Basketball Clinic put on by the team this Sat. Oct. 25th - Get behind the scene look

[Shocker-maniac]

It was fun. This year it was in the practice gym and the coaches and fans sat in chairs. In prior years, It was before shocker madness so they were still putting in plays and defenses. Two weeks later makes a big difference as most of the players knew the plays without help. They were really battling and getting physical as usual. Darius carter went down with an ankle sprain and didn't play after the first 45 minutes. I will answer specific questions to the best of my ability. About 50 people were present.

How did Nurger look?

[Smooth007]

Nurger played just ok. Even with carter out he didn't really shine but he wasn't getting beat on any plays. You can tell he is an outwardly happy person. He was smiling and happy almost the entire practice. All an all, the bigs were unimpressive. There were not a ton of touches and shots inside and if felt like the bigs were not emphasized.

[Kung Wu]

Nurger played just ok. Even with carter out he didn't really shine but he wasn't getting beat on any plays. You can tell he is an outwardly happy person. He was smiling and happy almost the entire practice. All an all, the bigs were unimpressive. There were not a ton of touches and shots inside and if felt like the bigs were not emphasized.

Did Shaq play?

[Shocker-maniac]

Nurger played just ok. Even with carter out he didn't really shine but he wasn't getting beat on any plays. You can tell he is an outwardly happy person. He was smiling and happy almost the entire practice. All an all, the bigs were unimpressive. There were not a ton of touches and shots inside and if felt like the bigs were not emphasized.

So, I take it Bush was unimpressive, as well. Any insights on him since we did not see him at Shocker Madness?

[Smooth007]

Shaquille played but was continually getting negative attention. At one point he forgot to even be the court with his team and was quickly ushered over to the bike for discipline and instruction. During unguarded drills he was dunking all over the place. He really has very good hands and control with the ball.

[Smooth007]

In unguarded drills, bush made buckets. 16 footers, 10 footers and so on. He reminded me of Aaron Ellis in that respect. He has a very high motor and will to want to contribute. At the end, hcgm talked to the team and told bush to slow down and don't try to win the game. Coach just wants him to not lose the game for us this year. He rebounded and played d good. His shot selection could improve.

[im4wsu]

Practice was every bit as intense as we've come to expect, all 2:45 of it. Simon had some sort of catch in his side and sat out most of the practice. As reported, Carter suffered an ankle sprain, sat out most of the practice and 3G said that is isn't serious, but is the second time this fall, making it more likely to be recurring. Henderson tweaked an ankle, but continued to play. Fred ran into BushW who was extending around a ball screen and hit hard, Marshall blew the whistle and Fred threw the ball from past midcourt to the opposite basket in disgust. 3G lamented to BushW that he continues to do that and it must be curtailed.

Lots and lots of teaching and correcting going on. BushW, Shaq seemed to get the most of it and sometimes Tevin, Henderson and Holland received some of the unwanted attention.

Fred had his one turnover and his one missed FT for this year, so we are all set. Even when the defenders know what is coming, Fred just gets it done.

Cotton put on several moves that were typically astoundingly Tekele.

Bush W has a very nice (is this okay to have an adverb before nice?) shooting touch and shot FTs well.

Nurger likes to shoot the three but would not count on him to shoot too many during games.

Baker began the warmup shoot around by shooting 3-balls left handed -- some were way off, but others resembled Baker. Otherwise, Baker was Baker.

Henderson is a good one. Very aggressive and handles himself quite well most of the time.

I've yet to see Holland shoot the ball as well as others have led me to believe he could. Following the shoot-around warmup, I saw nothing to change my mind. Even in the shooting drills, I'd give him an average score. It was during 4 on 4 drills that he shot with confidence and success. I hope he is not one of those "streaky" shooters unless his "on" streaks are much longer and more frequent than his "off" streaks. I love his floor play. He is fast and a real battler.

I asked Coach afterwards, during the pizza feed, who was the fastest on the team, and while he was thinking, Fred raised his hand. Got a chuckle out of Coach and everybody else, too. Coach then said if he were betting on a sprint, Tekele would be his favorite. As to the best vertical, Coach said Tekele and Holland.

I lump the newbies of Glass, Kelly and Brown into a class of trying to do the right thing at the right time, but not looking to "shine." None of these guys were drawing more than an occasional teaching moment from the coaches. Brown did have one blocked shot which was very very nice. It really looked like he might be an inch taller than Shaq rather than the inch shorter as is reported on the roster.

Zach Bush looked much more coordinated and is a real competitor. He can shoot the ball, too.

Wessel was shooting well in all of the drills, but not quite as well in the scrimmage-type situations. He was working half-time with the bigs and half-time with the wings in drills.

Walker is fast and contributes while in the scrums. Probably won't see minutes, but is certainly a valuable asset to the Shockers.

All of the bigs can run the court. Lots of emphasis on rebounding (any surprise here?).

I'm tired and had a near miss as a pickup turned east on 56 as I was passing the intersection headed west. He just nonchalanted his turn and penetrated well into the westbound land and I really don't know how he missed me. If anybody has specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

[shoxlax]

My view (combined with the other two times I have seen these guys practice)

Rashard Kelly is going to be a pain in the ass for the league the next four years. He does all of the little things that most of the other newcomers don't do. He also has an offensive game that he hasn't really shown in the scrimmages and practices I've seen that will be there when he gets more comfortable. Rauno is such a pleasant surprise. When I saw him play last year he was overshadowed by Marvin Clark and Zach Brown, who took most of the shots. But he is extremely skilled and physically ready to play. His defense is surprisingly adequate for a Frosh. Both he and Rashard could pass for being about 25 years old physically.

Rian played well and I am impressed at how much better he is defensively...like making Fred work very hard to be Fred.

IMHO, Bush needs to redshirt, but it may not happen just because of his sheer size. He was doing fundamentally poor things that middle schoolers do during practice. He doesn't post hard and most of the time takes the ball down way below his waist on rebounds or after he catches it. To his credit, he has good hands and a nice touch, but just needs to learn how to play the game at the level he is at.

Henderson and Brown are going to be fantastic players. Both are very offensive minded and have the wingspan and quickness to play the 50 Gap defense or a match up zone. Both also need to get stronger, especially Corey. Now that we have a good stable of guards, both Simon and Walker are red shirt candidates.

Tevin is an interesting player. Not tremendously skilled offensively and really not a great position for him in our offense. Yet he is pretty athletic and could be one of these guys that while not in the regular rotation, will provide some key minutes as a utility infielder at times when we are in foul trouble.

Shaq is a different player when the drills stop and the scrimmages start. He is so frickin explosive around the rim it's just silly. I want him to succeed so bad because if he buys into it all and has his head focused on the nuances of practice that cause him so much grief, we will be set inside for the next four years.

Darius will be fine and will be one of the top 2-3 big guys in the league this year. Evan knows his role and will continue to get minutes because he gets the system and hustles his ass off, whether he makes a shot or not.

Tekele, Fred, and Ron were phenomenal as usual. Not only are there three extra coaches on the floor, they are just tough, strong, saavy basketball players who fit this system perfectly. Find me three better on the same team in the country, please.

All in all, this is one of my favorite Shocker events of the year. I hope it continues to go unpublicized because I enjoy the intimate crowd size.

[forevershockerfan]

After the scrimmage, Coach Marshall did mention at least one player will redshirt but was not sure who yet. Carter sprained his ankle but should be back real soon. Henderson aggravated his ankle but
rejoined the practice thereafter. Their practices are intense which includes lots of running in the confines of drills they run. I do not remember a Shocker team that has this much flexibility in terms of
various lineups and combination of players that can be put on the floor. After seeing us play three times, I am feeling better about our inside game even though we have an influx of new players that
have yet to play D-1 ball.

FVV, Baker, and Cotton? Nuff said because I would not trade them for any other 1,2,3 combo's in the Country. They all had a soft shooting touch yesterday and are leaders on and off the court. This
Season, we can give them some short stints of rest with some new players that are players!!! Carter will also start but will it be at the 4 or 5? Let's just say maybe they could start him at times at either slot depending on various match-ups we will face. These 4 players are key to our success but will have plenty of help.

Rauno, Bush and Shaq will all compete for playing time. Rauno has the best shooting touch and range of these 3 players and can also drain a 3. He seems to be in tip-top shape and is who I would
start at the 5. However, I never made one thin dime coaching. Bush does a fine job at rebounding and has a rugged game. However, his fade away 17' ugly shot yesterday in a drill resulted in the
halting of practice with 3G explaining 'that would never be an option for him ever again." Shaq is indeed talented but is bringing lots of instruction to himself from coaches based on "no-no's he is
guilty of. I hope he listens, learns, and improves because we could really use him on the floor. Last Season, Shaq was struggling both physically and mentally with the demands expected of him. This
Season he seems to be in better shape but is learning to be mentally tougher and will have help on all fronts to do so.

Kelly, Wessel, and Glass all had positive moments yesterday. Kelly is tougher than nails and don't be surprised if he starts at times at the 4 or at least plays there his fair share of minutes. I hope he
works hard on his shooting from 15' and closer because everything else looks finer than a frog-hair at least for a Freshman. Wessel as mentioned in other posts was working with both the inside and
outside players yesterday. Of these 3 he is the most polished as to what is expected of him and understands our System the best already. He hustles and will be a key sub for us with some possible
starts. Glass is a better shooter than I was aware of from the first 2 times I witnessed his game. He is not afraid to mix it up and grabbed some rebounds.

Henderson, Ria'n and Zach should all get some floor time. Corey is a sharpshooter and will be a fine addition to our squad and will definitely be in our rotation. Holland is like a june-bug in July out
there pestering the opposition on both sides of the floor. He is also a sharpshooter and is not very tall but flies high and is quick. Brown is also athletic and was shooting the ball better yesterday. Right now, our many new players have a learning curve to achieve in the Marshall Plan and they will do just that. It was nice to see our walk-ons Zach Bush, Walker, and Simon out there working hard and
progressing too.

What does it all mean in my opinion? We have lots of new players that will have their feet to the fire. This takes time but Coach Marshall excels at developing players in the confines of sold team
chemistry. Actually, we should point back to this group of new players as being still another great year of Marshall and his talented Staff in signing solid prototype Shocker players that fit like a glove
in the Marshall Plan.