Practice, we talkin practice

[JTG]

Those of us out of town, or unable to attend, will need a full report from those of you in attendance tomorrow. Video and or pictures would be nice also.
Let's GO X.....

[xu82]

Any notes on who jumps off one foot vs two may tell us what to expect this year.

[Muskie in dayton]

The Enquirer just posted a bunch of pics of the practice today.

[scoscox]

where? there are pics from tuesday's practice but i don't see any from today

[Xuperman]

Nice to see James and Ramsey healthy enough to participate. Ramsey looks BEast ready. In fact all our guys look very impressive physically....even more so than usual (sorry Ryan Welage). This could be the strongest, most well conditioned team we've every had. Coach Steele has all the physical tools to implement his Defense 1st philosophy with a strength in numbers approach. No reason to not expect a smothering D.

[xukeith]

Heard Ramsey needs lots of muscle. Watched Miles really hustle in defense.

[scoscox]

Anybody else go down there today?

[whopper]

good to hear. Welage was very fit but not phyiical and I loved his skills. Travis had to work Eli and Keonte into to the lineup but my belief is that if Welage got their minutes and shots we would have won 2 more games and made NCAA. Can you imagine either of them having the game he had against St Johns(or IUPUI or Depail) Water under the bridge now and I look forward to this team. Had the Flohoops subscription so got a good read

[xukeith]

Freemantle made the biggest impression of new guys.
KyKy is a lightening quick freak athlete.

Scruggs made 10 straight 3's but I hope he can make 3-4 in a game.

[XU22]

I was in attendance for Saturday's open practice and can give a few notes for everyone who was unable to attend as I did last year:

Tyrique Jones: He has really hit the weight room hard this summer, he looks to have gained some serious muscle. He was an absolute bully on the rebounding drills and even gave Sam Frayer a good battle which everyone got a kick out of. Will be a monster on the glass this year and being able to go against ZF, JC, and DM in practice every day will really help this year, versus last year only being able to go against Hankins. His post moves have also really improved, and Coach Hayes has done a great job. FTs look to be improved as well.

Paul Scruggs: Scruggs was amazing on the defensive end again. He has really improved on his shooting. He hit 10 straight as mentioned above and his offensive skills look much improved. He and Naji will lead this team.

KyKy Tandy: I was very impressed with his athleticism. I had seen him in person a couple of times in HS and on the AAU circuit, but he looks even stronger, faster and more athletic now. Super fast in transition, going to be a stud for Steele, will provide a great spark off the bench. Could really use some work on the outside shot but other than that there isn't much else he needs to do besides getting more comfortable with the system.

Quentin Goodin: Goodin excelled in transition and was a great leader out there. Much more vocal this year in practice than he was last year. Looked a lot more confident out there too, I must say.

Zach Freemantle: One word that I can give right away: Toughness. This kid has got it and a bunch of it. From seeing him with the Playaz on EYBL, he has improved leaps and bounds. This kid will be able to contribute this year. The effort is there and he loves playing physical. May have some freshman hiccups here and there but he is going to be a stud.

Dontarius James: He is out of the boot which is good. Will likely be out till October. Hope he is able to find a role with all these newcomers...

Naji Marshall: Absolute beast in transition. Lead by example. Shot the ball well, and defended well too. Worked really hard throughout the whole practice. He will get his shot at the NBA. SVG was a big fan of Naji from what he saw.

Dieonte Miles: I came away extremely impressed with Dieonte. The length this kid has is scary. Everyone knows that he needs to put on some weight and muscle but this kid can jump and the length on the offensive and defensive is something that not many teams are going to be able to compete with. The bigs also did a shooting drill and Dieonte was far and away the best shooter out of the 4.

Daniel Ramsey: Got treatment on his knees at the beginning of practice, which held him out. Hopefully, everything is okay, and he can get healthy. With how well Dieonte looked out there yesterday it would not shock me to see Ramsey redshirt if he can't get healthy.

Dahmir Bishop: His length for a guard is scary. He is legit 6'5 and athletic as all get out. Runs transition very well, and a willing passer. May take a year to get the system down and get his body built up but he is legit.

Bryce Moore: Being from Indianapolis, I have seen Bryce Moore since he was a HS freshman at Park Tudor. He is a lot bigger and stronger now than he was then, lol. Bryce is a great shooter and easily going to be one of our best defenders this year. He has the experience and is a team-first guy. Steele will be able to count on him and people will see throughout the year how valuable Bryce will be to this team.

Jason Carter: We all saw him last year when he came to Cintas. He still looks the part. Will be a lot better for Steele to be able to throw Carter out there with Rique instead of Hankins and stretch the floor. He's got great defensive skills as well. Looked the part of a Big East starter out there.

Myles Hanson: Going to walk on, but a great player for the guys to go against in practice. Athletic, and has great length.

[X-man]

I was in attendance for Saturday's open practice and can give a few notes for everyone who was unable to attend as I did last year:

Tyrique Jones: He has really hit the weight room hard this summer, he looks to have gained some serious muscle. He was an absolute bully on the rebounding drills and even gave Sam Frayer a good battle which everyone got a kick out of. Will be a monster on the glass this year and being able to go against ZF, JC, and DM in practice every day will really help this year, versus last year only being able to go against Hankins. His post moves have also really improved, and Coach Hayes has done a great job. FTs look to be improved as well.

Paul Scruggs: Scruggs was amazing on the defensive end again. He has really improved on his shooting. He hit 10 straight as mentioned above and his offensive skills look much improved. He and Naji will lead this team.

KyKy Tandy: I was very impressed with his athleticism. I had seen him in person a couple of times in HS and on the AAU circuit, but he looks even stronger, faster and more athletic now. Super fast in transition, going to be a stud for Steele, will provide a great spark off the bench. Could really use some work on the outside shot but other than that there isn't much else he needs to do besides getting more comfortable with the system.

Quentin Goodin: Goodin excelled in transition and was a great leader out there. Much more vocal this year in practice than he was last year. Looked a lot more confident out there too, I must say.

Zach Freemantle: One word that I can give right away: Toughness. This kid has got it and a bunch of it. From seeing him with the Playaz on EYBL, he has improved leaps and bounds. This kid will be able to contribute this year. The effort is there and he loves playing physical. May have some freshman hiccups here and there but he is going to be a stud.

Dontarius James: He is out of the boot which is good. Will likely be out till October. Hope he is able to find a role with all these newcomers...

Naji Marshall: Absolute beast in transition. Lead by example. Shot the ball well, and defended well too. Worked really hard throughout the whole practice. He will get his shot at the NBA. SVG was a big fan of Naji from what he saw.

Dieonte Miles: I came away extremely impressed with Dieonte. The length this kid has is scary. Everyone knows that he needs to put on some weight and muscle but this kid can jump and the length on the offensive and defensive is something that not many teams are going to be able to compete with. The bigs also did a shooting drill and Dieonte was far and away the best shooter out of the 4.

Daniel Ramsey: Got treatment on his knees at the beginning of practice, which held him out. Hopefully, everything is okay, and he can get healthy. With how well Dieonte looked out there yesterday it would not shock me to see Ramsey redshirt if he can't get healthy.

Dahmir Bishop: His length for a guard is scary. He is legit 6'5 and athletic as all get out. Runs transition very well, and a willing passer. May take a year to get the system down and get his body built up but he is legit.

Bryce Moore: Being from Indianapolis, I have seen Bryce Moore since he was a HS freshman at Park Tudor. He is a lot bigger and stronger now than he was then, lol. Bryce is a great shooter and easily going to be one of our best defenders this year. He has the experience and is a team-first guy. Steele will be able to count on him and people will see throughout the year how valuable Bryce will be to this team.

Jason Carter: We all saw him last year when he came to Cintas. He still looks the part. Will be a lot better for Steele to be able to throw Carter out there with Rique instead of Hankins and stretch the floor. He's got great defensive skills as well. Looked the part of a Big East starter out there.

Myles Hanson: Going to walk on, but a great player for the guys to go against in practice. Athletic, and has great length.

Thanks for the report. I wanted to be there but had to be in Columbus with my son and his family. It is just a practice, but our depth looks to be a major upgrade from last season. It's good to hear that the team is communicating as well, a REAL PROBLEM last year until it was too late to make it into the Dance. I have predicted, without evidence, that Freemantle will be the major surprise of this class. Hopefully he is JP reincarnated, with that combination of toughness and self-confidence that opposing fans will grow to hate (and respect). All this said, this team will still need shooters. Hopefully Scruggs, Moore, Naji, and Q will provide the outside accuracy that will open up things down low where Ty, KyKy, and Freemantle will thrive.

[bobbiemcgee]

Thx for the comprehensive update. Well done.

[scoscox]

Your comment about Kyky's shooting is interesting. his shooting is supposed to be a strength. he shot 47% from 3 one of his high school seasons. maybe you caught him on a bad day?

[whopper]

nice to hear from someone who went. Managing this depth will be a challenge and probably best to make sure everyone pressures the ball as we don't have to worry about foul trouble due to lack of depth.

[XU22]

Your comment about Kyky's shooting is interesting. his shooting is supposed to be a strength. he shot 47% from 3 one of his high school seasons. maybe you caught him on a bad day?

Might have caught him on a bad day. It was mainly transition 3s, it looked like the extended 3 point line that has been implemented might have had him shooting a little long. Mid-range was fantastic.

Will be something all of the guys will have to get used to.

[bleedXblue]

Your comment about Kyky's shooting is interesting. his shooting is supposed to be a strength. he shot 47% from 3 one of his high school seasons. maybe you caught him on a bad day?

Shooting 47% against the level of competition he faced in HS is nothing even remotely close to playing against Scruggs, Goodin, Bishop etc. who are big and athletic guards. He is going to have to do some adjusting.

[JTG]

Great report, thanks for all the good info.