It feels really, really good to watch live college basketball in Austin, TX, even if it's two parts of the same team competing in a 16-minute game. The fans were electric – it doesn't feel like the Moody Center student section, aka "The Coral" (not to be confused with the OB Coral...), was any kind of fluke this past season. The team felt it, and Rodney Terry talked about it. I'll get to the presser stuff after the recap.
STANDOUTS.
There is a very obvious standout from this scrimmage: Dillon Mitchell. The sophomore combo forward displayed flashes in the pan last season, but never anything extremely consistent on the offensive end. He seemed to have made a choice to correct that, leading both teams in scoring with 10 (responsible for nearly a third of team points, 34). He had two excellent turnaround jumpers from the baseline, an alley-oop posterization, a finish through contact against a very physical Ze'Rik Onyema, and a put-back dunk.
Speaking of, Ze'Rik Onyema and Alex Anamekwe were both very impressive physically. Both played excellent defense in the post – they were physical, they were relentless, and they weren't fouling, which illustrates high motor (low effort/low motor, high risk of being called for lazy fouls). Though Mitchell finished through contact against Onyema, and Anamekwe had a turnover, both showed off really impressive strength. They're both a bit raw offensively outside of a couple of feet, but Onyema had an eye-opening moment on offense, where he backed down Brock Cunningham and threw down a monster jam. Regardless of your thoughts on Brock, he's a very strong, sturdy guy in the post despite standing at just 6-7. This was a good sign of what we may be able to expect from the young UTEP transfer going forward.
Chris Johnson, the freshman who flipped from Kansas to Texas, had a great offensive showing on back-to-back baskets: he schooled Abmas on his way to the rack for a layup, and a possession later, took the ball down the floor, pulled up, and drained a three. I expect quite a bit of playing time for Johnson this year when I initially thought he might be more of a reserve.
OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS.
Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas wasn't his typical self shooting the rock today – he hit just one three out of four attempts, and was beaten a bit on defense (the aforementioned Chris Johnson drive comes to mind). He also missed a free throw, which doesn't typically happen. This is no reason to freak out obviously, but he may have a bit of time adjusting to playing against athletes in the tier of which his teammates are. Despite this, he showed excellent distribution abilities, notching two assists, but also setting up his teammates in ways that may not show up on a stat sheet. The. magnetism he has as a shooter makes him incredibly valuable, because whether or not he's hitting shots, he's at the very least a strong threat to do so. Think of Marcus Sasser in Houston's offense last year – defenses had to respect his shooting, despite the fact he was hitting threes at a 37% clip.
Brock Cunningham was Brock – he hit an open three and drew a couple of charges. Terry has said that Brock is a vocal leader on the team, and with his ability to hit shots from deep, a very beneficial player to have on the floor. His defense was good, too, though Onyema overpowered him a couple of times.
Ithiel Horton took a couple of threes in this game, hitting one of them. He was aggressive offensively as well, and showed off the ability to handle better than I thought. He could be the X-Factor for this team, a player with a lot of experience and the ability to be, as RT said today in the press conference, an "elite" shooter.
Devon Pryor got quite a bit of run, and while he struggled a bit, the fact that he's being used this early on by Terry, even in a scrimmage, shows me that he has a great level of ability to unlock.
OVERALL TAKEAWAYS.
The biggest thing I learned about this team from today was that (A) Dillon Mitchell is going to be a star and (B) this is one of the most athletic teams Texas has had in a while. Chendall Weaver and Mitchell can fly, Tyrese Hunter has great speed and is a dog attacking the rim and at the point of attack on defense. Onyema and Anamekwe are very impressive post athletes whose roles will be increased while Disu readies himself after injury. Kadin Shedrick will help greatly as well, as he reminds me a bit of a 6-11 Christian Bishop (Bishop was 6-7).
POST-SCRIMMAGE PRESS CONFERENCE.
I filmed the presser today (or at least most of it). Here are the links below.
DILLON MITCHELL PT 1
DILLON MITCHELL PT 2
I'll upload the RT presser when I can figure out how to upload it to here or Twitter.
We don't have an exact date on Dylan Disu's inujury return timeline; they were being a bit vague. I'll try to dig deeper.
@KeenanWomack
STANDOUTS.
There is a very obvious standout from this scrimmage: Dillon Mitchell. The sophomore combo forward displayed flashes in the pan last season, but never anything extremely consistent on the offensive end. He seemed to have made a choice to correct that, leading both teams in scoring with 10 (responsible for nearly a third of team points, 34). He had two excellent turnaround jumpers from the baseline, an alley-oop posterization, a finish through contact against a very physical Ze'Rik Onyema, and a put-back dunk.
Speaking of, Ze'Rik Onyema and Alex Anamekwe were both very impressive physically. Both played excellent defense in the post – they were physical, they were relentless, and they weren't fouling, which illustrates high motor (low effort/low motor, high risk of being called for lazy fouls). Though Mitchell finished through contact against Onyema, and Anamekwe had a turnover, both showed off really impressive strength. They're both a bit raw offensively outside of a couple of feet, but Onyema had an eye-opening moment on offense, where he backed down Brock Cunningham and threw down a monster jam. Regardless of your thoughts on Brock, he's a very strong, sturdy guy in the post despite standing at just 6-7. This was a good sign of what we may be able to expect from the young UTEP transfer going forward.
Chris Johnson, the freshman who flipped from Kansas to Texas, had a great offensive showing on back-to-back baskets: he schooled Abmas on his way to the rack for a layup, and a possession later, took the ball down the floor, pulled up, and drained a three. I expect quite a bit of playing time for Johnson this year when I initially thought he might be more of a reserve.
OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS.
Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas wasn't his typical self shooting the rock today – he hit just one three out of four attempts, and was beaten a bit on defense (the aforementioned Chris Johnson drive comes to mind). He also missed a free throw, which doesn't typically happen. This is no reason to freak out obviously, but he may have a bit of time adjusting to playing against athletes in the tier of which his teammates are. Despite this, he showed excellent distribution abilities, notching two assists, but also setting up his teammates in ways that may not show up on a stat sheet. The. magnetism he has as a shooter makes him incredibly valuable, because whether or not he's hitting shots, he's at the very least a strong threat to do so. Think of Marcus Sasser in Houston's offense last year – defenses had to respect his shooting, despite the fact he was hitting threes at a 37% clip.
Brock Cunningham was Brock – he hit an open three and drew a couple of charges. Terry has said that Brock is a vocal leader on the team, and with his ability to hit shots from deep, a very beneficial player to have on the floor. His defense was good, too, though Onyema overpowered him a couple of times.
Ithiel Horton took a couple of threes in this game, hitting one of them. He was aggressive offensively as well, and showed off the ability to handle better than I thought. He could be the X-Factor for this team, a player with a lot of experience and the ability to be, as RT said today in the press conference, an "elite" shooter.
Devon Pryor got quite a bit of run, and while he struggled a bit, the fact that he's being used this early on by Terry, even in a scrimmage, shows me that he has a great level of ability to unlock.
OVERALL TAKEAWAYS.
The biggest thing I learned about this team from today was that (A) Dillon Mitchell is going to be a star and (B) this is one of the most athletic teams Texas has had in a while. Chendall Weaver and Mitchell can fly, Tyrese Hunter has great speed and is a dog attacking the rim and at the point of attack on defense. Onyema and Anamekwe are very impressive post athletes whose roles will be increased while Disu readies himself after injury. Kadin Shedrick will help greatly as well, as he reminds me a bit of a 6-11 Christian Bishop (Bishop was 6-7).
POST-SCRIMMAGE PRESS CONFERENCE.
I filmed the presser today (or at least most of it). Here are the links below.
DILLON MITCHELL PT 1
DILLON MITCHELL PT 2
I'll upload the RT presser when I can figure out how to upload it to here or Twitter.
We don't have an exact date on Dylan Disu's inujury return timeline; they were being a bit vague. I'll try to dig deeper.
@KeenanWomack
