Shockers Open Practice - 09/17/24

[WstateU]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DACaodASVTd/?igsh=dXpwNnJvM29iaGZ1

[WuShock Reaper]

[WuShock Reaper]

[WuShock Reaper]

[forevershockerfan]

Lindy predicted us to finish 4th this Season. QB and Beverly both picked on 3rd team All Conference. Below was their top 4 picks.

1. UAB

2. Memphis

3.FSU

4.WSU

[forevershockerfan]

Were TJ or Washington at practice today?

[shocktown]

Were TJ or Washington at practice today?

Yes they were. Played ok nothing special. Both with decent defense.

We don’t appear to have any players that lack team discipline or feel the need to go one on one the first chance they get to touch ball.

[Onegreatracer]

My unsolicited, non-expert thoughts:

Matej will be one of the best offensive bigs in the conference and potentially even the nation. His pro experience is invaluable. Nobody will be able to stop him and he is more than used to playing against big grown men. Problem is he can’t move at all laterally and is slowwww. Euro style guy for sure. Only 40 mins to play at center and gotta give Ballard some too.
Meeks looks the part of a Duncan Robinson type player, not much of a post game at all I’d project him as solely a movement shooter which isn’t a bad thing, we need it badly.
McGinnis had some questionable shot selection and was unimpressive in general but when his shots are falling he will be a weapon.
Expected more from Washington, he did so little I didn’t even know if he practiced or was out. Definitely need more from him to hit our full potential.
Yanis Bamba is not a D1 player and I’m not sure he ever will be. Fine kid and don’t mind having him in the program.
Joy has made a small jump, but needs a huge one over the course of this season to be a rotation player.
QB is QB. Monster lob threat, incredible rim protector, and nothing else. Has a role and plays it to perfection.
Harlond Beverley is at his ceiling I think. Thought I read he improved his jumper but still the same low arcing set shot. He’s a really solid rotation guy and should be better now that he can be surrounded by shooters.
TJ Williams is as freshman as freshmen get, and heard it quite a bit from Mills today. Maybe a bad day, but he needs time and weight. Definitely oozing potential though.
Justin Hill and Zion Pipkin were freaking incredible. Finally some ball handlers who aren’t afraid to probe inside, pull it out, make smart reads & do a bit of scoring. Both are absolute competitors defensively. Gives me the vibes of Fred learning behind Malcolm Armstead. We are so lucky to have these two especially with the pathetic PG play as of late.
XB had too quick of a trigger from 3 for my liking with his percentages but did not have any atomic bombs or drives into double teams which raises his value 10 fold. Steady presence.

RGIII did not play, nor did Bijan. Bijan is in some trouble when it comes to minutes with Hill and Pipkin here.

[Stickboy46]

Lindy predicted us to finish 4th this Season. QB and Beverly both picked on 3rd team All Conference. Below was their top 4 picks.

1. UAB

2. Memphis

3.FSU

4.WSU

Ok I know we have a revolving door of schools .. but who is FSU? .. Is it FAU or USF? lol

[forevershockerfan]

[QUOTE=Stickboy46;n1455811]

Ok I know we have a revolving door of schools .. but who is FSU? .. Is it FAU or USF? lol[/QUOT


Ooops! My bad. FAU. IMO, they lost alot of players and their coach. They had a solid recruiting reload but seem slightly overrated.

Colby was selected on the preseason first team All Conference AAC.

[shocker43]

I didn't get to attend, but it's pretty cool that the program did this, and it was an actual practice and not just a shootaround.

[1972Shocker]

I didn't get to attend, but it's pretty cool that the program did this, and it was an actual practice and not just a shootaround.

It was perhaps a PG version of an actual practice. Official practices start next Wednesday and Coach Mills said "cuz those practices are way more intense and there probably not as nice as we were today".

[Kung Wu]

I really appreciate HCPM doing this.

I am higher on Hill than most. Yesterday he felt like Malcolm Armstead except maybe less smooth but faster paced. He won't get anywhere near the steals numbers Malcolm had due to shorter reach and height, but he's at least pesky. Like Matt Brauer pesky. He has excellent court vision and will get tons of assists if his teammates will finish easy buckets (because Hill will be providing easy makes with proper leading passes).

Don't know if Matej is recovering from an injury? If so it would explain why he isn't game fit. He might just be the wrong kind of game fit too. As in he has endurance but no sprint/interval conditioning, which I guess wouldn't surprise me for a Euro that tends to play at a different pace. He has power and seems to be really smart. If he gets fit, he could be really good.

RDIII seemed thinner to me. I hope that doesn't mean he has shed his bulldog/bruiser mentality. I couldn't tell if he's more cut.

Ballard is an athletic freak. Does anybody have any idea what his vertical is? Barring injury or a disaster of a season for some reason, I think he will be the next Shocker to get a shot at the NBA. Especially if we make it to the tournament this year.

It was awesome to see them working on a little zone defense! But since it was 4v4 zone defense they were in a diamond which took me back to my penalty killing unit days from 100 years ago (that's 4v5 and a thing of beauty when perfected). Would be super cool to see the Shox dial in a killer zone D. Their communication during the drill sounded good, so that gives a coach hope. Their switching and spacing looked pretty decent for this early too. Exciting!

[shockrah]

Taylor's post open practice article:

https://sports.yahoo.com/open-practice-shows-wichita-state-121934217.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall