Nice write-up!
How soon will he be joining the team and will he be able to be with them on their upcoming trip? Thanks.
Let's get him into the weight room pronto!
The roster as it now stands has 7 underclassmen scholarship players: 3 freshmen, a sophomore, and 3 juniors. (In addition there are 2 walk-on juniors.)
Hoping he arrives in time for the Puerto Rico trip. That KKMega Basket team has a lot of size. Be interesting to see him match up with recruiting target Luigi Suigo who has signed with KKMega Basket
@cg-paul Good question...I don't know how quickly his travel situation could get worked out but I would certainly not expect him to play in any games in Puerto Rico. He has yet to even meet the team in person. I'd think they'd love to have him in Puerto Rico and be able to begin practicing with the group but I don't think he'll play in any of the three games there.
Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis. Who are these people? I'm going to need a program in my back pocket at all times.
Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis. Who are these people? I'm going to need a program in my back pocket at all times.
Fisch is going to have a steep learning curve early on.
Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis. Who are these people? I'm going to need a program in my back pocket at all times.
I cannot recall a season where I had absolutely no clue what to expect, and didn’t know one player. That can be a good thing as any sour taste in my mouth is gone.
however, I have to say that I lack excitement right now. Hopefully that will come with what I see on the court. If not, well there are certainly plenty of other things to occupy my time. Having spent last weekend in Bloomington with lots of IU grads I found it interesting to hear such excitement (and game plans/events) for the upcoming football season. Basketball? Don’t think I heard one mention of it.
@gerdis Not having a single returning player certainly is a new experience. But it doesn't take a lot of time reading, watching Youtube clips, whatever, to get a decent handle on what types of players our guys all are. There are valid questions on how well they'll be able to do, at the B10 level, what they've shown they can do at lower levels. But they're not going to change who they are, or how they play, just because they're at IU and playing tougher competition.
Conerway is a slasher offensively, intense on the ball defender defensively. He's an adequate shooter, but not elite. Question marks on whether or not his game will be as effective in the B10, but he is playing with a better supporting cast than he ever did at Troy.
Wilkerson is a well rounded offensive player. He is a plus outside shooter, that can score from multiple levels. He's an average perimeter defender. But has decent size and strength, so he could show more in DeVries version of the pack line, than he did at SHSU.
DeVries is a crafty scorer from the forward spot. He can be a volume scorer, but also has shown an ability to create for others. He's going to struggle to guard fast wings, but he should be very comfortable defending in his Dad's system.
Bailey is also a crafty scorer from the center spot. He's not a traditional, back to the basket scorer. Rather, he's very good from the pinch post position taking the ball to the basket, and also good as a pick and pop spot up outside shooter. Defensively, he's not a shot blocker, but positionally is solid. He rebounds well, overall, but I would guess against some B10 teams, his lack of weight might end up limiting how effective he can be rebounding wise.
Alexis is an athletic, active big, that's comfortable as a lob man in pick and roll. He's a very good rebounder, and can block shots. He showed flashes of that early in the year last year at Florida. And established himself with these things at Chattanooga. Obvious question marks remain on whether or not he can consistently do the things he showed at Chattanooga, at the high major level.
Dorn is a rangy wing that can shoot and score. He had some really good games against the best teams on his schedule, last year. He's really good in catch and shoot situations, and showed he's capable of making plays when he's run off the line. He isn't physically strong, so he isn't a defensive/rebounding type wing.
Jasai Miles is a bull of a wing. Very strong physically. Good scoring at all levels. His size and stature will limit the types of guards/wings he can effectively guard. But like Wilkerson and DeVries, its possible CDD's system will help him in that regard. Not as good a shooter as Dorn, but he is physically bigger so he'll be helpful rebounding wise, from the wing position.
Connor Enright is a very skilled guard. He's played in DeVries system, so picking up the offense and defense should be easy for him. He'll provide leadership in that regard. Before his injuries last year, he was establishing himself as a very capable lead guard at the high major level. He is creative making plays for himself and others, and can knock down open shots. Defensively, he's more of a pest than a lockdown defender.
Josh Harris showed flashes of brilliance his freshman year at North Florida. Against some of the better teams he scored, rebounded, blocked some shots, very well. He's long, bouncy, good with the ball going to the basket. He isn't a great shooter, and last year was probably the least willing passer of all the guys on the roster. But his length and versatility could earn him some meaningful minutes.
Jason Drake has shown himself to be a solid guard. Good at a lot of things, not great at really anything. He'll make open shots, he'll make plays for others, he's an adequate defender. He reminds me of Purdue guards that have surrounded their stars in the past 10 years or so, and have filled in the cracks and provided solid depth. PJ Thompson, Lance Jones, etc...
Trent Sisley played most of his life in southern Indiana. He's very versatile as a 6-8 wing. He's more athletic than most give him credit for. He can hit open shots, he's comfortable playing inside our outside. He isn't overly quick laterally, and isn't a naturally good rebounder. So that will limit him a bit from becoming a main rotation type guy, this year. But you don't win the MVP award at Monteverde, if you don't have it in you to be a good high major player. He will be a very good player in college at some point, hope he sticks at IU.
The two foreign kids... who knows on them? Both appear to have typical foreign kid advanced ball skills. Ritsic played very well at the U20 Euro basket. And the new big put up good numbers against pretty high level competition. But both appear to be limited athletically. I wouldn't think either of them will be main rotation, but wouldn't be surprised if either/both play key roles in specific games, from time to time this year. If they both stick it out at IU, what they give us next year and beyond is what excites me the most about them.
Many of the guys listed above are used to, and comfortable getting heavy usage rates. Most of them have also proven their willing and capable passers. Those two dynamics coming together, lead me to believe they'll all make the transition up to IU/B10 play very well. With the main question marks being how well will they all come together defensively? And will we be able to rebound effectively as a team?
@the-watson I'm sure there are other, better, ones that TJ has done. It was just a response to Gerdis saying he doesn't know any of the players. None of us do, but its not hard to figure it out. If they were all freshmen, coming from foreign countries...sure, then maybe we'd have no idea what to expect. Most of our guys though have quite a lot of established tape, history, etc...
I suspect CDD is recruiting guys that are, on average, quite a bit easier to cheer for than Woody's players. I expect smarter play, more effort, better body language, and less off the court drama.
Getting to know the players takes like 2-3 games.
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