Summer Pro-Am Running Thread
While all 8 of the Panthers were in action last week, I only got to see a handful this weekend at Greenfield HS. According to the guys that were there, a lot of them scheduled holiday weekends and are back home, and one of them was at a wedding. So that's why, since MUPanther was wondering out loud.
Did the scoreboard today in the Hawk Dome but got to rove around and check out the games on Friday. Today's second game featured a team with Mitch Carter against a team with JJ Panoske, Akeem Springs and Ant Hill. Ricky Franklin had some family stuff to take care of and missed today, but he was playing last night.
Some updates:
Ricky is going to play in France this year. He was the leading scorer in the Portuguese league last year before he left the team due to them, you know, not paying him. Apparently it's not rare but still uncommon. The French league is much more stable, and they back basketball better than Portugal, which is all about soccer. He played for Benfica, which is obviously the reigning champion in the top soccer league in Portugal. I guess it's more important they pay their soccer players than their basketball players.
Anthony Hill is going to Vegas next weekend to participate in the KBL Foreign draft, which is basically a weekend combine that is followed immediately by a draft. Players drafted in the first round make 35k a month, players in the second round make 25k a month. That's pretty great.
JJ Panoske spent the game guarding Mitch Carter, who is far superior and polished to his college basketball self. Carter's got an NBA body, which was why Panoske was guarding him and not Ant. I think Panoske was all right at the start, but he had a lot of trouble with the monstrous Mitch and tried the finesse defense with mixed results. There was a pretty nuts play where Panoske got three blocks, which caused him to go on one of his JJ tirades where he tries to block everything. He probably had 7 or 8 blocks but he also gave up some baskets by sniffing for the block when he should have bodied up. If he can figure out how to find the block from the correct positioning, he'll be a sight to see on the defensive end. We need the Prahls to be ready to go, though, because Panoske simply cannot play center. He's too perimeter-oriented and he likes to come from the outside on his blocks.
Dan Studer grew a pretty solid beard in the offseason. I recommend he keep it for the regular season. It's good having walk-ons who aren't just seat-fillers. Gone are the days of James Dean and Zach Holt.
Akeem Springs is the truth, and don't let anyone tell you different. He has a level of body control and a feel for the court that is rare for Milwaukee, and he's productive at both ends of the floor. I had to correct two guys at the scorers table who were commenting on how well Springs meshed with Deonte Burton and how that lineup was going to help Wojo field a much better backcourt, because they thought Springs was somebody else. When they found out he was going to Milwaukee their jaws dropped.
Tiby wasn't there today, but last night he was his usual high-motor self without the edge of playing like it's the Final Four. He struggled on only a couple plays and I'm pretty sure that if he were two inches taller and had more quickness, he'd be an NBA prospect. In any case he's got a long pro career ahead of him after these two years.
