Notre Dame basketball held an open practice for reporters to watch Wednesday afternoon. Here are some observations.
*** Most of the pre-scrimmage work was defensive drills, which have comprised at least half of practices this preseason. It’s not taken lightly. Associate head coach Anthony Solomon is a hands-on teacher and operates like the unofficial defensive coordinator. Players listen to him. Now, everyone wants to see results, not just hear optimism. We’ll get the first look in exactly one month in the season opener. But the commitment to it is obvious.
*** Head coach Mike Brey said this week if he had to play an ACC game right now, his seven-man rotation would be the six seniors and freshman guard Blake Wesley. He’s looking for an eighth man. Freshman wing J.R. Konieczny, sophomore wing Tony Sanders Jr. and one of sophomore forwards Matt Zona and Elijah Taylor are vying for it. My take after the scrimmage is it might not be one guy, but a mixing and matching based on the situation.
Speaking of the scrimmage, here are my observations on each player. (Disclaimer: The length of the notes on a player doesn’t reflect his performance for better or worse).
SCRIMMAGE NOTES
*** Senior guard Prentiss Hubb: He’s the clear floor general, unsurprisingly. He remains a crafty passer and creator who loves using ball-fakes, shot fakes and anything to get a defender to bite and open up a shot or pass. He’s not going to blow by defenders on a consistent basis. He used several fakes to initiate a possession that resulted in an open Trey Wertz three-pointer.
Hubb is vocal too. He hit freshman Tony Sanders Jr. on the wing for a three, but Sanders passed it up. Hubb firmly told him to shoot it next time. On defense, he locked up Wesley in end-of-game situation.
*** Senior guard Dane Goodwin: His shot still looks clean with little wasted motion, and he made a three at the buzzer in an end-of-game drill. Off the dribble, his spin move going right remains a staple.
*** Senior guard Cormac Ryan: He’s one of Notre Dame’s best defenders and always sticking his nose in the play. His recovery ability after helping on drives stood out. He doesn’t check out on defense. He had a steal in the backcourt on a bad outlet pass. He’s also good at disrupting ball-screen actions up top.
On offense, he patiently waited for an opening and zipped a pass to senior forward Nate Laszewski in the post, which resulted in free throws. He’s a crafty finisher with his jump stop and pivot, though he is right-hand dominant off the dribble, and his jumper is consistent.
Ryan is a clear leader. He’s talking in the huddles and dapping guys up on the court. On one defensive possession for his team, Hubb made a three on a dribble handoff when a defender went under the screen. Ryan asked everyone and no one, “Why are we under?”
*** Senior guard Trey Wertz: He made a three and played on the ball at times, but he’s still not the quickest or particularly sudden with the ball. He couldn’t finish on a couple layups. He’s a crafty ball handler and will make enough shots to stay in the rotation.
*** Senior forward Nate Laszewski: He remains comfortable facing up off the dribble and taking other forwards off the bounce from the perimeter. He beat freshman forward Matt Zona off the dribble with a spin. He made a couple threes off kick-outs and pick-and-pops in the same manner he did a year ago. Improving his defense is important, but I didn’t notice him there too often one way or the other. He did switch onto Hubb one time and kept him in front.
*** Graduate student forward Paul Atkinson Jr.: He’s not a leaper who will sky above everyone for rebounds, but his motor on the class is impossible to miss. He works hard and doesn’t stop fighting for the ball when it’s in the air. He got two putbacks on one possession, finishing the second.
He’s not an above the rim guy. He’s tough to defend because of his skill as a post scorer and craftiness. He doesn’t need to back his man all the way down to score. He gets a lot of tip-ins with his rebounding motor. When I watched his Yale film, his passing feel stood out. There were moments of it today too. He hit Hubb for a corner three on the short roll. He tried to kick out on another post touch, but threw it to a defender.
*** Freshman guard Blake Wesley: The most intriguing player on the team. He’s certainly the most athletic. He’s a gifted off-the-dribble scorer who changes speeds well. He took a stepback three and missed, but what stood out was the separation from the defender on the stepback.
He was often on a different team than Hubb and served as his team’s point guard. Notre Dame put him in ball screens on occasion, but he’s best as a drive-and-kick shot creator. On one play, he blew by his defender with a crossover and hesitation, and hit Sanders in corner for a three. He just has a different level of burst and quickness.
I think he can be a solid three-point shooter, and he made a couple today, but his shot has a bit of a long windup and some fling in it that makes it harder to consistently replicate.
Shot selection will be the main thing for Wesley. His decision-making is better than I remember, though he forced a couple passes that were picked off. His defense still stands out. He slipped into a passing lane for a steal and dunk. Then he forced a deflection off his own man the next possession. Notre Dame’s no-middle defense asks defenders to ice ball screens, and he was an effective “icer.”
*** Sophomore wing Tony Sanders Jr.: I was wondering what to expect from him, and he had a solid day. He picked Ryan’s pocket on the perimeter. He had a putback basket. Most of his shot attempts were threes, and he made a few. He’s often open on the wing when the defense rotates down to help, and guards found him on a few occasions. His shot has a long windup, but it’s high enough that it won’t get blocked.
*** Sophomore forward Elijah Taylor: He had a rough start to the scrimmage. He was called for a moving screen and then caught not hedging out to stop a Sanders drive. Sometimes, it looks like he’s at a yellow light. He had a post touch vs. Laszewski, but couldn’t back him down or get to his left hand (his good hand) and traveled. He did score vs. Atkinson when he caught an entry pass and instantly went over his left shoulder. If that’s not available, I’m not sure he has an effective counter.
*** Sophomore forward Matt Zona: He’s not a leaper, but his rebounding motor stood out too. He finds a body and boxes out. He pulled down a couple offensive rebounds. He didn’t get a lot of chances to score.
*** Most of the pre-scrimmage work was defensive drills, which have comprised at least half of practices this preseason. It’s not taken lightly. Associate head coach Anthony Solomon is a hands-on teacher and operates like the unofficial defensive coordinator. Players listen to him. Now, everyone wants to see results, not just hear optimism. We’ll get the first look in exactly one month in the season opener. But the commitment to it is obvious.
*** Head coach Mike Brey said this week if he had to play an ACC game right now, his seven-man rotation would be the six seniors and freshman guard Blake Wesley. He’s looking for an eighth man. Freshman wing J.R. Konieczny, sophomore wing Tony Sanders Jr. and one of sophomore forwards Matt Zona and Elijah Taylor are vying for it. My take after the scrimmage is it might not be one guy, but a mixing and matching based on the situation.
Speaking of the scrimmage, here are my observations on each player. (Disclaimer: The length of the notes on a player doesn’t reflect his performance for better or worse).
SCRIMMAGE NOTES
*** Senior guard Prentiss Hubb: He’s the clear floor general, unsurprisingly. He remains a crafty passer and creator who loves using ball-fakes, shot fakes and anything to get a defender to bite and open up a shot or pass. He’s not going to blow by defenders on a consistent basis. He used several fakes to initiate a possession that resulted in an open Trey Wertz three-pointer.
Hubb is vocal too. He hit freshman Tony Sanders Jr. on the wing for a three, but Sanders passed it up. Hubb firmly told him to shoot it next time. On defense, he locked up Wesley in end-of-game situation.
*** Senior guard Dane Goodwin: His shot still looks clean with little wasted motion, and he made a three at the buzzer in an end-of-game drill. Off the dribble, his spin move going right remains a staple.
*** Senior guard Cormac Ryan: He’s one of Notre Dame’s best defenders and always sticking his nose in the play. His recovery ability after helping on drives stood out. He doesn’t check out on defense. He had a steal in the backcourt on a bad outlet pass. He’s also good at disrupting ball-screen actions up top.
On offense, he patiently waited for an opening and zipped a pass to senior forward Nate Laszewski in the post, which resulted in free throws. He’s a crafty finisher with his jump stop and pivot, though he is right-hand dominant off the dribble, and his jumper is consistent.
Ryan is a clear leader. He’s talking in the huddles and dapping guys up on the court. On one defensive possession for his team, Hubb made a three on a dribble handoff when a defender went under the screen. Ryan asked everyone and no one, “Why are we under?”
*** Senior guard Trey Wertz: He made a three and played on the ball at times, but he’s still not the quickest or particularly sudden with the ball. He couldn’t finish on a couple layups. He’s a crafty ball handler and will make enough shots to stay in the rotation.
*** Senior forward Nate Laszewski: He remains comfortable facing up off the dribble and taking other forwards off the bounce from the perimeter. He beat freshman forward Matt Zona off the dribble with a spin. He made a couple threes off kick-outs and pick-and-pops in the same manner he did a year ago. Improving his defense is important, but I didn’t notice him there too often one way or the other. He did switch onto Hubb one time and kept him in front.
*** Graduate student forward Paul Atkinson Jr.: He’s not a leaper who will sky above everyone for rebounds, but his motor on the class is impossible to miss. He works hard and doesn’t stop fighting for the ball when it’s in the air. He got two putbacks on one possession, finishing the second.
He’s not an above the rim guy. He’s tough to defend because of his skill as a post scorer and craftiness. He doesn’t need to back his man all the way down to score. He gets a lot of tip-ins with his rebounding motor. When I watched his Yale film, his passing feel stood out. There were moments of it today too. He hit Hubb for a corner three on the short roll. He tried to kick out on another post touch, but threw it to a defender.
*** Freshman guard Blake Wesley: The most intriguing player on the team. He’s certainly the most athletic. He’s a gifted off-the-dribble scorer who changes speeds well. He took a stepback three and missed, but what stood out was the separation from the defender on the stepback.
He was often on a different team than Hubb and served as his team’s point guard. Notre Dame put him in ball screens on occasion, but he’s best as a drive-and-kick shot creator. On one play, he blew by his defender with a crossover and hesitation, and hit Sanders in corner for a three. He just has a different level of burst and quickness.
I think he can be a solid three-point shooter, and he made a couple today, but his shot has a bit of a long windup and some fling in it that makes it harder to consistently replicate.
Shot selection will be the main thing for Wesley. His decision-making is better than I remember, though he forced a couple passes that were picked off. His defense still stands out. He slipped into a passing lane for a steal and dunk. Then he forced a deflection off his own man the next possession. Notre Dame’s no-middle defense asks defenders to ice ball screens, and he was an effective “icer.”
*** Sophomore wing Tony Sanders Jr.: I was wondering what to expect from him, and he had a solid day. He picked Ryan’s pocket on the perimeter. He had a putback basket. Most of his shot attempts were threes, and he made a few. He’s often open on the wing when the defense rotates down to help, and guards found him on a few occasions. His shot has a long windup, but it’s high enough that it won’t get blocked.
*** Sophomore forward Elijah Taylor: He had a rough start to the scrimmage. He was called for a moving screen and then caught not hedging out to stop a Sanders drive. Sometimes, it looks like he’s at a yellow light. He had a post touch vs. Laszewski, but couldn’t back him down or get to his left hand (his good hand) and traveled. He did score vs. Atkinson when he caught an entry pass and instantly went over his left shoulder. If that’s not available, I’m not sure he has an effective counter.
*** Sophomore forward Matt Zona: He’s not a leaper, but his rebounding motor stood out too. He finds a body and boxes out. He pulled down a couple offensive rebounds. He didn’t get a lot of chances to score.
