Post by Cambridge on Jul 13, 2005 12:20:07 GMT -5
Since, we have some new opponents in the league, I thought I'd post this detailed scouting report of DePaul so we could get a feel of where other teams stand...curtesy of Freshjive2103 from the bluedemonsnation.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/170108301/m/620106926
Now, let me try to give you a little summary of each player, beginning with the expected starting lineup.
Cliff "The Colonel" Clinkscales is a 6'0 - 6'1 sophomore point guard originally from New York City, who went away to Shores Christian Academy after his freshman year of high school. Clinkscales came into the DePaul program as a late period signee. He is a former "hyped" prospect as a child, appearing on the Rosie O'Donnell Show as well as Oprah. Cliff is a speedy guard, who loves the transition game. He is outstanding with his ball handling and extremely good with his passing abilities. His weakness this past year was his shooting. He was unwilling at times to find his shot, and when he did shoot, the shot would not fall. Rumblings are that he has spent alot of time since the end of the season to better his shot.
Sammy Mejia is a 6'6 versatile guard who had been the starting point guard for the Blue Demons the past two years. Sammy is another NYC product. Sammy is not a super athlete, but his athletic ability is underrated. Since he played point the past two years, you can expect that he has solid ballhandling and passing abilities. There is some who believe that Sammy was being held back by playing the point. Mejia's midrange game is very solid, and should show that aspect of his game quite often this upcoming year. He can be strong on the boards. Mejia dealt with some issues last year, and people started questioning his heart.
Karron Clarke is a 6'5 athletic sophomore wing, who committed and spent his freshman year at Miami (FL), but decided to transfer to DePaul last year, and sat out, per NCAA rules, last season. He attended Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, and did a prep year at Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts, where he was considered a top 50 recruit by some services. Clarke has been said by some as being the quickest player, and might have the best vertical on the team (rumored in the low 40's). Clarke's best asset on offense is as a slasher. His time in Miami was uneventful, though some fans at Miami felt he shot too much from the perimeter and did not use his athletic skills to the best of his ability.
Wilson Chandler is a 6'7 highly regarded freshman (3rd team Parade All-American / Mr Basketball for Michigan) from Benton Harbor, Michigan. Chandler hit a growth spurt just prior to his junior year I believe, and before that, he was a perimeter player. He is solid with ballhandling, and looks to involve his teammates. He is fundamentally strong on the blocks, as he impressed me with his knowledge to kick the ball back out and repost. Chandler is advanced when it comes to rebounding the ball, since he is blessed with the ability to have his second jump still be extremely high. At Benton Harbor, he was on the blocks quite often, but at DePaul, you can expect him to be in motion along the baseline. Chandler is currently in the 205-210lbs weight range, but is looking to add a little bit more weight prior to the season.
Marlon Brumfield is a 6'8 senior post player from here in Chicago. Brumfield is a workingman's hero, as he came into DePaul with an underdeveloped body, and will leave as a rock solid beast. Marlon does all the little things you desire in a big man (blocks out, provides toughness, works to get rebounds). He does not possess a great deal of athletic ability, but he gets every last drop out of his abilities. Brumfield has worked this summer on including a few offensive moves into his game. He will get most his points on put backs, and on his strong free throw ability.
Bench
Draelon Burns is a 6'4 sophomore guard out of Milwaukee, who spent his senior year at Laurinberg Institute. Burns came into last season as an underappreciated recruit, but as the year progressed, he became a key player off the bench, and actually started a few games. Burns is similar to Mejia in that he is not a super athlete, but possess the attributes needed to succeed on the court. Burns was a combo guard for the Blue Demons last year, which was a surprise to some, as his lead guard abilities were unknown. Burns is strong at penetrating the lane, even at his size. He has a nice mid range game, and is underrated on defense.
Rashad Woods is a 6'5 freshman wing from Houston Texas. Woods is another Blue Demon who possesses great athletic ability, which is an added bonus since he is built like a linebacker (225lbs). This lefty possess an outside shot that we expect many opponents will not respect initially, due to his odd shooting form. However, various sources have stated that opponents will learn to respect the shot after he hits a few on them. Woods is strong from baseline to baseline, and possesses a vertical that is in the upper 30's.
Jabari Currie is a 6'5 freshman guard out of Detroit Michigan. Currie was seen by most recruiting services as a player in the 110-135 range for high school seniors this past year. However, he did win the Detroit Public School player of the year award this past year. Jabari spent this past year as a wing, but possesses skills that will be best used at point guard. Various Blue Demons Nation sources have stated that Currie is an outstanding passer, who is always thinking ahead. He enjoys backing his man down, which only adds to the fact that he is already a mismatch due to his size. His outside shot is suspect, according to the sources, but is not expect to come in as a shooter.
Lorenzo Thompson is a 6'8 junior forward from Chicago. Thompson has been hot and cold in his time at DePaul. He teased the fans with his showing at home last year versus Marquette University, only to follow it up with nearly a disappearing act against East Carolina. Quite simply, Thompson may possess the best offensive moves on the team, but by the same token, may have the weakest defensive skills on the team. Due to DePaul's lack of size, Zo will be counted on to provide solid minutes this year. It basically goes without saying that with having Jerry Wainwright as your coach, Zo has been and will be working on defense in the off-season.
Marcus Heard is a 6'7 forward from downstate in Springfield. Heard came into last season with expectations to be a solid player off the bench, and unfortunately, he did not live up to these expectations. Heard is a "long" player, with an above average reach, even for a man of his size. Heard showed an ability to hit the outside shot as a freshman, but it was not apparent last year. Heard possess athletic ability, and is active on defense, but some felt he was "lost" last year, as former coach Dave Leitao was always on his backside. Heard benefited the most with the coaching change. He too will likely be counted on to provide some minutes in the post.
Since this is Jerry Wainwright's first year with DePaul, it is difficult to ascertain just what style of play DePaul will play. If you go off past history with a Wainwright coached team, the style of play would be a slowed down tempo game, where DePaul would try to milk the clock. This would seemingly not make sense with this squad, as the team has players that have strong transition skills. In the past, Wainwright had a fairly large player rotation, and will make use of his bench. I'd expect much the same here at DePaul. Wainwright's calling card as a coach is a defensive strong squads. Many of the early practices should be heavily stressed on defense, and rotation on offense. Jerry stated on television that he likes his players to be versatile and not so much a "position" guy.
Now, let me try to give you a little summary of each player, beginning with the expected starting lineup.
Cliff "The Colonel" Clinkscales is a 6'0 - 6'1 sophomore point guard originally from New York City, who went away to Shores Christian Academy after his freshman year of high school. Clinkscales came into the DePaul program as a late period signee. He is a former "hyped" prospect as a child, appearing on the Rosie O'Donnell Show as well as Oprah. Cliff is a speedy guard, who loves the transition game. He is outstanding with his ball handling and extremely good with his passing abilities. His weakness this past year was his shooting. He was unwilling at times to find his shot, and when he did shoot, the shot would not fall. Rumblings are that he has spent alot of time since the end of the season to better his shot.
Sammy Mejia is a 6'6 versatile guard who had been the starting point guard for the Blue Demons the past two years. Sammy is another NYC product. Sammy is not a super athlete, but his athletic ability is underrated. Since he played point the past two years, you can expect that he has solid ballhandling and passing abilities. There is some who believe that Sammy was being held back by playing the point. Mejia's midrange game is very solid, and should show that aspect of his game quite often this upcoming year. He can be strong on the boards. Mejia dealt with some issues last year, and people started questioning his heart.
Karron Clarke is a 6'5 athletic sophomore wing, who committed and spent his freshman year at Miami (FL), but decided to transfer to DePaul last year, and sat out, per NCAA rules, last season. He attended Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, and did a prep year at Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts, where he was considered a top 50 recruit by some services. Clarke has been said by some as being the quickest player, and might have the best vertical on the team (rumored in the low 40's). Clarke's best asset on offense is as a slasher. His time in Miami was uneventful, though some fans at Miami felt he shot too much from the perimeter and did not use his athletic skills to the best of his ability.
Wilson Chandler is a 6'7 highly regarded freshman (3rd team Parade All-American / Mr Basketball for Michigan) from Benton Harbor, Michigan. Chandler hit a growth spurt just prior to his junior year I believe, and before that, he was a perimeter player. He is solid with ballhandling, and looks to involve his teammates. He is fundamentally strong on the blocks, as he impressed me with his knowledge to kick the ball back out and repost. Chandler is advanced when it comes to rebounding the ball, since he is blessed with the ability to have his second jump still be extremely high. At Benton Harbor, he was on the blocks quite often, but at DePaul, you can expect him to be in motion along the baseline. Chandler is currently in the 205-210lbs weight range, but is looking to add a little bit more weight prior to the season.
Marlon Brumfield is a 6'8 senior post player from here in Chicago. Brumfield is a workingman's hero, as he came into DePaul with an underdeveloped body, and will leave as a rock solid beast. Marlon does all the little things you desire in a big man (blocks out, provides toughness, works to get rebounds). He does not possess a great deal of athletic ability, but he gets every last drop out of his abilities. Brumfield has worked this summer on including a few offensive moves into his game. He will get most his points on put backs, and on his strong free throw ability.
Bench
Draelon Burns is a 6'4 sophomore guard out of Milwaukee, who spent his senior year at Laurinberg Institute. Burns came into last season as an underappreciated recruit, but as the year progressed, he became a key player off the bench, and actually started a few games. Burns is similar to Mejia in that he is not a super athlete, but possess the attributes needed to succeed on the court. Burns was a combo guard for the Blue Demons last year, which was a surprise to some, as his lead guard abilities were unknown. Burns is strong at penetrating the lane, even at his size. He has a nice mid range game, and is underrated on defense.
Rashad Woods is a 6'5 freshman wing from Houston Texas. Woods is another Blue Demon who possesses great athletic ability, which is an added bonus since he is built like a linebacker (225lbs). This lefty possess an outside shot that we expect many opponents will not respect initially, due to his odd shooting form. However, various sources have stated that opponents will learn to respect the shot after he hits a few on them. Woods is strong from baseline to baseline, and possesses a vertical that is in the upper 30's.
Jabari Currie is a 6'5 freshman guard out of Detroit Michigan. Currie was seen by most recruiting services as a player in the 110-135 range for high school seniors this past year. However, he did win the Detroit Public School player of the year award this past year. Jabari spent this past year as a wing, but possesses skills that will be best used at point guard. Various Blue Demons Nation sources have stated that Currie is an outstanding passer, who is always thinking ahead. He enjoys backing his man down, which only adds to the fact that he is already a mismatch due to his size. His outside shot is suspect, according to the sources, but is not expect to come in as a shooter.
Lorenzo Thompson is a 6'8 junior forward from Chicago. Thompson has been hot and cold in his time at DePaul. He teased the fans with his showing at home last year versus Marquette University, only to follow it up with nearly a disappearing act against East Carolina. Quite simply, Thompson may possess the best offensive moves on the team, but by the same token, may have the weakest defensive skills on the team. Due to DePaul's lack of size, Zo will be counted on to provide solid minutes this year. It basically goes without saying that with having Jerry Wainwright as your coach, Zo has been and will be working on defense in the off-season.
Marcus Heard is a 6'7 forward from downstate in Springfield. Heard came into last season with expectations to be a solid player off the bench, and unfortunately, he did not live up to these expectations. Heard is a "long" player, with an above average reach, even for a man of his size. Heard showed an ability to hit the outside shot as a freshman, but it was not apparent last year. Heard possess athletic ability, and is active on defense, but some felt he was "lost" last year, as former coach Dave Leitao was always on his backside. Heard benefited the most with the coaching change. He too will likely be counted on to provide some minutes in the post.
Since this is Jerry Wainwright's first year with DePaul, it is difficult to ascertain just what style of play DePaul will play. If you go off past history with a Wainwright coached team, the style of play would be a slowed down tempo game, where DePaul would try to milk the clock. This would seemingly not make sense with this squad, as the team has players that have strong transition skills. In the past, Wainwright had a fairly large player rotation, and will make use of his bench. I'd expect much the same here at DePaul. Wainwright's calling card as a coach is a defensive strong squads. Many of the early practices should be heavily stressed on defense, and rotation on offense. Jerry stated on television that he likes his players to be versatile and not so much a "position" guy.
