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mat1992

First practice update

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Got to see hoops practice on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was mostly about drills so I decided to wait until today to make a report. First saw Solomon U. on the side working out, which meant he was obviously injured but not seriously because he wasn't limping. Found out he had a scope on his knee and should be back shortly.  His brother Vic got a lot of playing time the last couple of days with Solomon out and Nakye Sanders slowed by an ankle injury. Guys that sit out are usually not that involved but in the post, we only had Tunstall and freshman Charles Thompson. Juwan Gray is a stretch four, he's not really a typical Towson power forward.

So Sunday, got a better view of the team as they did more five-one-five stuff. Situational stuff, shot clock at 8, but at least a lot of five-one-five, which is better than five on none. Coach Skerry is trying to limit the contact to save bodies this early in camp. That's understandable considering two guys are banged up and even Timberlake is dealing with a back issue.

It's all about the point guard play. As expected, T.J. (Tobias) Howard was playing more shooting guard. Jakigh Dottin and Jason Gibson are basically vying for the starting spot. Dottin is fine defensively, but he doesn't offer much of a threat as a shooter. As for Gibson, I don't love his set shot jumper but it's not bad for a three-pointer. His floater worked extremely well and he can go to his left just as well as he can go to his right. He's probably a legit 6-1 and close to 170 pounds after putting on weight so he's not that thin.

But the thing that stands out is his passing. He'll drive the lane and kick it out, which is something you haven't seen that often in Towson point guards. He thinks pass-first but is a threat to score if you back off or think he's too slow. He's always looking to dish it to Fobbs in the corner or Timberlake. It's early, but I think they have finally found a legit point guard. At least with Dottin and Howard, you have guys that can fill in just in case. In Howard, I can see him play some with Gibson, off the ball or on it.

They say the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. Or that the biggest improvement players make is from their freshman to sophomore seasons. Corny cliches' but I think the latter is usually true after covering games forever. That's not always the case but it was in guys like Mike Morsell. I think Nick Timberlake has made some strides though technically he is a freshman. He looks more confident in his jumper though he does double-clutch on his mid-range shot. He's not really thinking on his three-point shot. He's just shooting it. And for the most part, it's going in. I remember watching him last summer when he just showed up. I wasn't sure about his jumper and thought he should take it to the hoop more because of his ups. I still think he should take it to the hoop more but his jumper looks better.

I can say the same thing about AB (Betrand). He's playing with a lot more confidence and they like his defensive ability. He'll see time at the 2 and 3. I'd like to see him play with Gibson more because his size and defense could help if he starts at the 2. Gibson will have his struggles on that end. Most freshmen have issues on D. He's not bad but teams will attack him. Betrand can help some though Timberlake might be too good not to start. It's not a bad problem to have if these second-year guys continue to improve.

Other than Gibson, the key is Gray. He's probably going to start at the 4. He gives the team another scoring option next to Fobbs, so teams won't just harp on 23. I thought he looked great in the shooting drills on Saturday. Really nice rotation on the ball and great on corner threes. In the five-on-five stuff, I didn't really notice him. He didn't really force anything. Doesn't appear to slash to the basket much or post up. Just has to be more involved in the offense. But again, these are drills. Might find out more next week when they scrimmage.

Charles Thompson, the 6-7, 235-pound freshman looks good. Doesn't shoot outside of 5 feet, Typical old-school power forward. Can rebound, has very long arms and score down low. Should play some though with Solomon, Dennis, Nakye and Gray, not sure there will be a lot of time for him. I guess if Solomon was out for a long period of time, they could redshirt him. But I also think he has better potential as he can shoot from distance and has a nice touch overall but can also post up. Sanders might get the start because he can help Gray rebounding (not that Gray is bad), but is bigger and more physical than DT. Either way, DT and Sanders will play a lot in the post. Thompson and Solly will have to fight for the other minutes.

I'll have more comments later from PS.

The rest is pretty much status quo. 

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Skerry on practice

"We have a chance to be deep. We'll be pretty good if we can be deep. That's going to require...we have to have a good awareness of what we need to do to help the team. Just because you played a lot last year, doesn't mean you're guaranteed to do the same. We have some new pieces that are good so I think we have a chance to become a much better passing team with passing, shooting, cutting, spacing. 

Ball movement?

It's noticeable. This has been an unselfish group. When we swarmed today, this could be a very good defensive group on how well they move.

Solly's knee

He's been out three weeks. Hopefully by next Saturday, when we have intrasquads, he'll be ready to go.

On Betrand

Allen has made a big jump. If he gives us that guy..we need that glove defensively and he's gotten better offensively. He could be that Mike Burwell type of guy for us. He can take pressure off of Fobbs. Nick has been fighting some back issues but he's tough and reliable. He's steady. 

On Jason Gibson

He's good. He put on 12 pounds of muscle since he hit campus. Both TJ and Jakigh played there last year (point guard) and both have gotten better. That job is wide open. It doesn't matter if a guy is a freshman, sophomore or a senior, the best guy is going to get it. But he's good. He gives us vision and shooting. He has unbelievable hand coordination and dexterity. 

Other competition

Charles Thompson is going to play. He's a hard-playing guy up front. I thought Nakye has gotten the better of him today but through nine practices, it's been a coin flip. Dennis is reliable. He defends and rebounds. He's tough. There's a little more certainty in the frontcourt. When Nakye is on the floor, he's a difference-maker. We have been able to keep him on the floor. It's been a really hard working group. Gibson is good. The ball moves with this group. It flows. We have not had that. 

Wings

Allen, Fobbs, Nick, T.J. 

 

On Gray

He was better today. He give is shooting and skill at the four. We wanted him to be more relentless, getting to the glass, driving it. He's a rhythm guy. He can make 3 or 4 in a row.

Rotation

Twice we've played 10 guys double figure minutes. That depends. I like the guys. Hopefully we have the edge. Nobody is guaranteed anything.

On walk-on freshman Nigel Haughton

He's been great. Good player. Tough kid. Both of our walk ons really help us. They're the best we've had.

Goals for the rest of preseason camp

Transition D and the ability to sustain defense is key. We're  feeding the post good. Can we find cutters and screeners better. Ca

 

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I saw a practice during the summer and my impression was that Betrand would be much improved. Your update has done nothing to dispel my belief. 

Any idea on the seriousness of Sanders ankle injury & Timberlake’s back issue? Sanders looked trimmed down and good when I saw him over the summer.

Gibson is the key. Hate to lay that on a freshman, but it is what it is. Dottin, IMHO, is a liability on offense & Howard is better suited to come off the bench as a (streaky) 2

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34 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

I saw a practice during the summer and my impression was that Betrand would be much improved. Your update has done nothing to dispel my belief. 

Any idea on the seriousness of Sanders ankle injury & Timberlake’s back issue? Sanders looked trimmed down and good when I saw him over the summer.

Gibson is the key. Hate to lay that on a freshman, but it is what it is. Dottin, IMHO, is a liability on offense & Howard is better suited to come off the bench as a (streaky) 2

Sanders was out there as was Timberlake so not serious obviously.

No doubt, TJ would be a good sixth man with his streaky shooting. I think the addition of Gary Neal to the staff is huge, even if he's just a Grad Assistant. He'll be the best shooting and one of the most involved grad assistants in the nation. I think he can help guys, especially the guards in terms of getting open. The little tricks he had curling around screens. 

Gibson is just getting started. Nothing against the other two but I'd be surprised if he's not starting on opening night. They don't have his vision and can't create for others off the dribble. He also is not bad offensively. He can create his own shot and can drill 3's if left open. Gibson doesn't have Dottin's size or Howard's experience. Defensively, it's probably going to be a struggle but the fact that he put on 12 pounds of muscle is significant so he can handle getting through the screens. There's no reason why he can't be somewhat similar to the kid from UNCW, Kai Toews, who is a little bigger at 6-2, 185.

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11 hours ago, mat1992 said:

Sanders was out there as was Timberlake so not serious obviously.

No doubt, TJ would be a good sixth man with his streaky shooting. I think the addition of Gary Neal to the staff is huge, even if he's just a Grad Assistant. He'll be the best shooting and one of the most involved grad assistants in the nation. I think he can help guys, especially the guards in terms of getting open. The little tricks he had curling around screens. 

Gibson is just getting started. Nothing against the other two but I'd be surprised if he's not starting on opening night. They don't have his vision and can't create for others off the dribble. He also is not bad offensively. He can create his own shot and can drill 3's if left open. Gibson doesn't have Dottin's size or Howard's experience. Defensively, it's probably going to be a struggle but the fact that he put on 12 pounds of muscle is significant so he can handle getting through the screens. There's no reason why he can't be somewhat similar to the kid from UNCW, Kai Toews, who is a little bigger at 6-2, 185.

We would all take that last statement. We, unlike UNCW, have enough other players to help pick it up on defense if one isn't so strong.  As good as Toews was offensively, he gave up a lot defensively (but expected from a little freshman, coming to the US).

Depth can be great, hopefully everyone can accept their roles, which is a big problem in college hoops.  It would be good for the young guys to see two R-SRs in Tusntall and Harris, to come off the bench, bring energy and do their job.

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13 hours ago, mat1992 said:

Solly's knee

He's been out three weeks. Hopefully by next Saturday, when we have intrasquads, he'll be ready to go.

On Betrand

Allen has made a big jump. If he gives us that guy..we need that glove defensively and he's gotten better offensively. He could be that Mike Burwell type of guy for us. He can take pressure off of Fobbs. Nick has been fighting some back issues but he's tough and reliable. He's steady. 

I had a feeling that Betrand might make a big jump in year 2 and thought the same of Solly.  Hoping the knee heels well and he's ready to battle every week in conference play.  Of course would be nice if he was 100% for some of the decent non-conference games (GW, Vermont and the Charleston tournament).  This team should be night and day from last year and fun to watch.  Any rumors on who we'll be playing in the closed scrimmages?

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2 hours ago, Tigerone94 said:

According to an article from Jeff Goodman today, Towson has scrimmages against Rutgers and George Mason. 

Would like those are regular season games but both are going to be pretty good this year.  Solid teams to get some good work in

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