MtTarheel said:
My quick notes. Sprry its a mess i did it on my phone.
Wright: plays very well at high speeds, multiple nice assists under heavy duress or pressure
Rorie: scores at all 3 levels, vocal, explosive athlete, everything we hoped he would be
Pridgett: major, major potential, I like the Kareem comparison (much better athlete though not quite as skilled at the same stage imo)
Samuelson: nose for ball, soft touch, plays hard all the time, a little undersized and not real explosive but knows where to be and when to be there
Lopez: solid in every phase, invaluable player imo
Dejong: really nice block from behind on an akoh layup
Moorehead: no hesitation as a shooter, going to score a lot for us the next 3 years
Krslovic: tough, intelligent kid, no touch inside
Akoh: thick, strong kid, they got him the ball in some really good spots,
Dunn: tough 3 to beat shot clock, looked very comfortable (not shocking) in control, seemed to know when he needed to shoot/pass/attack
Gfeller: we know what he is
Dorsey: played mostly as a wing I know DeCuire has said this repeatedly but it still surprises me
Spoja: more athletic than I expected
Misipeka-ward: tough, physical player, plays much bigger than his size, productive,
Team: warm-up dunk session was impressive, spoja with a sweet windmill, surprising number of good looks in a scrimmage, good offense or bad defense?
Good summary, will add some. I felt the defenders did a great job fighting through screens and clogging the passing lanes. I feel the open shots were more of over aggressive defense and/or a few mental breakdowns. This team is far from knowing one another and being in sync. That is common at this stage of any season. As a whole, the main contributors shot FT's well (especially Dunn and Rorie, Pridgett nailed his 2 FT's in the clutch too).
Speaking of shooting, Rorie, Moorehead, and Dunn have all much quicker releases this season. They get the ball up quickly. Dunn, really impressed me with his improvement since last season. Spoja is much more athletic than I remember. He played great defense. We sure could use Akoh and Dorsey this season. Dorsey was stroking the 3 in pregame warm ups. He did not do as much in the scrimmage. Akoh floating baseline jumper was absolutely pure. Krslovic needs to relax when he gets the ball. His rebounding and defense were very good.
Pridgett struggled statistically. He makes the game look easy at both ends of the courts, because of how fluid and effortless he moves. I look at how well a player moves more than the results early in the season. Jamar comparison is good. However, he is more athletic and a better defender than Jamar was at the same stage. Pridgett will be a great one.
I spoke with Oguine after the scrimmage. He said the hand will be fine. He will only be out a few weeks. I also met Alphonso Anderson. That kid is big and strong. Looks like a Tight End or Defensive End. I don't recall any GRIZ true Freshman look as physically imposing as he does, that includes football players. He looks bigger than 215 lbs. He is all muscle though. It will be interesting to see how his game develops.
The depth and athleticism of this team is impressive. They really need to work on continuity on both ends of the court. I hope this group gels quickly. Being without Oguine and Anderson will hurt this unit early. Upon their return, this team should improve a lot. Great to watch some GRIZ basketball.