Early look

[BBFran]

I had a chance to watch the team a bit today. What stood out immediately was their physical condition and skill. These guys have obviously been in the weight room quite a bit, and in the gym shooting too. This team has both muscle and skill.

A couple notes: AA looks ready to pick up where he left off, except he's obviously bigger and stronger. Tiby was already diving for loose balls. That's pretty good stuff to see from a senior leader a month before the live bullets start flying. Justin Jordan has changed his shot mechanics. Looks much better and he was draining his shot in shootaround. Jayquan is very smooth with an excellent shot. Jordan Johnson is going to remind everyone of Chris Hill, but maybe with a little more offense. JR can still get vertical in the blink of an eye. And as a whole this team looks ready, willing and able to pass the ball. I have to think that the recent success of offenses like Wisconsin's in college and Golden State's in the NBA is having an impact on how coaches are teaching and players are playing. The team did a lot of practicing against a zone today and the guys were really moving the ball.

One other thing: the team is very guard and wing heavy. We need our bigs to stay healthy. Brandon is a busy man these days but we should be okay by the time the season starts.

P.S. Sharif was playing as one of the iron five of the scout team with the Prahls, Derek Rongstad and Baylor Peterson, and drained a three like it was 2005.

[PantherU]

Jordan Johnson will look a lot like Chris Hill when he dives under the table for a loose ball in the NCAA Tournament.

[ghostofdylan]

I attended the Tipoff Luncheon today and here is my primary takeaway ...

The men have great confidence heading into the season and the women appear to be very much a work in progress.

In comparison to the women, who don't even know who is going to play, Rob is very sure of his lineup and rotation.

When he says that we are comfortably going to go 10 deep, I assume that the five who'll join the starters for the fall semester are J.R. Lyle, Cody Wichmann, Justin Jordan/Jordan Johnson, Brock Stull and Brett Prahl.

I just marvel at the disparity in age between the men's and women's teams. The women look like junior high-schoolers and the men physically look like a pro team.

It's clear that the guys have been hitting the weight room hard. J.J., Akeem and A.A. all were noticeably muscled up.

It's going to be a good year for the guys!

[uwmxctf]

Will JayQuan crack the rotation when he becomes eligible in the 2nd semester?

[ghostofdylan]

No question. He's a smooth operator.

[nickpanther]

does this team look like a team that can make the tourney? if so, and they do, it would be the second time in a 3 year stretch, first time that's happened since 2003-05 when we came within a few missed FTs against UIC in the 04 title game from going to 4 straight dances(2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)

[skrapheap]

It doesn't matter how good the Panthers look, as the "experts" all assure us that the Valpo's squad is an inevitable juggernaut on its way to the NCAA tournament.

[ghostofdylan]

After seeing the open scrimmage and the exhibition game and sorting through my notes, here's my annual breakdown of the team. We'll start with the guards. Once JayQuan McCloud gains his eligibility, this position will be as deep as anyone in the league and most of the teams we play.

1, Jordan Johnson: Jet-quick pacesetter. Distributes well off the bounce or ball swings. Will remind many of Chris Hill, but with a better perimeter shot.

2, Akeem Springs: Bulky two guard. Better going to the basket, but with an improved outside shot. Along with Tiby, the team's emotional leader. Outstanding rebounder.

3, JayQuan McCloud: Nicknamed 'Quan.' Biggest question mark is when NCAA will allow him to play. Skywalker with a sharp shooting eye. Watch for Quan on the business end of Johnson's alley-oops.

4, J.R. Lyle: Same old J.R., diving all over the place and clogging passing lames, but with a much-improved shooting stroke. Another high-flyer and defensive dynamo.

5, Cody Wichmann: One of team's top 3-point marksmen. Primarily an offensive player, but underrated defensively. Can be a difference-maker with 3-point barrages.

6, Justin Jordan: Johnson's backup. Will see diminished minutes with expanded guard corps. Yet another explosive leaper. Vastly improved shooting mechanics.

7, Brock Stull: May not be enough minutes for freshman to get playing time. Strong shooter with cool presence. Could provide some serious firepower in a pinch.

[skrapheap]

Justin Jordan, Jordan Johnson, Jeremy Johnson, JJ Panoske, J R Lyle, Austin Arians...

There's material there for a "Who's On First" kind of routine. i don't have the comedic chops to write one, but someone ought to.

[ghostofdylan]

Here's a look at the bigs. Clearly, there isn't currently all that much behind the top three, though there's hope that one or two players will emerge and become decent 10-minute contributors. With the volume of quality guards and wings, there just aren't many minutes left to go around.

1, Matt Tiby: The heartbeat of the team together with Akeem Springs. Tenacious rebounder. Silky-smooth perimeter shooter. Wants to win as much as anyone anywhere.

2, Austin Arians: Recognizable stroke, unrecognizable body. Added probably 25 pounds of muscle during redshirt year. Can stretch a defense out to halfcourt line.

3, J.J. Panoske: Capable shot-blocker earns his keep on defense. Still, can sink 3s and when he gets to the line is almost automatic. Added 15 pounds in the offseason and now weighs 250. Battling high ankle sprain.

4, Brett Prahl: By far, the more skilled offensively of the Prahl twins. Bullish on the blocks, he plays to his strength but needs more consistency to earn time.

5, Scotty Tyler: One of team's biggest x-factors. Suffered shoulder injury a few weeks ago and has been limited since. Coaches at Idaho State loved his upside. Probably closer to 6-9 than 6-7.

6, Dan Studer: Burly, bruising lumberjack. Will throw around weight down in the low block. Gives fouls. Gets slight nod over Alex Prahl because of seniority.

7, Alex Prahl: Pretty much same profile as Studer. Perhaps an inch or two taller. Will serve as valuable practice body and fill-in if team is beset by injuries.

[BBFran]

The only problem with Matt Tiby is that we don't have two of him -- one to work the low post and another to punish defenses that leave him open from deep, and both to crash the boards at both ends.

Austin had a rough shooting game against UWP but frankly he is the definition of the guy you give a green light to. He's smart enough to know when to dial it back because we have so many good shooters on the team, but he's also the most dangerous offensive player we have.

The real key is JJ. He played the last handful of games last season at a higher level than we had seen from him before that, and we need him to build on that. Few players in the league have his combination of height, size and skill. With JJ it's all in his mental approach. He's a fun-loving kid (and I mean that in the best way) but I think this year he's all in on reaching his potential. He knows there could be an opportunity for him to play professionally if he does that.

It's hard to say what Scotty will bring, but he has a good skill level for his size. He needs to get stronger, obviously, and right now healthier.

I like the "country strong" twins, as one of the coaches described them. In our league they are capable backup big men, and Brett's ceiling may even be a little higher than that.

Agree with dylan that with the tremendous depth at guard we will see more rotations with only two bigs this year.

[ghostofdylan]

Ultimately, Justin just got caught up in a numbers game. In modern parlance, the program recruited over him.