Our UVa Pal Dan was nice enough to send us this Pickup
report from U-Hall. Thanks Don!
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| Will this logo soon be feared again? |
The kids have stopped scrimmaging and are taking a week off right now.
Next time they get together will be practice time on Friday night. So I
cannot see anything else until then.
Willie Dersh continues to have his All-American status questioned, but
seems to have realized that any playing time will shortly disappear if
he does not become far more aggressive. His strength is the quick
decisions in the open floor, but he seems to still have trouble
finishing. As a G/F he will have trouble finding playing time at either
slot if he does not greatly improve his shooting and/or rebounding. He
takes it to the hole much harder- but when he runs into
Colin/DonDon/Watson he finds himself in trouble quickly. Look for him to
lose his starting slot (if indeed he gets one) pretty early.
DonDon has been the surprise to many. One needs to realize that he is a
Junior, with two years practice /game time under his belt and a top 5 JC
transfer. His 240 pounds can hit the trey, and crash the boards. His
versatility and experience may earn him some surprise starts. He plays
strong team defense and pretty good man defense. He has fun and already
has the respect of his teammates. Not as contact happy as Watson.
Dowling: way down the bench. Garbage time only.
Colin: Always a crowd favorite for his work ethic, he is
unrecognizable. It is obvious that his time off from his "slip- ahem.
cough.cough." has reenergized his love for the game. He has lost about 15
pounds and looks like a basketball player He is much more agile. His
offense is much stronger. The rumor of 200 three point shots a day are
fulfilled when you see him face up for the jumper. He now has a front
and back to the basket game. His timing for blocks is as good as ever,
his defense is as physical as ever. (All state football game showing up
here!) He is afraid of no one in the low post. While still prone to
fouls in the low post, it is due to his aggressive nature and excitement
to stop anything down low. He will start. Gillen's fast break game will
do wonders for him. He is not the quickest down the floor, (despite a
top end speed that will leave most in the dust) but if he can nail the
pull up jumper as the last option on the break as trailer, then be the
first down the floor on defense!
Keith Friel. Last year Gillen had to stop practice and bench Friel in
the practice squads. He would jack up the trey every time he was open
and shades of Staples- he nailed them. This trend has continued in off season tourneys.
 He has continued to shoot the lights out, and (surprise) one of the last
to be matched up in defense. No one wants to chase him around the
arc/baseline and then get popped in the face with the three pointer.
Lots of work, no reward for the defender. His defense will be used in
short burst of trapping or in a zone. He will see time off the bench as
the two guard, fighting Mason , Chez, and Hand, for time.
Adam Hall came in as the more heralded of the Williams/Hall recruiting
team, but seemed to have trouble getting it all together. Likely the
most athletic player on the team he was streaky at best. His
contributions were overshadowed by Chris William's, both during the
season and after (see the link). If we see any transfers I suspect it
may be him. We are log jammed at the forward slot. He will see time, but
he may not be a starter and this will not be happy-hay joy-joy for him.
The small forward slot, the natural position of Chris w is Chris's.
Only if Gillen pushes William's up to the 4 position will Hall be
starting. His play in the off season does not seem inspired.
Hand: Boy did he improve last year. The knock on him last year was his
decision making down the stretch. But his only backup was a
non-offensive walk-on that was injured for 6 weeks. He logged heavy
minutes and was very tired down the game/season stretch. His offense was
wonderful, generating the second highest point total in Uva history. He
could finish in the lane and jack up the three. He is deceptively quick,
and will play a hounding defense. His man D is better than his team D.
He loves the Gillen style and creates havoc on the offseason play. You
can see he is really enjoying himself and does not appear threatened by
Mapp. They seem to have fun together with hand rolling more naturally
to the 2 slot when on the same squad. Always more of a scorer than
playmaker he may function well on the 2 guard slot. If he improves as
much this season as last.
Josh Hare. An EXTREMELY popular walk on last year he has earned a spot
on the roster until he graduates. He will not see much time this year
unless it is early in the season. As others learn the system and gain
experience he will slide down the bench.
Cade: Garbage time only.
Mapp: Loves the game. Likely will not start in the beginning, but could
easily roll himself into the 1 spot end of December. He has great
handles, a good outside jumper and great vision. Solid defense. He will
sneak up on the ACC. No look passes, alley-oops from 40 feet from the
waist, loves to get in the lane and get an assist. He is well rounded,
strong, in good shape. He is a natural 1 guard who looks to pass even in
playground ball.
Mason: Surprise, surprise, surprise. He has gone from potential redshirt
to potential ROY candidate based on his shooting, defense and ability to
pass. He can be a sleeper much like William's. He is more athletic than
imagined. He gets in the lane and finishes. Has great passes. His
outside shooting rivals Friel, but he is better defensively. He has fun.
Rogers: have not seen him play. High chance of red-shirting.
Chez: still a hound dog on defense, but not hitting his shots. Some talk
last year of him needing to leave. He will lose his starting slot
before long. He is infectious with his smile and the players like him.
He worked hard last year. He is stronger this year and still need to
work on his shot. Selection is fine, but still pushes too hard. Still
tries to force the game at the rim.
Travis: he and DonDon are the most likely to grab a starting slot. Loves
contact. Absolutely hovers around the rim. His arms are deceptively long
and he will be able to live at the free-throw line. Very strong. He has
improved his offensive game with put backs. He eats the boards at ALL
times. Warm-ups, playground, any time he is grabbing the glass. When he
gets in the post he cannot be moved out.
Williams: As smooth and quiet as ever. Shoot is nothing but better. Still gets
lots of boards. The receiver of most of the good will generated by Mapp.
He will lost some minutes due to the depth, but he also does not have to
play center as he often did last season. Obviously having fun.
The mood in Cville is sky high for the team. Unless you have
seen a Gillen full court press in person you cannot understand how is
can shake up an offense. And Gillen has never had the ACC level of
talent that he has this year. Wave after wave of player can fly in with
a team that went from zero depth to a surplus of players. Gillen will
likely have to go 11 deep into his rotation to keep up the hustle he can
demand. I would not see Uva above 4th in the ACC, but I do see them
giving a lot more game than last year.
See ya.