Thanks lmumbbfan for asking. ;D
Coincidentally, I looked in on practice today and was rewarded with another Blue/White scrimmage with two 20 minute halves and three real refs!
b km, Again, Max was in the bleachers taking in all the action, evaluating the players and occasionally offering advice while assistant coaches gained experience guiding the two squads. Scholl was neutral again, offering comments to both coaches and players alike from time to time.
Blue Team: Diederichs, Osborne, Viney, Armstead, Kalipinde, Hamilton and Latimer
White Team: Garibay, Young, Chine, Sweezy and Teel.
Lawson and Berardini were not present.
JD did not play due to a sore foot but I hear he will play in the Nov 4 exhibition game. His dad was in the stands, a soft spoken gentleman who was very nice and unassuming.
Davis also did not play but was shooting baskets on a side net. Another fan expressed doubts that he could come back this season and I expect his return will take a bit longer than some might think to make sure he is healed. I take it if you re-injure an Achilles tendon it is bad news so the coaches will be cautious with this young man. My predict (based on no real facts other than what I see) is that Davis will be sidelined until the WCC season gets under way. If sooner, the more the better because he is one of the premier shooters on the team as observed from his practice session, a much needed skill for the team.
Gumaer was present but did not play, as was Griffin.
I arrived late to the scrimmage (I did not know there would even be one so you have to give me a pass on this mistake), but after 10 minutes the score was something like 11-7 or so. Shades of last season with our slow starts.
The pace and the scoring picked up as the game went on and both teams accumulated a respectable number of points by the end, more that 60 or so. ;D
Player observations:
Viney – the best player on the court by far, shooting from all positions on the floor, rebounding, handling the ball and leading his squad.
Garibay – showed toughness and aggression I had not expected from some earlier reports. My first chance to see him play and I was impressed. Rebounded and defended well with toughness we haven’t seen for a while and sorely need.
Teel – played with reckless abandon, perhaps with emphasis on the reckless part. I think he had as many turnovers as points today – something the coaches do not appreciate and the action was noted by Max.
Osborne – an impressive game on both ends of the court – you cannot push this man around, he does not budge. Rebounded and defended well and showed some court smarts. Room for improvement but more impressive than Kevin Young today. He played center but could be used as PF in my opinion.
Diederichs – played his usual competent game with some good inside moves, good defense and rebounding. Best under the basket.
Kalipinde – improving every day, played PG for the Blue team (which “won”), handles the ball well, showed some great passing skills including a sharp blind pass under the net to Osborne from outside the 3 point line while looking in another direction. Made his layups on breaks, played under control at all times – the antithesis of Teel. It will be hard to keep this kid on the bench.
;D
Hamilton – played big under the basket, showed good form on several mid range jumpers but none of them seemed to fall in. Good defense and rebounding. Left the game with 15 minutes left in the second half with either an ankleor knee injury or a thigh bruise (hopefully the later), returned for about a minute then retreated to the locker room. We need him this season.
Young – best on defense and rebounding. Made some jumpers and put backs but missed many also. The new guys underneath are already at his level of play or better. Still steals the ball and breaks well but does not always finish.
Armstead – a workmanlike game with nothing outstanding on either end of the court. Will have to compete for minutes this year relying on his defense and rebounding under the net.
Chine – made some nice shots, including from 3 point range. Showed some defensive skills and moves well on the break. Aggressive underneath the hoop. A nice walk on add to the team. Folks who follow Westchester don't remember this player and he is not on the ESPN scouting reports, but he has some game. Played with DuBois in HS. ;D
Sweezy – Brad is Sweezy, good hands under the net, focused rebounder and defender but inclined to pick up fouls. Actually made some decent shots today. Will add energy off the bench and irritate opponents.
Latimer – a practice squad player, not sure why he is back on the roster.
Based on today’s observations, my starting five:
C - Garibay – impressed me with his toughness, aggression and general play under the net. A winner!
SF – Viney – a no brainer, but far our best player (did not see Davis play) ;D
PF – Osborne – while he played center today, he could add needed size and toughness under the net. Good on both ends of the court and will only get better.
SG – Dubois – he fancies himself a PG and does OK at that position but my PG pick shows more potential.
PG – Kalipinde – this kid will be in the lineup in short order so why not start now. Much greater presence than shown in the eariler public scrimmage. Great court awareness, passing skills, fast, finishes on the break, will accumulate a ton of assists and will only improve. Beats out Teel for 2nd guard by playing under control at all times, remarkable for a player in his first year. Teel turns the ball over too much but will add a lot of spark from the bench.
My surprise picks for starters are Osborne and Kalipinde.
Alex Osborne was playing center today, as was Diederichs but both could play PF to field a “big” team. Or Hamilton for that matter, but he needs to show me improvement on his jumper. Osborne seems to be thriving on the increased competition of WCC level play and is developing every day. I would not be disappointed if Garibay-Diederichs started or Garibay-Hamilton. Kevin will come off the bench to add spark with some streak scoring potential.
Kalipinde has the whole game we need, ball handling, maturity, passing skills, scoring and finishing on breaks, defense. A winner and we need to get him in the loop early.
So my starters are three freshmen and two sophomores. Look out in the future for LMU you WCC opponents! (And this year also by the way - 7th place in WCC, no way!)
There you go lmumbbfan - I am now open to critics on my picks! I can take it, gloves off time!