Loyola 82, Winona less than that

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Kaifes has 4 threes now. Very Ron Bakeresque.

Negron has played well in the 2nd half.

82-52 is the final.

Still says 80 on the scoreboard.

AH HA !!! 82-52 !! Thanks John !! Decent start I presume--- AND AWAY WE GO!!!!

Don't be surprised to have our previous game announcer returns to do the bball games. Times change.

So a few folks have asked for a report from the scrimmage so here is my view. Please note Im not a scout or anything so take it all with a grain of salt.


Ill start with a few thoughts from the scrimmage overall, and do player by player breakdowns below that.

First, and perhaps most importantly, it was really great to see a rowdy and over flowing student section fill the entire alloted area. If that keeps up it could be a game changer for the program.

Second, I was disappointed to see that they changed the rules and do not allow reentry anymore. This means perhaps an end to Irelands at half time. But the student run concessions seem like a nice upgrade. Felices pizza is being served & the beer selection is an eclectic, if not inspiring, Miller Lite/Daisy Cutter/Blue Moon.

Third, Porter gave Mullins & Valentine a lot of opportunity to run the show from the bench. Thought that was good and a nice touch by him. Continue to love how he runs the entire program.

On the court the offensive movement was consistent with what we saw last year. Early on the shots were not falling but the process was excellent. Everyone, new guys included seem to be buying into the scheme. Does not seem like we will have an Avery situation again this year. Defensively the lateral quicknesss and length was suffocating. We should once again have superb team perimeter defense & with a real 3 man deep big man rotation we should be more sound on the interior. We rebound very well from all levels (out guards were great here). We didn't switch much on D and trapped anything near the corners. I expect that to continue, it created a number of turnovers.

Clayton- Shot very well from all levels. Is who we expect. Played well in transition and created at least 2 turnovers on defense.

Townes- Visually you can just see hes on a different level than last year. Very aggressive on both ends. Continue to think he will lead the team in scoring this season.

Lucas- Upgrade from Ben. I said it. Stuffed the entire stat sheet, used his size well. Still a knock down shooter.

Aher- Looking for his flow in the offense but making good decisions with the ball & willing to make the extra pass. Played well on individual defense and rebounded at a high rate. Very bouncy player. Need to see him knock down jumpers though.

Cam- Looks nice with the slim frame, seems to have more agility. Hard to tell anything else because he was just that much better than Winnonas big guys.

Frank- engaged team mate & high energy. Plays nice as the pick setter in the PNR but didnt see much as a roll guy offensively. Does foul a lot. Defensively you can see his impact. Going to be very useful during conference play & long term could see some Larry Sanders at VCU defensive impact. Also post footwork on offense was better than expected.

Kaifes- will make Bruno obsolete. Knock down shooter and high rate rebounder. Played within the flow of the offens3 very nicely. Individual defense was good but he did drift in team defense and leave some guys open.

Bujdoso- bigger than expected. Defense is ready right now. Offensively he did look a bit timid. Think hes a good prospect and will get minutes in non conference but may see less time in conference if the offense doesnt improve.

Negron- looks like the guy we recruited. Little larry nance jr type of player. Could see him playing with Cam against bigger lineups. Rebounded well and had a block. Didnt get to see much on offense.

Bruno- took some ill advised 3s early but settled in. Lead a unit of him & the 1st year players a few times. Will be valuable as a teacher and some one to settle the ship when games go on tilt.

Having watched none of the actual game, my analysis:

(1) Won by a comfortable margin, leading throughout (check)
(2) No injuries (check)

I’d call the night a success.

This announcer was not bad. He did a great job, and he's a pro. But Pat Schultz is the Vin Scully of Loyola Sports.

Nice report by 440---- We do know that we have a good team and now in addition we have STUDENTS in the seats !! OK now all we have to do until KC game IS TO VOTE !!!

GO RAMBLERS !!!

Yes. He's a smart leader and a team player, not just a tough player with skills.



Ben Richardson was an upgrade from Joe Crisman, who was a glue guy that had huge value not reflected on the stat sheet. The combo of Richardson and Williamson was just devastating last year. I hope that Kaifes, Bujdoso or someone can be a complement to Williamson.

Big Frank was even more athletic than I thought. I watched a couple of his LaLumiere games early last season. He has the most prototypical NBA body that the Ramblers have had since the 80s.... He is the best athlete in the MVC right now, but needs work on skill stuff, footwork, etc. He's not very fast, but works hard and hustles a lot.

If Kaifes is 60% of Ron Baker, he's going to be great for us. His haircut is already 95% Ron Baker, and his three point shot is 90% Ron Baker. His defense will get better, but looks like 60% Ron Baker right now.

I agree Bujdoso is taller and longer than I thought. Offense doesn't come naturally to him, but is OK. He seems like a Big East point guard.

Negron played really well, especially in the 2nd half. I'm starting to think some of his awkwardness the past couple of years comes from confidence as well as actual injuries.

In terms of rotations, it looks like we can have two rookies on the court at once and not give up that much, but when three get out there, the focus gets lost. We can go big, with Uguak and/or Frank playing next to Krutwig, or we can go small with Krut or Uguak and 4 versatile guards.

Great player review.

I was really impressed by Negron. 2 blocks some nice finishes running full speed down the court, strong rebounds. Agunanne gets in great position for second looks but goes for tips; Looked like porter wants him to bring the board down; but so much potential with him. He’s BIG. Bujdoso is an absolute pest with on ball defense; I counted at least 4 or 5 steals/plays where the ball was knocked loose. I thought he looked pretty good on offense as well; a couple freshman plays but that’ll happen. Him and Kaifes both got lost on off ball D a few times but that’ll get better with time. Overall really good shooting