I've been following the hoops program through snapchat and had the following takeaways:
1. The effort level in both the supervised and unsupervised practices appears to be very high. The aggressiveness on the defensive end of the court (especially on the perimeter) is much, much better than it looked last year.
2. I think CVL is going to surprise some people. He shoots the ball very well and can create his own shot off the dribble going to the basket. I hope he's able to defend at this level. If so, he's going to be a very solid player.
3. Gant looks much improved from last year. He's so athletic that he's going to be on the court and will have an opportunity to be a difference maker. I hope he continues to progress and takes a giant leap forward.
4. We appear to have really good competition at the guard spot. I've never been a big fan of Wes Clark's game, but I'm sure he will get his minutes. I really like what I've seen from the returning guys as well as the new guys. We should have some very viable options there.
5. I haven't seen much from the post players. I'm concerned that's where we could get dominated.....we will see.
All in all, I'm somewhat optimistic about this year. I don't have any delusions of winning the SEC, but I think we could be significantly improved. And although our commitments for next year aren't top 50 kids, they are the type of players that can be developed. They have good bball skill sets and all look to be good kids who like to compete on the defensive end of the court. I wasn't a fan of the HCKA hiring, and I still think we could've done much better, but I do think we will have some success if we give him the next three (3) - four (4) years to develop his players and program. It could be very frustrating, but it's most likely our quickest path to success.
1. The effort level in both the supervised and unsupervised practices appears to be very high. The aggressiveness on the defensive end of the court (especially on the perimeter) is much, much better than it looked last year.
2. I think CVL is going to surprise some people. He shoots the ball very well and can create his own shot off the dribble going to the basket. I hope he's able to defend at this level. If so, he's going to be a very solid player.
3. Gant looks much improved from last year. He's so athletic that he's going to be on the court and will have an opportunity to be a difference maker. I hope he continues to progress and takes a giant leap forward.
4. We appear to have really good competition at the guard spot. I've never been a big fan of Wes Clark's game, but I'm sure he will get his minutes. I really like what I've seen from the returning guys as well as the new guys. We should have some very viable options there.
5. I haven't seen much from the post players. I'm concerned that's where we could get dominated.....we will see.
All in all, I'm somewhat optimistic about this year. I don't have any delusions of winning the SEC, but I think we could be significantly improved. And although our commitments for next year aren't top 50 kids, they are the type of players that can be developed. They have good bball skill sets and all look to be good kids who like to compete on the defensive end of the court. I wasn't a fan of the HCKA hiring, and I still think we could've done much better, but I do think we will have some success if we give him the next three (3) - four (4) years to develop his players and program. It could be very frustrating, but it's most likely our quickest path to success.
