My thoughts on the scrimmage

[TrueBlue1989]

Veer looked very confident and under control.

Carter looked very athletic and legit 6 9".

Nzei and Desi looked terrific.

Jevon Thomas will be very good for us.

Gordon struggled shooting.

Very good fan turnout given the awful weather.

 

[wpc75]

Jevon Thomas looked terrific. Ish,Myles and Nzei are all pretty athletic and should be able to help Angel underneath. Veer and Desi will be ballers. IW and Kahdeem will be driving the bus. They have a ton of talent. Not an idea situation for Flash to show much but will get plenty of playing time.

Soffer hit several shots. Must be doing well in practice because the guys were looking for him.

 

[statenman]

Thanks for the info! We need 2 big guys who can or are a threat to score, in order to free up our guards.

 

[HALL85]

Thanks for the updates guys.

 

[400SOAVE]

It's the biggest, fittest and most talented Pirates team in a decade.

 

[Seton75]

It's the biggest, fittest and most talented Pirates team in a decade.

You say this every ten years.

 

[SHUmash90]

both men and women bball put on good show today. Really fun and engaging group of young men and women. Got to spend some time talking with a few. Tab R-Smith is very nice young lady and great athlete. Represents WBB well. Remembered me from beefsteak and while there were hundreds people around came over to talk to me and my son. Now I want WBB season tix too!!

Desi is the man. The kid always smiles and looks like he is having a great time. Had some monster jams. He made it fun for all the kids at the scrimmage and he was the first guy at the table after the game to sign autographs shaking hands and high fiving the fans. Same with Angel. Happy kid and talks to everyone. Don't know how they will do on on the court just yet, but I can say we got really good kids in my humble opinion and it looks like they all get along, which is great to see after last year.

 

[Pirate64]

Thanks for the reports.
On paper, It sounds like the best team we've had since Jerry/Terry. And nice kids too.

This is all good.

 

[400SOAVE]

You say this every ten years.[/QUOTE

 

[mbraue]

Desi should have a very good year for us. Adrian Griffin type rebounder with a nose for the ball and more offensive flair. He can put the ball on the floor and finish. Will be a starter.

 

[Hall91]

Complete showboAt display which is fine. Interesting how the Blue side ended up losing once IW started shooting from 35 ft out........ Let's hope that's not the discretion we'll see once regular season starts.

 

[SnakeTom]

Thanks for the reports.
On paper, It sounds like the best team we've had since Jerry/Terry. And nice kids too.

This is all good.

Well let's not forget the 2000 Sweet 16 Team.

Tom K

 

[bd98]

Well let's not forget the 2000 Sweet 16 Team.

Tom K

And 2001. And 2003. And 2004. And 2006. And Gonzo's last team. And Willard's first two teams. Hell, last year's team was much better on paper than this one.

 

[SnakeTom]

Hell, last year's team was much better on paper than this one.

On paper the Washington Nationals were the best team in baseball heading into this season. So much for paper. Only time will tell but I expect this team to have a much better record than last years when all is said and done.

Tom K

 

[halltheway]

Desi should have a very good year for us. Adrian Griffin type rebounder with a nose for the ball and more offensive flair. He can put the ball on the floor and finish. Will be a starter.

I totally agree not only a starter but I also see him as a star...just love his intensity.

 

[lokiSHU]

I like this years team to surprise. Delgado is going to play big minutes. We need either Anthony or Myles to come in for short minutes to give defense and rebounding in center position. Love Desi's game; reminds me of a combo of Adrian Griffin and Freeman from PC who played at Uconn

 

[Vegas pj]

On paper the Washington Nationals were the best team in baseball heading into this season. So much for paper. Only time will tell but I expect this team to have a much better record than last years when all is said and done.

Tom K

Wow! ST goes out on a limb. Hope you're right since it will make your 2nd job (moderator) a lot easier starting in late January.

 

[TheAdrinator]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Anderson was going to sit out today? I guess the concussion is gone? Anyway, I liked how Veer played today. For what it's worth, I have a hunch he will be a great player for us.

 

[statenman]

We all know that Delgado our most important forward. But the biggest question is who will be the other guy.

 

[mbraue]

On paper the Washington Nationals were the best team in baseball heading into this season. So much for paper. Only time will tell but I expect this team to have a much better record than last years when all is said and done.

Tom K

I totally agree not only a starter but I also see him as a star...just love his intensity.

 

[mbraue]

I see star potential too. Something special there.

 

[400SOAVE]

Soffer has been mentioned only once here.

He looked really good with the long range trigger. Great body language. A very confident looking shooter.

IW showed how great he can be controlling and dishing the ball. I hope he will pass more and shoot less. He needs to learn that high-percentage two-point shots are much better than very low-percenrage bombs.

 

[400SOAVE]

Incidentally, did you ever see Willard and Hill looking so slim and trim? They also looked good.

 

[SHUMike]

All this greatness should get us at least 3 Big East wins this year

 

[Vegas pj]

Incidentally, did you ever see Willard and Hill looking so slim and trim? They also looked good.

Man crush? lol You had to bring up he whose name I can not speak. Should start a firestorm now.

 

[anon_x0d8d0dquuo4t]

I like this years team to surprise. Delgado is going to play big minutes. We need either Anthony or Myles to come in for short minutes to give defense and rebounding in center position. Love Desi's game; reminds me of a combo of Adrian Griffin and Freeman from PC who played at Uconn

Desi went right after that St John's backup center early on in the win and tried two monster jams to get everyone pumped and to send a statement to his friends across the river. That told me all I need to know about him. Great analogy Loki with Freeman/Griffin. I'd throw in a sprinkle of Tony Red Bruin, too, another 6' 5" city kid with hops from the past
Desi has all the tenacity to be a great one.

 

[Piratz]

I love all the preseason optimism and again like the young talent, so here's hoping we can finally put something together, but we have a long way to go.

1). Whitehead showed tremendous court vision and skill last year despite a dysfunctional team and injury-plagued season. Now that he has the keys will those attributes be on display or will it become his own personal showcase?

2). Delgado has established himself as one of the best bigs in the conference. Are we going to feed him the ball more on offense to (hopefully) have a more balanced attack? Who is shooting the 3? Singh and Soffer?

3). We have more options in the frontcourt this year, but how long will it take them to develop? They're all unproven. Seems like Anderson and Nzei will be ready to go immediately and love Desi's game. Hopefully Anthony has improved? Carter is a wild card.

4). Will a defensive coach get his team to play consistently good defense with effort? Defense and rebounding is attitude and effort. Always a telling sign when that's not there from that kind of coach. Bottom fell out on that side of the court last year after starting well.

5). What happens when the team gets punched in the mouth a few times and things don't go according to plan? Will they rise up and fight or split apart and collapse?

6). Is the team on the same page? Now that the 2014 class running the show, I assume everyone is in line considering everyone else came in after them.

 

[HallLine69]

I love all the preseason optimism and again like the young talent, so here's hoping we can finally put something together, but we have a long way to go.

1). Whitehead showed tremendous court vision and skill last year despite a dysfunctional team and injury-plagued season. Now that he has the keys will those attributes be on display or will it become his own personal showcase?

2). Delgado has established himself as one of the best bigs in the conference. Are we going to feed him the ball more on offense to (hopefully) have a more balanced attack? Who is shooting the 3? Singh and Soffer?

3). We have more options in the frontcourt this year, but how long will it take them to develop? They're all unproven. Seems like Anderson and Nzei will be ready to go immediately and love Desi's game. Hopefully Anthony has improved? Carter is a wild card.

4). Will a defensive coach get his team to play consistently good defense with effort? Defense and rebounding is attitude and effort. Always a telling sign when that's not there from that kind of coach. Bottom fell out on that side of the court last year after starting well.

5). What happens when the team gets punched in the mouth a few times and things don't go according to plan? Will they rise up and fight or split apart and collapse?

6). Is the team on the same page? Now that the 2014 class running the show, I assume everyone is in line considering everyone else came in after them.

How dare you inject a dose of reality into the post-open scrimmage love fest? Some guys just have ALL the nerve. And you didn't even comment on the coaching staff's collective weight loss, either? Tsk. Tsk.

 

[Pirate64]

" What happens when the team gets punched in the mouth a few times and things don't go according to plan? Will they rise up and fight or split apart and collapse?"

Thanks Piratz. This is the most important question of all. KW has not been good at anticipating- anything.

You guys say we've got the talent. But will they have a deep keel under pressure? Up to Kevin to get the crew ready.

 

[Piratz]

" What happens when the team gets punched in the mouth a few times and things don't go according to plan? Will they rise up and fight or split apart and collapse?"

Thanks Piratz. This is the most important question of all. KW has not been good at anticipating- anything.

You guys say we've got the talent. But will,they have a deep keel under pressure? Up to Kevin to get the crew ready.

We've seen it too many times. So for me, yes, I'm optimistic and am going to be rooting my ass off yet again, but the amount of times we've seen Willard-coached teams collapse and become totally dysfunctional is incredible. It's a reflection on this coach's inability to lead, adjust, inspire, and manage when his plan is thwarted (which it always will be in major D1 hoops; it's too competitive to just sit in an office and whip up a gameplan as if all are robots).

I do not think he deserved to return this year after the embarrassment of last season, but I will hope he takes advantage of it and there's a metamorphosis or that this particular roster can fill the gaps on their own.

So optimism is muted after so many years of the same broken record spinning. Players have changed and yet it's the same story.

 

[Halldan1]

I will post most of my thoughts on the Trove.

For here I'll just note two things.

The men had a 90 minute practice just before they took the court at Walsh. I spoke to a few of them after the game in the lobby and they told me their legs were tired and that they played loose (not much D) because they didn't want any unnecessary injuries.

Braeden Anderson hasn't been practicing (contact) with the team for nearly three weeks as he had a concussion that occurred in practice after taking an elbow to the head from Jevon Thomas.

Yesterday was the first time he was allowed to work with the team as he had to pass a concussion protocol test. So obviously he was very rusty and the staff only allowed him to play a few minutes.