Yesterday, Diggs Team played Finer Way Inc. during the 5:45 game and Errol Carlstrom Playaz played Hybrid Nation for the 7:00 pm game.
The Gophers had one of their harder summer workouts earlier in the day, so they may have been running on low energy but they all played reasonably well.
GAME 1
Diggs Team (featuring McBrayer, Diedhiou, and Kalscheur) beat Finer Way (featuring Jamir Harris and BK) in the first game, 92-82. I didn't catch the entire game, but here's a recap of the Gopher relevant players that I saw:
Finer Way points: PJ Hill - 5, Jamir Harris - 12, Bryce Williams - 2, Marvin Singleton - 3, Anthony Tucker - 36, Bakary Konate - 12, Tommy Marak - 6. There was also another player I couldn't identify who scored 6.
GAME 2
Errol Carlstrom Playaz (featuring Reggie Lynch) beat Hybrid Nation (featuring Nate Mason and Amir Coffey) 98-73.
The Gophers had one of their harder summer workouts earlier in the day, so they may have been running on low energy but they all played reasonably well.
GAME 1
Diggs Team (featuring McBrayer, Diedhiou, and Kalscheur) beat Finer Way (featuring Jamir Harris and BK) in the first game, 92-82. I didn't catch the entire game, but here's a recap of the Gopher relevant players that I saw:
- Jamir Harris: lightning quick release. He doesn't need much space to get his shot off, which is good because he's small. Like I saw with him in AAU, he played off the ball and was primarily a spot up shooter. He's a good catch and shoot player. He'll jab step and then take a couple dribbles between the legs or crossover from the arc to create room for his shot, but he does so staying at the arc and with no intention of attacking the basket. He did drive to the basket once and did a nice job of beating his man off the dribble with a half spin then spin from the baseline. He missed the contested layup as a big was closing hard, and I think Jamir kind of rushed the shot. As I've said before, Jamir is built pretty well and has a Big Ten-ready body. I'd really like to see him in a lead guard role. His handle looks good enough - he can get the separation he needs to get his shot off. I've never seen him in a position where he's really challenged with his ball handling because his role when I've watched has always been to be a spot up shooter.
- Bakary Konate: BK did a good job on the boards and setting screens. He didn't score much in the minutes I was able to watch. There were of course some Konateisms as well: a couple fumbled rebounds, a moving screen, etc., but he still grabbed those rebounds and made more impactful screens than moving screens.
- Dupree McBrayer: Dupree didn't get as many touches as I expected, but he was crafty getting into the mid-range area where he took several jumpers. He was probably the quickest, most agile player there, which allowed him to get good looks. Defensively, he would get backed down by Anthony Tucker, who's a thicker guard/wing, and Tucker would shoot mid-range turnaround and fadeaway jumpers that kept falling even though McBrayer usually did a decent job contesting the shot.
- Gaston Diedhiou: Diedhiou didn't play much in the time I saw and when he did he didn't receive many touches.
- Gabe Kalscheur: Similar to Harris, Kalscheur didn't receive a ton of touches on the offensive end and when he did, he was trying to find his shot from the perimeter. I thought he forced some shots, but Kalscheur's a great shooter so any look isn't necessarily a bad look. His shot wasn't falling last night, though.
Finer Way points: PJ Hill - 5, Jamir Harris - 12, Bryce Williams - 2, Marvin Singleton - 3, Anthony Tucker - 36, Bakary Konate - 12, Tommy Marak - 6. There was also another player I couldn't identify who scored 6.
GAME 2
Errol Carlstrom Playaz (featuring Reggie Lynch) beat Hybrid Nation (featuring Nate Mason and Amir Coffey) 98-73.
- Reggie Lynch: Reggie only played about a third of the game and didn't play at all in the fourth quarter. At one point, it looked like he came down funny after blocking a shot, and he was limping a little bit but came in the game later and looked fine. I don't think his lack of playing time was because of a minor injury, but I'm not sure. Either way, it wouldn't be serious. He finished with eight points on 2/8 field goal shooting and 4/4 free throw shooting, six rebounds, and four blocks. Lots of classic Reggie Lynch in the minutes he did play: big blocks (the best being blocking Nate Mason at the first half buzzer), a hook shot from fairly far out with a low release point that you cringe watching but still goes in, and holding the ball or taking unnecessary dribbles in the post (he'd get doubled immediately because these Pro-Am teams don't have Big Ten size). Lynch was the best player on the court in the minutes he played, I thought.
- Joey King: Joey scored 17 on 7/10 field goal scoring by my count. It was a game you'd expect from him.
- Nate Mason: Mason had nine points on 4/10 field goal shooting and made his only free throw. He had six rebounds and five assists, but he easily could have doubled his assists count if his teammates made their open looks from three. Just about every set feet open look from three was a pass from Nate. He probably gave teammates 10 good looks from three alone, and I think his teammates only made one or two of them. Mason started the game with a couple ambitious, pull-up jumpers but was very unselfish the rest of the game. That was a common complaint during the season, too - that he was overly ambitious in the first two or three minutes.
- Amir Coffey: Coffey probably filled the stat sheet more than anyone. He had 14 points on 6/12 field goal shooting and two free throw makes, nine rebounds, and four assists. Per usual, his length and smooth athleticism is too much for most wing defenders to handle. He had a couple nice dribble moves then mid-range pull-ups. He also had three dunks, one of which was a one-handed poster in transition over Hybrid Nation's center. That was the play of the night.
