Care to talk about the "second best player on the team" McVeigh......and compare his numbers to White? I didn't think so. You would prefer to not deal with actual stats.I'll start with the short list of disappointments.
1. White III - he's no where near the best player on the team, best shooter yes but his ball handling skills aren't very good. It seems he is a role player, hit the open 3 and try to rebound.
Positives:
1. McVeigh - after Shields the best all around player on team. Can shoot, pass, drive and smart defensively. Sure he needs to get stronger and will get a lot better as a result.
2. Watson Jr. - Not phased by competition and plays with confidence. I was a little surprised how quick his hands are, he will get a lot more steals that I imagined. I still don't like the form on his shot but he shouldn't be shooting too many 3s. He has great vision and passing skills as expected.
3. Hammond - Played VERY well - relative to his prior play - over the weekend and a big boost in terms of expectations. We showed much better defense over the weekend as well. I wish we had the depth to start Hammond and Morrow at the 4.
4. Jacobson - Nice physical player but more impressively he a smart player and excellent shooter. Future looks bright for him.
5. Morrow - he hasn't shown as much as expected but I love the energy he plays with. He'll clearly be our most consistent rebounder over time. His points will be limited to garbage points and free throws but that's fine for this year.
6. Webster - the lights are finally starting to come on for this kid and happy to see it. I still don't think he will be a consistent shooter with that hitch in his shot but he has always been able to drive to the basket. If he continues to play the way he did this weekend it will be a HUGE boost.
In summary the freshmen have all looked promising and some of the hold overs have improved significantly. This team is a lot more fun to watch because they pass and share the ball, especially when McVeigh is playing. They will get killed on the boards all year - can't imagine them against Purdue - but if Miles can get a couple of big men soon much brighter days are ahead.
No mention of Shields? He's The man this year with White being a disappointment. I see why Miles pushed Shields at media days with barely a mention of White.