I was at a practice recently. I will call my shot and say that the freshman/soph classes are the best back to back classes since the early 90's...and also don't believe there is a "stiff" among them. NU did a lot of drill work, so it was hard to get a read on them getting up/down the floor - but I was able to get a good look at some of them individually.
Jordy - upside is pretty high - plays hard, fans will like his hustle - not going to wow you with athleticism, but he will be able to score/get fouled in the low post at times. He will get some putbacks, and will at a minimum be some kind of defensive presence.
Horne - more athletic than some will think - they're trying to have him face the basket and be a perimeter player vs. what he did in high school. If they had the luxury, he'd probably be a great redshirt candidate...but my guess is they won't redshirt anyone. He is the least advanced of the frosh, but has some upside.
Roby - I think he's the best looking, most advanced frosh we've had since that group of guys (Strickland, Woolridge, Boone, etc.) around '92. In fact, he may remind you some of a bigger, better Boone (for those old enough to remember him). He's a potential All Big 10 player down the road, and has the look/body of an NBA guy.
The sophs, to me, kind of all looked the same as last year...and that isn't enough. Granted, it was one practice, so take it with a grain of salt. Watson looks physically about the same, and still is really good (that's good news)....but didn't see a huge change in his game. McVeigh - same game - hope he can shoot it more consistently. I think Morrow is a BEAST...but just wonder if they have confidence in him. Without a doubt, he's our best rebounder - has instincts, quick jumper off the floor, etc. For some reason, he just is a guy that maybe doesn't get the whole defensive concepts, etc....but if/when he does, I think you're looking at a potential 10/10 guy. Jacobsen looks bigger, stronger, but still is not consistent and really didn't see him knock down many shots at all on the perimeter.
Tai is Tai, and Fuller is Fuller. If Tai plays like he did in the second half of the season, he will be a difference maker. Fuller is never going to be that...he's gotten to where he can bang around a little, but offers you virtually nothing offensively.
I think a guy who will surprise in a good way is Taylor, the JUCO transfer. He is sort of a jack of all trades...can be a back up point, can defend, doesn't shoot too badly, etc. He has always played on good teams and never been the star...just a good solid bball player who will help us.
Gill is coming of injury. I will be shocked if he's not a very streaky shooter. His elbow flails, doesn't follow through consistently, etc. It was hard to get a read on his athleticism, because I just don't think he's physically ready yet. I hope he can get to the basket, and that he can defend.
The transfer from Miami (Palmer)....let's just say I hope he is better than he looked, because he is the one scholarship player who I think has very little upside...not a shooter, turnover prone (even in drills), doesn't defend, etc., etc....I hope I'm wrong (I know he had good offers out of high school)....but I would take Taylor over him 10 times out of 10.
BIG problem is going to be outside shooting. Our buddy who's now at Syracuse really screwed NU...had a short conversation with Coach Miles about that after practice. McVeigh (and maybe Roby) might be our only options there. It's not a good situation at all.
I think we'll be much better inside defensively than the past couple of years - when you can trot Jordy, Morrow and Jacobsen out there, you've got some big guys with length and strength and athleticism. Whether you ever see all of them together is probably questionable....but there's at least some options.
I also saw Creighton practice recently, and I'll hold my judgement on that because it pisses some people off on here regardless of what you say about them. I wanted again to be able to compare/contrast the practices and styles. I was able to see some things that I really like about NU and some things I really think will be issues. At Creighton, I think their biggest issue is a lack of a strong inside game defensively, especially if Hanson and Huff don't get healthy. They just aren't going to be able to bang around with folks....but man, they have some firepower. I'll be shocked if they are as good as some of their fans and local media think they'll, though they should easily be an NCAA tourney team and (of course it depends on matchups) could win a couple of games. Foster will be an NBA player...and I'd guess Patton will be, too, in 3/4 years.
Jordy - upside is pretty high - plays hard, fans will like his hustle - not going to wow you with athleticism, but he will be able to score/get fouled in the low post at times. He will get some putbacks, and will at a minimum be some kind of defensive presence.
Horne - more athletic than some will think - they're trying to have him face the basket and be a perimeter player vs. what he did in high school. If they had the luxury, he'd probably be a great redshirt candidate...but my guess is they won't redshirt anyone. He is the least advanced of the frosh, but has some upside.
Roby - I think he's the best looking, most advanced frosh we've had since that group of guys (Strickland, Woolridge, Boone, etc.) around '92. In fact, he may remind you some of a bigger, better Boone (for those old enough to remember him). He's a potential All Big 10 player down the road, and has the look/body of an NBA guy.
The sophs, to me, kind of all looked the same as last year...and that isn't enough. Granted, it was one practice, so take it with a grain of salt. Watson looks physically about the same, and still is really good (that's good news)....but didn't see a huge change in his game. McVeigh - same game - hope he can shoot it more consistently. I think Morrow is a BEAST...but just wonder if they have confidence in him. Without a doubt, he's our best rebounder - has instincts, quick jumper off the floor, etc. For some reason, he just is a guy that maybe doesn't get the whole defensive concepts, etc....but if/when he does, I think you're looking at a potential 10/10 guy. Jacobsen looks bigger, stronger, but still is not consistent and really didn't see him knock down many shots at all on the perimeter.
Tai is Tai, and Fuller is Fuller. If Tai plays like he did in the second half of the season, he will be a difference maker. Fuller is never going to be that...he's gotten to where he can bang around a little, but offers you virtually nothing offensively.
I think a guy who will surprise in a good way is Taylor, the JUCO transfer. He is sort of a jack of all trades...can be a back up point, can defend, doesn't shoot too badly, etc. He has always played on good teams and never been the star...just a good solid bball player who will help us.
Gill is coming of injury. I will be shocked if he's not a very streaky shooter. His elbow flails, doesn't follow through consistently, etc. It was hard to get a read on his athleticism, because I just don't think he's physically ready yet. I hope he can get to the basket, and that he can defend.
The transfer from Miami (Palmer)....let's just say I hope he is better than he looked, because he is the one scholarship player who I think has very little upside...not a shooter, turnover prone (even in drills), doesn't defend, etc., etc....I hope I'm wrong (I know he had good offers out of high school)....but I would take Taylor over him 10 times out of 10.
BIG problem is going to be outside shooting. Our buddy who's now at Syracuse really screwed NU...had a short conversation with Coach Miles about that after practice. McVeigh (and maybe Roby) might be our only options there. It's not a good situation at all.
I think we'll be much better inside defensively than the past couple of years - when you can trot Jordy, Morrow and Jacobsen out there, you've got some big guys with length and strength and athleticism. Whether you ever see all of them together is probably questionable....but there's at least some options.
I also saw Creighton practice recently, and I'll hold my judgement on that because it pisses some people off on here regardless of what you say about them. I wanted again to be able to compare/contrast the practices and styles. I was able to see some things that I really like about NU and some things I really think will be issues. At Creighton, I think their biggest issue is a lack of a strong inside game defensively, especially if Hanson and Huff don't get healthy. They just aren't going to be able to bang around with folks....but man, they have some firepower. I'll be shocked if they are as good as some of their fans and local media think they'll, though they should easily be an NCAA tourney team and (of course it depends on matchups) could win a couple of games. Foster will be an NBA player...and I'd guess Patton will be, too, in 3/4 years.
