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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Capital Classic - A View from the Bench (Part I)

I enjoyed reading Nathan's post giving a recap of the Capital Classic.  To avoid overkill/overlap on a most enjoyable game and festivities that the Terps fans in attendance shared Saturday evening, I will give a quick echo of Nathan's sentiments he shared with us, and now give the down and dirty view from the bench -.Strengths AND Weaknesses from my point of view that night, keeping in mind it was only an exhibition game...my view from row 2 behind the US All-Stars bench:

Big to Small:

1) Damonte - Yes Damonte. Damonte was "clearely" taller than Shaq, looking a solid 6'9," maybe pushing 6'10".  He is a little bit knock kneed, his growth spurt leaving an impression on me of him being the newborn giraffe getting its legs under them.

Damonte is definitely raw in the areas of footwork and positioning.  He will need to learn how to use his body positioning better against guards driving the lane. In the Classic, the District team guards played with something to prove, as most were undecided/no big offers. They drew fouls from Damonte, taking advantage of his aggression.  The positive coming from his defense is that he was - yes, aggressive.  5 fouls by 3rd period; however, with some learned skills from the MD coaches, Damonte has the opportunity, and imho, ability, to lift his game.  Dodd had quick elevation on block attempts, and his vertical was impressive.  Dodd's FT form looked decent, and I would estimate his shooting will be limited to about 6-8 feet from the basket at this point in time.  I will project this out a bit - Dodd's offense will be very limited in ACC play, even if he redshirts.  I want to hear what comes back from the DCA games and a review of his outside shooting, if any.  I have the feeling we'll be pleased with his progress in a couple of years if he puts in the work - the staff was on to something.  I did not see it in the videos, but in person, I like Damonte's demeanor.

2) Can U Dig Him? A resounding YES!!! Shaq is huge. I'd estimate Shaq at 6'8" - but it was impressive watching all 280 lbs of Shaq roaming the paint.  I could not believe I was watching a player who has played basketball for 4 years.  Shaq has quick ups as well (w/o a big vertical), changing quite a few shots while he was in the game.  However, opponents in the post that are quicker than Shaq may give him trouble if he doesn't counter by using his body to keep them further out than they'd like. What impressed me on defense the most was Shaq's ability to recognize when to fake as if he was going to attempt to block a shot, but then turn and quickly hit the glass.  His judgement on defense seemed solid in my book.

Shaq's definitely needs to work on conditioning.  He paced himself a few times running the floor during this wide open exhibition (which was smart).  I expect Shaq to drop about 15 to 20 lbs over the summer into the fall, and be a "svelte" & legit 260 lbs by the start of the season.  I can see some quick players giving him some trouble when they go to the hole early on in the season for our tough OOC games, but the impressive court sense I witnessed tells me he will adjust quite well.

Shaq is adroit at securing the ball and shooting soft shots in close.  Shaq's pivoting was very good on the few drop steps I saw, and no one is going to move him out of his post position.  With some more training on full use of his size, I think Shaq will give opposing centers serious head aches by ACC play next season - he is ready to roll.  Easy going dude, but on the court, Shaq (Shaft) is one bad mutha - shut my mouth!

More to come....











11 comments:

  1. How did you like Seth Allen's game? Or Cassell? Thats what Im really looking for.

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  2. keep 'em hanging. wait'll you see what I add there. Those are the loaded players I'm going to give the skinny on! lol

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  3. Finally, you give us the skinny only to leave us hanging on the rest of the team. SMH. LOL.

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  4. Also, somebody did an article on baltimoresun.com about the Classic. They stated that Dodd was 6'9" while Mitchell and Cleare were both the same height at 6'7". Now I wasn't at the game, but I saw the pictures. Cleare and Mitchell were standing directly beside each other and if Mitchell is as tall as Cleare... I'm a monkeys uncle. Bball??

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    1. Chuck is 6'5" tall, and 4 feet wide! I joked about it, but Chuck's body is a mini Mack Truck, and Shaq's his big bro - lol. They are both wide bodied dudes.

      Shaq could be 6'7" or 6'8" - I could not tell. But Chuck is shorter for sure. They obviously do not have the same type of games, but Chuck will be to this team what Byron was to our Final Four teams - heart and soul, pumping guys up to push harder.

      Chuck is the guy on the team that I would run through the proverbial wall for - I love that phrase, so forgive me for using it 10 times on the sites.

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  5. I'm thinking from combining your analysis from what people are saying about his play on DCA that Dodd is probably a legit 6'10. I've read up on Shaq a lot and most people seem to agree he is probably close to 6'8 and not the 6'9 he is listed as (go figure, when do athletes ever list their height correctly) and Chuck between 6'6 and 6'7, unless he appeared THAT much shorter than Shaq.

    That being said, for what they don't bring in height they sure do bring in girth! haha. Our boxing out problem is finally solved!

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    1. I would still put Chuck at 6'5", maybe 6'6". all of these guesstimates by me are in sneakers. I'm a shade under 6'2", and when I spoke to Chuck after the game 6'5"-6'6", but no more imho.

      Chuck did appear a few inches shorter than Shaq.

      The interesting part to me concerning defense: Shaq and Chuck's game is to lock in and stop opponents from getting the good position down low, mostly done from behind the opponent. Damonte's defense in the post will probably be the overplay/denial of the inlet pass, and if the over the top pass is successful, quick recovery for attempted block of the ensuing shot.

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  6. Great write-up. I love the blog, Guys... Keep up the good work.

    -Zol (Tim Takach)

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  7. Great write up...thanks...I want to hear what you have to say about Seth Allen, did you see what I saw?

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    1. haha, I think he plans on doing another article tomorrow, it isn't any fun if you post it all up all at once and no new news happens!

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  8. Nice as always b-ball. I cant wait for this season.

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