A nobody's thoughts so far...

[Jireh]

I'm nobody so file this away under "Meaningless" if you like. But these are my thoughts after one summer game:

Wagner - Elite. He'll be fantastic by March. If he can shoot even just a respectable percentage from the perimeter, he will be tough to guard.

Dilly - Super quick and electric. But I feel his decision making will be an issue for, if not the entire season, at least half. I worry he will feel suffocated and improperly used. I hope I'm wrong as I really like what he can bring to the team.

Edwards - Smooth and effortless. It may take a while for him to figure out how he's supposed to play. But everything is there just waiting for him to figure it out. By season's end he will be a guy we go to when we need a basket.

Sheppard - He was scoreless in the Germany game, but we all know he can shoot the ball so not really worried about that. Apparently, he was hot in the closed scrimmage against Africa. What I was excited about was his basketball instincts and general value in every aspect of the game. I know Germany wasn't the quickest or most athletic team, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how well he played defense handled himself on the court.

Burks - Apparently, he was playing out of position, but I still didn't really see anything that suggests he will be in the top rotation. He seemed a little lost. But again, that may be due to playing out of position. It will be interesting to see what he can do when one or both of our post players come back. But then, will he even get playing time? I hope so - I'm pulling for the kid!

Thiero - I could tell last season this kid could be something special. He'll be overlooked by the media and fans all year, but he'll be a big key to our success. I love his fearless play and attitude. He's gonna hurt some dudes this year!

Mitchell - Smooth and calm. He's been around a while and, based on his personality, I don't think he's a guy who will get rattled or get too up or down. If the game against Germany is any indication as to how he can shoot, he will be a matchup nightmare this season. On the negative side, he seems a tad slow, and he doesn't appear to have the best hands.

Reeves - same old Reeves but maybe a little more engaged and serious about defense. That's a really good thing!

 

[ganner918]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

 

[Sparkaces1]

I thought Dillingham was relatively under control other than a couple of shots where he pulled the trigger to quick, but no turnovers is pretty damn good. The problem is DJ is gonna need to play 30 minutes so the guard minutes are gonna be tough to come by, but Dillingham for 20 minutes a game is a good number if he will accept that role.

 

[jgodek]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

I think Dilly fighting to be the 8th man would cause a lot of discontent and potentially create some issues.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

Spot on other than Dillingham needs bumping up a few spots. Just too talented.

 

[J-Ryan]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

I do not agree that Dilly will be fighting for the 8th spot in the rotation

 

[BlueBomb]

Ya‘ll really know your basketball.

Me? Well, I’ve never been able to tell much about players/teams after watching an exhibition game. I usually need to watch at least five games or so.

 

[gharding07]

I thought Dillingham was relatively under control other than a couple of shots where he pulled the trigger to quick, but no turnovers is pretty damn good. The problem is DJ is gonna need to play 30 minutes so the guard minutes are gonna be tough to come by, but Dillingham for 20 minutes a game is a good number if he will accept that role.

Unless Wagner gets in foul trouble, then RD will take over.

 

[gharding07]

Ya‘ll really know your basketball.

Me? Well, I’ve never been able to tell much about players/teams after watching an exhibition game. I usually need to watch at least five games or so.

it's been a long miserable off-season...

 

[Sparkaces1]

Unless Wagner gets in foul trouble, then RD will take over.

That is the great thing about this team, there are multiple options, really at every spot once the bigs get healthy. We have literally razor thin at PG the last three years.

 

[lj bulldog]

I'm nobody so file this away under "Meaningless" if you like. But these are my thoughts after one summer game:

Wagner - Elite. He'll be fantastic by March. If he can shoot even just a respectable percentage from the perimeter, he will be tough to guard.

Dilly - Super quick and electric. But I feel his decision making will be an issue for, if not the entire season, at least half. I worry he will feel suffocated and improperly used. I hope I'm wrong as I really like what he can bring to the team.

Edwards - Smooth and effortless. It may take a while for him to figure out how he's supposed to play. But everything is there just waiting for him to figure it out. By season's end he will be a guy we go to when we need a basket.

Sheppard - He was scoreless in the Germany game, but we all know he can shoot the ball so not really worried about that. Apparently, he was hot in the closed scrimmage against Africa. What I was excited about was his basketball instincts and general value in every aspect of the game. I know Germany wasn't the quickest or most athletic team, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how well he played defense handled himself on the court.

Burks - Apparently, he was playing out of position, but I still didn't really see anything that suggests he will be in the top rotation. He seemed a little lost. But again, that may be due to playing out of position. It will be interesting to see what he can do when one or both of our post players come back. But then, will he even get playing time? I hope so - I'm pulling for the kid!

Thiero - I could tell last season this kid could be something special. He'll be overlooked by the media and fans all year, but he'll be a big key to our success. I love his fearless play and attitude. He's gonna hurt some dudes this year!

Mitchell - Smooth and calm. He's been around a while and, based on his personality, I don't think he's a guy who will get rattled or get too up or down. If the game against Germany is any indication as to how he can shoot, he will be a matchup nightmare this season. On the negative side, he seems a tad slow, and he doesn't appear to have the best hands.

Reeves - same old Reeves but maybe a little more engaged and serious about defense. That's a really good thing!

Nice post.

 

[Cobb4uk]

I'm nobody so file this away under "Meaningless" if you like. But these are my thoughts after one summer game:

Wagner - Elite. He'll be fantastic by March. If he can shoot even just a respectable percentage from the perimeter, he will be tough to guard.

Dilly - Super quick and electric. But I feel his decision making will be an issue for, if not the entire season, at least half. I worry he will feel suffocated and improperly used. I hope I'm wrong as I really like what he can bring to the team.

Edwards - Smooth and effortless. It may take a while for him to figure out how he's supposed to play. But everything is there just waiting for him to figure it out. By season's end he will be a guy we go to when we need a basket.

Sheppard - He was scoreless in the Germany game, but we all know he can shoot the ball so not really worried about that. Apparently, he was hot in the closed scrimmage against Africa. What I was excited about was his basketball instincts and general value in every aspect of the game. I know Germany wasn't the quickest or most athletic team, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how well he played defense handled himself on the court.

Burks - Apparently, he was playing out of position, but I still didn't really see anything that suggests he will be in the top rotation. He seemed a little lost. But again, that may be due to playing out of position. It will be interesting to see what he can do when one or both of our post players come back. But then, will he even get playing time? I hope so - I'm pulling for the kid!

Thiero - I could tell last season this kid could be something special. He'll be overlooked by the media and fans all year, but he'll be a big key to our success. I love his fearless play and attitude. He's gonna hurt some dudes this year!

Mitchell - Smooth and calm. He's been around a while and, based on his personality, I don't think he's a guy who will get rattled or get too up or down. If the game against Germany is any indication as to how he can shoot, he will be a matchup nightmare this season. On the negative side, he seems a tad slow, and he doesn't appear to have the best hands.

Reeves - same old Reeves but maybe a little more engaged and serious about defense. That's a really good thing!

And your analysis is after 10 practices and one practice game. Not trying to be an ass but you can't make judgements/ analysises until major competition, that's when weakness get exposed. Germany was,IMO, very slow of foot or we're extremely quick, hope it's the latter. One of the more impressive things was the whole team seemed to move really well without the ball.

 

[NociHTTP]

Ya‘ll really know your basketball.

Me? Well, I’ve never been able to tell much about players/teams after watching an exhibition game. I usually need to watch at least five games or so.

You can gleam from an exhibition game. A data sample size is valid.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Don’t let one game fool you, Dillingham is going to be a key player for us.

 

[Fox2monk]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

Dilly will be a top 7 rotation player most of the year. We need dynamic ball handlers to be our best team. He will get there I believe. Adou has a big year coming. Kid is gonna be great.

 

[ksharpless]

Spot on other than Dillingham needs bumping up a few spots. Just too talented.

I think like Edwards will be a matter of him just figuring out when to do his thing. I think he’ll be very important, he can get to the rim with ease, can tell he’s still just figuring things out.

 

[bucsrule8872]

The 9-man rotation is going to be pretty good, I think, once Bradshaw and Onyenso return.

Dillingham
Wagner
Sheppard
Reeves
Edwards
Thiero
Mitchell
Bradshaw
Onyenso

Getting Reeves back and adding Mitchell late was the key, IMHO.

We need their experience.

These young guys are really good, but when the going gets tough, we are going to need Reeves and Mitchell to step up and lead.

I think they will be up to the task.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Most talented team in 4 years,need to see them under stress to predict the season. That will not happen in this tourney

 

[NC Weasel]

As always with a Cal team .... it will all come down to buying in on defense. When we're a top defensive team.... we win games and make deep tourney runs. When we read our press clippings and think we can switch things on and off when we want to ...... we're average.

Obviously we're missing 2 bigs. But they've showed good effort thus far. If the 2nd 5 push the 1st 5 defensively...... could make for a good year. If they hang they're heads and don't play like rabid dogs when given the chance. Then we'll fall right back into mediocrity. We're deep enough to play that way if Cal will free the reins a bit.

 

[Jireh]

And your analysis is after 10 practices and one practice game. Not trying to be an ass but you can't make judgements/ analysises until major competition, that's when weakness get exposed. Germany was,IMO, very slow of foot or we're extremely quick, hope it's the latter. One of the more impressive things was the whole team seemed to move really well without the ball.

Yeah, that's why I said, "after one summer game."

 

[Aike]

Assuming everyone's healthy: Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell, Ugo, Bradshaw, Thiero is probably our top 7. Dilly/Shep fighting for that 8th spot. Burks/Hart spot minutes.

I’d bet Ugo plays less minutes than Reed or Dillingham, and Thiero might too.

A healthy Bradshaw probably cracks the top 5, but it isn’t going to shock me if he struggles to stay “healthy.” However, this team should be fun, and he’d be crazy not to want to be a part of this.

 

[Ukgold]

As always with a Cal team .... it will all come down to buying in on defense. When we're a top defensive team.... we win games and make deep tourney runs. When we read our press clippings and think we can switch things on and off when we want to ...... we're average.

Obviously we're missing 2 bigs. But they've showed good effort thus far. If the 2nd 5 push the 1st 5 defensively...... could make for a good year. If they hang they're heads and don't play like rabid dogs when given the chance. Then we'll fall right back into mediocrity. We're deep enough to play that way if Cal will free the reins a bit.

I think freeing the reins will be a lot easier with this team versus last year's team. I think you make a good point about these guys pushing each other..

 

[NC Weasel]

I think freeing the reins will be a lot easier with this team versus last year's team. I think you make a good point about these guys pushing each other..

It only happens if they all get playing time. Maybe Hart can wait and not cause any internal issues. But for them to all "play for each other", as Cal always preaches. Then he has to give them the chance to do that. And we would be better in March for it. And the kids need to reward that by buying into defense as their mission.

BTW, what little pick and roll we faced these first 3 games was defended better than we did ALL of last season. Lots of other issues, but the line-up we had did handle that well. Kudos to Mitchell for that.