Official Red-White Scrimmage Updates/Thoughts/Analysis Thread

[tornado]

Indeed - three key areas of the college game are still question marks - ball handling, big men, and outside shooting...
Obviously no MVC team is three deep in all areas - but we may be at best only 1 deep in any of those areas....
so we might struggle in some games, but defense and athleticism can make up for some of the offensive shortfalls.

[Da Coach]

Thanks to GenoFan01 above, but in case anyone didn't see this, BradleyBraves.com posted this brief video of the spaghetti supper and the scrimmages

http://www.bradleybraves.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?catid=0&id=806832

[basketball nut]

I hope your right but I'm not as optimistic as you. Yes I liked alot of what I saw Mon night but, we still have some glaring weaknesses. 1.) Love Will but not sure of his PG skills. 2.) 3 point shooting a problem . MK by far our best shooter but will need to play better 'D' to see the floor.3.) Depth at the '5' spot is a problem, although I thought AT played well. GF said we are only 7 deep and MK and AT were not in that 7. Did Mon. night change his depth chart? 4.) Overall depth also seems to be a problem, mainly at the guard positions. No real PG. I thought DS handled the ball well and distributed it better then anyone on the floor but couldn't score.
With what I saw, we must stay away from injuries and foul trouble to be successful early on. Or at least until the Frosh get their feet wet. Really liked NW can't see us redshirting him but if we get production out of AT maybe we could. That would be what's really best for him.IMO DH is the person that needs to be redshirted. Just my opinion and that means nothing.See real potential with this team. Probably the best Frosh class in quite some time but it will take some time. If GF can keep us out of the Thur game that will be quite an accomplishment. I really like our future but we need to be patient . GF is proving to be a good recruiter . Better days are ahead. Go Braves.

Great assesment of what the team looks like from the R/W game but we will know more after Nov 1 & 8. If they can buy into GF's system (and it looks like they will) they will surprise some teams this year and be competative in most of their games which then can mean an extra win or two-especially by the time the Valley season starts.
I could see this team be a 500 team and I really think after last year most would be pleased f that happened and we actually played like a BB team.

[LittleBrave]

Yeah we should cut DH some slack here.

ShayOK (sp) !!!!

HERE ARE SOME VIDEOS I TOOK (I apologize in advance for my goofy laugh, voice, and stupid comments/bad analysis):

Some game footage:

http://www.twitvid.com/BSO2Q - Longer
http://t.co/lSKn9mu4 - Shorter

Thanks FWO - I'm upgrading you from Walk-on to starter!
My observations from the short amt. of video:

Nate Wells is a BIGGGG boy!

Walt's stroke from 15 ft. is smooth & saweeeeet! Yes, he needs to knock down the 3 from time to time, but if he is effective with a pull up from the 10-15 ft. range, what a weapon that would be!

Milos looks like a different player - confident, quicker, part of the team
Couldn't figure out who is Shayok, but I, along with other BU fans, will learn quickly!

Thanks again, FWO.

[amckillip]

Great assesment of what the team looks like from the R/W game but we will know more after Nov 1 & 8. If they can buy into GF's system (and it looks like they will) they will surprise some teams this year and be competative in most of their games which then can mean an extra win or two-especially by the time the Valley season starts.
I could see this team be a 500 team and I really think after last year most would be pleased f that happened and we actually played like a BB team.

I also expect to be about .500, I think we'll steal a couple games from teams we shouldn't beat, and lose to some poor teams as well. And to be honest? I'll be OK with that. I think that Geno has us going in a new and exciting direction, and there will be some growing pains with that. Give Geno 2 years IMO and we'll be a top 3 team for sure (2013-2014).

[LittleBrave]

Wow! This is a lot of pre-season optimism.
I think they'll all work very hard for Coach Ford, but there just isn't enough basketball talent on this team to compete this year. 10-12 wins is what we're looking at, so I'll be there every game cheering for effort.

This sounds like the pre-season negativity.
If we only win 10 games this year, what a disappointment barring a key injury.
A new system in which I think our players will be better suited, renewed confidence, and a starting 5 that I think is more skilled than last year's starting 5 with JP & WL who are going to improve, DSE will be more consistent, & TB is back. Our bench can't get much thinner than last year.

Not saying we will contend, or even finish in the top half of the Valley, but I expect to win at least 8 games in Valley play.

My expectation for this team is to stay out of the Thursday play-in game, and I think Geno is equipped to make that happen.

[amckillip]

Not saying we will contend, or even finish in the top half of the Valley, but I expect to win at least 8 games in Valley play.

My expectation for this team is to stay out of the Thursday play-in game, and I think Geno is equipped to make that happen.

Umm.... To stay out of Thursday one must pretty finish in the top half of the MVC... (Unless you're saying we'll finish exactly 6th)

[LittleBrave]

A couple other thoughts.

I have heard great things about Taylor Brown's play in practice. If he isn't our best player, he is right on the heels of DSE.

This doesn't surprise me about what you've heard. TB is our most prolific scorer, giving multiple ways to put points on the board. He should be among the leaders in rebounding this year too (in the Valley).
Had he stayed focused 2 years ago, we likely would have seen more performances like vs. Okie St., Missouri St., & Creighton.
Being his senior season, let's hope he maintains that focus so that we can see the best of Taylor.

[LittleBrave]

Umm.... To stay out of Thursday one must pretty finish in the top half of the MVC... (Unless you're saying we'll finish exactly 6th)

Yes, we will finish EXACTLY 6th!
You disected my e-mail...nice work!
I should have said Top 3 instead of Top half.

[AZ BU Fan]

Keeping starting 5 injury free and out of early foul trouble will be a key to how well BU can do this season.... Hopefully silly fouls can be kept to a minimum by the starters this coming year.

[Buesch N Chips]

Keeping starting 5 injury free and out of early foul trouble will be a key to how well BU can do this season.... Hopefully silly fouls can be kept to a minimum by the starters this coming year.

Word.

[spoon]

I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game. There are really only 3 players on this team I feel comfortable with in a starting lineup, the bench is one of the weakest in recent memory, 2/3 of the team are underclassmen, and only half the team stepped out on a college court last year. This is a last place team that loses 60% of its scoring, and returns a combined 27.8% 3-pt shooting percentage and more turnovers than assists. And none of this is taking into account that there will be injuries, fatigue, foul trouble, and off-nights.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the Braves win, but I just don't see it happening this year very often. It's going to be fun to watch a new coach, new scheme, and new players, but it's going to take a year or two to get out of the basement. I'm confident we'll be back to competing in the league soon enough, it just won't happen this year.

[LittleBrave]

I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game.

I don't think Geno expects us to finish in the bottom 4, and I have a lot of confidence in what he can do with the guys. You can't downplay the mental aspect of the game, and I think Coach Ford will bring a new mentality to the team.
I am jumping on the Lemon-wagon. He may struggle at times at the point, but I think we'll be pleased with his improvement this year. We didn't have a true PG last year either. I think our starting 5 will hold its own in the Valley.

Creighton's Terrific Trio (Echenique, McD, Young) are arguably better than any other trio in the league, but the trio of DSE, TB, and JP are as good as any other in the Valley IMO. Any challenges here???

[amckillip]

Yes, we will finish EXACTLY 6th!
You disected my e-mail...nice work!
I should have said Top 3 instead of Top half.

I wasn't dissecting your 'e-mail', just highlighting something I don't think people realize.

I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game. .

I agree with spoon. Without a PG in a guard driven league, and ZERO depth at big man, (even less than last year) we cannot do very well. I hear people say we won't finish top half, but we should stay out of Thursday, but those two things are pretty much mutually exclusive. I hope we finish in the top half of the MVC, and don't have to worry about Thursday, but compared to last year, we lose WE and AW, add Shayok and TB. I don't see that being enough to jump up a bunch in the MVC, and from a purely talent standpoint we could have actually gotten worse. Now we haven't lost two leaders in the beginning of the season like last year, which can demoralize a team pretty quickly, but imagine if JP gets injured? Once again, I hope we do well, we're very athletic, but without someone to really run the offense, and no big man depth whatsoever, it is just going to be a rebuilding year. I don't hold this against Geno or anyone else, but it's going to take a while to be good. After this year we lose TB, then we lose DSE... The road will take a bit longer than I think some realize.

[Dub]

Leadership on the court

I am an admirer of good leadership, and it's not hard to demonstrate what a difference in the W/L column can result from either good leadership or the lack thereof, on the court.

That said, which player(s) in this year's lineup do most fans feel will be able to provide this critical commodity? I am interested in this above almost all other aspects on the roster. Thanks.