green and white recap

drex · October 24, 2004

I went to the Green and White scrimmage and let me tell you that we are fast, quick and deep. We should have a good bb season and might just sneak into the NCAA since we play the tournament at home. This Isaac Hines is for real and looks to have lots of help....Hopkins looked good and healthy.

UNT_92_Fan · October 24, 2004

I owe my buddy an apology on this one...all the kid has done since he quit playing at CCCC with Isaac is talk him up...The kids D is ridiculous!!!!! The team looks good this year....Sturnes looks good for s true fish!!!

That scrimmage was a preview of what is to come....maybe JUST maybe.... basketball will get some recognition this year!!!!

Gakusei · October 24, 2004

First of all...M&M has some some serious hops. I never would've pegged him as someone who can punch it like he did today, and those two consecutive 3's were beautiful.

Everyone looked great out on the court for 1 week's worth of practice. They looked like last year's team did about 3/4 the way into the season. I'm really impressed with all of our new guys this year, and a lot of our returning guys have gotten bigger and are shooting lights out. Lots of hooks, a couple turnaround j's, and some fades here and there.

I'm still a bit worried about free throws, and I hope that's something JJ really drills on this year since they can often make or break a game.

Overall great times. I loved being able to watch the team goof around a bit and try some things you never get to see during normal warmups. Calvin's dunk where he bounced it, took off his warmup jersey, and then punched it was sick.

Oh and illuvius is my boy.

SouthBendGreen · October 24, 2004

Like usual, I am probably WAY out of touch, but who is M&M?

Edited October 24, 2004 by SouthBendGreen

untbowler · October 24, 2004

Not sure if anyone caught it but the announcers at Half-time while chatting with RV gave good props to Sturns.

Edited October 24, 2004 by untbowler

Coach · October 24, 2004

I wasn't able to make it to the scrimmage Saturday, but I have a few questions for those that did. I have read the recap and the comments on here, but there are some things I was wondering.

- Everyone knew Mitchell could jump out of the gym but his shooting was horrific last year and his ball-handling was spotty. I see he had some points, how did his stroke look, has he regained his touch? And how was his ball-handling especially under heat?

- Who where the other guys bringing the ball up besides Hines and how did they look? The depth behind him has me worried just like the depth behind Rogers had us worried last year after Roniger left.

- How did our new low post players look? I was told Simpson showed athleticism.

- What position was Mike Jones playing? Did he put his back to the basket very much or was he mostly face up?

- Did Harris and Thomas show some real basketball skills and not just tease with pure talent? It would be a huge boost to the team if they turn that page.

Maybe all of these can't be answered, but as you can tell I REALLY wanted to make it but couldn't. Thanks.

Gakusei · October 24, 2004

Everyone knew Mitchell could jump out of the gym but his shooting was horrific last year and his ball-handling was spotty. I see he had some points, how did his stroke look, has he regained his touch? And how was his ball-handling especially under heat?

First of all, these are a lot of tough questions. The guys were goofing around a bit, so I might not be able to answer them all.

I actually never knew M&M had those kind of hops. During the scrimmage he hit 2 consecutive 3's, and was playing some really good defense. As far as I could tell, he was moving the ball really well. He had 4 assists in 20 minutes. From what I saw yesterday, I'd say he's probably the most improved player from last year.

Who where the other guys bringing the ball up besides Hines and how did they look? The depth behind him has me worried just like the depth behind Rogers had us worried last year after Roniger left.

Isaac was running point for the white team and Sturns was running point for the green team. They both looked great to me. Isaac had 6 assists in 20 minutes and Sturns put up 12 points (tied for game high). With both of these guys looking great and with how much M&M has improved, the last thing we have to worry about is who's running the team on the floor.

How did our new low post players look? I was told Simpson showed athleticism.

Simpson and Harris were crashing the boards surprisingly well for 1 week in. There were several missed layups from the low post, but I'm not really worried about that right now. Especially since there were some pretty nice put backs.

What position was Mike Jones playing? Did he put his back to the basket very much or was he mostly face up?

Mike was in the 4 slot. Not sure what you mean, but he was playing great on both sides of the court. He also threw up 12 points (tied for game high). I want him to see some serious minutes this year. It looks like he really wants that starting position.

Did Harris and Thomas show some real basketball skills and not just tease with pure talent? It would be a huge boost to the team if they turn that page.

Harris has gotten a lot bigger since last year, and was able to crash the boards because of it. He picked up 7 rebounds and scored 7 points from the post. I was generally very happy with Ron's play. I was a bit worried when I heard he picked up the starting forward position, but not anymore after yesterday. I still think there's going to be a lot of rotation in that position, tho.

Thomas didn't do a lot to spark my interest on either side of the court. Not saying he played bad or anything, just that he didn't score a lot and there weren't any huge defensive plays that I saw. Maybe someone else could give some thoughts on how Ty did.

Edited October 24, 2004 by Gakusei

Coach · October 24, 2004

Thanks for the reply.

I had known Mitchell could jump like that just watching him in the scrimmages last season. He can play defense, but his shooting %'s from last year were .263 and .224 from three pointers. Those are about half of what he shot at his JC, so maybe last season was just a bad one for him and an exception. We can hope.

The scary thing is that last season I thought the last thing we would have worry about was PG depth, but Roniger quit and Mitchell couldn't hit the broadside of the barn. Luckily Jerome played as steady and consistent point as you could have asked and there wasn't much need for a capable backup.

What I was asking about Jones was if he was playing wing or with his back to the basket. I think he is much better facing the basket, but we have a stable of talented wings on this team and we need him to play inside a little. I am suprised that Harris is the early starter at 4 over him, but if Harris has added size then that is probably why.

I am looking forward to this season more than any other the last few years.

GrandGreen · October 24, 2004

I don't think you can tell much from one pre-season scrimmage game and my early season impressions usually are wrong, but here are my comments re Green & White

I though Quincy Williams looked very good other than almost fouling out in a 20 minute game. As a fish he looked as good as any of the big men imo. Good touch around the basket.

Mitchell like last year was very impressive in the pre-season, hope he can follow with a good regular season and not disappoint as he did last year. He is the best athlete on the team.

Simmons is better than I though he would be, great jumping ability and a better offensive game than I expected.

Sturns looked to me to be out of control a lot of the time but showed enormous potential.

Hines showed good ball handling and defense. Nothing extraordinary but a solid performance.

Hopkins was good as usual. Watson looked much improved. Good shooting and looked more athletic than last year. Jones was ok but didn't standout.

Big disappointment in Arlington group with Barnett not playing again, Thomas won the dunk contest but didn't impress in the game. Harris looked in good shape and had a good rebounding game. I still have not seen anything from this three that points to anything but bench depth.

In summary, this team looks a lot like last year with one of the big positives is depth. Guard play should be a great strenght. Hopkins, Watson, Hines will probably all start. With Mitchell and Sturns both able to challege for a starting position. The big question is the front court. I don't see any sure starters. Simmons and Barnett will probably share the 5 spot. I project that Williams will take over the 4 position sometimes curing the year with Jones being the beginning of season starter.

Edited October 25, 2004 by GrandGreen