Post by chaseinmanhattan on Oct 15, 2016 19:10:31 GMT -5
Very cool event for UofA. They honored the 1997 NCAA Championship team .... though Jason Terry and Michael Dickerson were not there.
And, yes, Allonzo Trier was there, suited up, and played .... and played well.
In the scrimmage, Miller put more of the older guys on the red team: PJC, Trier, Ristic, juco newcomer Keanu Pinder, and blue chip recruit Rawle Alkins. The blue team had Kadeem Allen, Chance Comanche and three freshmen: Ray Smith (returning from an ACL), McDonald's AA Kobi Simmons and Finnish import Lauri Markkensen, who will be among the top scoring freshmen in the conference.
No surprise, the more veteran Red Team won wiht Trier leading the way.
In general, this team looks very, very talented. They are very athletic and look like they'll be able to push the ball in transition better than earlier Miller teams. But the team is not without issues.
In the front court, Markkensen and Ristic are clearly the dominant offensive players. Ristic is probably the most skilled post player in the conference. If he gets the ball from 8 feet and in, he's very tough to stop from scoring; he does not have outside range however. Markkensen, who I've discussed in other posts, simply cannot be left open; he will murder you from the outside if left open. He can also offensive rebound and score around the rim. On the other, opposing teams don't really need to double team him in the post; he doesn't really have a skill set for that.
Neither Markkensen nor Ristic will guard the rim, however, which might be an issue ... similar to the type of thing UCLA experienced last season. Comanche is a better defensive post player, but he's not elite either, and lags in offensive productivity.
The one guy who can protect the rim is the unheralded Keanu Pinder, an under the radar juco originally from New Zealand' Pinder is a Jerry Dupree type: long, bouncy, but not much of an offensive skill set. Unlike Dupree, he appears to have his head screwed on straight, and played very hard. If he takes minutes away from Comanche and the one-time blue chip recruit Ray Smith, it will be a big surprise to expectations.
It's good to see Ray Smith back out there; he apparently has his 40 inch vertical back, and has a nice looking jump shot. But he is very limited in what he can do in the half court, and frankly didn't look all that explosive.
In the back court, I was expecting big development from Kadeem Allen based on what I saw of him from the Pac-12 AA play in Australia. Allen looks poised for a big year. But it's PJC (Parker Jackson Cartwright) that really surprised at the point. PJC just plain looks quicker, more explosive and far more confident at the point. He looks like he'll get the bulk of minutes. Allen will get his time playing as a combo guard.
The big question from what I saw was what to do about Arizona's top recruit, Kobi Simmons. It was one game, and Simmons is a true freshman, but he looks far, far behind where PJC and Allen are. It's hard to imagine that he'll be able to take over their roles.
What to do about Simmons dovetails perfectly with the rumors about Trier testing positive for PEDs. Sean Miller finally addressed the rumors yesterday, by saying .... he couldn't talk about it. In other words, there's smoke, and there's likely fire. Trier looked really, really good. A very strong, lengthy, mature shooting guard who confidently hit shots from the outside and fearlessly drove to the basket.
Trier is clearly Arizona's best player. With him, in a best case scenario, the Cats can probably compete with Oregon for the conference title. Without him, the Cats still have the talent to have a great season, but there will be a hole around the perimeter. It doesn't appear to me that PJC, Allen, Simmons or the beastly Alkins (more on him in a bit) are ready to be big time 3-point shooters. Markkensen, on the other hand, is, but if he is forced to play primarily on the perimeter, the Cats may suffer down low.
And, yes, Allonzo Trier was there, suited up, and played .... and played well.
In the scrimmage, Miller put more of the older guys on the red team: PJC, Trier, Ristic, juco newcomer Keanu Pinder, and blue chip recruit Rawle Alkins. The blue team had Kadeem Allen, Chance Comanche and three freshmen: Ray Smith (returning from an ACL), McDonald's AA Kobi Simmons and Finnish import Lauri Markkensen, who will be among the top scoring freshmen in the conference.
No surprise, the more veteran Red Team won wiht Trier leading the way.
In general, this team looks very, very talented. They are very athletic and look like they'll be able to push the ball in transition better than earlier Miller teams. But the team is not without issues.
In the front court, Markkensen and Ristic are clearly the dominant offensive players. Ristic is probably the most skilled post player in the conference. If he gets the ball from 8 feet and in, he's very tough to stop from scoring; he does not have outside range however. Markkensen, who I've discussed in other posts, simply cannot be left open; he will murder you from the outside if left open. He can also offensive rebound and score around the rim. On the other, opposing teams don't really need to double team him in the post; he doesn't really have a skill set for that.
Neither Markkensen nor Ristic will guard the rim, however, which might be an issue ... similar to the type of thing UCLA experienced last season. Comanche is a better defensive post player, but he's not elite either, and lags in offensive productivity.
The one guy who can protect the rim is the unheralded Keanu Pinder, an under the radar juco originally from New Zealand' Pinder is a Jerry Dupree type: long, bouncy, but not much of an offensive skill set. Unlike Dupree, he appears to have his head screwed on straight, and played very hard. If he takes minutes away from Comanche and the one-time blue chip recruit Ray Smith, it will be a big surprise to expectations.
It's good to see Ray Smith back out there; he apparently has his 40 inch vertical back, and has a nice looking jump shot. But he is very limited in what he can do in the half court, and frankly didn't look all that explosive.
In the back court, I was expecting big development from Kadeem Allen based on what I saw of him from the Pac-12 AA play in Australia. Allen looks poised for a big year. But it's PJC (Parker Jackson Cartwright) that really surprised at the point. PJC just plain looks quicker, more explosive and far more confident at the point. He looks like he'll get the bulk of minutes. Allen will get his time playing as a combo guard.
The big question from what I saw was what to do about Arizona's top recruit, Kobi Simmons. It was one game, and Simmons is a true freshman, but he looks far, far behind where PJC and Allen are. It's hard to imagine that he'll be able to take over their roles.
What to do about Simmons dovetails perfectly with the rumors about Trier testing positive for PEDs. Sean Miller finally addressed the rumors yesterday, by saying .... he couldn't talk about it. In other words, there's smoke, and there's likely fire. Trier looked really, really good. A very strong, lengthy, mature shooting guard who confidently hit shots from the outside and fearlessly drove to the basket.
Trier is clearly Arizona's best player. With him, in a best case scenario, the Cats can probably compete with Oregon for the conference title. Without him, the Cats still have the talent to have a great season, but there will be a hole around the perimeter. It doesn't appear to me that PJC, Allen, Simmons or the beastly Alkins (more on him in a bit) are ready to be big time 3-point shooters. Markkensen, on the other hand, is, but if he is forced to play primarily on the perimeter, the Cats may suffer down low.
