Comments on: Garden Party Open Thread http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/ Michigan Basketball News, Recruiting, and Analysis Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:53:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: BBall http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8365 BBall Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:16:28 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8365 Overall - very impressed with the intensity of both the workouts and the scrimmage portion. Coaches clapping and getting after guys to get them to WORK. Everyone looked very much in shape. Much more so than in past years. Maize team looked like the top 7 of Manny, DeShawn, Ant, Stu, Gibson, LLP & Merrit. This group worked together almost the whole time in workouts. The quality depth has to be helping intensify practices over previous years. Hopefully will pay divedends. The last few minutes of the scrimmage got very intense. A few Highlights & Comments: -LLP: absolutely drained a 3 from the top of the key in a 3-on-3 portion of the workouts. In the scrimmage, stole a pass to the wing, sprinted the floor and jammed it home. My friend turned to me and said "shot out of a cannon" in reference to the quickness getting the steal. Very excited to see what he can do. -Ant Wright: As noted above, took a lot of three pointers. I was thinking more like 15 points for him though. NBA range and very quick release on display. Made some with guys right in his face. -DeShawn: I was about 15 feet away and eye level from him d-ing up on the wing. The look on his face was in-tense! Some sort of scowly angry look while he was gaurding his man. Had trouble scoring down low on Zach in the drills. Missed on short jumper than I thought he could have taken a step and jammed it home. Would like to see him try dunk more. -CJ Lee: Extremely impressive with his vocal leadership. Two seperate possessions for the Blue team, he gave verbal directions that directly led to buckets. Strong presence on the floor and had some nice buckets. -Stu: Impressed with his ability to withstand pressure defense, though he picked up his dribble too much. Quicker than I thought and played better defense than I thought he would. Didn't get to see him shoot much. -Novak: Looked a little lost on offense. Drained one three in the scrimmage and one in the workouts, but missed a few others. Was open a few other times at the three point line in the scrimmage but seemed a little unsure of whether he should call for the ball. Taller than I thought he would be (significantly taller/longer than Stu). Should serve him well getting his shot off. -Gibson: Solid, worked hard in drills and played good D on DeShawn. Not much else different than what we've seen. -Cronin: Still a little hobbled. My friend said "He looks soft, like he's just not getting after it," which I thought was very accurate. Don't know if this is a function of the hip and being out for a while or if he just needs to learn how to crank up the intensity. -Manny: In the workout portion had one awesome behind the back dish to DeShawn drawing a few ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. Beilein talked to him afterward and wanted him to just take it up to the rim. Very quiet in the scrimmage. Almost like he was letting the others get some action and didn't force anything, although Wright dominated the shot attempts for the Maize squad. -Merrit: Impressed with his quickness and defense. His stroke looks so much more pure and he is putting up 3's with confidence. Looks like he could run forever. -Grady: Agree that I was a little disappointed with his body language/overall demeanor. However, he worked hard and seemed engaged, just something off about how he carried himself. Overall – very impressed with the intensity of both the workouts and the scrimmage portion. Coaches clapping and getting after guys to get them to WORK. Everyone looked very much in shape. Much more so than in past years. Maize team looked like the top 7 of Manny, DeShawn, Ant, Stu, Gibson, LLP & Merrit. This group worked together almost the whole time in workouts. The quality depth has to be helping intensify practices over previous years. Hopefully will pay divedends. The last few minutes of the scrimmage got very intense.

A few Highlights & Comments:

-LLP: absolutely drained a 3 from the top of the key in a 3-on-3 portion of the workouts. In the scrimmage, stole a pass to the wing, sprinted the floor and jammed it home. My friend turned to me and said “shot out of a cannon” in reference to the quickness getting the steal. Very excited to see what he can do.

-Ant Wright: As noted above, took a lot of three pointers. I was thinking more like 15 points for him though. NBA range and very quick release on display. Made some with guys right in his face.

-DeShawn: I was about 15 feet away and eye level from him d-ing up on the wing. The look on his face was in-tense! Some sort of scowly angry look while he was gaurding his man. Had trouble scoring down low on Zach in the drills. Missed on short jumper than I thought he could have taken a step and jammed it home. Would like to see him try dunk more.

-CJ Lee: Extremely impressive with his vocal leadership. Two seperate possessions for the Blue team, he gave verbal directions that directly led to buckets. Strong presence on the floor and had some nice buckets.

-Stu: Impressed with his ability to withstand pressure defense, though he picked up his dribble too much. Quicker than I thought and played better defense than I thought he would. Didn’t get to see him shoot much.

-Novak: Looked a little lost on offense. Drained one three in the scrimmage and one in the workouts, but missed a few others. Was open a few other times at the three point line in the scrimmage but seemed a little unsure of whether he should call for the ball. Taller than I thought he would be (significantly taller/longer than Stu). Should serve him well getting his shot off.

-Gibson: Solid, worked hard in drills and played good D on DeShawn. Not much else different than what we’ve seen.

-Cronin: Still a little hobbled. My friend said “He looks soft, like he’s just not getting after it,” which I thought was very accurate. Don’t know if this is a function of the hip and being out for a while or if he just needs to learn how to crank up the intensity.

-Manny: In the workout portion had one awesome behind the back dish to DeShawn drawing a few ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. Beilein talked to him afterward and wanted him to just take it up to the rim. Very quiet in the scrimmage. Almost like he was letting the others get some action and didn’t force anything, although Wright dominated the shot attempts for the Maize squad.

-Merrit: Impressed with his quickness and defense. His stroke looks so much more pure and he is putting up 3′s with confidence. Looks like he could run forever.

-Grady: Agree that I was a little disappointed with his body language/overall demeanor. However, he worked hard and seemed engaged, just something off about how he carried himself.

]]> By: Ky Fox http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8364 Ky Fox Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:03:17 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8364 I meant supporting cast. I meant supporting cast.

]]> By: Ky Fox http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8363 Ky Fox Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:01:14 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8363 I think we are looking real good so far this season. This game with UCLA will be huge. If we can some how win this game it would be monumental in terms of putting UM and JB back on the map. I watched Wisky play last nite and can say I was not overly impressed. But in regards to this game against UCLA, I think a win like this in MSG, on national television would be so very big for us somewhat turning the corner. It would also be a very big testament to JB's ability to develop ball players. Look at Manny's skill for example, the guy has clearly became a better threat from deep, his ball skills have gotten much better as well. And now with more skilled guys around Manny to pose as a threat on the offensive end its only going to help Manny and the team as a whole. I would love to see one of the freshmen guards really start to step up and take some of the weight off of Manny. When Manny drives and gets doubled it could lead to some open threes, and lets hope Stu and Zack can Knock em down with some consistency. I really believe that JB has an uncanny knack for finding diamonds in the rough. He takes good or average ball players with decent skill and makes them very good ball players, and he takes very good ball players who have very good skill and makes them great. I am really liking this next years class especially Darius! I think what would really top it all off would be for us to grab another powerforward/center, but a guy who has some athletic ability. If Udoh wouldn't have left I probably wouldnt be saying this, but to really round this team out I believe we need to add a little athletisism ..a guy who can get off the ground and get some rebounds, block some shots, run the floor a bit and rock the rim some! I think we have our European bigs somewhat in place now with Gibson, and Mclimans coming in, now we could use an athlete. Thats just my opinion, but I think we need that to really make a good run in future postseasons. I think this Thursday nights game will be a good one. I believe theres no doubt that they will try and take Manny out of the game. Having said that, I dont think they will be able to totally stop Manny, but I think they will slow him down..hes just too good to not get his. It will be up to our supporting class to make some plays and knock down some key shots, and Deshawn needs to have a good physical game for us to win. I think we have a good shot to win this one, and wow if we do....what a shot of confidence that would be. UM 73 UCLA 70... GO BLUE I think we are looking real good so far this season. This game with UCLA will be huge. If we can some how win this game it would be monumental in terms of putting UM and JB back on the map. I watched Wisky play last nite and can say I was not overly impressed. But in regards to this game against UCLA, I think a win like this in MSG, on national television would be so very big for us somewhat turning the corner. It would also be a very big testament to JB’s ability to develop ball players. Look at Manny’s skill for example, the guy has clearly became a better threat from deep, his ball skills have gotten much better as well. And now with more skilled guys around Manny to pose as a threat on the offensive end its only going to help Manny and the team as a whole. I would love to see one of the freshmen guards really start to step up and take some of the weight off of Manny. When Manny drives and gets doubled it could lead to some open threes, and lets hope Stu and Zack can Knock em down with some consistency. I really believe that JB has an uncanny knack for finding diamonds in the rough. He takes good or average ball players with decent skill and makes them very good ball players, and he takes very good ball players who have very good skill and makes them great. I am really liking this next years class especially Darius! I think what would really top it all off would be for us to grab another powerforward/center, but a guy who has some athletic ability. If Udoh wouldn’t have left I probably wouldnt be saying this, but to really round this team out I believe we need to add a little athletisism ..a guy who can get off the ground and get some rebounds, block some shots, run the floor a bit and rock the rim some! I think we have our European bigs somewhat in place now with Gibson, and Mclimans coming in, now we could use an athlete. Thats just my opinion, but I think we need that to really make a good run in future postseasons. I think this Thursday nights game will be a good one. I believe theres no doubt that they will try and take Manny out of the game. Having said that, I dont think they will be able to totally stop Manny, but I think they will slow him down..hes just too good to not get his. It will be up to our supporting class to make some plays and knock down some key shots, and Deshawn needs to have a good physical game for us to win. I think we have a good shot to win this one, and wow if we do….what a shot of confidence that would be. UM 73 UCLA 70… GO BLUE

]]> By: Benjamin http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8362 Benjamin Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:40:31 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8362 Fans would love Zoltan being a two sport athlete. Sign 'em up. Fans would love Zoltan being a two sport athlete. Sign ‘em up.

]]> By: BJ http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8361 BJ Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:18:56 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8361 I've balled with Zoltan before. He can shoot reasonably well. He could also punt the ball at the end of games. I’ve balled with Zoltan before. He can shoot reasonably well. He could also punt the ball at the end of games.

]]> By: Dylan http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8360 Dylan Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:16:51 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8360 They talked about Carson and Martell playing last year but it didn't happen I think because of grades and whatever else. They talked about Carson and Martell playing last year but it didn’t happen I think because of grades and whatever else.

]]> By: josh http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8359 josh Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:08:59 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8359 I saw Carson butler play high school basketball, and he actually was impressive, but dont expect any of that. Beilein doesnt seem like the kind of coach that would do that. I saw Carson butler play high school basketball, and he actually was impressive, but dont expect any of that. Beilein doesnt seem like the kind of coach that would do that.

]]> By: JimJam http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8358 JimJam Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:32:50 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8358 Has there been any mention of trying to get a football player on the basketball team this year? With no bowl game, it would be a great opportunity to get someone (preferably a big-guy) up to speed a lot quicker. Carson Butler, possibly? I figure if he was up for moving to defense, he may be up for hoops. Has there been any mention of trying to get a football player on the basketball team this year? With no bowl game, it would be a great opportunity to get someone (preferably a big-guy) up to speed a lot quicker.

Carson Butler, possibly? I figure if he was up for moving to defense, he may be up for hoops.

]]> By: Dylan http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8357 Dylan Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:07:45 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8357 Yup I saw that Giddings. It's certainly encouraging but early in the season I don't know how much weight to put on it. Yup I saw that Giddings. It’s certainly encouraging but early in the season I don’t know how much weight to put on it.

]]> By: Giddings http://www.umhoops.com/2008/11/15/garden-party-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-8356 Giddings Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:53:41 +0000 http://www.umhoops.com/?p=519#comment-8356 Anyone else notice that Northeastern won at Providence yesterday? http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=283202507 If the "experts" are indeed right about Northeastern being a big-time sleeper this year, we may end up with a 20-point win over an RPI Top-50 team come Selecton Sunday. Anyone else notice that Northeastern won at Providence yesterday?

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=283202507

If the “experts” are indeed right about Northeastern being a big-time sleeper this year, we may end up with a 20-point win over an RPI Top-50 team come Selecton Sunday.

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