10.24 Black & Gold Scrimmage

Annual Black & Gold Scrimmage

Thursday, October 24, 2013

6pm

Klotsche Center

Open to Full Court Club members, 3 pack ticketholders, and students.

Can't wait to see the team back in action!

They should have the schedule posters. Plus, popcorn and soda.

Any chance those in attendance tonight could post their thoughts and observations on the board? Unfortunately I will not be able to make it and I am very anxious to hear what everyone thinks of all the new faces.....

The one major thing I took away was that it appears Cody Wichmann is the real deal.

Cody really thinks the game well, and he is a terrific shooter. Might need more strength and footspeed development to compete defensively at this level, so it wouldn't shock me if he redshirted. But did I mention he can really shoot the ball?

Similarly, the Prahl twins are not quite ready but they are both going to be very good players in this program down the road. They have legit size and true basketball talent.

Rounding out the newcomers who played, JeVon Lyle and Trinson White both showed flashes of skill and athleticism that we were lacking last year. Overall, considering the terrible year we had and the uncertainty of where we would play, the staff did a nice job recruiting all these guys.

It was also great to see Steve McWhorter running with the first team and Bobo back from injury. The guard rotation is going to be so much bigger, deeper and athletic than last year.

It took Austin a little while to warm up but he got it going, and he's just physically better this year. Faster, stronger, more willing to attack the hoop.

As for the veteran bigs, Kyle is totally different than last year. Aggressive, strong, but still has a nice outside stroke. JJ was a terror blocking shots and had some great post moves. Really sorry the fans didn't get a chance to see Matt Tiby. He's going to be our enforcer and tough guy, and he competes hard.

It was raining threes most of the night. We'll see if they can do that against somebody other than themselves. But overall this is a much different squad, and I think it will be much improved.

Brett and Alex Prahl are physically ready. That's not something you usually hear from freshmen. They need to take a year to develop skills.

You can see the physical difference on AAA. Less doughy in the middle and broader shoulders with strong muscles. He added a ton of lateral quickness and is no longer a liability defensively, he can handle the ball pretty well for a guy his size, and he still shoots lights out. He is going to be a huge matchup problem in the Horizon League.

Cody, to me at least, is a year away, which is comforting and I will tell you why. Cody is almost tit for tat the same player that Austin was last season - defensive liability, lights out shooter, barely passable ball-handling skills, not quite ready physically. The difference is this year we have the luxury of deciding whether or not to redshirt Cody, which would effectively give us four years of a physically ready Cody and the possibility for a truly special shooter as a senior - like, Bader-level special. Not to mention he would then be two years behind Austin and could be his replacement in the rotation.

McWhorter was the best point on the floor.