Boomer!Sooner!
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I attended my first practice yesterday and wanted to share some of my thoughts.
Trae Young - I was really impressed. I watched a lot of his games at norman north along with all of his recruiting videos and one thing about him is that he shot a lot. Going to practice yesterday I assumed it was going to be a lot of that. Instead, I was surprised to see how great of a facilitator he was and how he was clearly focused on creating shots for his team, which will be so crucial for us. He and Mcgusty will be quite the shooting duo, they really fed off one another in practice. We all know this, but the kid can shoot. Didn't miss during three point drills.
Mcgusty - Was doing what we saw in Big 12 play, creating and making shots. He creates well from the Top of the key and he is best shooting on the wings when he is able to get his feet set. During their scrimmages he had a lot of passes from Trae. He seemed to be enjoying himself out there which shows me he has a ton of confidence right now.
Odomes - One of my favorite guys to watch. He took more shots yesterday in the scrimmages and other drills than he shot all year. He looked way more confident shooting. Wasn't shooting at necessarily a high percentage as young on mcgusty, but still some shots were falling. Personally would like to see him not shoot with his feet so close together, but that is what it is.
Freeman-I thought it was interesting that he was running with the starting five most of the time. Anyone know why? I had a few thoughts: 1. they are letting him start since they are going to his home town to play or 2. Doolittle looked a little hurt. He looks like he has improved, he hit a decent amount of shots. He did get beat a lot on defense yesterday, coaches got on him a couple of times for not being in the correct spot on rotations. As well as, he had a hard time rebounding. I am sure he will get better at this, but definitely things he needs to work on.
Lattin - What a leader. He was very vocal and he was acting like a senior. All the guys respect him and looked for what he had to say. He kept directing some of the young guys and telling them where to go on the next drill or spot, it was pretty cool. Could definitely tell he has been working on his jumper. It is looking decently smooth. Going to be a great player this year for us, looks like he has a ton of confidence in his game right now.
Doolittle - Looks confident and like he had a great relationship with the entire team. He looked hurt though, I must have missed it on the boards, but when did he injure his left ankle? He kept subbing himself out during some of the scrimmage type drills and grabbing at his ankle. Therefore it was a little hard to tell exactly how he has improved. I can definitely see him take a huge leap. One thing I noticed that he did yesterday as well as last year, instead of taking an open shot on the three he would pump fake, take a couple of dribbles and shoot even if he was guarded. He has one of the best shooting forms I have seen in awhile (mechanically speaking), not sure why he doesn't shoot it from 3 much. I did notice that he stays with the forwards during shooting drills where they aren't taking threes, but rather, 15 footers. Maybe it is a confidence deal
Jamuni - Wow, what an athlete, was jumping around everywhere. He definitely had the most hustle yesterday. He was running after all of the rebounds and had a ton of alley oops. Took some more jumpers yesterday along with his hook shots. Very excited for him. He is progressing so well.
James - I don't know how he acted last year during practices, but he was really vocal and seemed confident on the court. I watched him the most during shooting drills. His shot is still flat (like cousins), but it was definitely going in. I think he must put some sort of side spin on the ball (most likely due to using his left thumb) because his misses would have an insane amount of side spin. He looks like he has spent the most time in the weight room and it has shown not only on his body, but he was pushing people around.
Shepard - He looked so composed on the court yesterday and didn't have many turnovers during the scrimmages or other full court drills. He is going to be a great back up point guard this year. I don't have much on him, thought he looked great.
Lazenby - I wasn't sure what to think about him before, but he hung around everyone. He wasn't getting beat to much off the dribble or getting left in the dust. He is a decent athlete and a good build for a college 2. Definitely a scorer mentality. Hit some threes off the wing as well as took the ball to the hole a few times well. Overall, I was impressed. He will be fighting for minutes during big 12 play, but wouldn't be surprised if he leads the bench in scoring in some games.
Manek - My younger brother played against him in high school and he would dominate even though he would get pushed around some. Man, was I impressed yesterday. He is a definite 4 year player, but one I think will be a crucial player in the years to come. I was really impressed by his shot making ability against all of the older guys. He wasn't afraid to pull the trigger, he beat guys off the dribble and finished well at the rim. He, of course, needs to bulk up because he lost a lot of rebound battles, but walking away yesterday I was the most impressed with him. Not sure he will compete with minutes this year, but watch out in the years to come. Kid can ball.
Someone said this in an earlier post, but the walk ons are great. I can see areas of their games on why they aren't scholarship players, but they all have great size and are above average athletes. Very impressed Kruger was able to get these guys. They are all D2/NAIA players IMO
Trae Young - I was really impressed. I watched a lot of his games at norman north along with all of his recruiting videos and one thing about him is that he shot a lot. Going to practice yesterday I assumed it was going to be a lot of that. Instead, I was surprised to see how great of a facilitator he was and how he was clearly focused on creating shots for his team, which will be so crucial for us. He and Mcgusty will be quite the shooting duo, they really fed off one another in practice. We all know this, but the kid can shoot. Didn't miss during three point drills.
Mcgusty - Was doing what we saw in Big 12 play, creating and making shots. He creates well from the Top of the key and he is best shooting on the wings when he is able to get his feet set. During their scrimmages he had a lot of passes from Trae. He seemed to be enjoying himself out there which shows me he has a ton of confidence right now.
Odomes - One of my favorite guys to watch. He took more shots yesterday in the scrimmages and other drills than he shot all year. He looked way more confident shooting. Wasn't shooting at necessarily a high percentage as young on mcgusty, but still some shots were falling. Personally would like to see him not shoot with his feet so close together, but that is what it is.
Freeman-I thought it was interesting that he was running with the starting five most of the time. Anyone know why? I had a few thoughts: 1. they are letting him start since they are going to his home town to play or 2. Doolittle looked a little hurt. He looks like he has improved, he hit a decent amount of shots. He did get beat a lot on defense yesterday, coaches got on him a couple of times for not being in the correct spot on rotations. As well as, he had a hard time rebounding. I am sure he will get better at this, but definitely things he needs to work on.
Lattin - What a leader. He was very vocal and he was acting like a senior. All the guys respect him and looked for what he had to say. He kept directing some of the young guys and telling them where to go on the next drill or spot, it was pretty cool. Could definitely tell he has been working on his jumper. It is looking decently smooth. Going to be a great player this year for us, looks like he has a ton of confidence in his game right now.
Doolittle - Looks confident and like he had a great relationship with the entire team. He looked hurt though, I must have missed it on the boards, but when did he injure his left ankle? He kept subbing himself out during some of the scrimmage type drills and grabbing at his ankle. Therefore it was a little hard to tell exactly how he has improved. I can definitely see him take a huge leap. One thing I noticed that he did yesterday as well as last year, instead of taking an open shot on the three he would pump fake, take a couple of dribbles and shoot even if he was guarded. He has one of the best shooting forms I have seen in awhile (mechanically speaking), not sure why he doesn't shoot it from 3 much. I did notice that he stays with the forwards during shooting drills where they aren't taking threes, but rather, 15 footers. Maybe it is a confidence deal
Jamuni - Wow, what an athlete, was jumping around everywhere. He definitely had the most hustle yesterday. He was running after all of the rebounds and had a ton of alley oops. Took some more jumpers yesterday along with his hook shots. Very excited for him. He is progressing so well.
James - I don't know how he acted last year during practices, but he was really vocal and seemed confident on the court. I watched him the most during shooting drills. His shot is still flat (like cousins), but it was definitely going in. I think he must put some sort of side spin on the ball (most likely due to using his left thumb) because his misses would have an insane amount of side spin. He looks like he has spent the most time in the weight room and it has shown not only on his body, but he was pushing people around.
Shepard - He looked so composed on the court yesterday and didn't have many turnovers during the scrimmages or other full court drills. He is going to be a great back up point guard this year. I don't have much on him, thought he looked great.
Lazenby - I wasn't sure what to think about him before, but he hung around everyone. He wasn't getting beat to much off the dribble or getting left in the dust. He is a decent athlete and a good build for a college 2. Definitely a scorer mentality. Hit some threes off the wing as well as took the ball to the hole a few times well. Overall, I was impressed. He will be fighting for minutes during big 12 play, but wouldn't be surprised if he leads the bench in scoring in some games.
Manek - My younger brother played against him in high school and he would dominate even though he would get pushed around some. Man, was I impressed yesterday. He is a definite 4 year player, but one I think will be a crucial player in the years to come. I was really impressed by his shot making ability against all of the older guys. He wasn't afraid to pull the trigger, he beat guys off the dribble and finished well at the rim. He, of course, needs to bulk up because he lost a lot of rebound battles, but walking away yesterday I was the most impressed with him. Not sure he will compete with minutes this year, but watch out in the years to come. Kid can ball.
Someone said this in an earlier post, but the walk ons are great. I can see areas of their games on why they aren't scholarship players, but they all have great size and are above average athletes. Very impressed Kruger was able to get these guys. They are all D2/NAIA players IMO
