Red-White scrimmage report

[tornado]

lots of fun - ought to be a fun year...
scoring isn't the issue it was last year

in a 15 min scrimmage game White 37 - Red 24

the scoring breakdown...

White
Pittman 12
McGlaston 4
Bar 4
van Bree 6 (2 3-pointers)
Foster 2
Griffith 4
Suggs 5
Hodgson played well but did not score

Red
Darrell Brown 4
DLO 6
Kennell 2
Donte Thomas 4
Barker 2
Merritt 2
Foster 4 (Foster switched teams half way thru)
Hanley players dns

DLO looked solid but wasn't jumping 100%
Donte Thomas came out early with what looked like a jammed finger and went to the lockerroom and then never re-entered
Both Suggs & Barker played but after about 6-7 minutes did not re-enter

Dunk contest
Pittman won here's a video of his winning dunk - LINK
Merritt 2nd
Jojo 3rd

500-600 maybe in attendance

at one point White had 24pts just 7 minutes into the game

Most impressive players...
-Antoine Pittman - some nice moves, can create, good head for the ball
-Luuk van Bree nice shooting touch
-Koch Bar - active mobile gets his hands on everything
-Alex Foster - very active & mobile down low - will give us some help in the paint
-Hodgson - good ball handler, sees the floor well - made the white offense run and it is no coincidence that they put up points at a 100-point pace getting open shots

good to see ya wizard...we've come a long, long way from where we were 2 years ago when we didn't even have a Red=White, just some dunking down on the riverfront and 3 years ago when the men's scrimmage didn't even start 'til 9pm
...where defense is lacking - that our guys couldn't even score double digits in 20 minutes (except the leftovers from the cupboard like Walt Lemon)


Heard some interesting news about Manual...
good- Miller is better than advertised & Watkins may be back before the season's over
-One top player is lagging due to back surgery

[Da Coach]

I was encouraged by much of what I saw at the Red-White scrimmage.
The new up-tempo" offense was readily apparent, as both teams looked for and usually took a shot withing the first 8-10 seconds of the possessions. It did lead to a few more turnovers than you want to see, but that will surely get better as they practice more. Plus, it was obvious that each team knew the other team's plays, and often cut off passing lanes and made steals.

Donte Thomas' injury did not appear serious, hopefully. After Thomas went out, the Red team was short (they started with only 7 players, while the White team started with 8 ), so Alex Foster switched to the Red team.

Here are my impressions, for what it's worth-

Most impressive was Antoine Pittman, as mentioned. He is stronger-looking, and drove to the basket for easy shots several times. He looks much more aggressive and quicker than last year.
Luuk van Bree looked smooth, handled the ball well on fast breaks a couple times, and drained both his 3-pointers without touching the rim. He looked ready for the season to start and will undoubtedly have a starting spot.
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye moved well, coming off the foot fracture. He did make 3 baskets close-in, but his outside shot was off. He also was aggressive on defense and grabbed several rebounds.
Ronnie Suggs played well, made a couple shots, including one 3-pointer, and played strong defense. With the depth Bradley has at guard, it will be more difficult finding playing time for everyone.
Callum Barker also looked much stronger, got the ball down low many times, but did not score but one time with it. Several of his half-hooks bounced out. I am sure the coaches will keep working on his moves to the basket from inside.
Peter Hanley didn't play much and did not look for shots. Again, with more depth, it will be tough getting playing time this season.
Donte Thomas looked very good, and had 2 baskets for the Red team, who struggled to score after he left early with the injury.


The new guys-
Koch Bar was much more aggressive and active around the basket than I expected. He might get called for a few over-the-back calls, but he was jumping and reaching for every rebound when he was on the floor. He also missed several short hook shots from right next to the basket, so hopefully he'll work on that move since he is so tall it is hard to stop.
Alex Foster looked strong and made a couple nice moves under the basket. He will definitely help our inside play this year.
JoJo McGlaston looked like he is still trying to adjust to the new coach and system. He is very athletic, but occasionally looked lost on offense. His defense is good, and he was among the defensive standouts for the White team that held the Red team down.
Nate Kennell looked just a bit slower than the rest of the players, and he will probably take some time to adjust to the speed of Division I play. But he was making shots from everywhere in the warmups, though he did not look for shots much during the scrimmage.
Darrell Brown, Jr. looks very quick with the ball, and some of his passes were so quick that his teammates lost them off their hands. He is always looking for a shot, and his shot selection has room for improvement, but he reminded me a little of Daniel Ruffin when ruff first got to Bradley.
Jerome Merritt is the other new guy who looked slightly lost on the offensive end, but he played hard and has obvious superior athleticism.
Jayden Hodgson showed exactly what Coach Wardle has been telling everyone. He was very steady running the point, did not look to shoot much, and did not make many mistakes, considering he is a freshman with limited experience, playing a new fast-tempo offense.
Lou Griffith did not play many minutes, but he ran the offense well and made a 3-pointer in the short time he was on the floor.

Beside the difference of the faster offensive tempo, the biggest difference evident was the depth this team will have compared with last year. DLO, Pittman, van Bree, Suggs, Barker, Thomas, Foster, and McGlaston all have the capability of being starters. Even Brown and Hodgson could be in the starting lineup, and they would contribute with their PG skills. Bar adds a facet with his long arms and quick jumping ability, that he should see playing time with the way he changes shots on the defensive end.


I also stayed for the women's scrimmage. This year's team will struggle with outside shooting again from what I saw. But they have players who are more aggressive, handle the ball better, and play harder than I saw under the last coach. There are a lot of young players with room for improvement, so hopefully the rebuilding will take them forward over the next couple years. I just want to see the better effort continue, and no more 50-70 point blowouts.

[Da Coach]

And I estimated about 700-750 people in attendance. Not as many as I thought might come, but considering the game was played at a time when a lot of people are involved in family and church activities, as well as going against NFL games, maybe not so bad.

[Chico]

Good to see these guys have names on this post not just initials. Thanks Coach.

[Da Coach]

Report on the Red-White scrimmage from BradleyBraves.com

http://bradleybraves.com/news/2016/10/23/mens-basketball-basketball-opens-season-with-red-white-scrimmage.aspx

[Da Coach]

This was Jerome Merritt's 2nd place dunk-

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6wgEBDy2G/

In case you missed it, this was Antoine Pittman's 1st place dunk-

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6wCEMDmwG/

[BUfan39]

Does anyone have any idea why the band wasn't there?? Also saw Danny Ruffin and Sam Singh in attendance as well as Brooke Bisping.

[Dub]

Liked what I saw today. Not sure how to predict the win count for this yr, but we are clearly on track toward building something. It's a good recipe, quality ingredients, and it's in the oven baking.

[tornado]

the PJS report

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20161023/reynolds-braves-show-good-signs-in-red-white-scrimmage

[tornado]

Lou Griffith looked good out there....seemed he was having fun and he's obviously a fan favorite but also obviously very well liked and respected by his teammates.

Who knows if he stays or plays all four years at Bradley...it's hardly rocket science given the facts that very few walk-ons play four years at DI..
he may choose DII or juco then play more and play on scholarship or maybe if he goes the juco route - could be back and play at Bradley by 2019...

Bradley has had NUMEROUS walk-ons who did NOT play four years - in fact the large majority have NOT played four years at Bradley.

of the walk-ons/non-scholarship players I recall over the past dozen or so seasons...
..all but two did not play four years at BU

Ned Goetzen, Jimmy Gavin, D'Angelo McBride, Brian Hogue, Jim Vershaw, Marcus Samuels, Chris Mroz, Ryan Sunley, Kevin Jones, Montana Heirman, Cameron Sweatman, James Robertson, Charonn Woods, Aaron Ganson, Jordan Brown, Mason Alwan, Darion Harris, and Jackson Kane
...are all walk-ons since the Molinari era who left before four years or who played fewer than four years at Bradley

I think only Ryan Phillips, Brian Lavin played four years as walk-ons


*** just this morning there's some chatter on the transfer rates...which NCAA says is about 37.2% of DI basketball players transfer at least once in their careers..but it's headed upwards and expected to be 40% and more shortly and now (with grad transfer rule) we are beginning to see 5-10% who transfer more than once like Omari Grier & Anthony Fields did.


and almost everyone who has commented to me about the scrimmage was impressed with Pittman - one comment from a BU fan who used to be an ISU fan was that Pittman reminded him of Osiris Eldridge!

[tornado]

bunch of pics from Red-White

https://www.facebook.com/287719068077147/photos/ms.c.eJwtx8ERACAMArCNPC0Fyv6L~_dD8YlLlTutEwPJ7nxph8x~;jsGJf6GMJtA~-~-.bps.at.287723691410018.1073741828.287719068077147.1384690104.100003247497569.100002610807433/755627494619633/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/287719068077147/photos/pcb.755627954619587/755627407952975/?type=3&theater

can scroll thru them using arrows at the side of the pictures


Callum Barker dunk