About to tee off here at the lovely, beautiful Reserve on a lovely, beautiful day (tough job, I know).
A few notables from Brad Brownell's media golf outing:
-- Jaron Blossomgame has really asserted his leadership. Very strong-willed guy who's not going to let anyone else accept the late-season slide of 2014-15. They want JB to continue to shoot 3-pointers, but not fall in love with them. He's so good, and he makes the team so much better, when he's distributing. He scored 24 points in yesterday's scrimmage and only took three 3-pointers.
-- Last year was a reality check for Landry Nnoko after he lost K.J. McDaniels. A lot of pressure on him to be a more physical presence, and to not get into repeated foul trouble as he did last season. Brownell told me Nnoko has been an integral part of this team's leadership as well.
-- Avry Holmes will bring a different dynamic to this offense because he's so darned fast. Assistant Richie Riley was just gushing over the guy. He will be able to make plays off the dribble, off high screens. Riley said he'll also be able to create some space and get his shot off over guys.
-- Donte Grantham was the best player on the floor at times last year, such as against Syracuse. But he couldn't sustain it and that's his biggest challenge entering this season. They think he's plenty capable of being a threat from 3. He really struggled in that area last season but Riley said he thinks he can shoot in the upper 30-percent range.
-- Brownell wants to play faster this year. Said Rod Hall probably played too many minutes last year and that hampered the pace. A lot of the objective this year centers on not just pushing the pace, but being smarter and more efficient in transition.
-- Brownell is somewhat concerned about backcourt depth. Said the staff bit the bullet in recruiting because they believe so much in Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed. Just sort of keeping their fingers crossed this year to avoid an injury to the guards.
-- Yesterday's scrimmage in Greenville went mostly well. Starters protected the ball. Some poor shooting early, and it was cold in the building because of the ice beneath the floor. Biggest concern about playing in Greenville might be the depth perception difference between Jervey and the big arena.
-- Ty Hudson is going to be a combo guard. Has impressed the staff by how many charges he's taken in practice.
We'll have more from this later on. Hope everyone is doing well!
A few notables from Brad Brownell's media golf outing:
-- Jaron Blossomgame has really asserted his leadership. Very strong-willed guy who's not going to let anyone else accept the late-season slide of 2014-15. They want JB to continue to shoot 3-pointers, but not fall in love with them. He's so good, and he makes the team so much better, when he's distributing. He scored 24 points in yesterday's scrimmage and only took three 3-pointers.
-- Last year was a reality check for Landry Nnoko after he lost K.J. McDaniels. A lot of pressure on him to be a more physical presence, and to not get into repeated foul trouble as he did last season. Brownell told me Nnoko has been an integral part of this team's leadership as well.
-- Avry Holmes will bring a different dynamic to this offense because he's so darned fast. Assistant Richie Riley was just gushing over the guy. He will be able to make plays off the dribble, off high screens. Riley said he'll also be able to create some space and get his shot off over guys.
-- Donte Grantham was the best player on the floor at times last year, such as against Syracuse. But he couldn't sustain it and that's his biggest challenge entering this season. They think he's plenty capable of being a threat from 3. He really struggled in that area last season but Riley said he thinks he can shoot in the upper 30-percent range.
-- Brownell wants to play faster this year. Said Rod Hall probably played too many minutes last year and that hampered the pace. A lot of the objective this year centers on not just pushing the pace, but being smarter and more efficient in transition.
-- Brownell is somewhat concerned about backcourt depth. Said the staff bit the bullet in recruiting because they believe so much in Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed. Just sort of keeping their fingers crossed this year to avoid an injury to the guards.
-- Yesterday's scrimmage in Greenville went mostly well. Starters protected the ball. Some poor shooting early, and it was cold in the building because of the ice beneath the floor. Biggest concern about playing in Greenville might be the depth perception difference between Jervey and the big arena.
-- Ty Hudson is going to be a combo guard. Has impressed the staff by how many charges he's taken in practice.
We'll have more from this later on. Hope everyone is doing well!
