I wish I could say there was great news in terms of eligibility and injury news. Nendah Tarke hasn't gotten word yet from the NCAA so they are in a holding pattern, but he also had issues with his back and even though he dressed, didn't play in the scrimmage (two 12-minute periods with refs). So Tarke seemed a bit gimpy and who knows when he returns. Way too early to mention JG here so hopefully he'll be back in practice in a few days. As someone who has suffered through that, if it becomes a long-term thing, usually a cortisone shot can help (not with Gibby last season). Jaiden Cole was supposed to be available by now and he wasn't even in the non-contact part because he had a boot on and was on the bike. If he's still like this in another month, I assume they will have to redshirt him.
So you had Tarke dressed but not playing. Marcus Watson on the bike rehabbing his ACL and Cole still not available. The good news is that there are three pretty good freshmen counting Dylan Williamson and this team is a lot longer and more powerful than last season. If Tarke plays, they should be fine, but without him and Cole, there is very little depth in the backcourt. It also means that Williamson and Hicks will probably play together some while Lowery, May and Tejada will play a lot at the 2 and 3 spots. Sulaiman can play some 3 (he's around 6-5, 230), but is more of tweener.
A few things stood out. Messiah Jones banged two threes out of three shots and that would be huge if he can start making those. He was 0 for 7 from 3pt over his last two seasons. He does have a pretty nice lefty form. He does have a very unorthodox post game where he will take some funky looking off-balanced lefty shots and hooks. John Davis at least had a pet move, where he would fake right and go left. Either way, Jones is going to help with his bulk, rebounding and some interior scoring. Again, if he can add that three-point game, it would be a huge help. Another issue is fouling and I'm sure the coaches have gone over with him and others about reaching and too much fouling. He's definitely not a 30+ minute player. I had him for 14 points in 24 minutes (all 10 guys played both 12-minute periods).
Dylan Williamson is more of a scorer than a point guard though he made some nice passes today. He had 10 points and a couple of assists on 3 of 7 shooting. Made both threes he took. I think he's still learning to be a point guard though I had him for just one turnover.
Tyler Tejada looks really good physically. When I first saw him in June, I wasn't sure what to think about his game and he looks like he dropped some baby fat and added some muscle. So at 6-8, 220+, he's a really big win and now, we need him. I thought he looked a little better in late July and then in Canada, he played very well, averaging around 12ppg. He didn't shoot the three well (0-3), but did have eight points, including four on two soaring dunks in transition. When Tejada was defended by Mekhi Lowery, it was tough getting a shot off. That's how good Lowery is on defense with his tremendous length and leaping ability. On offense, he took just one shot and struggled to finish on a drive. He did make both free throws. But that's kind of what you can expect him from. Really good defensively and doesn't have much of an offensive game yet. Kind of seemed tenative as if he didn't want to make a mistake and that's typical for a freshman early on.
Since offense is so important, Lowery will likely only play 10-15mpg off the bench and I see Tejada playing more. God forbid Tarke is out or not eligible, he may end up starting.
As for C. May, I saw him putting the ball on the floor and driving some in Canada. I didn't see that here and I think that tells you a little more about our long defenders and rim protectors. But he did show more mid-range ability. His confidence as a 3-point shooter seems a bit down this season. He made just 1 of 5 and while I had him for two assists, he's not there to be the next Cam. We need him to average at least 12+ points per game. Personally, I've compared him with Corey Kispert, as a big, athletic wing (May is a bit better athlete), who needs to do more than just shoot. Kispert figured it out last season with the Wizards as a guy who moves without the ball and can get to the rim without putting the ball on the floor much. I know May is just 19 or 20, but hopefully, he becomes more aggressive. He's 10 pounds or so heavier, he's very athletic so needs to use that and not just become the next NT.
Tomiwa Sulaiman's game is really growing on me. Few people are going to like his corkscrew jumper, but it goes in. I wish he slashed a little more to the basket, but the handle does seem to be there. He did have nine points and he's always around the basket when there's a miss. Will likely be the team's 2nd or 3rd best offensive rebounder (after CT). His defense is also on point.
As for Radhir Hicks, other than two turnovers in the second half, he played a near-perfect 24 minutes. He had nine points, hit a three and did not miss a shot with three assists. He could have had around six assists had the guys made their open jumpers. But I've seen this before. He does well in preseason and then he doesn't make open shots when the lights go on. If he can do that, just give us 7-8ppg and 3-4apg, the point guard position would be in pretty good shape when you add Williamson's potential to score (hopefully around 6-7ppg, 2apg in 20mpg).
I thought Chase Paar was....Chase Paar. At times, he overpowered CT and had eight points with about 4 rebounds. He also had three turnovers. He was huffing and puffing some, but he's definitely in much better shape and has lost a bunch of weight since his first season.
As for CT, I didn't see this new progression of him taking jumpers. Maybe he gave up on tat. My biggest concern is free throw shooting. It seems like he has a hitch in his form. I had Towson for just two missed FTs in the scrimmage (18 of 20). Coleman and Thompson had one miss apiece. That was a good thing considering they didn't shoot that well in Canada from the line. Charles also shot some long hooks and I know Paar has the 6-10 frame and did a nice job. I think against bigger and wider dudes (not 6-10 string beans like at Stony Brook), he needs to shoot that short jumper he now has (did in this game) or take them off the dribble. He also had a really nice up-and-under move today. Had just seven points but a bunch of boards. Not really worried about CT though.
So all in all, not bad for the first fall scrimmage. A little sloppy early but not bad. I guess knowing that Tarke wasn't playing and that Cole is still out (not surprised) kind of left me in a slightly bad mood. The key is getting all three of the four freshmen as many reps as possible along with the newcomers in Tomiwa and Jones. If Cole can somehow get healthy in a month, maybe you ease him back into the rotation or just as a bench player. Maybe he can play more in conference play or of course, the other redshirt scenario is out there.
I don't want to put that ole "wait until next season" type of thing. Who knows who will be back, but we will have some serious length and athletic ability next season with 6-6 wing Chike Ndefu now on board and the 6-9 center Caleb Embeya (who was there today). I think we've lacked that in recent years on the wing. We've had that in the post in terms of guys like Dennis Tunstall but other than 6-8 Juwan Gray, who we missed last season as a defender on the perimeter. Add 6-8 Tejada, 6-6 Lowery and hopefully a healthy Cole (a long 6-4) with Sulaiman and Ndeful. That's a lot of length and some skill on the perimeter where we can hopefully do some different things defensively. We'll miss Charles' steady play but have a super long and athletic team. Ndefu can shoot it by the way. Who knows about Watson returning, but Tarke and May. We'd probably only need a transfer or two and I would definitely say another big who has some experience. And well if we had two ships, a point guard or combo guard who can break you down off the dribble.
