Sir @Henry Patton provided his own snapshot of the scrimmage yesterday. He did a nice job as is customary.
I photographed the scrimmage from the baseline. I also wanted to share my thoughts and observations.
****
Chaney Johnson
Overall, it was clunky and disjointed. They played two 10-minute halves with refs. The first 10 minutes was full of turnovers and passivity. Most possessions didn't really pop until late in the shot clock, which resulted in too many panicky decisions and low-percentage shots.
The second half was better. Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara got in a bit of a rhythm with CBM's surge bringing the blue team back from a deficit. Blue won by a point.
*****
Chad Baker-Mazara
• Baker-Mazara has a weird shot. He has so little rotation on the ball, but his misses tend to linger around the hoop more often than you'd expect. The result is more stick-back opportunities. CBM generally did a nice job of following up misses and indeed had a nice tip slam on one of his early misses. He's rail thin. Like Kerry Kittles thin. He preferred to linger outside and spot up yesterday, though I think he might be better slashing a bit more often.
• Really liked Jones' smoothness. He's at least solid running point, which he did for two possessions late in the first half, and he always seems under control with the ball in his hands. (He dribbles a bit too much for me.) He's a spot-up shooter by trade. He's really good at that when he's open. I didn't see enough yesterday to determine if he's reliable with a hand in his face. We talk a lot about his three-point shooting, but he also is deadly from mid range as well. My gut tells me he'll be good this season, but won't take over games. Seems like an A+ complementary piece.
• The point guards were slightly disappointing to me. Tre Donaldson was doing his usual thing — being a football safety playing aggressively as a college guard. He loves driving downhill and creating pressure on the defense. My issue yesterday was what Donaldson did with the ball after he beat his man. Too many of his passes were too speculative. Part of that is on his teammates for not positioning themselves better for him (he played with Denver and J-Will) but part also is on Tre for not respecting his limitations.
Aden Holloway drives on Tre Donaldson
• Aden Holloway moves well and makes high-percentage passing decisions. His best skill right now is dribbling. He was 0-for-6 from the floor yesterday. Maybe two of those were, in my estimation, good shots. He didn't pop. He didn't shine yesterday. I realize he's a true freshman and he's going to get a lot better, so I'm not fazed by his relatively poor day. What I liked to see was how Holloway interacted with his teammates; he liked them and they like him. He's popular and he laughs and shows great rapport. You play the game to score points and stop the other team from scoring, but a point guard also is a leader. Players need to believe in the point guard. Guys believe in Holloway.
• Holloway has a quick-ish shot and it's very repeatable. He also releases the ball from his throat, which is lower than most players. I have concerns that he will get his shot blocked more often than usual because of that low release, though that won't be a problem if he's taking spot-up shots along the perimeter. The question I have based on yesterday is if Holloway can create consistent separation to get those shots off in game situations. I didn't see that yesterday and I think it's a concern. He can shoot. Don't get me wrong. He absolutely can shoot the rock. He just needs to get himself open more often.
• Addarin Scott, whom teammates call "A.D.," looked pretty solid to me as a 9th or 10th guy. He's basically a rim runner and hustle guy. He played under control yesterday, seemed comfortable on the floor. They won't be running anything for him with all these other cats having much higher scoring upsides, but there is value for a long, disciplined guy to give you some not-awful minutes at 3 or 4.
• I am really impressed with Chaney Johnson. He's a smart player who is at his best in transition. He also is a good shooter. The guy has quads that Spencer Strider might even envy. He's bouncy. He still seems like a tweener for me and too small to play power forward against the best teams, but he gives Bruce Pearl some upside at that position. Johnson will be a mismatch there on the offensive end. My eyes tell me Johnson is a more refined and better version of Malik Dunbar, but observers I trust insist he's better than that. I'm very interested to see what he ends up doing this season from a numbers perspective. He could take over for J-Will or he could be a 15-minute guy. I just can't tell yet.
• We saw Good K.D. Johnson yesterday. He was super passionate as always. He also was under control, which doesn't always happen. I was watching KD warm up for a good while yesterday with @BrianStultz and we both thought KD's shot looked quicker. He has really pretty form and, like I said, he gets the ball out quickly. We all know the story with KD and his streakiness. He wasn't much of a factor on the scoring end yesterday (1-of-3 from the floor) yet was better than usual on defense, busted ass in transition and brought a ton of positive energy to the blue team. He's an amazing cheerleader. That sounds superfluous, but I'm telling you the best teams have an ENERGY about them. KD can be a huge asset as a 6th or 7th guy if he can limit mistakes.
• Letter grades for the other guys yesterday:
Johni gets an A from me. He plays Dylan like a fiddle in the post. Body position on defense was excellent. Was assertive on the scoring end. Team's best player. Stud.
J-Will gets a B from me. Passive.
Lior gets a C+. He hit a few long shots and looked fine as an 9th or 10th guy.
C-Mo gets a C. Solid. Always credible and accountable.
Dylan gets a D from me. Mistake-prone and too aggressive with the ball in his hands, but he hustles.
I photographed the scrimmage from the baseline. I also wanted to share my thoughts and observations.
****
Chaney Johnson
Overall, it was clunky and disjointed. They played two 10-minute halves with refs. The first 10 minutes was full of turnovers and passivity. Most possessions didn't really pop until late in the shot clock, which resulted in too many panicky decisions and low-percentage shots.
The second half was better. Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara got in a bit of a rhythm with CBM's surge bringing the blue team back from a deficit. Blue won by a point.
*****
Chad Baker-Mazara
• Baker-Mazara has a weird shot. He has so little rotation on the ball, but his misses tend to linger around the hoop more often than you'd expect. The result is more stick-back opportunities. CBM generally did a nice job of following up misses and indeed had a nice tip slam on one of his early misses. He's rail thin. Like Kerry Kittles thin. He preferred to linger outside and spot up yesterday, though I think he might be better slashing a bit more often.
• Really liked Jones' smoothness. He's at least solid running point, which he did for two possessions late in the first half, and he always seems under control with the ball in his hands. (He dribbles a bit too much for me.) He's a spot-up shooter by trade. He's really good at that when he's open. I didn't see enough yesterday to determine if he's reliable with a hand in his face. We talk a lot about his three-point shooting, but he also is deadly from mid range as well. My gut tells me he'll be good this season, but won't take over games. Seems like an A+ complementary piece.
• The point guards were slightly disappointing to me. Tre Donaldson was doing his usual thing — being a football safety playing aggressively as a college guard. He loves driving downhill and creating pressure on the defense. My issue yesterday was what Donaldson did with the ball after he beat his man. Too many of his passes were too speculative. Part of that is on his teammates for not positioning themselves better for him (he played with Denver and J-Will) but part also is on Tre for not respecting his limitations.
Aden Holloway drives on Tre Donaldson
• Aden Holloway moves well and makes high-percentage passing decisions. His best skill right now is dribbling. He was 0-for-6 from the floor yesterday. Maybe two of those were, in my estimation, good shots. He didn't pop. He didn't shine yesterday. I realize he's a true freshman and he's going to get a lot better, so I'm not fazed by his relatively poor day. What I liked to see was how Holloway interacted with his teammates; he liked them and they like him. He's popular and he laughs and shows great rapport. You play the game to score points and stop the other team from scoring, but a point guard also is a leader. Players need to believe in the point guard. Guys believe in Holloway.
• Holloway has a quick-ish shot and it's very repeatable. He also releases the ball from his throat, which is lower than most players. I have concerns that he will get his shot blocked more often than usual because of that low release, though that won't be a problem if he's taking spot-up shots along the perimeter. The question I have based on yesterday is if Holloway can create consistent separation to get those shots off in game situations. I didn't see that yesterday and I think it's a concern. He can shoot. Don't get me wrong. He absolutely can shoot the rock. He just needs to get himself open more often.
• Addarin Scott, whom teammates call "A.D.," looked pretty solid to me as a 9th or 10th guy. He's basically a rim runner and hustle guy. He played under control yesterday, seemed comfortable on the floor. They won't be running anything for him with all these other cats having much higher scoring upsides, but there is value for a long, disciplined guy to give you some not-awful minutes at 3 or 4.
• I am really impressed with Chaney Johnson. He's a smart player who is at his best in transition. He also is a good shooter. The guy has quads that Spencer Strider might even envy. He's bouncy. He still seems like a tweener for me and too small to play power forward against the best teams, but he gives Bruce Pearl some upside at that position. Johnson will be a mismatch there on the offensive end. My eyes tell me Johnson is a more refined and better version of Malik Dunbar, but observers I trust insist he's better than that. I'm very interested to see what he ends up doing this season from a numbers perspective. He could take over for J-Will or he could be a 15-minute guy. I just can't tell yet.
• We saw Good K.D. Johnson yesterday. He was super passionate as always. He also was under control, which doesn't always happen. I was watching KD warm up for a good while yesterday with @BrianStultz and we both thought KD's shot looked quicker. He has really pretty form and, like I said, he gets the ball out quickly. We all know the story with KD and his streakiness. He wasn't much of a factor on the scoring end yesterday (1-of-3 from the floor) yet was better than usual on defense, busted ass in transition and brought a ton of positive energy to the blue team. He's an amazing cheerleader. That sounds superfluous, but I'm telling you the best teams have an ENERGY about them. KD can be a huge asset as a 6th or 7th guy if he can limit mistakes.
• Letter grades for the other guys yesterday:
Johni gets an A from me. He plays Dylan like a fiddle in the post. Body position on defense was excellent. Was assertive on the scoring end. Team's best player. Stud.
J-Will gets a B from me. Passive.
Lior gets a C+. He hit a few long shots and looked fine as an 9th or 10th guy.
C-Mo gets a C. Solid. Always credible and accountable.
Dylan gets a D from me. Mistake-prone and too aggressive with the ball in his hands, but he hustles.
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