For those that didn't have an opportunity to catch today's practice on TV, I'll pass on a few observations. They were on the main floor for the 1st time. There was a pretty good crowd. Mayby 35+. Bennett's old JC team was there in mass. I don't know what the occasion was. Tubbs and Longer Longer were the notables in attendance. Buddy and Bennett were at full speed. The cameras created a little buzz and it was a fun practice to watch.
It had been all defense up until now. Today Kruger started putting in offense. There was a lot of full court 5 on 5. Not a full blown scrimmage. But, controlled to some degree. Kruger would liberally stop action for teaching.
Booker, Tyler, and Hamilton rotated in once for a very short period of time. But, there was a clear separation of red shirts and white shirts for the 1st time. There wasn't a starting 5 per say. There were 7 red shirts getting the offensive coaching and work. Cam, Spangler, Bennett, Woodard, Cousins, Hornbeak, and Buddy were the reds. Everyone else were whites. Every couple of possessions or so Kruger would rotate one or two in and one or two out. That resulted in several different 5 man lineups. Cam wasn't in more or less than anyone else. When he was in with only Spangler or Bennett he was like a #4. When he was in with both Spangler and Bennett he was a #3.
In my opinion and just for today. The combination of Hornbeak, Buddy, Cousins, Bennett, and Spangler looked the best. They were better in transition and defended better as a group. With that said, Cam had a really good practice. He was into creases, getting open and making shots. Bennett, coming off a rolled ankle, also had a really good performance on both ends of the court. At least four times Hamilton received the ball down low, made a little juke and got a soft shot to the rim. But, Bennett was all over him and altered the shots just enough that all four rolled off. If they had fallen, Hamilton would get the notice. But, it was Bennett that won today.
Hamilton was fine today. He is being challenged in new ways that will take him some time to adjust to. At this point in time, Both Spangler and Bennett are probably better than anything he had to contend with in JC. He can't go for a rebound without either Buddy or Cam climbing up his back like he was a step ladder. I still think he will get there.
I don't have any kind of relationship with Tubbs. But, he will talk to anyone that engages him. He was sitting there and I asked him what he thought. The 1st comment that he had was that he really liked Woodard. If Billy likes Woodard, so do I. Then he went into this narrative about how this was Kruger's first year to have mostly his own guys and his first chance to play like he really wanted to. And on to how Kruger was doing it the right way and how this was the year that would lay the foundation for all the good things to come. And then went on to say that Kruger was only the signing of two top 10 recruits away from being really good. I just laughed and said " Coach, isn't everyone two top 10 recruits away from being really good." He laughed too and said we were on the right track.
It had been all defense up until now. Today Kruger started putting in offense. There was a lot of full court 5 on 5. Not a full blown scrimmage. But, controlled to some degree. Kruger would liberally stop action for teaching.
Booker, Tyler, and Hamilton rotated in once for a very short period of time. But, there was a clear separation of red shirts and white shirts for the 1st time. There wasn't a starting 5 per say. There were 7 red shirts getting the offensive coaching and work. Cam, Spangler, Bennett, Woodard, Cousins, Hornbeak, and Buddy were the reds. Everyone else were whites. Every couple of possessions or so Kruger would rotate one or two in and one or two out. That resulted in several different 5 man lineups. Cam wasn't in more or less than anyone else. When he was in with only Spangler or Bennett he was like a #4. When he was in with both Spangler and Bennett he was a #3.
In my opinion and just for today. The combination of Hornbeak, Buddy, Cousins, Bennett, and Spangler looked the best. They were better in transition and defended better as a group. With that said, Cam had a really good practice. He was into creases, getting open and making shots. Bennett, coming off a rolled ankle, also had a really good performance on both ends of the court. At least four times Hamilton received the ball down low, made a little juke and got a soft shot to the rim. But, Bennett was all over him and altered the shots just enough that all four rolled off. If they had fallen, Hamilton would get the notice. But, it was Bennett that won today.
Hamilton was fine today. He is being challenged in new ways that will take him some time to adjust to. At this point in time, Both Spangler and Bennett are probably better than anything he had to contend with in JC. He can't go for a rebound without either Buddy or Cam climbing up his back like he was a step ladder. I still think he will get there.
I don't have any kind of relationship with Tubbs. But, he will talk to anyone that engages him. He was sitting there and I asked him what he thought. The 1st comment that he had was that he really liked Woodard. If Billy likes Woodard, so do I. Then he went into this narrative about how this was Kruger's first year to have mostly his own guys and his first chance to play like he really wanted to. And on to how Kruger was doing it the right way and how this was the year that would lay the foundation for all the good things to come. And then went on to say that Kruger was only the signing of two top 10 recruits away from being really good. I just laughed and said " Coach, isn't everyone two top 10 recruits away from being really good." He laughed too and said we were on the right track.
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