Practice 7/10/13

Thanks, Gary!

I was also pleased to read your positive remarks about Bennett. I think he could be the sleeper on this team. He has the size and the athleticism, and he darned sure passes the eye test from what I was able to see last fall.

I'm really not concerned about our backcourt. I believe our guards and wings will be better than good. The main questions I have centers around our bigs. If Bennett is better than expected, that could change in a hurry.

It is my opinion that Spangler is easily the better athlete and player between the two. However, Bennett is a high light reel waiting to happen.

He can get his arm above the rim up to his elbow. He provided the big play the other day with a huge one handed slam down of a missed shot.

He seems to always play with a smile on his face and I'm guessing that he will be a crowd favorite.
 
I really hope Bennett is the real deal. I still think our best lineup would be him starting next to Spangler, but he has to earn that, and be ready for that.
 
I really hope Bennett is the real deal. I still think our best lineup would be him starting next to Spangler, but he has to earn that, and be ready for that.

I hope he is too. But, I just don't know for sure about him. It looks like he can defend, rebound, and score around the basket well enough to be a competitive to good player in the Big 12.

I was off on M'Baye by several degrees. What I think I missed on him was his lack of toughness and inability to function well while being banged around on. I haven't seen that shortcoming in Bennett. But, that is hard to pick up in practice. The thing that I haven't seen Bennett do much of yet is receive a pass on the low block and beat his defender with a post move.

I'm already a Bennett fan. But, he has work to do.
 
Gary, when you say that Spangler is so much better of an athlete than Bennett, in what way do you mean? Probably the first thing I think of when talking about athletic ability, is jumping ability. I also consider speed, quickness, and strength on that chart. You've mentioned more than one anecdote of Bennett's extreme hops... So where athletically is Spangler so much better, specifically?
 
Gary, when you say that Spangler is so much better of an athlete than Bennett, in what way do you mean? Probably the first thing I think of when talking about athletic ability, is jumping ability. I also consider speed, quickness, and strength on that chart. You've mentioned more than one anecdote of Bennett's extreme hops... So where athletically is Spangler so much better, specifically?

Spangler was a high school quarterback and a pretty darned good one. Not OU or Alabama, but, he could have been a college quarterback. He is faster and stronger than Bennett.

Bennett is taller and has much longer arms. While Spangler probably can not get as high as Bennett, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a higher verticle. To me, Spangler is Osby like without having as of yet achieved the Osby shooting accuracy.
 
It is my opinion that Spangler is easily the better athlete and player between the two. However, Bennett is a high light reel waiting to happen.

He can get his arm above the rim up to his elbow. He provided the big play the other day with a huge one handed slam down of a missed shot.

He seems to always play with a smile on his face and I'm guessing that he will be a crowd favorite.

I didn't mean to suggest that Bennett will be better than Spangler. I think nearly everyone here, including me, expects Ryan to be the best big on our roster.

By "sleeper," I meant that if Bennett is capable of contributing in a meaningful way, instead of fulfilling the "project" role some thought he'd be, that could be a huge boost to a front court that is not expected to be our strength this season.
 
It can be very surprising when an athletic kid begins to get intense technique instruction, at how far they grow into a dependable presence on the floor. I believe that if C.J. Washington had been under Kruger for four years, he would have been a starter by his senior year, and maybe receive accolades. Hopefully Bennett can take advantage of the coaching and reach new heights.
 
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