Great to see how far he's come and that he feels ready to go! He will bring a skill set to the post we haven't had in some time. With Fllewich's offensive and passing skills and Muila's defense, rebounding, rim protection and athleticism we will have balance at the 5. If Ebube develops our depth at the 5 will be outstanding. A former weakness may be a strength this year, and that will be huge!!!!
This is one of the more interesting rotational decisions Mullins will have this year, IF Muila's body holds up and he still has the explosion/rim protecting attributes that you'd hope for. And yes, Ebube might have the most upside of all three, and he's certainly the kind of building block you'd like to keep happy and have stick around ... does he crack the rotation at some point as well?
Even if it's just Filewich and Muila splitting minutes at the 5, you'd think that would move D'Avanzo to the 4, either spelling Domask off the bench or playing Domask, D'Avanzo and one of the 5 men together at times for a bigger lineup.
Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out, but Southern seems pretty well equipped to be a much more imposing squad in the paint and on the glass.
An interesting sidenote; English is JD’s second language, French is his primary language.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
Very cool! Love this kid and the program.
(Inflammatory political snark)
Did anyone go to the (open mic) basketball practice tonight? If so, I'd be interested in your thoughts, player analysis, etc. I am a season ticket holder, but live 2.5 hours away and could not make it. Thanks.
Did anyone go to the (open mic) basketball practice tonight? If so, I'd be interested in your thoughts, player analysis, etc. I am a season ticket holder, but live 2.5 hours away and could not make it. Thanks.
I was there. Here is my initial thoughts:
Starting Lineup:
PG - Lance Jones - Lance's outside shot looked VERY good tonight.
SG - Trent Brown - Trent didn't participate because of back spasms, but was dressed in white with all of my other predicted starters.
SF - Ben Coupet - This position is my only guess. I feel pretty confident in my other 4 based on what I saw. Coupet looked good out there by the way.
PF - Marcus Damask - Marcus was limited out there, so I wonder if they are limiting his practice time because of his previous injury. Regardless, we all know he is starting.
C - Kyler Filewich - Filewich received all reps with the other starters out here while Muila was in Maroon with most other bench players. I think Filewich gets the starting job to begin the season.
Bench:
Foster Wonders - Foster looked very good today as well. This kid can absolutely shoot. Dressed on the white team, I think Foster is challenging for a starting spot/6/7 man on this team. I think he has the best chance at being our biggest impact freshman.
Ben Harvey - Also dressed in white, I think Harvey is also battling for that last starting spot. Regardless, I think he gets plenty of PT, as long as his defense is there.
JD Muila - Dressed in maroon, JD seems to be the best athlete on this team. He can absolutely get up. I didn't get to really see him play defense since this wasn't a scrimmage but I expect Muila and Filewich to get basically all minutes at the 5.
Dalton Banks - We all know Dalton. First PG off of the bench and will get plenty of minutes.
Anthony D'Avanzo - I'm still not sure what Anthony's role is on this team to be honest. He was dressed in white but was a fill in for reps most of the time.
Troy D'Amico - I really liked what I saw in D'Amico. Good shot, ball handler, and seems to anticipate well on defense. With that said, I think his minutes are limited because of numbers here.
Steven Verplanken - I kind of see Steven being the one somewhat left out here with very limited minutes, but I could be wrong.
Scottie Edube - Scottie looks like a project to me. His athleticism is definitely on display, but he did seem to need additional coaching on several different drills. I like the potential, but I don't expect to see him on the floor much at all this coming season with Filewich, Muila, and D'Avanzo all able to play the 5.
Did anyone go to the (open mic) basketball practice tonight? If so, I'd be interested in your thoughts, player analysis, etc. I am a season ticket holder, but live 2.5 hours away and could not make it. Thanks.
I was there. Here is my initial thoughts:
Starting Lineup:
PG - Lance Jones - Lance's outside shot looked VERY good tonight.
SG - Trent Brown - Trent didn't participate because of back spasms, but was dressed in white with all of my other predicted starters.
SF - Ben Coupet - This position is my only guess. I feel pretty confident in my other 4 based on what I saw. Coupet looked good out there by the way.
PF - Marcus Damask - Marcus was limited out there, so I wonder if they are limiting his practice time because of his previous injury. Regardless, we all know he is starting.
C - Kyler Filewich - Filewich received all reps with the other starters out here while Muila was in Maroon with most other bench players. I think Filewich gets the starting job to begin the season.
Bench:
Foster Wonders - Foster looked very good today as well. This kid can absolutely shoot. Dressed on the white team, I think Foster is challenging for a starting spot/6/7 man on this team. I think he has the best chance at being our biggest impact freshman.
Ben Harvey - Also dressed in white, I think Harvey is also battling for that last starting spot. Regardless, I think he gets plenty of PT, as long as his defense is there.
JD Muila - Dressed in maroon, JD seems to be the best athlete on this team. He can absolutely get up. I didn't get to really see him play defense since this wasn't a scrimmage but I expect Muila and Filewich to get basically all minutes at the 5.
Dalton Banks - We all know Dalton. First PG off of the bench and will get plenty of minutes.
Anthony D'Avanzo - I'm still not sure what Anthony's role is on this team to be honest. He was dressed in white but was a fill in for reps most of the time.
Troy D'Amico - I really liked what I saw in D'Amico. Good shot, ball handler, and seems to anticipate well on defense. With that said, I think his minutes are limited because of numbers here.
Steven Verplanken - I kind of see Steven being the one somewhat left out here with very limited minutes, but I could be wrong.
Scottie Edube - Scottie looks like a project to me. His athleticism is definitely on display, but he did seem to need additional coaching on several different drills. I like the potential, but I don't expect to see him on the floor much at all this coming season with Filewich, Muila, and D'Avanzo all able to play the 5.
Thanks for this. Well done!
(Inflammatory political snark)
Appreciate the report. To what extent the freshman class makes its presence felt this season on a pretty experienced team is one of the more intriguing storylines to keep tabs on as the season nears.
Wonders is an exciting offensive talent ... how will he acclimate to being guarded by D-I athletes and how will he guard at the other end? I'd love to see him push some of the returnees for significant playing time at the 2 and 3 spots if he can answer those questions.
D'Amico had a lot of buzz when he first committed, then had a bit of a rocky senior year shooting the rock. It seems like he has the potential to be especially versatile (can probably play the 2 through 4 spots), and it's good to hear from a few posters that his defense appears promising. I think D'Avanzo coming back puts the squeeze on his likelihood to carve out much of a role this season, because I could have seen him backing up Domask at the 4, but perhaps he finds a way to force himself into the rotation, somewhere, somehow.
Ebube may be somewhat of a project, but he has a D-I-ready body and has played good competition in high school and AAU ball. He's a building block, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaches work him into the mix, at least against some of the weaker non-con opponents, to see what he can do. And it's a really nice luxury to have five more fouls available from Ebube beyond Filewich and Muila if foul trouble comes into play.
Appreciate the report. To what extent the freshman class makes its presence felt this season on a pretty experienced team is one of the more intriguing storylines to keep tabs on as the season nears.
Wonders is an exciting offensive talent ... how will he acclimate to being guarded by D-I athletes and how will he guard at the other end? I'd love to see him push some of the returnees for significant playing time at the 2 and 3 spots if he can answer those questions.
D'Amico had a lot of buzz when he first committed, then had a bit of a rocky senior year shooting the rock. It seems like he has the potential to be especially versatile (can probably play the 2 through 4 spots), and it's good to hear from a few posters that his defense appears promising. I think D'Avanzo coming back puts the squeeze on his likelihood to carve out much of a role this season, because I could have seen him backing up Domask at the 4, but perhaps he finds a way to force himself into the rotation, somewhere, somehow.
Ebube may be somewhat of a project, but he has a D-I-ready body and has played good competition in high school and AAU ball. He's a building block, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the coaches work him into the mix, at least against some of the weaker non-con opponents, to see what he can do. And it's a really nice luxury to have five more fouls available from Ebube beyond Filewich and Muila if foul trouble comes into play.
I think we will definitely see both Edube and D'Amico get minutes in non conference. When I say that Edube's minutes may be limited, I guess that I'm referring to the highly competitive MVC play we expect. I think in those games, you'll probably not see more than 9-10 guys enter the game. But with our weak nonconference schedule, I anticipate many blowouts and PT for the young guys.
From watching some of D'Amico's Senior year games, I anticipate he will play the 1 spot periodically for the Dawgs. D'Amico directed the play and flow on the floor even when Sayles had control of the ball. Might be a competitive edge to have a 6'7" Point Guard bringing the ball up!! He truly fits the definition of a Point Forward.
Wasn't D'Amico labeled by the Chicago Sun Times as the "Player of the Decade"?
Wasn't D'Amico labeled by the Chicago Sun Times as the "Player of the Decade"?
True, but I believe the title was "Niles Notre Dame Player of the Decade". Last sentence in the first paragraph in the attached siusalukis.com roster page below.
https://siusalukis.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/troy-d-amico/5482
