reports

[ceharv]

OK what this board needs is some first hand reports from on-campus reporters on the pick-up games that I assume going on every day. Lots of new faces in those games - who's doin' what?

[Deleted]

OK - first, and probably most important there is a recruit on campus. Appears to be a guard/wing. Was not playing.

Now I sat around for ~45 minutes and it is VERY early, but the team of Diggs, Hawkins, Lottin, Lee, and Williams did not lose once.

Relph better be looking over his shoulder...cause the player that impressed me the most was Terron. Not a great shooter, which his stats from last year would tell you but is one HECK of a point guard!!! Did not make a bad pass. Unreal in the open court and is a very, very good on the ball defender! On one play he threw an underhand look-away alley oop pass from the baseline (by the 3pt line) to AJ Hawkins.

Speaking of Hawkins, what an athlete! Very long! Struggled with the 3 ball, but got into the lane several times and knocked down the pull up. Dunked over the 7 walkon!

Rodney Hannah also suprised. I figured he just be a big body, clean the glass and get a few putbacks. On 4 consecutive trips Rodney and Michael Lee (the MVP of what I saw) trade 15-18 foot jumpers, VERY smooth left handed "J".

Paul Williams showed a very good offensive game. Had several good turn around face up jumpers and nice right handed hook shots. Defense was limited?

David Fox - if his defense was up to his offense he would be a starter...he just has not learned to play "D". Made 4 or 5 12-15 foot jumpers and rebounded well.

Ivan Kovacevic - first impression was not good for me. He's big and strong, played good "D" and rebounded ok but is stiff and with the way they were playing was always 3 or 4 steps behind.

Tyler Benson - unfortunately reminded me alot of Andy Smith. Good shooter with a release that seemed to be in front of his face. Rebounded the ball very well and then gave it immediately to Ahmad, it was quite funny actually. Handled the ball well.

Tyler Relph - was horrible! I have seen him play several times and have never seen him that bad! I know what SBU is getting with Relph and am not concerned, but if it wasn't for gravity he wouldn't have been able to hit the floor today!

Jeff Foote - I'm going out on a limb (and I know I say this about almost every recruit SBU gets) but he is a steal (considering he's a walkon)! He is a legit 7'er that was guarding Michael Lee (which he blocked twice). He is a year, possibly two from making an impact but is no Kenny Harris!!! Runs the court very well and has a nice face up game. Will probably never play at 250 though! I know that sounds crazy, but I have to wonder how they got a 7'er that can play this well who did not get a scholarship from somewhere, just for being 7 feet (heck SBU gave one to Marc Erb!!!)

After Michael, who must have made 5 three's and a half dozen 10 footers in the lane, was Wade Dunston. Did not miss a jumper and played good defense on Patrick Lottin.

Ahmad was his usual self and appears to be ready to (at least) repeat as a third team A10 member.

Patrick was a non-factor. With Paul and Michael scoring at will and AJ and Terron running the break Pat was not needed.

Lastly Isiah, this would be a good year to redshirt...I just don't see how he will get any minutes this year.

First impressions? I'm excited! If SBU can get any interior defense and rebounding (they don't need to score!) Bonas will be ok. They have fixed the point guard position in a big way!

[B02]

Thanks so much for the report, I hope some of your analysis holds true and bonaventure gets into the double digit win category this year.

[sireltonruddock]

I'm surprised to hear that about Peaches Relph, JAC. Anytime that I've seen the sqaud play together, he has totally dominated. I've also had friends tell me that while the team plays at the Richter Center, Peaches controls every aspect of each game. The good news, too, is that Terron Diggs is getting well-deserved rave reviews. Based on his impressive play thus far, I feel that our most successful lineup would be: Diggs, Relph, Smith, Lee, Williams.

[Deleted]

SER, I would agree with you on your line-up, except it's really small! I'm not worried about Relph, he was struggling and then really began to press.

B02-after last year I thought SBU had 4 A10 calibre players...they have upgraded the talent level, but it's still not where it needs to be to compete with Charlotte, GW, etc. Point will not be an issue this year and I would love to have teams press SBU with Diggs, Relph, and Ahmad on the floor. The problem will still be how SBU will be able to defend the likes of Freeman, Withers, Pops, Dunston, etc. Williams is good, Kovacevic and Fox are upgrades from the last couple of years but they're not Caswell and PVP!

[ThomasMerton]

JAC -- Keep up the bird-dogging. Good stuff. Concise and informative. If anyone sees or hears about the players, pass it on. Also, anything about the recruits. We had a under-recruited guard from Saginaw, Mich. on campus this weekend. Any word? Please visit the Heart. -- TM

[B02]

I would assume you are talking about Larry Wright? Here is Scout's take on him... Wright is a very athletic combo guard who has great range on his jump shot. He helped lead Saginaw High to a 22-4 record and the Michigan Class A (big school) state semifinals last season. Wright shot 93 percent from the charity stripe last year for the Trojans. High school coach played for Tubby Smith at Tulsa. Good looking wing guard prospect with range to 3-point land. Recruitment likely to begin at mid-major level and go from there. With his strengths being three point shooting/range and his perimeter shooting. He's 6'2 170. He's being recruited by St. Bonaventure , Dayton, Illinois, Kentucky,Western and Eastern Michigan and many others...

[Deleted]

Larry is ranked the 7th best player in Michigan, by Michiganpreps.com and is not the only player in the state being looked at by SBU. Omar Thomas (6-4 F) and Jordan Crawford 6-3 SG are two others.