Thoughts after watching Red Blue scrimmage... Jaden Bradley & Oumar Ballo were by far the 2 best players on the court. Both are must starts from day One!
Glad to hear that Bradley played well because he looked like the weakest backcourt option during the international tour.
This team is so deep that anybody can step up at any point during a crucial game.
KJ Lewis is going to be a star! There was a couple of plays were his athleticism really stood out, like when blocked Love on a dunk attempt. Then Ballo looks to pick up were he left off, bullying the paint. I couldn't stay for the whole game because my mom had a long day, so we left at half time. But we are deep.
My takeaway is that we're going to see a lot of lineups. Yes, solid depth is part of it. However, I didn't see a lot of clear separation (yet) of talent 2-4. Lots of very good players, so expectation is certain combos will have better on court chemistry than others. Thankfully CTL will make it work.
It was good to see Ballo showed up for conditioning practices; he looks more like regular season Ballo now...was a little worried, I can admit that. Lewis showed he deserves to be in the conversation for consistent minutes, which is great.
Early season practices will have some slop, and there was plenty of that. Nothing terrible that the coaching staff isn't going to be able to use video of this to clean up though.
Energy and athleticism don't seem to be a problem this year...just accuracy behind the arc. :)
Quote from: something1 on September 30, 2023, 03:45:03 PMMy takeaway is that we're going to see a lot of lineups. Yes, solid depth is part of it. However, I didn't see a lot of clear separation (yet) of talent 2-4. Lots of very good players, so expectation is certain combos will have better on court chemistry than others. Thankfully CTL will make it work.
It was good to see Ballo showed up for conditioning practices; he looks more like regular season Ballo now...was a little worried, I can admit that. Lewis showed he deserves to be in the conversation for consistent minutes, which is great.
Early season practices will have some slop, and there was plenty of that. Nothing terrible that the coaching staff isn't going to be able to use video of this to clean up though.
Energy and athleticism don't seem to be a problem this year...just accuracy behind the arc. :)
Hope you are right about seeing a lot of different lineups. Tommy's willingness to mix and match will be the most important coaching progression he can make. Deep lineup, many options, using all of the tools on his tool belt as needed is paramount. No more standing around wholesome with arms folded watching 1 or 2 players go 1-7 or 1-9 from 3. Nip that in the bud after 1-5 from 3 and go to someone else.
I noticed despite t. lloyd and the Arizona Basketball staff saying the "showcase" wouldn't be streamed/televised it was.
What was the point of lying to a fanbase that has been so loyal over the years?
If there was a change of plans that was out of their control they could have explained what happened, but unless I missed it they haven't.