I get all of the negativity about the BWG. I've always loved going to it more so than BBM. Unfortunately, we are in a new era and schools will have no choice but to find creative ways to raise NIL funds. Sometimes it will be at the expense of a tradition we love, like the BWG. That said, I think they probably know it was a swing and a miss. They gave it a shot. The intent wasn't to take away something the fans all love. It was to raise funds to actually give us more of what we all love. That said, I don't think they'll do it again next year. I'm not sure if Coach Pope had anything to do with the decision, but if so, let's give him a pass. He has handled everything else as well as anyone could have possibly expected.
I've not had a great year health-wise, so my wife and I splurged a bit and went to the game. I'd say the interactive part wasn't what I might have imagined. I'm not even sure what I thought it was going to be. It was basically player interviews and then various kids and adults competing for prizes. Some kids got to pass the ball to the women's team members during shooting drills, so that was fun to watch. But the main thing I was interested in was watching the men's team scrimmage. That was really fun and encouraging so that was worth the price of admission and the drive from Louisville.
As far as the scrimmage, here are some random observations. I'm nobody and I've basically just played rec league basketball so take my observations with a grain of salt.
Williams - bigger than I was expecting. Maybe not the most athletic, but the talk about being a good passer is true.
Garrison - Big dude. More athletic and more upside than WIlliams.
Chandler - Second most impressive performance in the game. Yes, he hit a good percentage of his perimeter shots, but I was most impressed with his defense. He did a really good job of keeping his man in front of him on the perimeter. We could have used him last year.
Perry - Looks comfortable and looks like he belongs. He was forced to play point so I'm looking forward to seeing how well he plays off the ball. I predict he will play a significant role this year.
Brea - Didn't hit a high percentage, but also didn't force anything. At 6-7 or so, he can shoot over a lot of people. I believe he hit one with Oweh right in his face.
Robinson - Better than I expected, at least offensively. Maybe looks for his shot more so than anyone else on the team.
Butler - Smothering defense. A little better offensively than I expected, but doesn't really look for his shot that much.
Oweh - Does a little bit of everything. He may be that guy that gets overlooked until you read the box score.
Almonor - He's a better shooter than he showed in this game, so he'll have his moments. But he'll be behind some other guys for playing time.
Carr - Best player on the team. A deadly shooter and a matchup nightmare. High basketball IQ. He'll be our leading scorer.
Noah - I wasn't expecting anything from him, really. But he was solid and will supply some depth.
I've not had a great year health-wise, so my wife and I splurged a bit and went to the game. I'd say the interactive part wasn't what I might have imagined. I'm not even sure what I thought it was going to be. It was basically player interviews and then various kids and adults competing for prizes. Some kids got to pass the ball to the women's team members during shooting drills, so that was fun to watch. But the main thing I was interested in was watching the men's team scrimmage. That was really fun and encouraging so that was worth the price of admission and the drive from Louisville.
As far as the scrimmage, here are some random observations. I'm nobody and I've basically just played rec league basketball so take my observations with a grain of salt.
Williams - bigger than I was expecting. Maybe not the most athletic, but the talk about being a good passer is true.
Garrison - Big dude. More athletic and more upside than WIlliams.
Chandler - Second most impressive performance in the game. Yes, he hit a good percentage of his perimeter shots, but I was most impressed with his defense. He did a really good job of keeping his man in front of him on the perimeter. We could have used him last year.
Perry - Looks comfortable and looks like he belongs. He was forced to play point so I'm looking forward to seeing how well he plays off the ball. I predict he will play a significant role this year.
Brea - Didn't hit a high percentage, but also didn't force anything. At 6-7 or so, he can shoot over a lot of people. I believe he hit one with Oweh right in his face.
Robinson - Better than I expected, at least offensively. Maybe looks for his shot more so than anyone else on the team.
Butler - Smothering defense. A little better offensively than I expected, but doesn't really look for his shot that much.
Oweh - Does a little bit of everything. He may be that guy that gets overlooked until you read the box score.
Almonor - He's a better shooter than he showed in this game, so he'll have his moments. But he'll be behind some other guys for playing time.
Carr - Best player on the team. A deadly shooter and a matchup nightmare. High basketball IQ. He'll be our leading scorer.
Noah - I wasn't expecting anything from him, really. But he was solid and will supply some depth.
