Some of you may remember I posted some summer intel a couple of months back, and I've been meaning to update it for practice, but since I only recently got the last chunk, I decided to wait til after Late Night to see if if jibed (it definitely did). As always, apologies for the random flow. And warning, there may be parts some won't like --- I won't apologize for that 
. Anyways...
- A common theme that has continued from summer is about Brooks. Every recent report I've gotten has had something good to say, especially about his offensive progress --- more confident shot, extending range, better positioning, etc. You may recall one of the summer alumni chatter items was "Brooks can play --- he just needs to find a position". That continues to hold true, and therein lies the rub: Garrison is a 4 (and is evolving a Stretch game as well), but with Luke still here he will find himself playing a lot of 5. Oh, he'll give it his all and will definitely be improved, BUT the reality is Brooks just doesn't have the frame to make a living down low vs D1 size night in and night out. In other words, he's not a "big" guy. even at 6'8+, nor does he have, say, Brice's wiry explosiveness to be a rim-protector.
That being said, Garrison came in light-years ahead in defensive findamentals of our other recent Bigs, which is what had him starting for a good part of last season... but he was often fighting a losing battle vs teams with size. If we're gonna be successful going Traditional (as Roy prefers), the thought is Manley needs to be the first option as a 5-horse. Garrison will give us quality minutes in whatever he's asked to do this season, and if he takes over as our starting 4 next season that will not be a bad thing.
- speaking of Manley, mixed but mostly positive intel on him. As many have already heard he did indeed pass his running tests, and his agility/footwork has shown marked improvement as he continues to fight back from the catastrophic HS injuries. That being said, there are still times when his lower body ain't quite ready to do what his head tells him to. As reported in the summer, the pros/alums were flat up his a$$ about being aggressive in his low-post game, and while that continues to be somewhat of a work-in-progress, there has been improvement... and again, he is long --- legit 6'11 with arms forever. We'll see if he has improved in post-D positioning --- hopefully banging against guys like Sheed and Z helped. One thing he is confident about is the face-up shot from the post triangle, and has even been seen hitting Trailer pull-ups on the Secondary (!) --- how much latitude Roy allows him on that remains to be seen... and he does have a sweet FT stroke for a big fella.
- Been really wanting some Cam intel, but only finally got a bit just here recently (since he was inactive this summer). OK, so the big question obviously is how much better a post-surgery Cam can be for us? EVERYONE says he's moving better in general now that the hip is fixed, and where it has been noticed most is defensively. He tried hard last season but truth is he looked like he was on skates --- so his improved defensive footwork has been noticed. Check. That being said, the lingering issue is offensive consistency. Being brutally honest, Cam flat shot us outta some games last season. Ideally the heathy hip will lead to better footwork there as well... however from what I'm told he has still been streaky. Hopefully by season start the shot will get more consistent as he adjusts.
More recent chatter:
- "KW has been the best player on the team in practice". Me likey. And more than one alum has been on Kenny this summer to take a more assertive role, incl Reggie, and especially Justin. Buckets was in CH much of the summer taking classes trying to finish his degree (good for him), and has been in Kenny's ear a lot. Apparently it's showing in that he's also become the most vocal leader on the team. I have a feeling that KW's habit of disappearing for stretches is a thing of the past. Don't be surprised if we have another All-ACC performer on our hands.
- "Luke is Luke". We know what we're gonna get from our boy. Luke leads by example (so KW's new vocal assertiveness is very welcome), and as we know Luke is on all the pre-season lists. Being realistic though, don't expect him to soar to some new heights. We don't need him to --- Luke is Luke --- we need other guys to step up around him.
- Forgot to ask about BRob's injury (sorry). That being said, it shows how suddenly depth can become an issue. Andrew, who's really a Combo Guard, had to play the 3 at Late Night for example. Now yeah, in a game situation KW sometimes slides to the 3, but still...
and speaking of 3s, there are some folks (myself included) who are wondering why Leaky isn't getting more reps there. Jes sayin...
- Speaking of AP, nothing but positives, but one in particular stood out (and it totally jibes with what I saw on the extended Bahamas footage) --- "Platek plays the 1 from the 2", meaning he's often the one shepherding guys into position... or compensating for guys who aren't (which apparently has been happening a bit too often thus far). No surprise here --- he has the best sense of spacing and flow on the roster.
- Nas "gets out of control sometimes" but is fearless. As a result I'm told he has taken more than one hard fall in practices. So far, at least, nothing has been serious. He'll definitely bring a physicality from the 3/4 Hybrid we haven't seen in a while.
- Carrying over from the summer, Coby's attitude and willingness to learn continue to draw praise. Also his ability to be dynamic. That being said... the caveat I'm told (which BTW, is also a common theme in the stuff I've read) is that his best moments tend to come "off the ball", when his driving ability and shooting can come in rhythm. These skills just haven't shown out quite so readily when he's playing Point. What you saw at Late Night was case in point for the intel that he too often defaults to out-of-rhythm 3s or ill-advised drives. Honestly, that shouldn't be a surprise: PGs in our system hafta create their own rhythm, as well as that for others, and one of the biggest instinctual challenges is knowing "when" --- when to take, when to pull up, when to swing it, when to give it up to get it back, when to move the defense, etc etc etc.
- On the PG note, 7th is healthy, and has been less prone to the big mistakes than before. Unfortunately spacing continues to befuddle him and with instinct being the ongoing issue, he still has to think through his movements. And again no surprise, many of his best moments come off the ball. He's pretty danged good at catch-and-drive, and gotten adept at catch-and-shoot inside the arc. Bless his heart, 7th is working hard to accept the challenge, but in the end, well, the limitations are what they are.
- Again, some won't like this but I'm not gonna sugar-coat the PG issue, because trust me, the intel I've received certainly hasn't. On that note (and some of this goes back into the summer) there has been chatter about "work-arounds". The most obvious of course is more set plays (something we went to almost as a default for 7th previously), but the most intriguing are new/special options off the Secondary. One example that they were actually running some in pick-up involves 7th curling off a baseline screen from Luke for a mid-range jumper (which he has become increasingly reliable at). Others involve creating more immediate looks for our formidable cadre of perimeter bombers, simultaneously minimizing the decision-making pressure on the Point. I will be interested to see how that unfolds early on... it will likely be crucial.
That's all for now. Roy has talent out there but definitely a "different" coaching job ahead of him (as one pro put it) this season. Won't be long til we start to see how it plays out...
. Anyways...- A common theme that has continued from summer is about Brooks. Every recent report I've gotten has had something good to say, especially about his offensive progress --- more confident shot, extending range, better positioning, etc. You may recall one of the summer alumni chatter items was "Brooks can play --- he just needs to find a position". That continues to hold true, and therein lies the rub: Garrison is a 4 (and is evolving a Stretch game as well), but with Luke still here he will find himself playing a lot of 5. Oh, he'll give it his all and will definitely be improved, BUT the reality is Brooks just doesn't have the frame to make a living down low vs D1 size night in and night out. In other words, he's not a "big" guy. even at 6'8+, nor does he have, say, Brice's wiry explosiveness to be a rim-protector.
That being said, Garrison came in light-years ahead in defensive findamentals of our other recent Bigs, which is what had him starting for a good part of last season... but he was often fighting a losing battle vs teams with size. If we're gonna be successful going Traditional (as Roy prefers), the thought is Manley needs to be the first option as a 5-horse. Garrison will give us quality minutes in whatever he's asked to do this season, and if he takes over as our starting 4 next season that will not be a bad thing.
- speaking of Manley, mixed but mostly positive intel on him. As many have already heard he did indeed pass his running tests, and his agility/footwork has shown marked improvement as he continues to fight back from the catastrophic HS injuries. That being said, there are still times when his lower body ain't quite ready to do what his head tells him to. As reported in the summer, the pros/alums were flat up his a$$ about being aggressive in his low-post game, and while that continues to be somewhat of a work-in-progress, there has been improvement... and again, he is long --- legit 6'11 with arms forever. We'll see if he has improved in post-D positioning --- hopefully banging against guys like Sheed and Z helped. One thing he is confident about is the face-up shot from the post triangle, and has even been seen hitting Trailer pull-ups on the Secondary (!) --- how much latitude Roy allows him on that remains to be seen... and he does have a sweet FT stroke for a big fella.
- Been really wanting some Cam intel, but only finally got a bit just here recently (since he was inactive this summer). OK, so the big question obviously is how much better a post-surgery Cam can be for us? EVERYONE says he's moving better in general now that the hip is fixed, and where it has been noticed most is defensively. He tried hard last season but truth is he looked like he was on skates --- so his improved defensive footwork has been noticed. Check. That being said, the lingering issue is offensive consistency. Being brutally honest, Cam flat shot us outta some games last season. Ideally the heathy hip will lead to better footwork there as well... however from what I'm told he has still been streaky. Hopefully by season start the shot will get more consistent as he adjusts.
More recent chatter:
- "KW has been the best player on the team in practice". Me likey. And more than one alum has been on Kenny this summer to take a more assertive role, incl Reggie, and especially Justin. Buckets was in CH much of the summer taking classes trying to finish his degree (good for him), and has been in Kenny's ear a lot. Apparently it's showing in that he's also become the most vocal leader on the team. I have a feeling that KW's habit of disappearing for stretches is a thing of the past. Don't be surprised if we have another All-ACC performer on our hands.
- "Luke is Luke". We know what we're gonna get from our boy. Luke leads by example (so KW's new vocal assertiveness is very welcome), and as we know Luke is on all the pre-season lists. Being realistic though, don't expect him to soar to some new heights. We don't need him to --- Luke is Luke --- we need other guys to step up around him.
- Forgot to ask about BRob's injury (sorry). That being said, it shows how suddenly depth can become an issue. Andrew, who's really a Combo Guard, had to play the 3 at Late Night for example. Now yeah, in a game situation KW sometimes slides to the 3, but still...
and speaking of 3s, there are some folks (myself included) who are wondering why Leaky isn't getting more reps there. Jes sayin...
- Speaking of AP, nothing but positives, but one in particular stood out (and it totally jibes with what I saw on the extended Bahamas footage) --- "Platek plays the 1 from the 2", meaning he's often the one shepherding guys into position... or compensating for guys who aren't (which apparently has been happening a bit too often thus far). No surprise here --- he has the best sense of spacing and flow on the roster.
- Nas "gets out of control sometimes" but is fearless. As a result I'm told he has taken more than one hard fall in practices. So far, at least, nothing has been serious
. He'll definitely bring a physicality from the 3/4 Hybrid we haven't seen in a while.- Carrying over from the summer, Coby's attitude and willingness to learn continue to draw praise. Also his ability to be dynamic. That being said... the caveat I'm told (which BTW, is also a common theme in the stuff I've read) is that his best moments tend to come "off the ball", when his driving ability and shooting can come in rhythm. These skills just haven't shown out quite so readily when he's playing Point. What you saw at Late Night was case in point for the intel that he too often defaults to out-of-rhythm 3s or ill-advised drives. Honestly, that shouldn't be a surprise: PGs in our system hafta create their own rhythm, as well as that for others, and one of the biggest instinctual challenges is knowing "when" --- when to take, when to pull up, when to swing it, when to give it up to get it back, when to move the defense, etc etc etc.
- On the PG note, 7th is healthy, and has been less prone to the big mistakes than before. Unfortunately spacing continues to befuddle him and with instinct being the ongoing issue, he still has to think through his movements. And again no surprise, many of his best moments come off the ball. He's pretty danged good at catch-and-drive, and gotten adept at catch-and-shoot inside the arc. Bless his heart, 7th is working hard to accept the challenge, but in the end, well, the limitations are what they are.
- Again, some won't like this but I'm not gonna sugar-coat the PG issue, because trust me, the intel I've received certainly hasn't. On that note (and some of this goes back into the summer) there has been chatter about "work-arounds". The most obvious of course is more set plays (something we went to almost as a default for 7th previously), but the most intriguing are new/special options off the Secondary. One example that they were actually running some in pick-up involves 7th curling off a baseline screen from Luke for a mid-range jumper (which he has become increasingly reliable at). Others involve creating more immediate looks for our formidable cadre of perimeter bombers, simultaneously minimizing the decision-making pressure on the Point. I will be interested to see how that unfolds early on... it will likely be crucial.
That's all for now. Roy has talent out there but definitely a "different" coaching job ahead of him (as one pro put it) this season. Won't be long til we start to see how it plays out...
