Some may remember a while back I did a report on the incoming guys this year individually when I watched film. So after watching Pro Day, I was just as giddy as you all so I decided to watch some film on our first two big tests of the season. Richmond and Kansas. Hope you all enjoy.
RICHMOND
Front court:
Thing that intrigues me right of the bat is the 5 man battle between Golden(who some may remember we thought could possibly be airing up for us this season), and Sarr. The contrasts in their games and sizes will be fun to see. Golden is a plotter all the way, good screener big body, and knows how to use it. I wonder how he’ll fare against the multiple bodies we could throw at him while trying to score over our length. However, thy also have a 4 man by the name of Cato who I game I personally like because he never takes a play off. He’s not the biggest listed at 6’7 205lbs (Keion looked bigger than he did) but he’s athletic, tough, and will do the dirty work. I could see Keion having possibly a tougher time with him, I think Isaiah maybe too much for him though.
Their guards:
Their 2 main guards Francis #1 & Gilyard #0 fit the mold of those small, quick dangerous guards that can shoot and pass and send you home in late March. They are tough and I can imagine will be told to try and get up under our bigger guards. The fan in me says that they could also have trouble as we have guys I believe in Mintz and Clarke that can guard guards like these with the bonus being the size they are at 6’7 and 6’3.
Shooting:
They like to spread the floor with a lot of 4 out 1 in with Golden. Their guards are good at penetrating and they kick and swing.
Overall we’re a much bigger and deeper team than them even though young and new I expect us to take care of business. Idk I just have that much belief in this team this year.
*I watched game film on them from Vandy and clips against auburn*
KANSAS
I also checked out Kansas as the only recent film they had was of their “Virtual Late Night Phog” or whatever that s#1t is (lame af). I wanted to see how the offense would look with Garrett sliding over to full time PG. (I also took that as, we couldn’t reel in any good PG recruits so this will have to do).
Don’t get me wrong Garrett is a dark horse POY candidate IMO. Great defender, one of the best honestly. Perfect Swiss army Jack of all trades kind of player(except shooting lol) which is why he’s still in college. Very interested in seeing who he guards and who guards him first game.
Front court:
Depth isn’t there, in an ideal world McCormack and Lightfoot need to buy into doing the dirty work and everyone else work but there are no consistent shooters or scoring IMO. Some may remember Enaruna a few years ago in recruiting, he can stroke it but didn’t see the foot speed or really ability to defend, especially against us. He’s a tweezer through and through and basically means can’t guard college 3’s or 4’s. If they play him for scoring I’d attack him on offense.
Backcourt:
I like the freshman Thompson they have, he’s decent pretty much just knows how to play and makes the right play. However, our freshman are just on a different level and it’s apparent. They have another backup PG in Harris, who is a true pass first, smaller PG about 6’1. His better years are ahead of him but I can see him playing a lot as they may go small to try to provide a spark on offense with Garrett able to guard 4’s. (I could see them doing this with Brooks at the 4).
Overall when I watched them play, albeit none of this may matter when the ball is tipped when I watched us we just looked like we were running at a different pace and speed. It’s probably hard to look fast compared to us for many teams in CBB, however, if this isn’t turned into a half court grind it out, execution type game I can see Kansas being in trouble. I stated earlier, a lineup of McCormack, Lightfoot, Abaji, Garret, and Thompson doesn’t scare me personally and is primed to struggle to score. The lack of depth may really hurt them in this one in the front court. If we come out just playing hard and fast, and playing through freshman errors I think we can come away with 2 big victories and shaking the room (RIP Pop Smoke💫🦈) in CBB to start the year.
Apologies for the length🙏🏾
RICHMOND
Front court:
Thing that intrigues me right of the bat is the 5 man battle between Golden(who some may remember we thought could possibly be airing up for us this season), and Sarr. The contrasts in their games and sizes will be fun to see. Golden is a plotter all the way, good screener big body, and knows how to use it. I wonder how he’ll fare against the multiple bodies we could throw at him while trying to score over our length. However, thy also have a 4 man by the name of Cato who I game I personally like because he never takes a play off. He’s not the biggest listed at 6’7 205lbs (Keion looked bigger than he did) but he’s athletic, tough, and will do the dirty work. I could see Keion having possibly a tougher time with him, I think Isaiah maybe too much for him though.
Their guards:
Their 2 main guards Francis #1 & Gilyard #0 fit the mold of those small, quick dangerous guards that can shoot and pass and send you home in late March. They are tough and I can imagine will be told to try and get up under our bigger guards. The fan in me says that they could also have trouble as we have guys I believe in Mintz and Clarke that can guard guards like these with the bonus being the size they are at 6’7 and 6’3.
Shooting:
They like to spread the floor with a lot of 4 out 1 in with Golden. Their guards are good at penetrating and they kick and swing.
Overall we’re a much bigger and deeper team than them even though young and new I expect us to take care of business. Idk I just have that much belief in this team this year.
*I watched game film on them from Vandy and clips against auburn*
KANSAS
I also checked out Kansas as the only recent film they had was of their “Virtual Late Night Phog” or whatever that s#1t is (lame af). I wanted to see how the offense would look with Garrett sliding over to full time PG. (I also took that as, we couldn’t reel in any good PG recruits so this will have to do).
Don’t get me wrong Garrett is a dark horse POY candidate IMO. Great defender, one of the best honestly. Perfect Swiss army Jack of all trades kind of player(except shooting lol) which is why he’s still in college. Very interested in seeing who he guards and who guards him first game.
Front court:
Depth isn’t there, in an ideal world McCormack and Lightfoot need to buy into doing the dirty work and everyone else work but there are no consistent shooters or scoring IMO. Some may remember Enaruna a few years ago in recruiting, he can stroke it but didn’t see the foot speed or really ability to defend, especially against us. He’s a tweezer through and through and basically means can’t guard college 3’s or 4’s. If they play him for scoring I’d attack him on offense.
Backcourt:
I like the freshman Thompson they have, he’s decent pretty much just knows how to play and makes the right play. However, our freshman are just on a different level and it’s apparent. They have another backup PG in Harris, who is a true pass first, smaller PG about 6’1. His better years are ahead of him but I can see him playing a lot as they may go small to try to provide a spark on offense with Garrett able to guard 4’s. (I could see them doing this with Brooks at the 4).
Overall when I watched them play, albeit none of this may matter when the ball is tipped when I watched us we just looked like we were running at a different pace and speed. It’s probably hard to look fast compared to us for many teams in CBB, however, if this isn’t turned into a half court grind it out, execution type game I can see Kansas being in trouble. I stated earlier, a lineup of McCormack, Lightfoot, Abaji, Garret, and Thompson doesn’t scare me personally and is primed to struggle to score. The lack of depth may really hurt them in this one in the front court. If we come out just playing hard and fast, and playing through freshman errors I think we can come away with 2 big victories and shaking the room (RIP Pop Smoke💫🦈) in CBB to start the year.
Apologies for the length🙏🏾
