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[Chris R]

So hard to tell from these intra-squad scrimmages. I never try to make too many definitives from them. To me what stood out that has carry-over is how hard the guys looked like they competed out there. The guards of Staten, Parker, and Dillard were on each other like pit bulls and trying to make life difficult.

Thought the frosh all brought something tangible and each of them hit a trey I believe. So they can all step out and hit a jumper when needed. I like that. None of them had a stroke that looked like they had never shot the ball before beyond 10 feet.

Ill go down one by one:

KAVANAUGH -- Cleaned up a few misses by others inside. Didn't really generate anything of his own offensively. Just needs some confidence more than anything else. That has to come in a real game before he trusts his skills. Probably 3rd post man behind Searcy and Benson.

BENSON -- Fairly typical Josh-esque stuff out there. Great athleticism. Just needs more PT and polish.

SEARCY -- He's our starting center bar none. Drew fouls like flies. Needs to nail those free throws. Stepped out and hit a 14 foot jumper. He's the kind of center that can outrun the opposing center for a fast break dunk. Defense will dictate how good he is as a senior. Offensively, he'll get points just on his athleticism alone. He's always had quick hands.

JOHNSON -- Who cares. CJ always brings it.

WILLIAMS -- Deferred most of the night. Some speculate a tweak to one of his wheels.

FABRIZIUS -- Didn't shoot it well, but we did throw it to him on the right post a few times. Not sure if thats a new wrinkle or not.

WRIGHT -- Who cares?

OLIVER -- I REALLY like this kid. I see the same potential in him as I saw out of CJ coming in. He's a kid that played at the highest level in HS and was the best player on the best team. He does a little of everything. Can shoot, rebound, pass, battle inside for loose balls. He's just a basketball player and makes plays.

SPEARMAN -- Physically ready. Like the others, showed he can hit the jumpshot. Carries himself defensively like Williams.

HILL -- Has some very good upside. Like Oliver, was not ranked like Spearman or Staten but makes plays. He was not in the starting 10, so perhaps that suggests there is a pecking order already?

STATEN -- Juwan aint no waterbug. He is physically ready in the upper body aint wont be pushed around. Ball handling was never in question. He will help us as we all assumed he would. Probably the most natural of our PGs.

DILLARD -- Very quick. Decent handle. Looks more like a scorer than a ball-handling guard, but can help with ball handling when we are pinched up. Reminds me of Chip Jones in the sense that he has that posture of being a guy that can score in bunches but is not really a PG by nature. Very good addition.

PARKER - See Juwan. Our two PGs this year have beef on them. Josh and Juwan were going at each other like animals.


I liked how physical our guards were. Thats a requirement in our defense because we force teams to start their offense away from the basket and we don't gamble on double teams. Denying penetration is our calling card and winning one vs. one matchups. Ask most teams last year and London's and Lowry's physical nature outside the arc was a big reason why we tough defensively. Both Parker and Staten are two guys that are going to get in peoples' grills.

The question is, whos our third ball handler? Last year it was Mickey. Not sure I have an answer. Next year the answer is clear: Dillard. This year?

We should shoot the ball better this year from the outside. Post defense will be a concern. FTs are always an issue it seems. But from what I saw, I dont think we're ever going to question how hard the 2010-11 team will play or how much importance they put on D and rebounding.

In the end, I see our calling cards unchanged and the new guys seemed to have gotten the memo on it.