update on players from Pitino

[Needabuzz]

Update on the condition of our players

Seniors
T-Will- Always in great shape. Showing great leadership. He should have a special senior season.

Andre McGee- He has worked on his body and is now down to 6% body fat.
Lighting quick and also showing a special desire to lead.

Will Scott- Our Rhode Scholar candidate spent time in China this summer. He is learning to speak that language and had a unique experience overseas.
Will needs to develop more arc on his jump shot and improve his ball handling skills. Tireless worker.

Juniors

Jerry Smith- Ready and poised for a strong season. Needs to drop 6-8 pounds.
That will be easy after our first week of practice. Starting to show signs of leadership qualities.

Edgar Sosa- The sophomore jinx is over. Poised for a special season. He has matured into a team first player. Like everything I see.

Earl Clark- Rounding into shape. Needs a few more weeks to get ready.

Reggie Delk- Improved his strength. Shot is a little flat. Needs to work hard on his defense and passing skills. Wonderful person with a great attitude.

Sophomores

Preston Knowles-No jinx with this young man. Tough and hard working. Fun to coach

Freshman

Samardo Samuels- Love him. Enough said!

Jared Swopshire- Skilled offensive player. Must get stronger and put on about 15 pounds. Hard worker with a tremendous attitude to learn.

Terrence Jennings- Terrific athlete. Must learn to relax and slow down offensively. We will spend a lot of time on his footwork and low post game.
Has the potential to develop into an outstanding player but it will take time.

Kyle Kuric-Reminds me of Jeff Shepherd who I coached at Kentucky. Good rebounder from the guard position.. Must work on his ball handling and defense. Like his potential.

George Goode- Has struggled from a conditioning standpoint. But he missed an entire year and will need time to get back into shape. Must push himself harder to maximize his abilities.

Team Strengths at this Point:

*Attitude: Team has experience and strong leadership.

*Depth: Backcourt deep and talented.

*Quickness: We are athletic and physically strong at the 1,2, and 3 positions.

Concerns

*Extremely difficult schedule.

*Young but talented at the Five spot.

*Free throw shooting- We must excel in this area because of our abilities to get fouled.

I will update you on our progress in the next couple of weeks. . .

[HarveyGlass]

Love what I'm reading about Sosa and Samuels. Those two could be the bookends to a special team.
You knew Kuric could rebound the ball by his HS stats, IIRC, he averaged around 8 boards a game, as a guard.
We have to shoot free throws well. Have to.
What is that supposed to mean about Earl? Did he hurt himself?

[Empire Lindy]

I don't know if I would put too much into Kuric's HS stats. Growing up in Evansville, I can tell you that the physical talents of most players are not such that a 6'5" kid should be playing guard. We had a kid while I was in HS that was 6'6" or 6'7" and he played center for us. Our guards (which won the conference all but one year I was in HS) were 6' and 6'1" and were by no means the exception on height.

I doubt seriously if Kuric was ever worse than the 3rd or 4th tallest guy on the floor playing the other Evansville schools. They get a lot of wing types down there (6'5" or 6'6"-ish), but true big men seem hard to come by in Southern Indiana.

Not dismissing all his stats, but don't bet on him coming in and being Jerry Smith on the boards. (ok, actually I am skeptical of his stats having played in Evansville... the hoops are competitive, but just don't produce a lot of DI talent).

[HarveyGlass]

You're a dirty Kuric-hater.

[farmdude]

Man oh man, hatin on the kid before he even dons the red and black. We'll have to hear about this for the next four years now.













Just kidding.

[NdotDiggity]

The keys will be our new big men and Sosa. Everyone else will do what we expect. I like the update though, keep em coming!

[Card Fan Always]

I am liking what I read as far as the update on the team even though I will probably not see them in person this year - That truly sucks!!! I am not trying to say anything but didn't a freshman lead the 1986team to a National title??? I am just saying...

[Needabuzz]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/.../1028/SPORTS02

Here is a little blurb on the CJ from Pitino and Sosa about the two new big men.