Post by RusskyHoya on Jul 13, 2008 18:49:24 GMT -5
Soooo I don't have anywhere near the talent that FLHoya does at this, but I figured that people would appreciate some sort of attempt at recaps while he was away, so I'll try to provide some info. I did as best as I could with the stats, but I don't vouch for their complete accuracy. Turns out it's a pretty hard thing to do, especially when there are 4 or 5 players you're tracking on the court at once.
I'll put up the Tombs game first, along with a blurb on everyone's favorite Voluble Coach and Washed-Up Terrapin Troupe.
Electrolyte 61, Blaguards 56
The green-clad Blaguards, featuring a number of AU players, went on a run early. Coach Rodney "Screamy" McScreamerson called timeouts and yelled at his team. They eventually...slowly...responded, chipped away at the lead, were within 1 at half, and eventually took a 10-point lead themselves. Blaguards made it close at the end, largely thanks to some clutch 3-point shooting and free throws from what appeared to be Spud Webb Jr., but it was too little too late. Coach McScreamerson's comments during the game? "COME ON HATERS! YEA! YEA! YEA, HATERS!"
Notables from the game: Byron Mouton sported a bandage/tape of some sort on his bicep, making it appear like he had either given blood or gotten a tatoo just before the game. He certainly played like he had just given blood, generally playing lazy and getting screamed at by McScreamy several times (at points he literally swatted away the coach's words). Fortunately for ElectroLite, they have just enough decent players, including Folarin Campbell, to pull out games.
BRYON JANSEN: 2 pts, 1-3 FG (1-2 2pt; 0-1 3pt), 1 REB, 1 STL, 2 FLS
BJ started and played the first 7 minutes, then didn't see the court again until 6 minutes were left in the game. He missed a gimme layup at the very start of the game, airballed a 3, and was clearly much less athletic than most of the players in the game. He was clearly going full-tilt, though, and managed to get a steal for his efforts. Converted on another easy lay-up during his second stint. Clearly a practice player, but his effort is fun to watch, and he gets to play more than Sead, Izzo, or Tay did.
Chicken Madness All-Stars 55, The Tombs 54
Despite being far-and-away the most talented team in the league, The Tombs dropped a close one to an unafraid and not-too-shabby itself Madness All-Stars team. My take? Well, there did seem to be a whole lot of people milling around outside the house where some of the team is living this summer, Dixie cups in hand, at 1 a.m. A long night for some of the Tombsters, perhaps?
Tombs was ahead for most of the game, actually, although Madness opened on an 8-0 run. It was tied at the half, but Tombs started pulling away near mid-way through the 2nd half, leading by 10 w/ 10 minutes to go. Three minutes later, it was tied again. Tombs never could create much separation on the scoreboard, and Madness took a 1 point lead with just over a minute left. Madness had the ball with 40 seconds left and ran the clock down, but they ended up airballing the 3, so even though it bounced past a mis-stepping Jason Clark and into the hands of a Madman?, Tombs got the ball thanks to a shot-clock violation.
The last shot strategy was lacking though - Wright ran off clock and then launched a beyond-NBA three, which caromed off into the corner. Clark grabbed it with several seconds still on the clock, but he heaved it toward the basket, missing badly and using up enough clock that by the time Nikita got control of the rebound, the horn was sounding. Poor end-of-game shot selection. Now if it had been Roy taking the three, that'd be a different story, clearly ;D
What did The Tombs in? If I had to specify two culprits, it would be the inability to prevent Madness from scoring (more on that later) and turnovers turnovers turnovers. Unfortunately, TOs were the one stat that I didn't keep, but there were mounds of them. There also seemed to be a general lack of intensity on defense that, while perhaps understandable in a summer league game (especially if you had a long night), did showcase some deficiencies.
HENRY SIMS: 9 pts, 4-6 FG (3-4 2pt; 1-2 3pt), 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK 5 FLS
Sims got in foul trouble mid-way through the first half, someone limiting his time on the court and perhaps his aggressiveness as well. He didn't display much desire to play with his back to the basket or try traditional post moves, though he did spend a good deal of time in the post. Most of his shots ended up being pull-up shots of the intermediate-to-long range variety. Fortunately for him, he has a pretty good feel for those shots and wound up making most of them. UNfortunately, we could use a true 5 with size, power, and post presense more than we need a big man with Pittsnogle-type shooting skills. Nice to have, for sure, but...
JASON CLARK: 15 pts, 7-17 FG (6-10 2pt, 1-7 3pt), 4 REB, 3 FLS
Kind of an odd line from Clark, as he seemed content to let Chris Wright do most of the ballhandling. His lack of any assists (that I recorder, anyway, I could be wrong) stands out, although to be fair he had several would-be assists negated by misses or failed execution. His three-point shooting was woeful, but he continued to have a knack for driving and penetrating. He had one nice coast-to-coast drive where he went into traffic, was forced to stop and keep his handle by rattling off a series of dribbles in place with his back to the basket, but was able to twist his way up for a layup. Also had a nice dunk on a breakaway and a strong thrown down off an odd-man rush on a back-and-forth with CW.
GREG MONROE: 17 pts, 8-13 FG (8-13 2pt, 0-0 3pt, 1-2 FT), 11 REB, 2 BLK, 1 STL, 1 FL
Another one of those "forgettable, at no point truly outstanding, but then you look at the stat sheet and realize it's pretty damn good" performances from Greg. Was very efficient on the offensive end, with a number of offensive boards, put-backs (including one off of a long CW miss), and other close-range buckets. There was one particularly nice sequence where Nikita tangled up his man at half-court, was able to control the ball, and lobbed it forward to Monroe, who threw it down emphatically.
And now for the down side: Greg was repeatedly and inexcusable backed down and scored on, often by players who had no business doing so. There were times when the thought "what good is a four-star recruit if some 0-star scrub can score at will on his in the post" crossed my mind. It's not quite that bad, and may have stemmed in large part due to lack of effort, but it was nevertheless cringeworthy each time it happened. On the plus side, he did have a very nice drawn charge that shifted the game's momentum temporarily.
I certainly don't want to disparage Louisiana Class 4A high school basketball, but one does get the sense that Greg is used to not facing anybody anywhere near his size or strength, or at least not during an organized game with refs and the like. So just as his footwork is a bit raw (one particularly bad travel comes to mind), so does his defensive firmness and ability in the pain seem underdeveloped. He clearly has the physical tools (he got some SERIOUS elevation on one broken play, for instance), which should only improve, but there will be some serious teaching of technique going on during pre-season.
On the plus side, he was contesting the boards pretty well, especially on the offensive end, which accounts for all those rebounds.
CHRIS WRIGHT: 5pts, 2-9 FG (1-3 2pt, 1-6 3pt), 3 REB, 9 AST, 3 FLS
COME ON, HATERS! I know you're out there. Coach Rodney done told me aaaall about yall. So you think Chris Wright shoots too much? You think he doesn't pass enough? Well try this on for size!
Ahem. Apparently, with Roy Hibbert's encore appearance at Kenner League seemingly at an end, Chris decided to play the facilitator role. He was certainly into distribution today (he's like Atlantic), dishing out 9 assists by my count. All kinds of assists: a feed to Sims just inside the free-throw line, which the latter converted into a sweet turn-around jumper; flings around the perimeter that led to outside shots or lanes for penetrating; bounces into the post.
Unfortunately, the questionable shot selection continued, and this time the threes just weren't falling. Nor were his other attempts working: one drive into traffic ended in a travel call, another saw his attempt at elevating the ball smothered with a block. There was a fair share of turnovers as well, though I'm not sure quite how many (4 or 5?). The judgement on the last possession of the game was very disappointing.
Chris continues to play with high energy and aggression, though, and he likely would have had many more rebounds if it hadn't been for the Towering Two freshmen. An off shooting day for sure, and it may have affected his rhythm in terms of penetrating and creating baskets. He was able to recognize this however, and for better or for worse limited himself to under 10 shots.
NIKITA MESCHERIAKOV: 13 pts, 4-9 FG (0-2 2pt, 4-7 3pt, 1-2 FT), 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3 FLS
Nikita turned in a productive peformance, points-wise, and contirbuted in a number of other ways as well. He appears to have developed to the point that having him on the floor for much of the game is not considered a major liability, at least not unacceptably so. His athleticism, strength, handle, and confidence have all clearly improved, leading to increased productivity across the board.
Two highlights: to open the game, Chris Wright took the ball upcourt and fed Nikita on the right wing. Nikita took the three and missed. On the next possession, the exact same play unfolded, with Chris going right back to Nikita in almost the identical spot. This time, the Belorussian Blond Bomber's shot was true.
The other was just a really nice piece of basketball: Wright again threw it out to the wing from near the top of the key, this time to Clark. Clark drove toward the hoop along the baseline, but ran into trouble. He found Nikita on the opposite wing. Nikita thought about shooting it and motioned as if he was setting up for a shot, but tossed it over to Wright instead, who had migrated to a spot outside the arc that was just beyond the corner of the paint on Nikita's side. Two Madnesses (Madni?) came out to try to get a hand in Wright's face, and he calmly threw it right back to Nikita, who burried the totally uncontested 3. Really fun to watch.
On the other hand, Nikita had turnovers aplenty (probably the most of any player) and several other mistakes. This, as much as anything else, was responsible for Tombs' inability to pull away. Nikita was by no means the sole offender, but poor passing and ball-handling prevented the team from being able to get the most out of their superior offensive talent.
Still, while he must still be considered last among the players with 4 years of eligibility left, the progress on display by Nikita was very nice to see.
I'll put up the Tombs game first, along with a blurb on everyone's favorite Voluble Coach and Washed-Up Terrapin Troupe.
Electrolyte 61, Blaguards 56
The green-clad Blaguards, featuring a number of AU players, went on a run early. Coach Rodney "Screamy" McScreamerson called timeouts and yelled at his team. They eventually...slowly...responded, chipped away at the lead, were within 1 at half, and eventually took a 10-point lead themselves. Blaguards made it close at the end, largely thanks to some clutch 3-point shooting and free throws from what appeared to be Spud Webb Jr., but it was too little too late. Coach McScreamerson's comments during the game? "COME ON HATERS! YEA! YEA! YEA, HATERS!"
Notables from the game: Byron Mouton sported a bandage/tape of some sort on his bicep, making it appear like he had either given blood or gotten a tatoo just before the game. He certainly played like he had just given blood, generally playing lazy and getting screamed at by McScreamy several times (at points he literally swatted away the coach's words). Fortunately for ElectroLite, they have just enough decent players, including Folarin Campbell, to pull out games.
BRYON JANSEN: 2 pts, 1-3 FG (1-2 2pt; 0-1 3pt), 1 REB, 1 STL, 2 FLS
BJ started and played the first 7 minutes, then didn't see the court again until 6 minutes were left in the game. He missed a gimme layup at the very start of the game, airballed a 3, and was clearly much less athletic than most of the players in the game. He was clearly going full-tilt, though, and managed to get a steal for his efforts. Converted on another easy lay-up during his second stint. Clearly a practice player, but his effort is fun to watch, and he gets to play more than Sead, Izzo, or Tay did.
Chicken Madness All-Stars 55, The Tombs 54
Despite being far-and-away the most talented team in the league, The Tombs dropped a close one to an unafraid and not-too-shabby itself Madness All-Stars team. My take? Well, there did seem to be a whole lot of people milling around outside the house where some of the team is living this summer, Dixie cups in hand, at 1 a.m. A long night for some of the Tombsters, perhaps?
Tombs was ahead for most of the game, actually, although Madness opened on an 8-0 run. It was tied at the half, but Tombs started pulling away near mid-way through the 2nd half, leading by 10 w/ 10 minutes to go. Three minutes later, it was tied again. Tombs never could create much separation on the scoreboard, and Madness took a 1 point lead with just over a minute left. Madness had the ball with 40 seconds left and ran the clock down, but they ended up airballing the 3, so even though it bounced past a mis-stepping Jason Clark and into the hands of a Madman?, Tombs got the ball thanks to a shot-clock violation.
The last shot strategy was lacking though - Wright ran off clock and then launched a beyond-NBA three, which caromed off into the corner. Clark grabbed it with several seconds still on the clock, but he heaved it toward the basket, missing badly and using up enough clock that by the time Nikita got control of the rebound, the horn was sounding. Poor end-of-game shot selection. Now if it had been Roy taking the three, that'd be a different story, clearly ;D
What did The Tombs in? If I had to specify two culprits, it would be the inability to prevent Madness from scoring (more on that later) and turnovers turnovers turnovers. Unfortunately, TOs were the one stat that I didn't keep, but there were mounds of them. There also seemed to be a general lack of intensity on defense that, while perhaps understandable in a summer league game (especially if you had a long night), did showcase some deficiencies.
HENRY SIMS: 9 pts, 4-6 FG (3-4 2pt; 1-2 3pt), 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK 5 FLS
Sims got in foul trouble mid-way through the first half, someone limiting his time on the court and perhaps his aggressiveness as well. He didn't display much desire to play with his back to the basket or try traditional post moves, though he did spend a good deal of time in the post. Most of his shots ended up being pull-up shots of the intermediate-to-long range variety. Fortunately for him, he has a pretty good feel for those shots and wound up making most of them. UNfortunately, we could use a true 5 with size, power, and post presense more than we need a big man with Pittsnogle-type shooting skills. Nice to have, for sure, but...
JASON CLARK: 15 pts, 7-17 FG (6-10 2pt, 1-7 3pt), 4 REB, 3 FLS
Kind of an odd line from Clark, as he seemed content to let Chris Wright do most of the ballhandling. His lack of any assists (that I recorder, anyway, I could be wrong) stands out, although to be fair he had several would-be assists negated by misses or failed execution. His three-point shooting was woeful, but he continued to have a knack for driving and penetrating. He had one nice coast-to-coast drive where he went into traffic, was forced to stop and keep his handle by rattling off a series of dribbles in place with his back to the basket, but was able to twist his way up for a layup. Also had a nice dunk on a breakaway and a strong thrown down off an odd-man rush on a back-and-forth with CW.
GREG MONROE: 17 pts, 8-13 FG (8-13 2pt, 0-0 3pt, 1-2 FT), 11 REB, 2 BLK, 1 STL, 1 FL
Another one of those "forgettable, at no point truly outstanding, but then you look at the stat sheet and realize it's pretty damn good" performances from Greg. Was very efficient on the offensive end, with a number of offensive boards, put-backs (including one off of a long CW miss), and other close-range buckets. There was one particularly nice sequence where Nikita tangled up his man at half-court, was able to control the ball, and lobbed it forward to Monroe, who threw it down emphatically.
And now for the down side: Greg was repeatedly and inexcusable backed down and scored on, often by players who had no business doing so. There were times when the thought "what good is a four-star recruit if some 0-star scrub can score at will on his in the post" crossed my mind. It's not quite that bad, and may have stemmed in large part due to lack of effort, but it was nevertheless cringeworthy each time it happened. On the plus side, he did have a very nice drawn charge that shifted the game's momentum temporarily.
I certainly don't want to disparage Louisiana Class 4A high school basketball, but one does get the sense that Greg is used to not facing anybody anywhere near his size or strength, or at least not during an organized game with refs and the like. So just as his footwork is a bit raw (one particularly bad travel comes to mind), so does his defensive firmness and ability in the pain seem underdeveloped. He clearly has the physical tools (he got some SERIOUS elevation on one broken play, for instance), which should only improve, but there will be some serious teaching of technique going on during pre-season.
On the plus side, he was contesting the boards pretty well, especially on the offensive end, which accounts for all those rebounds.
CHRIS WRIGHT: 5pts, 2-9 FG (1-3 2pt, 1-6 3pt), 3 REB, 9 AST, 3 FLS
COME ON, HATERS! I know you're out there. Coach Rodney done told me aaaall about yall. So you think Chris Wright shoots too much? You think he doesn't pass enough? Well try this on for size!
Ahem. Apparently, with Roy Hibbert's encore appearance at Kenner League seemingly at an end, Chris decided to play the facilitator role. He was certainly into distribution today (he's like Atlantic), dishing out 9 assists by my count. All kinds of assists: a feed to Sims just inside the free-throw line, which the latter converted into a sweet turn-around jumper; flings around the perimeter that led to outside shots or lanes for penetrating; bounces into the post.
Unfortunately, the questionable shot selection continued, and this time the threes just weren't falling. Nor were his other attempts working: one drive into traffic ended in a travel call, another saw his attempt at elevating the ball smothered with a block. There was a fair share of turnovers as well, though I'm not sure quite how many (4 or 5?). The judgement on the last possession of the game was very disappointing.
Chris continues to play with high energy and aggression, though, and he likely would have had many more rebounds if it hadn't been for the Towering Two freshmen. An off shooting day for sure, and it may have affected his rhythm in terms of penetrating and creating baskets. He was able to recognize this however, and for better or for worse limited himself to under 10 shots.
NIKITA MESCHERIAKOV: 13 pts, 4-9 FG (0-2 2pt, 4-7 3pt, 1-2 FT), 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3 FLS
Nikita turned in a productive peformance, points-wise, and contirbuted in a number of other ways as well. He appears to have developed to the point that having him on the floor for much of the game is not considered a major liability, at least not unacceptably so. His athleticism, strength, handle, and confidence have all clearly improved, leading to increased productivity across the board.
Two highlights: to open the game, Chris Wright took the ball upcourt and fed Nikita on the right wing. Nikita took the three and missed. On the next possession, the exact same play unfolded, with Chris going right back to Nikita in almost the identical spot. This time, the Belorussian Blond Bomber's shot was true.
The other was just a really nice piece of basketball: Wright again threw it out to the wing from near the top of the key, this time to Clark. Clark drove toward the hoop along the baseline, but ran into trouble. He found Nikita on the opposite wing. Nikita thought about shooting it and motioned as if he was setting up for a shot, but tossed it over to Wright instead, who had migrated to a spot outside the arc that was just beyond the corner of the paint on Nikita's side. Two Madnesses (Madni?) came out to try to get a hand in Wright's face, and he calmly threw it right back to Nikita, who burried the totally uncontested 3. Really fun to watch.
On the other hand, Nikita had turnovers aplenty (probably the most of any player) and several other mistakes. This, as much as anything else, was responsible for Tombs' inability to pull away. Nikita was by no means the sole offender, but poor passing and ball-handling prevented the team from being able to get the most out of their superior offensive talent.
Still, while he must still be considered last among the players with 4 years of eligibility left, the progress on display by Nikita was very nice to see.
