Summer observation of the players

[Chuck]

I wanted to see more than one day of pickup games before I posted observations of the new players. Get much better idea of players game during pickup games. I’ve watched like 7 or 8 workouts, which includes drills, 4 on 4 and 5 on 5s. First few weeks was just drills. Last few weeks has been drills along with 4 on 4 and 5 on 5s. 4s and 5s is Schmidt running offensive plays. Session 1 is over and some players are leaving. It appears all the players are not going to be together for another day of pickup games, until session 2 is over. I’ll post my observations in this thread. I’ll start with pickup games.

Impressions from 1st pickup games (it was Xander’s audition).
— Duane Thompson without a doubt was the leading scorer during the pickup games. Had the best looking jump shot. He is a slender and smooth basketball player. His game looks more like a small forward than power forward. He is in much better shape and replaced “baby fat” with some muscle. Is a much better player closer to the basket than last year. Still lacks a post game.
— Jaxon Edwards was my biggest surprise. By far had the most blocks. Had a highlight reel dunk. Really impressive elevation on his dunk. Looked like the most athletic player on the court. Is a slasher, who can hit jump shots. Was a much better 3 point shooter than his 32.4% accuracy from 3s at Valpo. Looks more like a small forward than a guard.
—Jonah Hinton displayed a solid jump shot during drills and during the pick up games. Including workout and pickup games, Jonah has the best shot on the team. Also can take it to the basket. Dasonte and Jonah played PG throughout the pickup games. sDespite this his game looks ideal for a SG.
— Lajae Jones looked great during drills. I was expecting him to be the star during the pick up games. He looked good, but wasn’t the star I was expecting. Much more physical player than what I expected. Looks more like a PF than SF. Strong rebounder and tough defensive player in the paint.
— Dasonte Bowen is a really quick PG. Physical PG, who likes taking it to the paint and to the basket. His game is scoring off the dribble. As his stats show, is a much better scorer from 2s than behind the arc. Solid man defender. Dasonte play making skills really stood out during pickup games.
— Melvin Council Jr. is a very entertaining player, who is constantly talking. His intensity stands out. Has only one way to play and that is at 110% all the time. This intensity is for both pickup games and workouts. I was told Melvin and Dasonte had an intense 1-on-1 matchup. Melvin talked trash throughout the games. Melvin won the first game, while Dasonte won the next 2. During pickup games Melvin displayed his athleticism coming from behind and blocking Miles fast break layup. Definitely has leadership skills. Like Dasonte is a much better scorer on drives and shots closer to the basket. Physical and solid defensive player. Melvin makes things happen when he is on the courtDuring the games
— Chance Moore has a very impressive physique. Built more like a football linebacker than a basketball player. Very misleading having him listed as a guard. GoBonnies has him listed at the same height and weight as Yann Farrell. All I know is Chance has a lot more muscles than Yann. I thought his game looks more like a PF than a SF. He is not a guard. Has struggled with his jump shot during the games. Was a much better scorer closer to the basket.
— Miles Rose is a really good athlete and solid defender. Has solid ball handling skills. Last year played a lot of point during pickup game. This summer has played just SG. Struggled with his jump shot during pickup games.
— Ebrahim Kaba looks incredible during drills. By far had the best 3 pointer during shooting drills. Also had impressive ball handling skills reminiscent of Barry Evans. Unfortunately during the pickup game his shot didn’t look the same.
— Mike Folarin has just 1 shot and it is a dunk, which he had many. His 6’11” height and 38” vertical was on full display. A big difference between Melian and Michael. Melian didn’t have the strength to have so many dunks during pickup games. Melian needed to be all alone, while Michael can dunk in a crowd and over other players.
— Xander Wedlow might have been the 2nd leading scorer. His high scoring was probably the result of his team wanting him to look good for his audition. Dasontae and Melvin set Xander up with many baskets. Xander can hit the short jumper, but his game is more on the low blocks. I thought he had a more complete offensive game than Mike. Doesn’t have Mike’s athleticism, but scored more points and was not limited to just making dunks. To be fair to Mike he arrived late. Most of Xander’s points occurred when Mike wasn’t there.
— Noel Brown was the only player, who didn’t play. Probably not here for session 1 as I haven’t seen him.

The teams during the 5 pickup games.
— Xander, Kaba, Chance, Melvin and Dasonte.
— Mike, Lajae, Duane, Jaxon, Jonah and Miles.

From watching drills, I thought Lajae and Duane’s team would win. Games were overall close, but Melvin and Dasonte won 4 of the 5 games. The difference was the play making skills of Melvin and Dasonte.

[bjif]

Really comprehensive overview Chuck. I feel like our 3 bigs will be major contributors and should add to both rebounding and put backs. They are not only big but tough and gives us 15 legitimate fouls in the 5 position. Xander could be the hidden gem.

[kccgold]

thanks Chuck!

[ceharv]

Thanks Chuck. For one, I really needed this. It’s one thing to have an understanding of what these guys have done before coming to Bonas, but to really start getting a feel for this group we need to start learning how they play together and this is a great start. It’s interesting who looks to be settling into the various positions. I am glad to see some guys look to be 4s in particular and who the prospects are at the point.

Any future reporting will be appreciated. Also, can you provide any update on campus improvement s in the works?

[Chuck]

I’ll start my profiles with this disclaimer. It is difficult and probably wrong to make profiles on players that I have seen play only once in an actual game. Gain so much more from watching players in competitive games rather than watching drills and running set plays in the half court. Such as I thought Lajae and Duane had the best team as their team had the best shooters during drills. You can’t see a player’s overall game from watching drills. Chance, Mike and Xander are are the most difficult profiles, because I’ve seen them the least. Chance is probably the most unfair. I’ve seen him just 2 times, once in pickup games and once for drills. He also was at the most recent workout, but must have been injured as he spent the entire time on the bicycle.

The bigs is a very interesting group. Probably 3 of the 4 best shooters are bigs with Duane, Lajae and Kaba. Bonnies are set at center with Noel as the starter. Mike as a backup is a good rebounder and solid interior defender. Xander has more offensive skills than Noel and Mike, but it needs to be developed. Xander’s defense is still in it’s early stages.My early favorite at PF is Lajae. He is a physical banger, who reminds me of Barry Munger. He is a solid rebounder and has a solid jump shot. So far this summer, Chance has struggled with his 3, bhe is a rugged and solid player in the paint. Duane can look like the best player on the court, but needs more consistency. Kaba has exciting potential, who needs time to turn his skills into a solid game.

Bigs profiles
— Noel Brown, we all know he was a solid backup center. There were times the Bonnie offense looked better with Noel on the court rather than forcing the ball inside to Chad. How about the following stats. Per 40 minutes played Noel averaged 17.6 ppg, 2nd highest on the team or 7 times Noel scored double digit points and Bona won all 7 of these games. Noel is a solid starter for the Bonnies at center.
— Mike Folarin is an athletic and physical center, who provides solid interior defense. At this time last year, I posted Noel was the leading scorer during pickup games. The reason was Noel mainly played against Melian as Chad played in very few games. Melian was completely over matched against Noel. It has been very different with Mike defending Noel. Mike basically has one shot and it is a dunk. He has the strength and athleticism to go up and dunk over everyone. In just 17.5 minutes per game, he averaged 5.8 rebounds per game (Chuck Pride in 30 minutes per game led Bonnies with 5.7 rpg). Mike is a good rebounder and provides solid interior defense as a backup center.
— Xander Wedlow doesn’t have Mike’s vertical, but is an athletic big man. He excels at blocking shots (strangely Mike does not). Has displayed ability to score with back to basket. Exciting potential with his low post game, which needs more development. Has more offensive skills than Mike, but lacks Mike’s solid interior defensive skills.
— Lajae Jones is a physical 6’7” forward. With his rugged game Lajae looks more like a PF than SF. With his ball handling and solid jump shot he can obviously play the 3. The 2nd best 3 point shooter on the team is either Lajae or Duane (Kaba’s jump shot wasn’t the same during actual games). Lajae has the foot speed to defend the perimeter, but looks better defending in the paint. He is my early choice to start at PF or SF.
— Duane Thompson is a slender athletic forward. Is in better shape adding some muscle. His game is very different from Lajae. He is a smooth player, while Lajae is more physical. Both have a solid jump shot. Can take the ball to the basket on drives. In pickup game was by far the leading scorer. Duane needs to be more consistent with his game. I wonder if his game is a better fit at small forward.

— Chance Moore is the most highly recruited player on the team with 15 P6 offers. A rugged and physical player. At 6’6” Chance is very effective closer to the basket. Among the forwards probably has the best game on the low blocks, with Lajae being a close 2nd. When Chance gets the ball close to the basket he scores. Last season his 54.6% shooting from 2s would have been 2nd best among Bonnie starters. Struggled with his 3 pointer last season making 29.5%. Last 2 seasons has attempted more 3s than 2s. So far Chance has struggled with his 3 this summer (just pickup games and 1 workout). Hoping he puts more attention to his inside game. After all Charles Barkley and Adrian Dantley had great collegiate and NBA careers as 6’6” players who thrived playing inside.
— Ebrahim Kaba has a lot of skills. During drills has impressive shooting and ball handling skills. Probably has the best shot during drills, but it doesn’t look the same during pickup game or 4 on 4 and 5 on 5s., On a drive to the basket Kaba made a nice behind the back pass that resulted in a layup for Melvin. Schmidt stopped everything and told him didn’t want to see behind the back passes, as he wants to see fundamentals. Kaba is very different from Melvin Council. Kaba has better looking skills while Melvin has better game. Kaba is just a freshman and needs time to develop his game. Like Xander has exciting potential.

[mnbonnie]

Chuck, thanks so much. Sitting here on a warm Minnesota night seeing your post really got me thinking that. Yes we’re gonna play basketball.

[coach]

Do they look quicker and more consistent than last years team?

[78francis302]

Jul 16, 2024 3:42:51 GMT -5 coach said:

Do they look quicker and more consistent than last years team?

Methinks from Chuck’s thorough analysis they most indeed do. 

[Chuck]

Jul 16, 2024 3:42:51 GMT -5 coach said:

Do they look quicker and more consistent than last years team?

I say yes to the above. The 2 teams are very different.

Last year’s team had solid shooters.
— 3rd most accurate team in A-10 from 3s at 36.5%.
— Mika, Charles and Moses were among the top twenty 3 point shooter in the A-10 and Mika was 2nd.
— Jonah Hinton and Lajae are solid and consistent shooters, but do not see this team being the 3rd best 3 point shooting team in A-10.

This team is quicker and more athletic.
— Athleticism was lacking last year, especially among the starters. Moses, Barry and Kyrell were the only athletes who stood out.
— This season you have the high flying Jaxon, Kaba and Mike. Then add solid athletes Lajae, Duane, Chance, Miles, Melvin and Dasonte. I’ll even add Xander. He is not a high flying athlete like Mike, but is a solid athlete for a big.
— Without a doubt this team is more athletic.

Will this team be more consistent? I say most likely yes.
— Having great shooters is nice, but consistency can be a problem.
— Bonnies averaged an impressive 36.5% from 3s. In 11 of their 13 losses they shot below their average.
— How many games did we have Bonnies trying to feed it down low to Chad and then Chad passes it back out and players frantically trying to make a shot before clock expires. Team lacked players who can create. Bonnies were just 13th in the A-10 in assists.
—A strength of Dasonte and Melvin’s game is they can create shots. During pickup games their team lacked shooters, but were able to create solid shots for Xander and Chance and for themselves. Initially I thought Lajae, Duane, Jaxon and Jonah was a far better team. Dasonte and Melvins’s team won 4 of the 5 games, because of their play making skills.
— You can’t count on shooting, but play making is something you can count on. This is the reason I think will make this team more consistent.

atlantic10.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2023
www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-bonaventure/men/2024-gamelogs.html

[coach]

Jul 16, 2024 7:21:49 GMT -5 78francis302 said:

Jul 16, 2024 3:42:51 GMT -5 coach said:

Do they look quicker and more consistent than last years team?

Methinks from Chuck’s thorough analysis they most indeed do. 

methunk his thorough analysis didn't dive into the comparison of last year's team. I apologize, I'll try to thunk better. Why are we speaking in some weird Czech context? Methunk this is Western New Yunk? I asked chuck his evaluation not MeTHUNKS. Thank you for the knowledgeable response.

[kccgold]

Jul 17, 2024 1:48:16 GMT -5 coach said:

Jul 16, 2024 7:21:49 GMT -5 78francis302 said:

Methinks from Chuck’s thorough analysis they most indeed do. 

methunk his thorough analysis didn't dive into the comparison of last year's team. I apologize, I'll try to thunk better. Why are we speaking in some weird Czech context? Methunk this is Western New Yunk? I asked chuck his evaluation not MeTHUNKS. Thank you for the knowledgeable response.

You got some issues bro

[kccgold]

Jul 16, 2024 8:04:29 GMT -5 Chuck said:

Jul 16, 2024 3:42:51 GMT -5 coach said:

Do they look quicker and more consistent than last years team?

I say yes to the above. The 2 teams are very different.

Last year’s team had solid shooters.
— 3rd most accurate team in A-10 from 3s at 36.5%.
— Mika, Charles and Moses were among the top twenty 3 point shooter in the A-10 and Mika was 2nd.
— Jonah Hinton and Lajae are solid and consistent shooters, but do not see this team being the 3rd best 3 point shooting team in A-10.

This team is quicker and more athletic.
— Athleticism was lacking last year, especially among the starters. Moses, Barry and Kyrell were the only athletes who stood out.
— This season you have the high flying Jaxon, Kaba and Mike. Then add solid athletes Lajae, Duane, Chance, Miles, Melvin and Dasonte. I’ll even add Xander. He is not a high flying athlete like Mike, but is a solid athlete for a big.
— Without a doubt this team is more athletic.

Will this team be more consistent? I say most likely yes.
— Having great shooters is nice, but consistency can be a problem.
— Bonnies averaged an impressive 36.5% from 3s. In 11 of their 13 losses they shot below their average.
— How many games did we have Bonnies trying to feed it down low to Chad and then Chad passes it back out and players frantically trying to make a shot before clock expires. Team lacked players who can create. Bonnies were just 13th in the A-10 in assists.
—A strength of Dasonte and Melvin’s game is they can create shots. During pickup games their team lacked shooters, but were able to create solid shots for Xander and Chance and for themselves. Initially I thought Lajae, Duane, Jaxon and Jonah was a far better team. Dasonte and Melvins’s team won 4 of the 5 games, because of their play making skills.
— You can’t count on shooting, but play making is something you can count on. This is the reason I think will make this team more consistent.

atlantic10.com/stats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2023
www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-bonaventure/men/2024-gamelogs.html

Thanks Chuck

How do you think they will match up physically? Looking at some of the photos from practice I see, they look a little skinny.

Last years team did struggle with speed but they had some physicality. I’m not worried about Noel getting pushed around, but the guards and small forwards I am

[Chuck]

The wings and PG lacks the shooters from last season, but they are quicker and more athletic. As for defense, I’ll give a significant edge to this year’s group. Jaxon is a great shot blocker, while Miles, Melvin and Desonte are physical and solid man defenders. My previous post, I pointed out last year Bona lacked players, who could create for others (Bonnies 13th in A-10 for assists). Creating shots for teammates and for themselves is something Melvin and Dasonte excel at.

Wings and PG
— Jaxon Edwards is the most athletic player on the team and that is saying something with Mike having a 38” vertical. Jaxon isn’t going to match the volume of dunks Mike has this season, but with how he soars through the air his dunks are going to be more exciting. Has Bona ever had a player at the wing lead them in blocks? Very well could happen this year with Jaxon. His 40 blocks was 6th best in the Missouri Conference. By far had the most blocks during pickup games. Jaxon is a slasher, who has displayed a much better 3 point shot than his 32.4% from Valpo last season. Probably a continuation of his solid shooting at the end of the season. He shot an incredible 46.7% from 3s in February.
— Melvin Council Jr. always has something to say when he is on the court. Always praising other players and giving advice. My early choice as captain of the team. Doesn’t have Jaxon’s breath taking athleticism, but is not far behind. Melvin is a solid athlete, who excels on defense. On offense his game is scoring off the dribble and creating shots for his teammates. Talk about a well rounded game. Melvin led Wagner in scoring, rebounding and blocks. His ability to take it to the basket is displayed by making 92 free throws, which is more than Chad, who led Bona with 90. It will be interesting to see if Melvin is the starting SF or starting SG.
— Jonah Hinton has the best shot on the team. Is not just a shooter, as he also takes it to the basket. His 87 free throws is just 3 less than Melvin. Is a combo guard, but is a much better fit at SG. Does not have Dasonte’s play making skills. Jonah is not the physical athlete like Melvin. Will he be a starter or the designated shooter off the bench?
— Miles Rose at 205 pounds has added an impressive 15 pounds of muscle, since his freshman year. The added weight has helped his game. He is much more physical than last year, which has helped him with drives to the basket and his defense. Has struggled with his shot this summer. Miles is right up there with Jaxon with his athleticism. Has solid ball handling skills. Last summer played a lot at the point. This summer Miles has been at just SG.
— Dasonte Bowen is a solid man defender and solid playmaker (3.06 A/T0 ratio would have been 2nd best in A-10). A PG who likes taking it to the basket (per 40 minutes was 2nd among Iowa’s guards in free throw attempts per game). Struggles with shooting the 3 (27.6%) but to his credit shoots less than 1 a game (0.6). His game is scoring off the dribble. The part of his game that has stood out is his play making ability. Bonnies didn’t have a player with Dasonte ability to create shots for his teammates.

[Chuck]

Jul 17, 2024 7:22:37 GMT -5 kccgold said:

Thanks Chuck

How do you think they will match up physically? Looking at some of the photos from practice I see, they look a little skinny.
Last years team did struggle with speed but they had some physicality. I’m not worried about Noel getting pushed around, but the guards and small forwards I am

Looking at size provided by GoBonnies, you do not see much difference. As a group Lajae, Melvin, and Dasonte play much more physical than their counterpart.
PF -- Yann 6’6” 210 ------- * Lajae 6’7” 215
----------------------------- Chance 6’6” 210
SF --Moses 6’3” 185-------- * Melvin 6’4” 180
---- Barry 6’8” 215 --------- Duane 6’8” 210
----------------------------- Jaxon 6’5” 195
SG --Chuck 6’4” 200 ------- * Melvin 6’4” 180
-----Daryl 6’3" 175 --------- Jonah 6’3” 180
PG --Mika 6’3” 180 ---------* Dasonte 6’2 180

* signifies starter. Melvin will be a starter at SF or SG.

My early starters for this season. Noel, Lajae, Melvin and Dasonte.
5th starter is too close to call among the following. In alphabetical order Chance, Duane, Jaxon and Jonah.

[wgt]

Chuck's reporting is spectacular. A demonstration of his passion for the Bonnies which is greatly enjoyed by all !!!