Eric Musselman allowed the media to watch an hour of basketball practice today, with video allowed for the final 30 minutes. This is the first time I've ever been able to watch a significant amount of a basketball practice because the previous staff allowed only 20 minutes on the first day and they never touched a basketball - instead, we just saw conditioning. That was not the case today.
Nikki and I were both there, getting lots of video and photos. Afterward was the team's annual media day, allowing us to interview the players. We're working on the video as we speak, but here are a few tidbits/observations I noticed during the practice... (It's not a ton, but it should be enough to whet your appetite)
~This team is going to be A LOT more detail-oriented than what we saw the last several years. Musselman spent several chunks of practice putting in set plays and running through various options for each play.
~The three ball is going to be a huge part of the game. It seemed like in between every drill, the guys split into groups at different goals and got two minutes of three-pointers up. That was everybody, too - including guys like Adrio Bailey, Ethan Henderson, Reggie Chaney, etc.
~I tried to pay extra close attention to Jalen Harris during those times. His shot still doesn't really look mechanically sound, but it appears to be much smoother and he gets more arch under it. That led to him making a higher percentage of shots than even when I watched him during pregame warmups last season. I talked to him about it afterward and he said he feels much more comfortable shooting it after his offseason with the "Breakfast Club." He has a goal percentage for 3-pointers, but wouldn't reveal it when I asked.
~Jimmy Whitt still has a funky looking shot, but don't expect his game to resemble what you remember from his freshman year. As his stats at SMU indicate, he's a guard who does a little bit of everything - distribute, play defense, rebound, etc. That's something he told me after the game, that fans should expect for him to not be as selfish as he was four years ago.
~Mason Jones looks really good physically. He's listed at 200 pounds on the roster, which is down seven pounds from last season. He could easily get up and dunk - something he couldn't do last year.
~Other weight changes from last year's roster: Isaiah Joe is up eight pounds to 175 and Jalen Harris is up six pounds to 172.
~He might be asked to play just because of the team's lack of height, but I'm not expecting much from Ethan Henderson. To put it bluntly, he just wasn't impressive during the portion of practice we got to see. He wasn't strong with the ball when he came to finishing at the rim or grabbing rebounds. At one point, he got yelled at by Musselman and then eventually replaced by walk-on Ty Stevens a few minutes later.
~My favorite interview after practice was with Jeantal Cylla. He seems like a guy really bought into the team aspect, willing to do whatever he's asked to do - even if that means playing the 5 some.
~Connor Vanover is still in wait-and-see mode with his NCAA waiver, but he could carve out a role on this team if he gets eligible. At one point during a scrimmage portion of practice, he drained three straight three-pointers. It was truly a sight to behold, a 7-foot-3 dude draining shots from distance. He still isn't a super strong rebounder, but he can alter shots defensively and I even saw him make a move to hit a midrange jump shot one time.
I'm sure there are a few other things that will come to me later and I'll share them ITT, but those are the big things that are fresh on my mind.
Nikki and I were both there, getting lots of video and photos. Afterward was the team's annual media day, allowing us to interview the players. We're working on the video as we speak, but here are a few tidbits/observations I noticed during the practice... (It's not a ton, but it should be enough to whet your appetite)
~This team is going to be A LOT more detail-oriented than what we saw the last several years. Musselman spent several chunks of practice putting in set plays and running through various options for each play.
~The three ball is going to be a huge part of the game. It seemed like in between every drill, the guys split into groups at different goals and got two minutes of three-pointers up. That was everybody, too - including guys like Adrio Bailey, Ethan Henderson, Reggie Chaney, etc.
~I tried to pay extra close attention to Jalen Harris during those times. His shot still doesn't really look mechanically sound, but it appears to be much smoother and he gets more arch under it. That led to him making a higher percentage of shots than even when I watched him during pregame warmups last season. I talked to him about it afterward and he said he feels much more comfortable shooting it after his offseason with the "Breakfast Club." He has a goal percentage for 3-pointers, but wouldn't reveal it when I asked.
~Jimmy Whitt still has a funky looking shot, but don't expect his game to resemble what you remember from his freshman year. As his stats at SMU indicate, he's a guard who does a little bit of everything - distribute, play defense, rebound, etc. That's something he told me after the game, that fans should expect for him to not be as selfish as he was four years ago.
~Mason Jones looks really good physically. He's listed at 200 pounds on the roster, which is down seven pounds from last season. He could easily get up and dunk - something he couldn't do last year.
~Other weight changes from last year's roster: Isaiah Joe is up eight pounds to 175 and Jalen Harris is up six pounds to 172.
~He might be asked to play just because of the team's lack of height, but I'm not expecting much from Ethan Henderson. To put it bluntly, he just wasn't impressive during the portion of practice we got to see. He wasn't strong with the ball when he came to finishing at the rim or grabbing rebounds. At one point, he got yelled at by Musselman and then eventually replaced by walk-on Ty Stevens a few minutes later.
~My favorite interview after practice was with Jeantal Cylla. He seems like a guy really bought into the team aspect, willing to do whatever he's asked to do - even if that means playing the 5 some.
~Connor Vanover is still in wait-and-see mode with his NCAA waiver, but he could carve out a role on this team if he gets eligible. At one point during a scrimmage portion of practice, he drained three straight three-pointers. It was truly a sight to behold, a 7-foot-3 dude draining shots from distance. He still isn't a super strong rebounder, but he can alter shots defensively and I even saw him make a move to hit a midrange jump shot one time.
I'm sure there are a few other things that will come to me later and I'll share them ITT, but those are the big things that are fresh on my mind.
