Second milestone--Mid Madness--now the scrimmage--Gettin' closer, Guys !!

Am really interested in how all our "Bigs" do--Perhaps one of you guys will report --Thanks. If our BIGS are decent then we will be OK in MVC competition as our guards and Thomas are comparable to most any in the League, from what I have read, BUT of course, reading about and doing are far different things.

Wating to hear from you---------45 ????????????

I'll be there tomorrow. Who else is in?

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MBB Scholarship Chart

I am a tad early, I suspect, but anyway--How did the scrimmage go ?? Hope our Bigs looked "giant-like" !!

I just got back from the scrimmage. I might file a full scouting report tomorrow (but I doubt it), but the main story is the number of players who are injured.

Cody Johnson and Tony Nixon didn't dress, and Johnson was limping badly. Jordan Pickett was dressed but didn't play. Don't know the story but assume he was banged up too. Christian Thomas played, but hurt his ankle midway through the scrimmage and sat the rest of the way. He was being treated and fitted for crutches on the bench. At least it wasn't a knee. With about a minute thirty left in the second half Matt O'Leary took a hard fall on the sideline. He seemed okay, but Moser had had enough and called the scrimmage off. A wise decision. Otherwise, Moser was going to have to draft Dave Klusendorf and Stephond Robinson to finish the game, and there was only one defibrillator in the gym...

But the saddest sight was watching Tanner Williams struggle with his knees. He was in obvious pain throughout the game, and every stride looked like he was stepping on eggshells. I felt truly sorry for him. I hope the pain will diminish in time and that he will regain some of his former explosiveness.

Here are some of my thoughts. Sorry in advance they are random.

As swella said, injuries are a big factor right now. This created a situation in which all of the walk ons played significant time. Overall that meant the quality of play was not great, but there were some highlights.

It was nice to see Tanner out there.

Pickett had knee surgery. He is not out for the season, but I don't know his timetable.

I also don't know what happened to Cody Johnson and Tony Nixon. Both were playing a week and a half ago when I last checked in on the team.

Getting back to those who played...

Osborne is the most improved player by miles. Had many parts of his game working offensively. Impressive.

Jeff Keke White was fabulous. In control on both ends. Scored some points and ran the offense well.

Doyle didn't dominate but made some nice shots. Able to control his body very well getting to the basket.

O'Leary was also very solid. Hit some mid-range jumpers and played a solid overall game.

Crisman played hard. I hope doesn't pass up as many open threes as he did last year.

All of the walk ons played hard, and especially London who put some points on the board.

The improvements in Turk's game is his mid range shot. It's clear that e coaches are trying to improve his defense.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

Swellafella & ahunte1, thanks for the posts.

Although I missed it do to another commitment, this is my favorite game of the year: LU always comes away with a win, always has its high score of the year, and we get to see all the healthy players.

The coach did the right thing in stopping it when we were down to 6 scholarship players.

I was not counting on Tanner this year (at least) with his knees or Nixon with his history of injuries.

The absence of Johnson with his past injuries is depressing. Also very depressing is not filling the 13th scholarship. Hopefully Pickett’s knee operation will be successful and he will be healthy and at full speed next year. Anything this year will be a bonus.

If O’Leary is healthy that will make 7 scholarship players ready to play. It will be great experience for the 7 and a problem for this year’s record.

I will be happy to see King, Osborne, and O’Leary, getting big minutes experience at the double post during the non-conference games. Also I am glad to see Doyle & Williams will be getting big minutes together. It also looks like Dokubo for the 3rd year in a row will be a walk on with important minutes, backing up Jeff White.

It may be that Kennedy’s dreams of getting minutes as a walk on will be coming true.

I must admit, it looks as if my hopes of an undefeated season died tonight.

As I said in another thread, London deserves a scholarship this year. Absolutely, positively, no bout adoubt it. Other than Osborne and maybe White I thought he was the most productive player on the court yesterday. He even hit two or three 3-pointers, something he didn't do all of last season. With Pickett out with knee surgery (which I didn't know about), London will see a lot of time backing up Keke at the point. Give London a scholly, Porter.

We are going to be in a heap of trouble in games where Osborne gets into foul trouble. And with his physical style of play that is going to happen more than a few times. I didn't bemoan the loss of Sean O'Mara too much because I thought we had some depth at center with Cody Johnson and Jeremy King. But with Johnson's history of injuries and King's rawness, we are dangerously thin in the frontcourt.

On the positive side:

LU gets a win, shoots well, and scores 149 points.

Keke White continues to be a solid playmaker & Nick Osborne continues to be a solid rebounder. Plus they have both picked up their scoring big time. If they continue with their playmaking and rebounding, their scoring would be an important addition to the team this year.

Tanner Williams & Jeremy King did play. King getting increased playing time in the non-conference games will only make him better prepared for MVC play.

O’Leary getting playing time at his natural forward position will increase his developement and help the team in the long run.

The starting lineups for the game (from what I read):

Maroon: King, Thomas, T. Williams, Crisman, White
Gold: Osborne, O’Leary, Doyle, Turk, Dokubo

If those 10 stay healthy we have depth.

Coach Moser’s emphasis on a high shooting precentage seems to continue, which is a huge plus for the team, the difference between winning and losing.

As far as recruiting is concerned, I am pleased with the Coach’s signing talent. I want him to keep it up, however, with a greater emphasis on getting healthy players.

Let’s hope we have our depth ready for the Milwaukee game, 3 Fridays from now, although when it really counts is in MVC play.

As far as we know, there are seven healthy scholarship players:

Crisman, Doyle, King, O'Leary, Osborne, Turk, White

But there are also Tanner Williams, who played last night; Christian Thomas, who turned an ankle and we don't know the severity; and Jordan Pickett, who was listed on the announced rosters for last night (unlike Nixon and Cody Johnson) so perhaps he is close to playing.

And there is also London, who we assume is still a walk on, but has two solid years of experience.

You'd always like to have more depth, but I'm comfortable with a starting five of: White, Crisman, Doyle, Thomas, Osborne with Turk, O'Leary, and London being the key guys coming off of the bench.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

Some very casual observations
1. Why are we dinged up so much this early?
2. We don't have enough size or depth up front for a usual Valley season. I'm not familiar enough with the other Valley teams to know how they stack up this year.
3. Who can we possibly sweep this year?
4. If we can’t sweep anybody 6-12 will be a great year
5. Can the program survive the growing pains of this year and keep moving forward?
6. Doyle can play
7. White got better