Practice & Scrimmage

[NJCat83588]

We are going to make it easily. Top 5 in the conference. Top 5 go right?

Top 5 is a lock for the Tournament. Not impossible but highly unlikely......

 

[DaCat]

For the record I too think the Cats finish in the top 5 of the Big 10 this season. Demps will be the star, Lindsay the breakout player, Olah and JVZ the two headed monster, Falzon will be on All Freshman team... It's going to be a season for the history books.

 

[Deeringfish]

^^^^This^^^

We may finally have depth but a lot of inexperience. Possibly more personal fouls as well. The thing that separates teams 7-10 of the BIG will be free throws. We have to nail those this year to have any chance to flirt with the NCAA's.

My assumptions going into this year are:
1. Law will pick up where he left off at last year, i.e., a helluva lot better at scoring.
2. It seems to me that Olah hit his peak. Not sure we can expect much more out of him even though some posters are suggesting he is the next EE. If he plays as confident and as well as last year, I'll take it!
3. BMac. I'm assuming he brings a renewed confidence. He seemed to lose his shot drastically last year with long stretches of missing buckets. Got sorta beat up playing extended minutes and had no legs at the end of the season. With some help this year, we may see an excellent BMC.
4. Skelly is legit. Bottom line.

Bottom line is that we don't have any pure shooters on this team and we don't have the athleticism that will recognize any of our players at the next level. What we did do is close the gap at the BIG level and have 'good players', but certainly nobody that is going to crack the All Big Ten second team lineup.

But this is a team sport, so collectively, I think 'par' will be them squeaking into the NIT at 18-13 or something like that. 18 wins is a great season for us and a very competitive team. I doubt we win or lose BIG games by more than 10 points.

What makes you say Olah has hit his peak?
All reports say he has shown steady improvement every year. It sounds like he has had a yet another good off season. JVZ has given him a better practice opponent and will give him a break when he is tired.
I'm not saying he will be the best Center in the B1G but I wonder why you think last year is all we can hope for.

 

[DaCat]

What makes you say Olah has hit his peak?
All reports say he has shown steady improvement every year. It sounds like he has had a yet another good off season. JVZ has given him a better practice opponent and will give him a break when he is tired.
I'm not saying he will be the best Center in the B1G but I wonder why you think last year is all we can hope for.

I agree with you. I expect to see an improved Olah - meaning more consistency - as he actually gets less minutes with JVZ spelling him.