Practice 10/30

[pnkranger]

I don't have the kind of update Gary usually does, but here's what I saw today:

* Jordan Woodard was the best player on the floor today, and it wasn't really all that close (Buddy was probably second).
* Cam turned an ankle but seemed to be okay.
* Defensively we are in really good shape...
* Worked a lot on half court offense today.
* Je'lon played all day with the 2nd team. Is he that much in the dog house? He's our most consistent outside shooter and a great defender. What's up?
* Austin Mankin (sp?) is a freshman walk-on who will see some court time before he graduates. Good shooter, fluid, and good with the ball.
* Booker is more of an athlete and less of a shooter than I thought. Hit a few J's, but really was hustling his butt off. Coaches were giving him a hard time about executing.
* Keshaun Hamilton is big and big and more big. His footwork is not great, but he did hit a well-defended jumper and rotated fairly well. Needs to get in shape.
* DJ Bennett iced his foot the whole time I was there.

 

[pnkranger]

Also, Jordan almost threw down a sick left-handed dunk in traffic (he got fouled by Hamilton, I believe). His leg injuries seemed to be healed.

 

[TheGimper]

To add to what pnkranger said:
Bennett did practice while I was there. He was limited and took time away from drills to rest. By the time I left he was icing his foot as mentioned.
Hornbeak is not in the doghouse. I was told he showed up to practice late because he had something to do, probably school related. Kruger said on Al's show that the starting lineup is Hornbeak/Cousins/Hield/Clark/Spangler.

 

[Capel's Mustache]

To add to what pnkranger said:
Bennett did practice while I was there. He was limited and took time away from drills to rest. By the time I left he was icing his foot as mentioned.
Hornbeak is not in the doghouse. I was told he showed up to practice late because he had something to do, probably school related. Kruger said on Al's show that the starting lineup is Hornbeak/Cousins/Hield/Clark/Spangler.

Holy tiny. I wonder if Bennett would start if healthy.

 

[garyeb2]

I don't have the kind of update Gary usually does, but here's what I saw today:

* Jordan Woodard was the best player on the floor today, and it wasn't really all that close (Buddy was probably second).
* Cam turned an ankle but seemed to be okay.
* Defensively we are in really good shape...
* Worked a lot on half court offense today.
* Je'lon played all day with the 2nd team. Is he that much in the dog house? He's our most consistent outside shooter and a great defender. What's up?
* Austin Mankin (sp?) is a freshman walk-on who will see some court time before he graduates. Good shooter, fluid, and good with the ball.
* Booker is more of an athlete and less of a shooter than I thought. Hit a few J's, but really was hustling his butt off. Coaches were giving him a hard time about executing.
* Keshaun Hamilton is big and big and more big. His footwork is not great, but he did hit a well-defended jumper and rotated fairly well. Needs to get in shape.
* DJ Bennett iced his foot the whole time I was there.

Thanks for jumping in with theses observations. They look spot on to me. Hopefully you won't mind if I add a couple of things.

Woodard is further along on the ready to play as a freshman curve than any of last years group. He is a good one. Booker had what could have been his best practice yesterday. That comes on top of his best week. His 3pt. shooting has ticked up some. But, he is starting to do the things that will earn him some playing time. He is getting to the rim and rebounding. He still needs to clean up some of his defensive work. No question about his hustle.

Hamilton was finishing at the rim all day. That is an improvement. There is still a gap between what is expected of him and what he is delivering. But, the gap is getting smaller.

I agree about Mankin. He has gotten quite a few reps with the 1's and 2's over the last 10 days. I would also add that they have worked on breaking full court pressure the last two days. It looks like they have got it.

 

[WTSooner]

Holy tiny. I wonder if Bennett would start if healthy.

If Hamilton isn't ready to be a part of the "A rotation", I'd think Bennett coming off the bench is a good thing b/c he can spell both Spangler and Cam. If Cam is playing well (ie, not a downgrade from Bennett), he deserves to be starting.

 

[WTSooner]

To add to what pnkranger said:
Bennett did practice while I was there. He was limited and took time away from drills to rest. By the time I left he was icing his foot as mentioned.
Hornbeak is not in the doghouse. I was told he showed up to practice late because he had something to do, probably school related. Kruger said on Al's show that the starting lineup is Hornbeak/Cousins/Hield/Clark/Spangler.

Be interesting to see when Woodard takes over as the starting pg. I think it happens this year, just not sure when.

 

[garyeb2]

Be interesting to see when Woodard takes over as the starting pg. I think it happens this year, just not sure when.

Woodard is certainly good enough to start from day one. It probably depends on how well Cousins and Hornbeak are playing and if they are winning. If bringing Woodard and Bennett off the bench is working, who knows.

There is another thing that is interesting about the Spangler, Cam, Bennett rotation. Kruger likes to have a big throw the ball in. I guess he wants a tall guy in case the opponents are in a full court press. Last year it was Osby. M'Baye brought it in when Osby was on the bench.

Spangler doesn't seem to be a good enough ball handler in the open court to do that. Bennett certainly wouldn't be. Right now Cam is the go to bring the ball in guy. With Bennett out, Tyler is backing up Cam and bringing the ball in.

 

[pnkranger]

Woodard is better than cousins by a large margin right now, and I would argue he's better at the 1 than hornbeak. If we're good enough to bring Woodard off te bench all week then we're going to be really good on the perimeter.

 

[Stikboy]

Woodard is better than cousins by a large margin right now, and I would argue he's better at the 1 than hornbeak. If we're good enough to bring Woodard off te bench all week then we're going to be really good on the perimeter.

Do you mean better as an overall guard right now, or better than Cousins was at this point last year trying to run the point?

 

[pnkranger]

Stikboy, better overall and as a PG. Better handles, solid defender, versatile offensive game (jumpers, floaters, athletic finishes around the rim).

 

[AdaSooner]

Stikboy, better overall and as a PG. Better handles, solid defender, versatile offensive game (jumpers, floaters, athletic finishes around the rim).

The key phrase is "better as a point guard." Keep in mind that Woodard is the only true PG on this team. Cousins was a combo guard who never even played the one until his senior year in high school. The same is true of Hornbeak. He was a two guard who played the point some in relief of Emmanuel Mudiay

I'll be shocked if Woodard is not our starting point guard. It may not be to begin the season. But the skills Pnkranger referenced make him the odds-on favorite to take over that position at some point of the season.

 

[garyeb2]

The key phrase is "better as a point guard." Keep in mind that Woodard is the only true PG on this team. Cousins was a combo guard who never even played the one until his senior year in high school. The same is true of Hornbeak. He was a two guard who played the point some in relief of Emmanuel Mudiay

I'll be shocked if Woodard is not our starting point guard. It may not be to begin the season. But the skills Pnkranger referenced make him the odds-on favorite to take over that position at some point of the season.

I am all aboard the Woodard bandwagon. I though that back in the summer that the issue was settled and that Woodard would start from the get go. However, over the last couple of weeks it has been obvious that Kruger was going to start Hornbeak and bring Woodard off the bench early on.

I'll reference back to the European exhibition tour. We lost that final game and there were several reason for that. The main reason was that it was a simple case of men vs boys. Secondly, we didn't have Buddy. And from someone that was at the game. "We could have beaten them on a neutral court. The refs first names were Homer and Gomer."

But, there was another reason. The French team had a big strong guard that was able to take Woodard out of the game. No one has improved more over these last 4 weeks than Woodard. That will probably never happen again. But, still, there is no reason to put the team on his shoulders from the start. We have a competitive opener in Alabama and will probably catch a top 5 team in Mich. St. within the 1st 5 games. In the early going, steady as a rock Hornbeak is probably our best shot. I'm confident that Woodard will get in early and often and do a good job.

 

[WTSooner]

I assume he is good at it, but how is Woodard in transition? Is he a guy, right now, that we can outlet the ball to, and he'll push it up the floor and make good decisions?

 

[garyeb2]

I assume he is good at it, but how is Woodard in transition? Is he a guy, right now, that we can outlet the ball to, and he'll push it up the floor and make good decisions?

If no one else is going to answer you, I will. Yes.

 

[WTSooner]

Anybody else got an answer?!?

Just kidding Gary. Thanks.