I sure like what I see so far from Isaiah Brown. He brings scoring, ballhandling, and defense . All things we need .
Brown looks like the real thing!
- Thread starter LansingCat
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After watching tonight, I would not be surprised to see Brown getting double figure minutes, especially against teams with smaller guards. He can really score! Law had an off night shooting but I think he'll be fine (hit three in a row late in the game.) Scottie Lindsey looks more confident and is looking to create more on offense. Pardon isn't Olah on the blocks but he looked good running the floor. Skelly may have to the principal backup there as Benson looked very raw tonight, seemingly had trouble with the physicality underneath. Falzon blows hot and cold from 3. It will be interesting in the pre-season to see how the rotation develops.
Just watched the exhibition game. I'm definitely excited about Brown, and I feel good about the backup PG situation. For the moment, I am comforted with the depth that Brown and Skelly offer our lineup... Yet, the real question is how good our starters will be. Law hit a few shots towards the end, but was not terribly impressive for most of the game. Sanjay offers little on offense. Falzon was okay--it has been suggested that he is dealing with an injury...
Things will get real in a hurry. We play at Butler in less than two weeks. There is obviously only so much that you can take from these exhibition games. Illinois Springfield was a pretty bad Div2 team last year--and they graduated all of their best players. Despite the 37 point win, we have to get a lot better.
Those of us who have been following Northwestern basketball for a while may remember that freshman Mike Capocci led the 'Cats in scoring with 18 points (same as Brown) in the exhibition game in 2007. Of course, this was unfortunately the high point of Capocci's NU career as he did not wind up being a star or even much of a contributor over the next 4 years. So I should probably temper my expectations with Brown...
Still, I am excited about Brown, but nervous about our core. Are we good enough? We'll see...
Things will get real in a hurry. We play at Butler in less than two weeks. There is obviously only so much that you can take from these exhibition games. Illinois Springfield was a pretty bad Div2 team last year--and they graduated all of their best players. Despite the 37 point win, we have to get a lot better.
Those of us who have been following Northwestern basketball for a while may remember that freshman Mike Capocci led the 'Cats in scoring with 18 points (same as Brown) in the exhibition game in 2007. Of course, this was unfortunately the high point of Capocci's NU career as he did not wind up being a star or even much of a contributor over the next 4 years. So I should probably temper my expectations with Brown...
Still, I am excited about Brown, but nervous about our core. Are we good enough? We'll see...
Good summary. Brown looks like the real deal. Just has an air of confidence about him, something Vic lacks. Barret will be a work in progress: remember how terrible Pardon looked in the exhibition game last season, and then how he played a couple of months later after practicing with James? I think he'll see a similar growth in his game.
Reserving judgment on how good this team can be until they play someone who is actually decent. Butler, Texas and ND/CO in a couple of weeks will tell us a whole lot.
Not great. 3 turnovers in 12 minutes of playing time. Based on the exhibition game and the interviews I've heard, I expect Brown to be in the mix and for Ash to be on the outside looking in again. Sorry.
Thoughts from the UIS game:
1. McIntosh will need to shoot more and distribute less for the team to be successful.
2. Isiah Brown is an excellent player: quick, skilled and confident, with a scorer's mentality. He will play big minutes from game one.
3. Pardon needs to be healthy. He left the game in the second half with a leg problem, went to the locker room, returned to the game but had to leave again limping worse. Benson may be a year away; with a team with more options at center he would be a logical redshirt candidate.
4. Vic Law looked a bit rusty. He had a nice steal and slam in the first half, demonstrating his length and quickness.
5. Skelly is a valuable and versatile forward who will likely fill in at center.
6. Lindsey looked like a sure starter from the offensive standpoint.
7. Falzon is in to shoot the three. I don't think he is one- dimensional but is placed in that role: he is the top three point shooter on the team.
8. Top 5 players from a one exhibition game sample: McIntosh, Brown, Lindsey, Pardon and Skelly.
1. McIntosh will need to shoot more and distribute less for the team to be successful.
2. Isiah Brown is an excellent player: quick, skilled and confident, with a scorer's mentality. He will play big minutes from game one.
3. Pardon needs to be healthy. He left the game in the second half with a leg problem, went to the locker room, returned to the game but had to leave again limping worse. Benson may be a year away; with a team with more options at center he would be a logical redshirt candidate.
4. Vic Law looked a bit rusty. He had a nice steal and slam in the first half, demonstrating his length and quickness.
5. Skelly is a valuable and versatile forward who will likely fill in at center.
6. Lindsey looked like a sure starter from the offensive standpoint.
7. Falzon is in to shoot the three. I don't think he is one- dimensional but is placed in that role: he is the top three point shooter on the team.
8. Top 5 players from a one exhibition game sample: McIntosh, Brown, Lindsey, Pardon and Skelly.
Was excited by Brown; wasn't much info. on the kid, but he was a scoring machine in HS and was known to be someone who can drive to the basket and supposedly can hit the mid-range jumper.
Only one game (and an exhibition), but would give the 'Cats another driving option other than BMac.
No question about Law's D and assume he'll make his share of 3s (albeit can be streaky), but he's supposed to be that athletic forward that can drive to the basket - need to see some of that from Law this season.
Would like to see more O from Falzon than just shooting 3s, but it's more important to see that from Law.
Nice to see hints that Lindsey and Skelly may have taken a step up in their play (way early, bu hopefully this will translate to more consistency).
Probably asking too much for all of these things to happen, but need at least some of these things to happen for the 'Cats to be competitive.
Only one game (and an exhibition), but would give the 'Cats another driving option other than BMac.
No question about Law's D and assume he'll make his share of 3s (albeit can be streaky), but he's supposed to be that athletic forward that can drive to the basket - need to see some of that from Law this season.
Would like to see more O from Falzon than just shooting 3s, but it's more important to see that from Law.
Nice to see hints that Lindsey and Skelly may have taken a step up in their play (way early, bu hopefully this will translate to more consistency).
Probably asking too much for all of these things to happen, but need at least some of these things to happen for the 'Cats to be competitive.
Honestly, I thought we will struggle getting penetration/to the rim on a consistent basis. We also do not seemingly have a B1G level low post threat.
If this team can make threes and get transition buckets, it'll be fine. If they don't, we will struggle.
Defense looked ok. Bmac showed some quicker hands than we've seen in the past, Law helps a lot, and Brown was fine. Level of competition wasn't great, so jury is still out.
If this team can make threes and get transition buckets, it'll be fine. If they don't, we will struggle.
Defense looked ok. Bmac showed some quicker hands than we've seen in the past, Law helps a lot, and Brown was fine. Level of competition wasn't great, so jury is still out.
Collins said Pardon got kneed in the thigh (Charlie horse) and it started to tighten up on him, so they took him out. Said he could have gone back in if it had been a close game. He's OK.
Just saw at Ohio State complete a jump pass at the goal line that's what we needed last week. Oops I meant this one for the football thread
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I'm friends with someone close to the program and he told me Brown will get 15MPG
Easily 15, if not more. I wouldn't be surprised if he averages 8-10 points per game. I He will be a major contributor this season. One question I had was his ability to hit the three, and he made several Friday night.
I also liked what I saw of Skelly. His versatility is going to be very important for us, IMO.
Thanks to all for posting your initial impressions. Think we're all excited to see this thing get started. These next several seasons promise to be very interesting, in a number of ways. I'll second what a number of us have already said -- it's a good time to be a fan of NU basketball.
Aren't you guys a little worried about his size or lack there of? Listing him at 6'2" seems like the biggest lie since Juice was 5'11". I worry that he's not gonna be able to finish at the rim and/or get beat up as the season goes on. Seems to me like he's gonna end up pulling up for a lot of mid-rangers, which I don't love as a shot in a designed offense, but maybe Collins is fine with.
Based on the really small sample size I have no concerns with Brown on offense. He looks like a guy who just knows how to get an open look whenever he wants. Let's see who his offense continues as the competition increases in quality.
On the defensive end his lack of size may be an issue and I'd argue bulk is a larger concern than height. Especially in conference where the other team will have two strong guards on the floor almost all of the time.
But he looks like a quality player and he's still in his first quarter at NU, so let's give him a little time.
Actually, it is a concern on defense. He is substantially shorter than 6'2".
People who live in the city and buy giant SUVs are pretty high on my murder list.
Yogi Ferrell was an OK shortish guard at IU......his published vitals are 6'0" and 179#s......I'd settle for Yogi production from Isiah over his career at NU.
That's a good comp. I don't know that Brown has Yogi's lateral quickness/explosiveness, but it was just one game...needless to say it's still very exciting that Brown can contribute right away.
Yogi averaged 7.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg (!!) and 4.1 apg his Freshman year. I could definitely see Isiah matching his scoring. BMac will get all the assists on this team, and I doubt Isiah will come close to Yogi's rebounding number. Yogi had Victor Oladipo as the main scorer on that team, and IU only had 7 players who averaged double figure minutes (Yogi had 28.1 mpg). I doubt Isiah plays that much.
The final three years Yogi averaged ~17 ppg. Would be brilliant if Isiah could do that.....
Doesn't surprise me...
Hey VaCat, BTN+ has the ISU game available for viewing at your leisure and will broadcast the MVSU and Bryant games, so plunk down your $9.95 for November.....
Plunked already. Enjoyed the UISpringfield game. Brown looked very good. I look forward to him breaking opponents' ankles this year.
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