Practice Observations/Thoughts
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:20 pmI watched the complete two hour practice yesterday and thought I would share some of my observations:
1. Nic Moore: Clearly the leader of this team and it appears he has taken young Sedric Barefield under his wing. He's clearly ready to go.
2. Markus Kennedy: Best shape of his life. I heard someone comment that he might be too thin. LB said he has lost 45 lbs. He's lean and jumping better than ever. Seems very quick and agile as well. Clearly focused and ready to go.
3. JordanTolbert/Ben Moore/ Sterling Brown: Ben and Jordan have bulked up from conditioning. Together with Sterling, they're right where you want them to be. They will be great complimentary players in all phases.
4. Semi Ojeleye: LB commented to the group about how much Semi has improved since arriving at SMU. He seemed genuinely excited about his presence. I have to tell you, this guy is going to be the surprise on the team come conference play. He's a beast and can jump out of the gym. Probably the best athelete on the the team.
5. Keith Frazier: Keith has probably added 10 lbs since last year. He looks ready to go but seems to still make the random mistake/turnover. His jumpshot release, is near perfect, but his form going up seems to always be "off". Not sure why that's never been corrected, but he doesn't look like he's gotten better. I expected KF to really take this team over by now (junior year), but its clearly not his team.
6. The Freshman: Jarry, Sedrick, Shake: Man I like all three freshman. Shake is the real deal. Handles the ball well, listens to coaching, has a real feel for the game. Sedrick is already deadly with the ball, very quick, seems to have great court intuition. Jarry is bigger than I thought. Very athletic. His jump shot is coming around, but he can definitely drive to the basket and has athleticism. These three are going to be really, really fun to watch this year and i can see them developing. Coach Jank told the crowd that all three have a real high basketball IQ which is very uncommon in freshman. They came into the program well coached and have picked up everything. Sedrick will be the leader of this group and Shake will be the closer.
7. Coach LB: Told the crowd that he has been surprised by the continued interest in SMU despite the NCAA issues. Was very positive about the future of the program. Talked a little about the disappointment for the seniors but that they've handled everything very well. In my opinion, if this team takes care of business, it will be one of the better stories in CBasketball this year leading up to the NCAA tournament. And if they beat Gonzaga, Michigan and win their conference, they will get A LOT of positive press.
8. Ben E: Was hurt and did not practice.
In all, I was very impressed with the team and how they looked in practice. Tremendous speed, athleticism and height. I now understand why Semi's nickname on the team is "SemBron". Holy smoke!
1. Nic Moore: Clearly the leader of this team and it appears he has taken young Sedric Barefield under his wing. He's clearly ready to go.
2. Markus Kennedy: Best shape of his life. I heard someone comment that he might be too thin. LB said he has lost 45 lbs. He's lean and jumping better than ever. Seems very quick and agile as well. Clearly focused and ready to go.
3. JordanTolbert/Ben Moore/ Sterling Brown: Ben and Jordan have bulked up from conditioning. Together with Sterling, they're right where you want them to be. They will be great complimentary players in all phases.
4. Semi Ojeleye: LB commented to the group about how much Semi has improved since arriving at SMU. He seemed genuinely excited about his presence. I have to tell you, this guy is going to be the surprise on the team come conference play. He's a beast and can jump out of the gym. Probably the best athelete on the the team.
5. Keith Frazier: Keith has probably added 10 lbs since last year. He looks ready to go but seems to still make the random mistake/turnover. His jumpshot release, is near perfect, but his form going up seems to always be "off". Not sure why that's never been corrected, but he doesn't look like he's gotten better. I expected KF to really take this team over by now (junior year), but its clearly not his team.
6. The Freshman: Jarry, Sedrick, Shake: Man I like all three freshman. Shake is the real deal. Handles the ball well, listens to coaching, has a real feel for the game. Sedrick is already deadly with the ball, very quick, seems to have great court intuition. Jarry is bigger than I thought. Very athletic. His jump shot is coming around, but he can definitely drive to the basket and has athleticism. These three are going to be really, really fun to watch this year and i can see them developing. Coach Jank told the crowd that all three have a real high basketball IQ which is very uncommon in freshman. They came into the program well coached and have picked up everything. Sedrick will be the leader of this group and Shake will be the closer.
7. Coach LB: Told the crowd that he has been surprised by the continued interest in SMU despite the NCAA issues. Was very positive about the future of the program. Talked a little about the disappointment for the seniors but that they've handled everything very well. In my opinion, if this team takes care of business, it will be one of the better stories in CBasketball this year leading up to the NCAA tournament. And if they beat Gonzaga, Michigan and win their conference, they will get A LOT of positive press.
8. Ben E: Was hurt and did not practice.
In all, I was very impressed with the team and how they looked in practice. Tremendous speed, athleticism and height. I now understand why Semi's nickname on the team is "SemBron". Holy smoke!