Your Team's Practice Reports

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

I'm really looking forward to this year. I think it will be the year of the blue-bloods. There's so many teams I look forward to seeing. Coaches are allowed 4 hours of hands on coaching each week.

this is from coachcal.com....

Kentucky

Cal is very high on this team. Much different than his whining about youth last year .

But Calipari and the assistant coaches were not working alone. The returning players set a competitive tone for the pace of drills and provided guidance to the newcomers. PJ Washington, who is still recovering from hand surgery, put on a quality coaching performance for a good stretch of the practice as he sought out the freshmen and gave them pointers. Even better, they were all receptive to the veteran's advice. Quade Green, Nick Richards and Jemarl Baker all did the same. I never felt like I was watching a group of players work out. It really felt like a team out there practicing as one.

EJ Montgomery: The only word to really sum up seeing EJ up close at practice is "wow." He has tremendous length and has unbelievable body control for a freshman big man. He's far from a finished product, but he has tremendous potential and appears to be able to help this team in a number of ways. He will complement any group of four players he's on the floor with.

Keldon Johnson: He looked great. He's so versatile and smooth in everything he does. What's funny about watching Keldon is that everything appears to come easy for him, but he still goes so hard. He's just so natural on the floor, but he competes like he's fighting to prove he belongs. And that's exactly how Coach Cal wants it to be.

Immanuel Quickley: A truly phenomenal athlete. When it was time to go, Immanuel was absolutely flying. He was dialed in to everything Coach Cal said and I can't recall there being one instance where Cal blew the whistle to show him how to do something differently. He was all about business the entire practice.

Ashton Hagans: From watching practice, you'd have absolutely no idea that Ashton just finished his junior year of high school. Like Immanuel, Ashton absolutely flies up and down the floor. Confident and competitive. Can't wait to see all of the guards compete with each other.

Tyler Herro: Smooth and confident. Much has been made of Tyler's presence as a shooter and you saw a little of that today, but he made some very nice passes in transition and made a couple of nice defensive plays as well. He was another guy who was very competitive in the individual drills.

Zan Payne: Did not practice as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in high school

 

[HRTheCard]

We don’t have a practice report yet other than that they are doing everything asked plus more. Be later July before report comes out.

However, we do have some updated weight status’. Boys are gettin ripped.



There’s also rumors that we could be adding another player for 2018. No one knows who or when until it happens, but word is a possible reclass.

 

[coryfly]

UNC's guys have played a few scrimmages against some NBA and former NBA guys. Freshman haven't played in them yet though. I'm sure everyone looks amazing, which is always kind of what people hear this time of year.

 

[inthephog]

Everyone looks great...yada, yada, yada. Don't really pay attention to player or coach-speak on everyone during the summer. The following may not come as a surprise...

 

[denniden]

I'm really looking forward to this year. I think it will be the year of the blue-bloods. There's so many teams I look forward to seeing. Coaches are allowed 4 hours of hands on coaching each week.

this is from coachcal.com....

Kentucky

Cal is very high on this team. Much different than his whining about youth last year .

But Calipari and the assistant coaches were not working alone. The returning players set a competitive tone for the pace of drills and provided guidance to the newcomers. PJ Washington, who is still recovering from hand surgery, put on a quality coaching performance for a good stretch of the practice as he sought out the freshmen and gave them pointers. Even better, they were all receptive to the veteran's advice. Quade Green, Nick Richards and Jemarl Baker all did the same. I never felt like I was watching a group of players work out. It really felt like a team out there practicing as one.

EJ Montgomery: The only word to really sum up seeing EJ up close at practice is "wow." He has tremendous length and has unbelievable body control for a freshman big man. He's far from a finished product, but he has tremendous potential and appears to be able to help this team in a number of ways. He will complement any group of four players he's on the floor with.

Keldon Johnson: He looked great. He's so versatile and smooth in everything he does. What's funny about watching Keldon is that everything appears to come easy for him, but he still goes so hard. He's just so natural on the floor, but he competes like he's fighting to prove he belongs. And that's exactly how Coach Cal wants it to be.

Immanuel Quickley: A truly phenomenal athlete. When it was time to go, Immanuel was absolutely flying. He was dialed in to everything Coach Cal said and I can't recall there being one instance where Cal blew the whistle to show him how to do something differently. He was all about business the entire practice.

Ashton Hagans: From watching practice, you'd have absolutely no idea that Ashton just finished his junior year of high school. Like Immanuel, Ashton absolutely flies up and down the floor. Confident and competitive. Can't wait to see all of the guards compete with each other.

Tyler Herro: Smooth and confident. Much has been made of Tyler's presence as a shooter and you saw a little of that today, but he made some very nice passes in transition and made a couple of nice defensive plays as well. He was another guy who was very competitive in the individual drills.

Zan Payne: Did not practice as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in high school

Good stuff! Thanks for the insight.

For Duke, I haven’t paid much attention but I do know that RJ Barrett has been working on his shooting and displaying his other strengths well. Super excited to see him play for Duke.

 

[wrbchWolfPack81]

UNC's guys have played a few scrimmages against some NBA and former NBA guys. Freshman haven't played in them yet though. I'm sure everyone looks amazing, which is always kind of what people hear this time of year.

Did they bring McCants out?

 

[coryfly]

Did they bring McCants out?

Just as a tutor.

 

[hoosierdog1]

Wish we got more reports about summer or summer work outs!

 

[AWilli6995]

Did they bring McCants out?

Closet UNC fan.

 

[Rhavicc]

Welp, new practice report came out for Kentucky a few minutes ago.

The UK basketball team took the floor Tuesday night for another practice, but, for this first time this summer, it did so with an extra body. A big extra body. Graduate transfer Reid Travis practiced with the team for the first time since transferring from Stanford and he wasted no time making his presence felt.

Travis, a two-time First Team All-Pac-12 selection, looked every bit of what he was billed to be in his first practice and brought another look to a team that is already proving to be dynamic and competitive. Because Reid has been able to watch practice, he was able to step right into the drill work and compete at a high level. As Coach Cal was teaching the team how to practice over the first two weeks, Reid watched and learned, which made allowed him to compete in the first practice.

Physically, he's a monster. With four years of college under his belt, he's obviously more advanced than the rest of Kentucky's young team and wasn't shy about using his strength on day one. During a drill, players drove to the basket and a staff member fouled them as they went up. The first two players struggled to finish through contact. Travis then drove, took a hard foul on his left side, brought his right hand through with the ball and punched it through the rim on top of the staff member. That was sort of his that he came to compete. And that's exactly what he did.

As impressive as Reid was in practice, the most encouraging part of his presence was that no one – not one player – backed away from him when things got physical. This is a team that has been built on competition in the first few weeks and the introduction of a physical monster did nothing to change their desire to compete and get physical. Practice remained a battle and not one player, no matter the size difference, was afraid to mix it up with Reid. And that was especially true of Keldon Johnson.

Keldon has already established himself as an alpha dog in the first few weeks of practice and he found himself matched up with Reid for the majority of Tuesday's practice, which created a competitive subplot that was impossible to stop watching. They went at each other when they had the ball. They went at each other harder when they didn't have the ball. They talked trash and knocked each other around, but were also always the first to help each other up. I would've paid money just to watch these two battle for another hour. It was just plain awesome. I can't wait to see how this evolves when PJ Washington returns to practice.

Overall, though, it was another solid practice session that continued to emphasize the need to practice at full speed at all times and that no shortcuts would be accepted. Coach Cal pushed the team hard and stressed communication throughout, often relying on the veterans to take command of their teammates on the court. Quade Green, Nick Richards and Jemarl Baker all continue to respond to that challenge and Coach Cal specifically called them out on numerous occasions to praise them for their competitiveness and leadership. At one point, after the veterans finished running a drill, he simply blew the whistle and yelled, "I love it! I love it!"

This is a team that still has a long way to go, but the players are willing to work hard and enjoying the coaching. Each day, you can see them getting better and better, but the commitment to the team continues to grow as well. When practice ended, you wouldn't have known it because everyone was still in the gym going through individual work. It is still early, but they are showing all the right signs of a team that is committed to pushing themselves toward doing something special. Today was another good day.

 

[ThroughBlue]

Wish we got more reports about summer or summer work outs!

Maybe if you were a blue blood

 

[dckala2]

Dedric Lawson > lebron

 

[schoonerwest]

Everyone looks great...yada, yada, yada. Don't really pay attention to player or coach-speak on everyone during the summer. The following may not come as a surprise...

View embedded media

Summer practice reports get people really excited. Those same people who get really excited seem to think the sky is falling when the guy they figured would be an All-American averages 11 PPG on 42% shooting in November and their team is only 4-1. Then that guy has to "earn their respect" in order for them to feel like things are going well.

Sports fans are weird.

 

[Deathclutch]

Heard that all of our guys look roughly like this........

 

[robamartin]

I've mostly heard generic blah blah everyone's improving. Here's a few specifics I've heard.

Tyus Battle was told at nba combine his outside shooting was a concern so he's been working on outside shot in L.A. this summer trying to get rid of a hitch in his release. Supposedly it's helped.

Dolejaz has continued to grow and is up to 6'10. He's also been trying to put on much needed weight and push his jumpshot further out. Should continue to play big minutes despite addition of hughes and a finally healthy sidibe.

Hughes has worked on body and is in great shape. Trimmed off some baby fat. Down to 215. Boeheim says he's as good an offensive player we've had at his position in awhile.

Sidibe's rehab from knee surgery going well and should be 100% cleared before summer's end. Should be huge presence down low this year. I expect he'll get more minutes than chukwu at center this year.

All 3 freshmen on campus but not much heard about them yet.

 

[ExitFlagger]

So, in summary....

Kentucky is unstoppable.

But they have a long way to go.

 

[rockycard]

Welp, new practice report came out for Kentucky a few minutes ago.

The UK basketball team took the floor Tuesday night for another practice, but, for this first time this summer, it did so with an extra body. A big extra body. Graduate transfer Reid Travis practiced with the team for the first time since transferring from Stanford and he wasted no time making his presence felt.

Travis, a two-time First Team All-Pac-12 selection, looked every bit of what he was billed to be in his first practice and brought another look to a team that is already proving to be dynamic and competitive. Because Reid has been able to watch practice, he was able to step right into the drill work and compete at a high level. As Coach Cal was teaching the team how to practice over the first two weeks, Reid watched and learned, which made allowed him to compete in the first practice.

Physically, he's a monster. With four years of college under his belt, he's obviously more advanced than the rest of Kentucky's young team and wasn't shy about using his strength on day one. During a drill, players drove to the basket and a staff member fouled them as they went up. The first two players struggled to finish through contact. Travis then drove, took a hard foul on his left side, brought his right hand through with the ball and punched it through the rim on top of the staff member. That was sort of his that he came to compete. And that's exactly what he did.

As impressive as Reid was in practice, the most encouraging part of his presence was that no one – not one player – backed away from him when things got physical. This is a team that has been built on competition in the first few weeks and the introduction of a physical monster did nothing to change their desire to compete and get physical. Practice remained a battle and not one player, no matter the size difference, was afraid to mix it up with Reid. And that was especially true of Keldon Johnson.

Keldon has already established himself as an alpha dog in the first few weeks of practice and he found himself matched up with Reid for the majority of Tuesday's practice, which created a competitive subplot that was impossible to stop watching. They went at each other when they had the ball. They went at each other harder when they didn't have the ball. They talked trash and knocked each other around, but were also always the first to help each other up. I would've paid money just to watch these two battle for another hour. It was just plain awesome. I can't wait to see how this evolves when PJ Washington returns to practice.

Overall, though, it was another solid practice session that continued to emphasize the need to practice at full speed at all times and that no shortcuts would be accepted. Coach Cal pushed the team hard and stressed communication throughout, often relying on the veterans to take command of their teammates on the court. Quade Green, Nick Richards and Jemarl Baker all continue to respond to that challenge and Coach Cal specifically called them out on numerous occasions to praise them for their competitiveness and leadership. At one point, after the veterans finished running a drill, he simply blew the whistle and yelled, "I love it! I love it!"

This is a team that still has a long way to go, but the players are willing to work hard and enjoying the coaching. Each day, you can see them getting better and better, but the commitment to the team continues to grow as well. When practice ended, you wouldn't have known it because everyone was still in the gym going through individual work. It is still early, but they are showing all the right signs of a team that is committed to pushing themselves toward doing something special. Today was another good day.

Wow

 

[klize17]

Wow

That is some ****ing fluff if I have ever seen it.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

That is some ****ing fluff if I have ever seen it.

It's on Coach Cal's website so of course it's positive. I think UK fans are just excited to hear any practice reports in July, and get to watch them play games in a couple of weeks.

 

[klize17]

It's on Coach Cal's website so of course it's positive. I think UK fans are just excited to hear any practice reports in July, and get to watch them play games in a couple of weeks.

Are they on another summer trip? IU was "eligible" to do that this summer, but apparently it isn't a thing that Archie likes to do. I get it because most of the time the competition isn't great. Its always exciting to seem some college hoops played in August.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

Are they on another summer trip? IU was "eligible" to do that this summer, but apparently it isn't a thing that Archie likes to do. I get it because most of the time the competition isn't great. Its always exciting to seem some college hoops played in August.

Tom Hart on play-by-play and Seth Greenberg and Dan Dakich providing analysis.

We'll probably lose a game or two. Mega Bemax will be tough.

 

[bignish]

Time to print out the 40-0 T-Shirts again BBN.

 

[Rhavicc]

It's on Coach Cal's website so of course it's positive. I think UK fans are just excited to hear any practice reports in July, and get to watch them play games in a couple of weeks.

Pretty much this.

Are they on another summer trip? IU was "eligible" to do that this summer, but apparently it isn't a thing that Archie likes to do. I get it because most of the time the competition isn't great. Its always exciting to seem some college hoops played in August.

Yep. They play on the SEC Network on August 8th, 9th, 11th, and 12th against the Bahamas national team (unsure if Ayton will play, but maybe doubtful, with him going into his rookie season of the NBA), San Lorenzo de Almagro (the 2018 FIBA Americas champs this past season), Mega Bemax (professional Serbian team that has produced the 3rd most NBA picks of any basketball program in the world since 2009 behind Kentucky and Duke), and Team Toronto (Canadian select team coached by Roy Rana, I don't think there are any age restrictions here.)

 

[Rhavicc]

Time to print out the 40-0 T-Shirts again BBN.

Kansas beat us to the punch this year.

 

[klize17]

Tom Hart on play-by-play and Seth Greenberg and Dan Dakich providing analysis.

We'll probably lose a game or two. Mega Bemax will be tough.

San Lorenzo de Almagro look solid as well. I'd be perfectly a-okay playing teams like that and taking some lumps. Four games is perfect too.

 

[Rhavicc]

San Lorenzo de Almagro look solid as well.

I think that will be the hardest game for Kentucky on that trip. Best team in the best division of basketball in FIBA Americas.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

San Lorenzo de Almagro look solid as well. I'd be perfectly a-okay playing teams like that and taking some lumps. Four games is perfect too.

It's a step up than most foreign trips. We could be stuck going to Canada.

 

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

It's on Coach Cal's website so of course it's positive. I think UK fans are just excited to hear any practice reports in July, and get to watch them play games in a couple of weeks.

That's UK fans in a nutshell. We love to hear about our program.

 

[Rhavicc]

Semi practice report, but it's an interview from Kentucky Sports Radio with Calipari. If anybody is interested in hearing it or reading up a bit on UK's team (because it's the summer), here it is.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/10-things-john-calipari-said-about-his-team-on-ksr/

 

[Rhavicc]

In the interview that I just posted with Calipari, this part really stuck out to me.


2. The standouts are Keldon Johnson and EJ Montgomery
Drew already shared this with you, but Cal basically gushed over Keldon Johnson, the one player who’s made him stop and say, “Wow.”

“I knew he’d be good, but I didn’t realize that he has the chance to be this good. I had to put him against Reid [Travis] yesterday and he did not back down. They were physically going at each other. You know what else? I’m playing him at point guard some because he can really get in the lane and he sees people. He’s pretty special.”

He is also impressed by EJ Montgomery.

“The other guy that’s better than I thought and more skilled than I knew is EJ Montgomery. He’s 6’11” but he has those skills that, maybe not quite Anthony [Davis], but kind of more like that than a Nerlens [Noel]. He shoots the ball, he can pass it.”

EJ’s been compared to Davis before, but hearing it from Cal himself is very high praise.

 

[treyforuk]

In the interview that I just posted with Calipari, this part really stuck out to me.


2. The standouts are Keldon Johnson and EJ Montgomery
Drew already shared this with you, but Cal basically gushed over Keldon Johnson, the one player who’s made him stop and say, “Wow.”

“I knew he’d be good, but I didn’t realize that he has the chance to be this good. I had to put him against Reid [Travis] yesterday and he did not back down. They were physically going at each other. You know what else? I’m playing him at point guard some because he can really get in the lane and he sees people. He’s pretty special.”

He is also impressed by EJ Montgomery.

“The other guy that’s better than I thought and more skilled than I knew is EJ Montgomery. He’s 6’11” but he has those skills that, maybe not quite Anthony [Davis], but kind of more like that than a Nerlens [Noel]. He shoots the ball, he can pass it.”

EJ’s been compared to Davis before, but hearing it from Cal himself is very high praise.

Let's get it started!

 

[Rhavicc]

Let's get it started!

I'm pretty stoked about those comments. I'm used to Calipari talking down players and pointing out deficiencies in their games. Hell, it's even part of his recruiting pitch (per every recruit seemingly ever at UK in his tenure), but for him to talk Keldon Johnson up like that, and then turn around and slot EJ Montgomery into the category with Anthony Davis and ahead of Nerlens Noel (who really was great at UK before his injury) is some kind of praise.

Montgomery is actually the only player that Cal has had at UK that received the kind of pitch that he got, apparently, so it's clear that Cal thinks incredibly highly of him.

 

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

I'm pretty stoked about those comments. I'm used to Calipari talking down players and pointing out deficiencies in their games. Hell, it's even part of his recruiting pitch (per every recruit seemingly ever at UK in his tenure), but for him to talk Keldon Johnson up like that, and then turn around and slot EJ Montgomery into the category with Anthony Davis and ahead of Nerlens Noel (who really was great at UK before his injury) is some kind of praise.

Montgomery is actually the only player that Cal has had at UK that received the kind of pitch that he got, apparently, so it's clear that Cal thinks incredibly highly of him.

The thing about Nerlens, he could jump through the roof, but had little offensive skills. Great defender though and great motor. I've watched a lot of video of EJ and he has a very good handle, can pass and can shoot similar to AD. AD never got to show his entire skill set and I'm doubting EJ will either since Cal seems to think they're going to use a lot of dribble drive unless, he's in there with PJ and Travis at the same time.

 

[Danger 35 Zone]

Good stuff! Thanks for the insight.

For Duke, I haven’t paid much attention but I do know that RJ Barrett has been working on his shooting and displaying his other strengths well. Super excited to see him play for Duke.

Besides the obvious stuff, best thing I've heard is Zion's shot is a lot further along than the coaches thought it would be. Apparently the kid has been putting in a lot of work on his own time.

Also about how Bolden has been great, and a chance to be special this year. Though pretty sure we heard the same thing about him the last two years before he got hurt.

 

[denniden]

Besides the obvious stuff, best thing I've heard is Zion's shot is a lot further along than the coaches thought it would be. Apparently the kid has been putting in a lot of work on his own time.

Also about how Bolden has been great, and a chance to be special this year. Though pretty sure we heard the same thing about him the last two years before he got hurt.

I thought Bolden was much improved last year for sure. I hear ya about his health though. Hope the big guy gets a healthy year because I could see him be even better this year.

 

[mebeblue2]

Time to print out the 40-0 T-Shirts again BBN.

i was hoping that you would give me one of yours

 

[Danger 35 Zone]

I thought Bolden was much improved last year for sure. I hear ya about his health though. Hope the big guy gets a healthy year because I could see him be even better this year.

Oh I agree with you 100%, I was just saying I seem to hear great reviews about him every summer. Now the previous 2 years, the injuries real hurt his development but he has still improved a lot. This is what Coach K said about him a couple weeks ago.

“We feel like Marques Bolden will be one of the best big men in the country next season,” Krzyzewski said “If you look at his career, he’s always battled injuries. We’re hopeful that now that he’s healthy, he’s going to have a heck of a season for us.”

 

[1991greywildcat]

Bring it....

Pretty sure UVA is beating teams in the ACC with more recent national championships than any SEC team.

Finally. Hell OSU got a new arena before UK. In all seriousness. Very nice. And way past due. Though I'm sure the shopping center folks are gonna hate it.

Haven't been reading or posting for quite a while on any board. Just now saw I was tagged in this thread. And haven't been moderating the UofL board for even longer, although I still have mod powers. Just not into it all these days. Who knows...maybe once the season starts.

The thing about Nerlens, he could jump through the roof, but had little offensive skills. Great defender though and great motor. I've watched a lot of video of EJ and he has a very good handle, can pass and can shoot similar to AD. AD never got to show his entire skill set and I'm doubting EJ will either since Cal seems to think they're going to use a lot of dribble drive unless, he's in there with PJ and Travis at the same time.

He will use Montgomery on the perimeter as well playing a faceup 4, jumper is way too good not to..

 

[Kevin Bryan]

Summer practice reports get people really excited. Those same people who get really excited seem to think the sky is falling when the guy they figured would be an All-American averages 11 PPG on 42% shooting in November and their team is only 4-1. Then that guy has to "earn their respect" in order for them to feel like things are going well.

Sports fans are weird.

Exactly. I am still waiting for Ryan Harrow to be an All-American based on summer practice reports....

 

[Rhavicc]