cc66
Postdoc
Posts: 2204
Reg: 10-09-09
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11-04-16 10:50 PM - Post#212544
There were about 80 people there, including recent basketball alums Isaac Cohen, Niko Scott, and Ben Nwachukwu. But to answer the most pressing questions, first:
Castlin is injured (toe/foot) and will not play this season.
Lance Meadow is transferring from announcing the women's b'ball games to announcing the men's. They are now trying to backfill and find a women's b'ball announcer.
They have had one scrimmage so far against St.Francis in which they did pretty well (I got the sense they won, but not with the artistry that Engels would like). They have another tomorrow against Siena which will probably be decisive in determining the starting line-up.
Engels' comments on the first years' play made a sharp distinction between their mental and physical preparedness for college ball. Some players have the physical tools, but did not have very good coaching. Others, he said, are prepared mentally, but are not yet ready physically. More specifically, he said that
Panayiotou would contribute some this year, and that he expected a good deal more in subsequent years.
Killingsworth knows the game and is ready mentally, but is underprepared physically. Separately, some of the assistant coaches were more positive about him, to the point that maybe his b'ball intelligence will soon get him some minutes.
Tape is tall and athletic, but Engels made the somewhat harsh comment that "he doesn't know what he's doing." The comment sounded like a critique about the small program he came from in SC. I got the sense that his athleticism might get him some time later in the year, if he responds well to Engels' instruction.
Smith was the first-year player who garnered the most unconditional praise--for his b'ball IQ from Engels, and for his speed from the assistant coaches. He's clearly in the running for starting PG.
It's hard to tell who the starters are going to be. Two seem pretty evident--Petrasek and Meisner. In Castlin's absence, my best guess is that they will start Hickman. At PG, the competition is between Smith, Adlesh, and Davis; if I had to guess, I think it might go to Smith, because Engels likes speed and precision, though Adlesh was praised for his work-habits and diligence studying film.
The other forward position is up for grabs. Coby has a hamstring injury, but they also like him better as a reserve. So who starts as the other forward is anyone's guess.
Listening to everyone, I came to the conclusion that we are more of a work in progress than I had realized. For starters, even if we assume that Petrasek will have a breakout year, we have no idea of how Meisner and Hickman will perform. Then there is the question of a first year PG + the open question of the other forward. Maybe we can pull it all together by the Ivy season, but especially without Castlin, I have less confidence in all the possibilities that I once saw.
Edited by cc66 on 11-04-16 10:53 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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