Here are some thoughts after this week:
Bryant- He will be the clear team leader. He got bored playing against bad comp. He needs to concentrate more on D. I hope he plays 33-35 mpg. He's a 19/20 yo kid and we had 2-4 days between games. He played 31.7 mpg last year. This is a negligible increase. I'd like to see him play about 5 minutes/half as the SG with Brandon at the point. Bryant has a very good spot up three. His TO numbers need to come down slightly, not dramatically. Something many don't watch is he creates a lo hockey passes.His penetration pass leads to a second pass for an open shot. He could be a star this year.
JC - What I liked most about his play was the increased confidence level.Last season, he played nervous a lot,which is natural. The new attitude is really good. I'd like to see him play a lot of two man game with Austin. It should create a lot of space for both of them.I hope his defensive rebounding will improve. He could be the ACC's breakout player this year.
Keyshawn -He seemed bigger and stronger than I thought he'd be and is definitely a leader. His stroke is solid and knows how to ball fake and get an open 12-15' J. Needs to concentrate more on D.
Brandon - In the tapes I watched over the past two years, I was surprised he wasn't a Top 100 player. This week he showed Childress swagger and a very high level of court vision. I'd like to seem him play about 15-18 mpg., with half of them with Bryant.
Austin - Absolutely no conscience, good! I like the fact that he loves the wing three more than the corner or top of the key. It's easier to get open on the wing. He is a classic sixth man, but will have to play starter's minutes.I'd love to see him play a lot of two man game with JC. He will not play good D. Don't expect it.
Doral - this setting was not good for him. He didn't get to play with the starters that much. e had some good moments, but it didn't seem like his confidence level has increased. His talent is obvious. I hope he can grow into it this year. His play could really lift us. He's a good FT shooter and has a nice 8-12' J. I'd like to see him get a few of those off penetration. It would really open up the lane.
Wilbekin - I love how hard and smart he plays. I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a coach. Like a couple of other players, he seems to have developed a fake and mid-range J. This will be very useful for him. His big problem is he's too small to play SG and too slow to be a PG. He will be our fourth guard for the first half of the season. He's a good guy to have on the bench, but the fewer minutes he plays, the better we are doing.
Greg - Another guy who plays hard. Is a place holder as we are terribly thin at SF. His play this week was decent, but where and how he plays in ACC games is tough to place. One of the biggest problems is his lack of an outside shot allows opponents to take away driving lanes and pack it in against our bigs.
Wash- had some flashes of good play and some flashes of being a frosh. Each is to be expected. He has good size and really good length. His shot looks really solid. If he can lift his play to become the first SF off the bench and the fourth guard, we could be in good shape.
Donovan has a lot of work to do. He's bigger than I thought he'd be but seems to listen well and have a good bball IQ. Watch for him in February. He might start getting more time then or Danny may just use this season as a learning one.
Sam - Without question, he's a project. He needs to lose 20-30 pounds. The refs took him out of the games in the Bahamas. He did show excellent footwork in the post. He hit a good percentage of his baby hooks. that's usually something you have to learn. He challenges a lot of shots. When he gets defensive rebounds he keeps the ball until he finds the right guy to start the break. This is also very good for a young big who hasn't played against much comp. His FT form looks decent. If he had played in the US for all of HS, I think he would have been a Top 30 recruit. I hope he can make up the time.
Danny/Team - It was impossible to see much here. We wanted to get the starters and subs to play the system.Thus, we had to play JC or Doral with subs a lot and not together much. We will not be a good defensive team. If we cam play Doral with JC and/or Dinos, our rebounding could be average. With the additions of Keyshawn, Austin, Brandon and Wash, we will have three point shooting. We have to try to be a scoring team as we will give up a ton of points.