2014 Pick-Up Games

[Dave Stalwart]

My other question is what ranking on the sportscenter top 10 will it be when Bush Wamukota throws an alley oop to Rian Holland?

[kcshocker11]

I attended the scrimmage today. It started at around 3:30 PM. Based on Aargh's questions above, my view is that Morris will back up Carter at the 4 spot. Tevin Glass is too skinny to play the 4 position. Evan Wessel shot very well today which was very good to see. I see him backing up Tekele Cotton at the 3 position. As for the other newcomers, I really liked Corey Henderson, Jr. He shot very well today and is a good ball handler. I also really like Rauno Nurger. He is quick at 6-19, & has a 7-foot wing span. He handles the ball very well, is a shot blocker & has a variety of moves around the basket plus he has good outside shooting range. Darius Carter really looked good today. He has a lot of moves around the basket & hit his outside jumpers very well today. There are some other new players on the roster who are very athletic, but I didn't see them shoot the ball very well today except for Rian Holland, the 6-0 combo guard.

Is that 6-19 am or pm? Does he slow up the rest of the day?

[wufan]

I attended the scrimmage today. It started at around 3:30 PM. Based on Aargh's questions above, my view is that Morris will back up Carter at the 4 spot. Tevin Glass is too skinny to play the 4 position. Evan Wessel shot very well today which was very good to see. I see him backing up Tekele Cotton at the 3 position. As for the other newcomers, I really liked Corey Henderson, Jr. He shot very well today and is a good ball handler. I also really like Rauno Nurger. He is quick at 6-19, & has a 7-foot wing span. He handles the ball very well, is a shot blocker & has a variety of moves around the basket plus he has good outside shooting range. Darius Carter really looked good today. He has a lot of moves around the basket & hit his outside jumpers very well today. There are some other new players on the roster who are very athletic, but I didn't see them shoot the ball very well today except for Rian Holland, the 6-0 combo guard.

Thanks for the report! It is very much appreciated! I take it that Kelly, Brown and Glass did not impress.

[xazshox]

Other comments on today's scrimmage

As for Kelly, Brown & Glass, my main goal was to discuss who I believe will be the top 9 or 10 players. Kelly, Brown & Glass all impressed me with their quickness, speed & athletic ability. They can all go inside to score. I think all 3 of them need to work more on their outside shooting. Glass is the most experienced of the 3 so it may be that he ends up getting more PT this year. He is very quick.

[wufan]

How did Bush compare to Nurger?

[Dan]

Just one practice and we all know the effect weight lifting can have on shooting early in the practices. If Glass is too skinny to play the 4, that's a little bothersome. Brown can supposedly stroke it fromlong range so I'm not too concerned about that.

[xazshox]

Player Discussion

Nurger is a much more complete player than Bush is. Nurger was on the Estonia U-20 National team. Bush will take time to develop offensively as his BB experience is limited. He is very quick, & agile although I'd like to see him weigh more than 224 that is his weight currently listed on the roster in Go Shockers. I've been told that the weights shown on the roster are based on regular input from Kerry Rosenbloom.

Zach Brown wasn't hitting from downtown today. I never like to make up my opinion about a player based on one look at them though. It's still 6 or 7 weeks until fall practice sessions start. Brown is quite the physical specimen. He is a pretty strong looking dude!

[xazshox]

Nurger

6-19 was a typo. I meant 6-10. Sorry.

[1972Shocker]

6-19 was a typo. I meant 6-10. Sorry.

Damn it!

[WSUwatcher]

Thanks for the update, xaz -- if he was really 6-19, I was concerned about his having just a 7-foot wingspan. That's almost alligator arms.

[im4wsu]

Has anybody been to observe any pick-up game?
I am needing a "fix" of a report on the newcomers.
If there have been games and observers, is there some reason why there have been no reports on SN?
The last post was 3 weeks ago.

[ShockerEngr]

Well, school did start 3 weeks ago, so I doubt they are as regular now

[Bluzrover]

Is it just me or is there less chatter this preseason? Seemed this time last year we were drooling over video from KWCH and several threads about summer ball and scrimmages. Granted, we had just come off a FF season, but WTH, we only lost one game last year!

[wufan]

Is it just me or is there less chatter this preseason? Seemed this time last year we were drooling over video from KWCH and several threads about summer ball and scrimmages. Granted, we had just come off a FF season, but WTH, we only lost one game last year!

You are 100% correct. I live out of town and do not have access to pick up games. Generally there are routine reports giving some level of skill assessment. That has been almost non-existent this year. Is there a reason for it? Anyone care to share?

[Aargh]

This year people showing up at pickup games have been asked not to film or report on them. There's something happening that the players don't want scouted.

When we get extensive reports from pickup gmes, we usually get overly optimistic reports. That's probbly why nobody really believed the early reports on Baker.

We have virtually no info on the summertime progress of Glass, Wamukota, Carter, or Morris. those are the question marks on the team. What's more important - that Shocker fans (and the entire world) gets info about how the post players are doing or if no one gets that info?

The tough games are early in the schedule. Marshall and the team have shut down info on how the post players are doing - and on how Baker, the ankle breaker, is doing.

Any info we get is scouting info our opponents get.