens and still sticks with the dribbler. When switching, he switches hard and boxes out. He shows improved strength for sure. Quick hands got him a few steals as well.
At this point, it was suddenly Schwartz time. A new D'Shawn I had not seen before suddenly appeared on CU's court. This was a D'Shawn that showed a multi-varient offensive attack. It started with a jab step and drive to his right with a finish with his right hand (you heard that right). He then added a variety of drives and pull ups with jump stops, fade-aways, and up and unders. He then added a sweet 3 pointer that hit its spot, followed by the play of the day... a 1 handed jam over 2 defenders. There is simply no way he tries that dunk a year ago. His confidence was SKY high. Something I don't think anyone has ever seen before. This looked like a guy capable of taking over a game. Thick in both his upper and lower bodies, he really does look like a force out there. Want to see him on the boards more, but he was decent defensively.
Siewert came into the game and was a little so so. First of all, you can tell he's much stronger this year than last year. He had no problem posting up deep, but he needs to work on his post moves with Battey, Strating, and Walton. He gave his initial move then turns into the defender and tries to shoot it over him front rim side. He was like 0 for 4 on that move. Problem with the move is he needs to fake front side and then go baseline for the hoop. Strating literally did the same move with success later in the scrimmage. If Lucas could learn his post moves, he's probably a 14-15 ppg scorer. Not kidding. He would probably be the most dominant offensive player on the team. Later in the scrimmage he resorted to shooting his 3's and was ripping the cord on them. Still our best 3 point shooter without question.
Maddox Daniels... obviously, we were all excited to see what this newcomer brought. He showed a willingness first of all to jab step his way out of a shot and attack the basket. He has to work a little bit on the first step but he was able to put the ball on the floor comfortably. He was fouled both times he took it to the rack but liked that he was willing to do it. Otherwise he did a good job of finding his spot to shoot. His shot comes off pretty most of the time. He did miss an open, uncontested, 3 which kind of irked me since this is his job but otherwise did well offensively. Defensively, he wasn't bad and showed some willingness to rebound. He'll need to close out a bit quicker at times but he was trying to rebound/box out a lot and it's tough when you are under the bucket. Jury is still out here, but he'll get on the floor.
Gatling. Like Siewert, was a little so so. Had some great moments. Did his volume shooting thing. Also had a couple of selfish shots/drives where there were better plays to be made. He also had some nice dump off drives which he's good at. He was solid from long range and the free throw line which was great to see. He had a nice finish on a layup after he had already missed one badly. Otherwise though, he struggled at times. Defensively, he comically let #10 beat him too often late in the game. He wasn't sharp outside of the free throw line and the 3 point line. Just couldn't get things to fall despite his volume. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do with him. I expect better from a JUCO All American. He should be a double digit scorer and not because he took double digit shots.
Frank Ryder. I watched Frank in the warm ups and he's a pretty dang good athlete. He is a lot more athletic than I was expecting. Quick footed, explosive leaping ability, and obviously is very well built. Behind Schwartz and Wright, he might be the best built guy out there. He is NOT 6'10". LOL. He's maybe 6'9"... maybe. Frank was solid pushing the big #50 out of the lane whom was tough for others to match up with due to his girth. Showed a willingness to play some defense and get up and down the court. He hedged hard and recovered quickly to his man. Offensively he wasn't really a factor but did have a bucket running the floor on a great pass from Barthelemy. Instant energy guy who will fight hard defensively could be a role for him. He is not a rim protector though. He's not nearly that long but he gets up when he jumps so he can at least be an effort guy there. Was impressed with him.
Strating. Strating was actually really good in this scrimmage and you can tell he wanted to be. He wants to be a good player and goes hard. He got physical with their bigs #50 and #22. He fights hard in the paint and defends as best as he can in the post. Not particularly athletic as we know but his effort is strong. Again, he has better post moves than Siewert sadly. He basically schooled Siewert on back to basket moves. Will never be a good shooter but is worth a bucket or 2 when he's on the floor like late last year. Again, we could have a role for him on those certain nights like Ryder but in his own situation.
Dombek. My God this kid is skinny. OK, we knew that. Everyone including Jack Boyle wanted a piece of him. Wanted to see him shoot so badly but he never did in the game. He did get a rebound... barely. Caught it then dropped it after being touched by someone, then grabbed it again. I kind of chuckled. He is not playing this year unless Walton is out and we just need that big in there. He is VERY long and in fact looked as tall and long as Walton. Outside of the 40 pound difference, they are about the same size. Very similar length and athleticism. Really need him to be ready next year when we lose Bey and Siewert as he's going to have to have a role. I really don't want him to be another foreign failure. The skill is certainly there when you watch him in warm ups but he's a ways from playing in a rotation. He was the furthest away of the players on the court.
Barthelemy. He's not quite ready either, but he was very slick with the ball. Missed a layup that should have been a dunk. Not sure he can thrown one down Kountz style, but didn't use the backboard and missed an easy layup. Was a high school type play for a guy that should still be in high school. He did have a bucket on a great drive where he got clobbered by their big house #50. A redshirt is certain without a major injury to Wright. He'll be very good in a couple of years. You can see the ball skills and he's quick on the jumper in warm ups.
Parquet. He is not comfortable yet on the offensive end. He passed often on open jumpers. When their scrubs came in only then did he get assertive offensively. Could not hit a jumper though. I'm not convinced he is used offensively at all and he's currently a liability on that end of the court. Defensively, he is as good as we have. Big, strong, great wing span, and gets after it. We can use him to press and we would do well if we did. Can't be on the court a ton though due to his offensive inefficiencies.
Bey. Not sure why I put him last, but I did. He did not have a great scrimmage as we struggled to get him the ball. Our chemistry is not very good there right now. McKinley has some work to do with his chemistry there. We need to get him the ball more in transition. Bey was struggling with his finishes otherwise. Missed a couple of jump hooks and on his jumper. I know Bey will be fine but he's not in midseason form yet and neither is the team in using him. He had some alley-oop opportunities that our guards never took. Maybe by design for the day. Who knows, but there were 6 dunk opportunities left out there he could have taken.
Overall, this is definitely a very good team. They are about what I was expecting. Had high marks for Schwartz, Battey, and Walton. Had solid marks for Kountz, Ryder, Strating, and Daniels. Got what I expected from Siewert, Gatling, and Parquet. Bey and McKinley will be better when the lights come on. Dombek is basically a 2nd redshirt and Barthelemy is a redshirt. It will be great to see who we play against ASU. I think we'll see 10, maybe 11 depending on the game situation. 9 will see significant action is my guess. We need to come out and put it on ASU by the way to make believers out of the remaining doubters. Really want to go 11-2 in the non conference.
As for the game, first half was super dominant. Schwartz got it going along with Walton. Both were sizzling hot about midway through the first half. The second half was sloppy for sure. Line ups we'll never see out there and just some shoddy defense at times. It was more about seeing what some of these guys have in that 2nd half and it showed. Still, they scored more than they should have and we were not solid offensively with movement being poor at time and spacing not there. First half team would beat probably every team in the Pac 12 if it keeps going like that. Add a midseason form McKinley and Wright to that and we're a top 25 type team. Just need to avoid whatever that was in the 2nd half.
