Any news on Orukpe?

[SubGod22]

Paul got dunked on,that happens when skilled 7footers play but he scored at will on everyone also, including EO and abused GS when his time came but then I saw him giving them instructions also,so that was bigtime.If he stay around the entire summer no doubt they will get better.The team of CH,TM,PM,JTD,and WP won about 6 gms in a row.CH started looking for TM after he stroked 3 in a row.TM was feeding JTD and PM from the wing for some easy baskets.TM and Gal M had a little something going on,it was obvious.Gal was stronger but I would say it was a toss up they both scored going one on one and Gal hit a stepback jumper for a game winner.TM showed a little attitude when JTD didn't call a pick and Ramon C nailed him on the play.DK and ReggieC looked really good running together ReggieC didnt miss for a least 3 gms.DK caught one coming off the rim and hammered it in, that got a wow from everyone.CH is a damn good pg, he talks and commands the floor.GS didnt do much but you can tell he is going to be good.He scores with either hand in traffic.The newcomers are going to be fun to watch they all showed well.Finally the one observation that I was looking for is team chimistry,they all seem to like each other.They played hard but after it was over they were laughing and talking again.They were in midseason form shooting the ball and thats after lifting earlier.I know the coaches can't watch but they've got to be a little excited.

Thanks for the run down. It's good to see reports from those who watch and I hope we get many more over the summer and I hope to contribute to it as well. But I think my favorite part was where you said Paul was giving instruction to the young big men. If they want to learn the game and how to approach it there may not be a better person for them to cling to while he's in town.

[Wuzee]

Ok ... so ... I've seen parts of two of the evening pickup sessions. Monday and Wed.

Orupke only played in the first one, though he attended both sessions. I heard him say he would be playing today (Thurs.)

Here's my take after seeing him in two games on Monday ...

Right now he's one-dimensional, but it's a pretty fantastic dimension.

This guy is a big, big problem for people in the paint. He has been trained well to never leave his feet unless a shot is going up. He has very long arms, even for a 7-footer. He moves very well, doesn't mind contact, and is looking to get in the shooter's face at all times. There is a downside to that, in that he was often out of position on the defensive glass because he was chasing the ball. He's thin but strong, with a great frame to add weight.

Paul, JT, Ramon and a 6-9 guy who may or may not have been Taj all took cracks at him. Nobody scored on him one-on-one in the post. He did not block any of Paul's shots, but he changed or rushed every one. Paul finally gave up and took him outside for some sweet treys.

He stuffed Ramon once and JT, after multiple impressive post moves didn't get him a shot, passed off each time. He blocked two shots by guards who were driving.

I stress again: Nobody I saw was able to get him off balance or in the air enough to get an uncontested shot.

Now the bad news: He's got a ways to go offensively. He only scored two points in the two games I saw. He got post position and looked to get the ball — not a hopeless case by any stretch — but he's obviously much more comfortable on the defensive end.

With his back to the basket against Paul, he went left with a hook shot off the board that didn't look particularly good (it bounced off). He went right once, squared up, head-faked and bounced in a jump shot. Both shots were soft, but ungainly.

Wed., in an encouraging sign, Garrett Stutz, unbidden, went over to give EO some pointers on his hook shot on the sidelines. EO seemed to take the direction well and continued working on what he'd been shown after Garrett left. It made me think that Garrett is a pretty solid guy and that EO will get a lot better during his stay here.

Garrett, for his part, is not as long as EO (who is?), but is a much more polished offensive player. He hits long jumpers (including one that finally ran PJ, Jay, DK, JTD and TM? off the court after a long stretch of wins) and has beautiful form. He sets screens, works for rebounding position and is active off-ball. He is a basketball player. He was not able to defend Paul very well, and it's clear the game is faster than he's used to. But that's probably normal at this stage.

A couple of other notes: At times, David Kyles looked like the best player on the floor. He's gonna be very good. Long arms. Good shooter. Good ball handler. Great leaper. Fast. Confident. Aggressive. Also seems to have a big personality and a good sense of humor.

There were several guys among the 20 or so players who could have been Toure Murry -- wings in the 6-2 to 6-4 range. If he's the one one I think he was, he is also a stud.

Didn't get much of a read on Clevin or Reggie, because I was concentrating more on the freshmen. From their resumes, I know they'll both be solid.

Aside from the roster players, others notables were Gal Mekel; Kyle Wilson; P.J. and Jay Cousinard (UMKC); Doug Moore (ESU via East High); Kevin Kirkland (Summit Prep, Calif., via Bishop Carroll); a 6-7 white kid who could shoot from outside (probably a local kid); and a possible recruit who did not play (he was a 6-7 white kid who was there with his mom.)

[pinstripers]

........wow........

[Maggie]

Thanks for the reports. The problem is I am trying to temper my excitement about this class – the reports do not help.

[shocks02]

Ok ... so ... I've seen parts of two of the evening pickup sessions. Monday and Wed.

Orupke only played in the first one, though he attended both sessions. I heard him say he would be playing today (Thurs.)

Here's my take after seeing him in two games on Monday ...

Right now he's one-dimensional, but it's a pretty fantastic dimension.

This guy is a big, big problem for people in the paint. He has been trained well to never leave his feet unless a shot is going up. He has very long arms, even for a 7-footer. He moves very well, doesn't mind contact, and is looking to get in the shooter's face at all times. There is a downside to that, in that he was often out of position on the defensive glass because he was chasing the ball. He's thin but strong, with a great frame to add weight.

Paul, JT, Ramon and a 6-9 guy who may or may not have been Taj all took cracks at him. Nobody scored on him one-on-one in the post. He did not block any of Paul's shots, but he changed or rushed every one. Paul finally gave up and took him outside for some sweet treys.

He stuffed Ramon once and JT, after multiple impressive post moves didn't get him a shot, passed off each time. He blocked two shots by guards who were driving.

I stress again: Nobody I saw was able to get him off balance or in the air enough to get an uncontested shot.

Now the bad news: He's got a ways to go offensively. He only scored two points in the two games I saw. He got post position and looked to get the ball — not a hopeless case by any stretch — but he's obviously much more comfortable on the defensive end.

With his back to the basket against Paul, he went left with a hook shot off the board that didn't look particularly good (it bounced off). He went right once, squared up, head-faked and bounced in a jump shot. Both shots were soft, but ungainly.

Wed., in an encouraging sign, Garrett Stutz, unbidden, went over to give EO some pointers on his hook shot on the sidelines. EO seemed to take the direction well and continued working on what he'd been shown after Garrett left. It made me think that Garrett is a pretty solid guy and that EO will get a lot better during his stay here.

Garrett, for his part, is not as long as EO (who is?), but is a much more polished offensive player. He hits long jumpers (including one that finally ran PJ, Jay, DK, JTD and TM? off the court after a long stretch of wins) and has beautiful form. He sets screens, works for rebounding position and is active off-ball. He is a basketball player. He was not able to defend Paul very well, and it's clear the game is faster than he's used to. But that's probably normal at this stage.

A couple of other notes: At times, David Kyles looked like the best player on the floor. He's gonna be very good. Long arms. Good shooter. Good ball handler. Great leaper. Fast. Confident. Aggressive. Also seems to have a big personality and a good sense of humor.

There were several guys among the 20 or so players who could have been Toure Murry -- wings in the 6-2 to 6-4 range. If he's the one one I think he was, he is also a stud.

Didn't get much of a read on Clevin or Reggie, because I was concentrating more on the freshmen. From their resumes, I know they'll both be solid.

Aside from the roster players, others notables were Gal Mekel; Kyle Wilson; P.J. and Jay Cousinard (UMKC); Doug Moore (ESU via East High); Kevin Kirkland (Summit Prep, Calif., via Bishop Carroll); a 6-7 white kid who could shoot from outside (probably a local kid); and a possible recruit who did not play (he was a 6-7 white kid who was there with his mom.)

Thanks wuzee. Nice read.

[RoyalShock]

Great report, wuzee. Thanks for doing it.

[Dan]

TM kinda looks like Jamie Arnold, smaller verison, if you remember what he looked like.

[SubGod22]

Ok ... so ... I've seen parts of two of the evening pickup sessions. Monday and Wed.

Orupke only played in the first one, though he attended both sessions. I heard him say he would be playing today (Thurs.)

Here's my take after seeing him in two games on Monday ...

Right now he's one-dimensional, but it's a pretty fantastic dimension.

This guy is a big, big problem for people in the paint. He has been trained well to never leave his feet unless a shot is going up. He has very long arms, even for a 7-footer. He moves very well, doesn't mind contact, and is looking to get in the shooter's face at all times. There is a downside to that, in that he was often out of position on the defensive glass because he was chasing the ball. He's thin but strong, with a great frame to add weight.

Paul, JT, Ramon and a 6-9 guy who may or may not have been Taj all took cracks at him. Nobody scored on him one-on-one in the post. He did not block any of Paul's shots, but he changed or rushed every one. Paul finally gave up and took him outside for some sweet treys.

He stuffed Ramon once and JT, after multiple impressive post moves didn't get him a shot, passed off each time. He blocked two shots by guards who were driving.

I stress again: Nobody I saw was able to get him off balance or in the air enough to get an uncontested shot.

Now the bad news: He's got a ways to go offensively. He only scored two points in the two games I saw. He got post position and looked to get the ball — not a hopeless case by any stretch — but he's obviously much more comfortable on the defensive end.

With his back to the basket against Paul, he went left with a hook shot off the board that didn't look particularly good (it bounced off). He went right once, squared up, head-faked and bounced in a jump shot. Both shots were soft, but ungainly.

Wed., in an encouraging sign, Garrett Stutz, unbidden, went over to give EO some pointers on his hook shot on the sidelines. EO seemed to take the direction well and continued working on what he'd been shown after Garrett left. It made me think that Garrett is a pretty solid guy and that EO will get a lot better during his stay here.

Garrett, for his part, is not as long as EO (who is?), but is a much more polished offensive player. He hits long jumpers (including one that finally ran PJ, Jay, DK, JTD and TM? off the court after a long stretch of wins) and has beautiful form. He sets screens, works for rebounding position and is active off-ball. He is a basketball player. He was not able to defend Paul very well, and it's clear the game is faster than he's used to. But that's probably normal at this stage.

A couple of other notes: At times, David Kyles looked like the best player on the floor. He's gonna be very good. Long arms. Good shooter. Good ball handler. Great leaper. Fast. Confident. Aggressive. Also seems to have a big personality and a good sense of humor.

There were several guys among the 20 or so players who could have been Toure Murry -- wings in the 6-2 to 6-4 range. If he's the one one I think he was, he is also a stud.

Didn't get much of a read on Clevin or Reggie, because I was concentrating more on the freshmen. From their resumes, I know they'll both be solid.

Aside from the roster players, others notables were Gal Mekel; Kyle Wilson; P.J. and Jay Cousinard (UMKC); Doug Moore (ESU via East High); Kevin Kirkland (Summit Prep, Calif., via Bishop Carroll); a 6-7 white kid who could shoot from outside (probably a local kid); and a possible recruit who did not play (he was a 6-7 white kid who was there with his mom.)

Fantastic report. I love the fact that it really sounds like Ehimen is taking to the help given him to become better.

[SubGod22]

Thanks for the reports. The problem is I am trying to temper my excitement about this class – the reports do not help.

:woot:

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

thanks wuzee

[rrshock]

Thanks for the reports. The problem is I am trying to temper my excitement about this class – the reports do not help.

:woot:

If we keep getting reports like that, it will take seditives to tame peoples excitement about this upcoming season and the new guys.

[SubGod22]

I know we all get excited about recruits every summer and the next season, but does anyone ever recall getting this amped up about it? I really am trying to stay optimistic but not get too excited. But like Maggie, it just keeps getting tougher and tougher to more I read/hear from others. I'm afraid if I show up next week and see them myself my head may just explode

[Maggie]

I know we all get excited about recruits every summer and the next season, but does anyone ever recall getting this amped up about it? I really am trying to stay optimistic but not get too excited. But like Maggie, it just keeps getting tougher and tougher to more I read/hear from others. I'm afraid if I show up next week and see them myself my head may just explode

People should be excited about this class and the fact that Hawkins will be eligible. Plus, now I am reading first hand reports about EO (who I almost wrote off as a mythical figure) – he takes instruction well, he is not afraid of contact (I love that), he has a better than expected body (I admit, at his height, I expected a stick figure) and he actually has been taught some defensive fundamentals. I love the fact that Hannah is taking control of his team. GS is described exactly how I expected, i.e. he can't compete against a player like Miller in the post right now – but he can shoot, seems to want to do the little things on the court, has a good work ethic and will get better. Murry, Kyles and Chamberlain are also, about what I expected.

Notwithstanding, I am going to stop writing now – the more reading, thinking and writing about these reports I do the more difficult it becomes to contain my enthusiasm.

Therefore, I will tell myself, that these are only pick-up games. As everyone knows, organized ball is a different story.

P.S. Sub -- I hope you keep your head, as I would like to read what you think about the new team.

[rjl]

At this rate, I'm going to demand nothing short of the Imperial March to be played when the players take the court.

[SubGod22]

At this rate, I'm going to demand nothing short of the Imperial March to be played when the players take the court.

:good: