Cougars show plenty of hardwood variety
Those who attended Wednesday’s Cougar Tip-off probably left with the same impressions that I did. The Cougars have a lot of guys with very good offensive skills. Even though Jimmer Fredette and Jonathan Tavernari will likely be the No. 1 and No. 2 scorers, and the go-to guys of sort, a bunch of others can score. It was nice seeing them compete, even though against each other, in a game-like situation.
“You get them under the lights, you get officials in the gym, you get people in the gym and it changes things,” coach Dave Rose said.
Who impressed me most? Well, for one, I liked Tavernari’s shot selection. I think he’s going to be more aware this season about making sure he takes better shots. Center Chris Miles has added some variety to his game, with his turn-around jump shots, and showed better foot work. The energy level of Jackson Emery, if possible, actually seemed much higher than last season.
Jimmer was Jimmer. The guy can just get it done in his unflashy and almost innocent style. Charles Abouo is going to give the Cougars a very physical presence in that forward position. He is going to be tough to guard, tough to keep away from the hoop, and tough to keep off the boards. Noah Hartsock will contribute a ton more this season, as will center James Anderson.
Guards Lamont Morgan Jr. and Michael Loyd Jr. are quick and explosive, and have enough offensive skills to deserve playing time. I expect both will get the call when it’s time for Emery or Fredette to get breathers.
As for the new guys? Forward/center Brandon Davies showed that he’s going to be exciting, powerful, but still has a long ways to go.
“At times it looks like he’s really ready. Then there are times when he kind of gets lost, but that’s normal. But he’s got real flashes that gets you really excited about his ability,” Rose said.
Brock Zylstra is a hustler, scrappy kind of guy like Archie Rose, and the same goes for Logan Magnusson. Both like to hit the boards and both can shoot the three.
Tyler Haws is still recovering for the IT band tendonitis in his left knee, which was caused by a hit he took in the team’s second practice. He’s getting closer to being back, and I expect he will play in the Cougars’ first exhibition game next week.
So we had seven guys score in double figures, and that was without Haws even playing. Yes, the Cougars are going to be deep and balanced this year. The challenge for Rose is just finding time for all of this talent on the court. The biggest concerns from last night have to be on defense. Someone was guarding those guys who were scoring all those points, and it was other Cougars. The post players especially struggled on defense.
“We let the ball get to the post in places that were too easy for our guys to score,” Rose said.
Here are a few of Rose’s other post-scrimmage comments:
“This is kind of the next step to what we’re looking forward to in a couple of weeks against Bradley.”
“It’s time for us to continue to get better.”
“We have a lot of things to address and this will be a good film for us to evaluate.”
“I have a lot of different lineups in mind.”
“What I really look forward to is a lot of improvement in the next 10 days or so. I like the different options we have. Everyone is excited about how deep this team can be. We’ll see how everybody can fit and fill their roles.”
On how he’s feeling, physically, after two weeks of practice and after his bought with cancer, Rose said: “I feel good. It feels really normal to me.”