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today's scrimmage

Report upcoming.
(I went to a bizarre football game after the scrimmage just got back home).

Maybe one or two of the other half-dozen in attendance at the Griz scrimmage could get things started!
 
I observed most of the Saturday pre-football-game scrimmage by the Griz hoops squad,played at full-tilt with a rotating group of local officials... the first officiated scrimmage of the season, I believe.

M. Breunig was suited up but did not play.

The team was split roughly into first & second string squads with a couple of players switching uniform colors at halftime. A lot of situational clock-management situations (“down by five; 1:31 left in the game,” etc. etc.).

I didn’t watch closely, but it appeared the team played their primary “inside-outside, passing game offense,” with point guards working for dribble enter penetration & kicking out for 3-point attempts by wing players. The scrimmage proceeded at full tilt, with the coach pressuring all players to speed-up the tempo. I can’t/won’t comment on the game flow. But here are some impressions of individual efforts (remember, this was barely a 60-minute scrimmage... not enough time to make any any accurate impressions).

Kareem Jamar: lean, conditioned & playing aggressively & at full tilt. No one could stop his step-back 18-foot jumper (for fear he’d drive past them) & he knocked several down. The best rebounder on the floor at all times. He had at least 4 assists to wing players after forcing the D to collapse on his dribble enter. Always under control, balanced & elevated. Awesome. The key to Montana's success this season.

Keron DeShields: Clearly the heir apparent starting guard. One year of physical-mental maturity is evident. He is handling the ball with control and command of game flow. He scored a couple buckets on dribble enter drives. Most impressive, he showed improved defensive angles on several passes and had at least two break-away buckets on steals @ 3/4 court. Made one nice trey on a kick-out from KJ. I expect a break-out year from Keron.

Next, for a reason... Riley Bradshaw seemed to play some point for the silver squad, but only when Mario Dunn was on the bench. Bradshaw handles/cares for the ball very well, plays vertically & with some slashing capacity, but seemed very tentative, took only one shot & was very quiet. Always looking to pass to an open player.

Dunn, on the other hand, played all but a few minutes as the silver point. Vastly improved (since I first saw him) with obvious increased confidence at point. The best jumper on the floor, Dun ripped down several rebounds over taller players. Plays a very “Cherryesque” game (wears #1!) and even has a slightly tilted long-range shot that he releases only chest high. He got stripped several times by pressure from Gregory & DeShields, but drove the lane exceptionally well with lightning-quick dribble-enter slashes & quick assists to (often surprised) low-posted bigs. Plays like a freshman (not afraid to make mistakes). A very, very talented freshman (willing to learn). Can dunk with elevated, floating ease. Griz are in good hands.

Jordan Gregory was out of sorts. Missed several open threes & got down on himself. Got a bracing bit of encouragement from his coach. Played defense with aggressive abandon. Physically very strong. Won’t get tossed around this year. Always striving for excellence.

The absence of Wiley had one pretty obvious result: Mike Weisner seemed to play exclusively at the four, and played exceptionally well (on the maroon squad). Excellent, physical defense and good elevation on the boards. I swear he’s grown an inch or two since last year, but can’t be certain. Waged a battle with the more physical, but slightly shorter Chris Kemp (who played exclusively on the silver squad). Didn't shoot much.

Speaking of Kemp: Physical, wide-bodied and capable of dribble-rotation post-up moves. Loves to swing in an arc (with back to bucket) at about 6-10 ft in front of the bucket. Rebounds well. Still learning the Griz system. Had a couple of powerful dunks slightly reminiscent of (dare I say it?) Derrick Pope. Had some difficulty sealing off the baseline on post D. Seems to score better when facing the bucket than with his back to the bucket.

A muscled-up Nick Emerson seemed to log most of his time under the bucket (4? can’t be sure), but banged with the big boys. Seems to have obviously switched from wing. Not sure. But he’s playing with aggressiveness & confidence.

Frosh guard Jack Lopez is a lean/rangy 2-3 guard/wing with exceptional balance on offense. Drives well w/good balance & can shoot w/both hands. Made a couple of 4-foot running bankers off of dribble enter drives down the lane. Very physical player with decent lateral defensive ability. Might be a candidate for 1st-2nd 2-guard off bench behind Gregory.

Brandon Gfeller. A hustler. Rebounds with the bigs, at 6-4. Seems to be a candidate off the bench at 3 (that is... if Tinkle ever rests KJ). Has one of the purest baseline corner jumpers I’ve seen in awhile. Very quick release. Needs work on defensive concentration.

Morgan Young seems to be playing exclusively at the 2. An excellent shot, very intelligent. Seems to have beefed up. Has a nice, quick-flick jumper from long range.

Hutchison & Martin: The big bodied guys played very physical defense. Seems they’ll rotate equally when (if) Montana plays a big lineup. Neither got many offensive touches, but Martin made a couple of nice 6-foot floaters.

Coach: Let the kids play. Always encouraged a faster pace (demanded it, actually). He stopped the scrimmage only to demand defense & defensive concentration. Made it clear that defense would determine how much (or if) players would see the floor during game time.

Based on what I observed... here’s how I saw position-by position depth:

5 -- Hutchison, Martin, Kemp
4 -- Wiesner, Kemp, Emerson
3 -- Jamar, Gfeller, Lopez
2 -- Gregory, Bradshaw, Young, Lopez
1 -- DeShields, Dunn, Bradshaw

RS -- Breunig

This team will be very thin until Bradshaw can suit up. The character of this team will likely be determined by how (or if) freshmen step up.

There were two potential recruits at the scrimmage. I don’t have info on either, but heard they’re both Montana kids.

First public scrimmage is next Tuesday with first game (Simon Fraser U.) next Saturday.
 
GrizWhiz: Over the last 2-3 years, Coach T has conducted regular Saturday practice sessions in the WAG from 9-11 a.m. Doors always open. Any Griz football fans are always welcomed in to catch the practices... as far as I know. Seems like a good, subtle way to let Griz football fans know that there's at least one other good team stalking the hallways of the UM athletic complex. I don't know that it was otherwise advertised.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
I observed most of the Saturday pre-football-game scrimmage by the Griz hoops squad,played at full-tilt with a rotating group of local officials... the first officiated scrimmage of the season, I believe.

M. Breunig was suited up but did not play.

The team was split roughly into first & second string squads with a couple of players switching uniform colors at halftime. A lot of situational clock-management situations (“down by five; 1:31 left in the game,” etc. etc.).

I didn’t watch closely, but it appeared the team played their primary “inside-outside, passing game offense,” with point guards working for dribble enter penetration & kicking out for 3-point attempts by wing players. The scrimmage proceeded at full tilt, with the coach pressuring all players to speed-up the tempo. I can’t/won’t comment on the game flow. But here are some impressions of individual efforts (remember, this was barely a 60-minute scrimmage... not enough time to make any any accurate impressions).

Kareem Jamar: lean, conditioned & playing aggressively & at full tilt. No one could stop his step-back 18-foot jumper (for fear he’d drive past them) & he knocked several down. The best rebounder on the floor at all times. He had at least 4 assists to wing players after forcing the D to collapse on his dribble enter. Always under control, balanced & elevated. Awesome. The key to Montana's success this season.

Keron DeShields: Clearly the heir apparent starting guard. One year of physical-mental maturity is evident. He is handling the ball with control and command of game flow. He scored a couple buckets on dribble enter drives. Most impressive, he showed improved defensive angles on several passes and had at least two break-away buckets on steals @ 3/4 court. Made one nice trey on a kick-out from KJ. I expect a break-out year from Keron.

Next, for a reason... Riley Bradshaw seemed to play some point for the silver squad, but only when Mario Dunn was on the bench. Bradshaw handles/cares for the ball very well, plays vertically & with some slashing capacity, but seemed very tentative, took only one shot & was very quiet. Always looking to pass to an open player.

Dunn, on the other hand, played all but a few minutes as the silver point. Vastly improved (since I first saw him) with obvious increased confidence at point. The best jumper on the floor, Dun ripped down several rebounds over taller players. Plays a very “Cherryesque” game (wears #1!) and even has a slightly tilted long-range shot that he releases only chest high. He got stripped several times by pressure from Gregory & DeShields, but drove the lane exceptionally well with lightning-quick dribble-enter slashes & quick assists to (often surprised) low-posted bigs. Plays like a freshman (not afraid to make mistakes). A very, very talented freshman (willing to learn). Can dunk with elevated, floating ease. Griz are in good hands.

Jordan Gregory was out of sorts. Missed several open threes & got down on himself. Got a bracing bit of encouragement from his coach. Played defense with aggressive abandon. Physically very strong. Won’t get tossed around this year. Always striving for excellence.

The absence of Wiley had one pretty obvious result: Mike Weisner seemed to play exclusively at the four, and played exceptionally well (on the maroon squad). Excellent, physical defense and good elevation on the boards. I swear he’s grown an inch or two since last year, but can’t be certain. Waged a battle with the more physical, but slightly shorter Chris Kemp (who played exclusively on the silver squad). Didn't shoot much.

Speaking of Kemp: Physical, wide-bodied and capable of dribble-rotation post-up moves. Loves to swing in an arc (with back to bucket) at about 6-10 ft in front of the bucket. Rebounds well. Still learning the Griz system. Had a couple of powerful dunks slightly reminiscent of (dare I say it?) Derrick Pope. Had some difficulty sealing off the baseline on post D. Seems to score better when facing the bucket than with his back to the bucket.

A muscled-up Nick Emerson seemed to log most of his time under the bucket (4? can’t be sure), but banged with the big boys. Seems to have obviously switched from wing. Not sure. But he’s playing with aggressiveness & confidence.

Frosh guard Jack Lopez is a lean/rangy 2-3 guard/wing with exceptional balance on offense. Drives well w/good balance & can shoot w/both hands. Made a couple of 4-foot running bankers off of dribble enter drives down the lane. Very physical player with decent lateral defensive ability. Might be a candidate for 1st-2nd 2-guard off bench behind Gregory.

Brandon Gfeller. A hustler. Rebounds with the bigs, at 6-4. Seems to be a candidate off the bench at 3 (that is... if Tinkle ever rests KJ). Has one of the purest baseline corner jumpers I’ve seen in awhile. Very quick release. Needs work on defensive concentration.

Morgan Young seems to be playing exclusively at the 2. An excellent shot, very intelligent. Seems to have beefed up. Has a nice, quick-flick jumper from long range.

Hutchison & Martin: The big bodied guys played very physical defense. Seems they’ll rotate equally when (if) Montana plays a big lineup. Neither got many offensive touches, but Martin made a couple of nice 6-foot floaters.

Coach: Let the kids play. Always encouraged a faster pace (demanded it, actually). He stopped the scrimmage only to demand defense & defensive concentration. Made it clear that defense would determine how much (or if) players would see the floor during game time.

Based on what I observed... here’s how I saw position-by position depth:

5 -- Hutchison, Martin, Kemp
4 -- Wiesner, Kemp, Emerson
3 -- Jamar, Gfeller, Lopez
2 -- Gregory, Bradshaw, Young, Lopez
1 -- DeShields, Dunn, Bradshaw

RS -- Breunig

This team will be very thin until Bradshaw can suit up. The character of this team will likely be determined by how (or if) freshmen step up.

There were two potential recruits at the scrimmage. I don’t have info on either, but heard they’re both Montana kids.

First public scrimmage is next Tuesday with first game (Simon Fraser U.) next Saturday.
Click to expand...

sorta interesting to me, that the history of montana basketball (micheal ray aside) is really the quality through the years of its big men--mckenzie, stroeder, larson, pope, krysko, tinks, engellant, kemfert, matt williams, trammel, strait, hasquet, qvale, selvig. i know that covers a lot of years, but it means that in any four-year cycle, we had one or sometimes two quality big men that defined montana basketball. we were generally big and burly up front, but lacking athleticism and quickness along the guard line.

today? in gj's summary, hutchison and martin are almost an afterthought, while the strength of this team is its smaller athletic guards--jamar, deshields, dunn, gregory. very unlike the montana tradition as represented by tinks. would that we could have surrounded him and krysko with this year's team.
 
GrizWhiz said:
Thanks for the detailed summary! How did you find out there was a scrimmage scheduled?
Click to expand...

The scrimmage time was posted on the football board on Friday. I thought there would be more people there. I like Kemp. Martin is improved. Shot-blocking machine. Still needs strength. Show some offense. Dunn looks like he'll be very good. I didn't know who some of the guys were, so can't comment on them. Breunig hurt his back/shoulder. He's apparently been looking very good. Kareem looked very good. DeShields was playing tough and physical defense. Weisner was shooting well when I was there.
 
GJ, thanks for your summary of the 1st scrimmage. If possible, during practice or remaining scrimmages, could you possibly add to what you see of Martin and Hutchison. It would be great to hear more specifics on their progress, offensively and defensively. Are they holding their own against Breunig? Can we get a combine 8 plus boards, 10 points and a few blocks per game from this combination? If so, that would be great for them and the team.
 
GrizRule, Citay: 20 days until the Griz play @ Minnesota... so, I'll do what I can to get a decent read on this year's team in the interim. I'll try to get another report in later this week.

I'll admit (as citay hinted) that I don't yet have a good read on Montana's frontcourt. Though it's not an afterthought; rather, an "I dunno."

I'd be happy with a combined 10/10/3 average per game from the five (Hutch & Martin). But that doesn't count the critical man-on defense, which -- as we all know of last season -- determined whether the Griz played tall ball or small ball (and we know where they turned when the game was on the line). They're both bigger & stronger. I also expect them to be better. We'll see. It may take the Minnesota game to get a good read on things. An easier read for me so far is ....

is that Montana's frontcourt success may -- I believe/hope -- actually be more critically determined, by Michael Weisner (he ain't no sleeper, but no one seems to have mentioned him in Wiley's absence). Weisner could be the key to Montana's fortunes this year: an intense, swarming defensive spiderman-like presence who could (I think will) emerge big-time. He has truly stepped up his defensive game down low. And he bangs the boards with the bigs. That makes him (for me) a fascinating key/surprise player (no media writers have really considered his game; they just say the Griz took a huge blow with Wiley's departure). But Weisner has the physical offensive (and now defensive) skills to turn things topsy turvy in the blocks. He lacks bulk. But he's wide; he's quick. And, man, he plays a tough, webby baseline D. Besides, I swear he's grown an inch or two since last March. He's not afraid to mix it up in the paint. We'll see soon enough...

Meantime, Chris Kemp is learning the Griz system and I like him: great temperament, positive, aggressive, and... "jumbie in the juke box," explosive, slammy, calypso hops. He just needs some time to fit in.

If both Weisner and Kemp play to their potential, the Griz will be considerably physically stronger in the low blocks than last year. The only remaining question? Who will replace M Ward's scoring output? Dunno.

I can also say that I like the dynamics of several younger players battling for court time at the 1-thru-3 positions. Dunn, Lopez, Bradshaw & Gfeller (like these kids) all have the potential to be major contributors. They're just so young. but they move well laterally & seem capable of playing decent defense. So, if one or two earn steady court time, Montana's offensive game will become lethally explosive around about January (because they can all score!)

I also like what I've seen from Emerson and Young. Can't predict much yet; but they are solid bench contributors who've matured; if so, that means Montana will be deeper than expected.

I admit that I tend to be overly optimistic this time of year. That's my right, dammit (& I've been right more than wrong over the past 4 years). As in the past three years -- I can easily see a remarkable balance on this team. They all play on an even court: no outmatched/overmatched kids who don't belong here. Good attitude. Hustle. Chemistry.

No one around the Big Sky seems to remember that this team won-out in a tough league schedule in the absence of injured Will Cherry and M. Ward last year. Then, all they did was sweep the tourney with Will back at the helm.

So... it's ok by me that Weber and NDak are pre-season picks. You can bet that Kareem, Keron and Jordan are aware of that & will do their best to have a say in things as the season progresses.
 
I can see getting that production from the 5, or maybe better. I worry about their combined defense against some teams. Breunig won't be playing, of course, and that's very unfortunate. He's a player. I assume Weisner will start at 4, but Kemp will play alot and get better as the season goes on. They are different types of 4's. Wiley is a loss, but more so for the future. He probably wouldn't have been a huge contributor this year. The guards will defend well and handle the ball fine. I don't know where the scoring is going to come from, except for Kareem and some from the 4's and guards. Maybe the guards will step up in scoring.
 
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