Observations from Midnight Madness

[BigEastPhil]

Just came back from Midnight Madness which was run quite well and some observations of interest for the Board and Fanbase:

- Geo Baker will be a player. He's the real deal. Runs the court well; very athletic and come next year he'll be running the show for sure from the guard position. He has jump; seems like a good shooter as well.

- Candido Sa did not participate. He was on the bench however. Didn't look injured but I'm speculating he has some type of minor ailment or so.

- Jake Dadika won the 3 point contest.

- Shaq Doorson did not participate due to his foot injury.

- Eugene Omoruyi looks terrific and he will be vastly improved compared to last year. He has muscled up; looks to be in terrific shape and I thought he grew an inch or two. Looked assertive and confident as well.

- Myles Johnson is raw but I can see him maturing and being a vital player within 2 years. He needs to muscle up and get in better shape.

- Mamadou Doucoure is a MAN. He looks much more mature and stronger than his age. And by the way, he is also the real deal. He runs the court very well; is athletic and he will make an impact this year once he's eligible to play.

- Peter Kiss will also be a vital player for us next year. Seems quite athletic; can shoot and can jump. He also won the dunking contest.

- Issa Thiam looked like he put some weight on but it's hard to tell. Still quite skinny. He has a beautiful stroke but he seemed to be rushing his shot again during the scrimmage.

- Souf Mensah seems to be a defensive in your face type of guy. Quite strong and he'll be your type of 10 minutes per game type of player and will be physcial - on the defensive side and a pass first type of player.

- Corey Sanders was hyped. He was having fun and seemed to be most explosive; dynamic player on the court.

- Mike Williams as expected was the mature captain. He was engaged with all and being the perfect teammate to all.

- Deshawn Freeman seemed very agile as well; was running up and down the court quite well and exhibited explosiveness around the rim.

- Matt Bullock may have shed a few pounds but that not noticeable. He hustles and possesses a great attitude but unless injuries occur - I don't see meaningful time for him.

- Luke Nathan did not participate in the scrimmage.

- Monetz Mathis; Ron Harper JR and Mac McClung were all there and I heard many 2019 recruits as well including Mulcahy.

- Some alumni who were there included Nigel Johnson (strangely wearing his old RU jersey); Kareem Wright; Kadeem Jack; Bishop Daniels and Justin Pyscecki.

- Crowd was basically contained to the 100 sections and if I had to guess - 1,000 people.

Great night; signed up for the Court Club and can't wait for the season to start.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Thanks for the update

 

[PaKnight]

Thanks

 

[RU_DIO]

Thanks

 

[Knightmoves]

Great update Phil and some excellent scouting reports on the new players. Many thx.

Also good to know that Kareem Wright and Justin Piasecki were there. My son attended hs at Solebury PRep w Justin and I've met him a number of times since hs. Great young man and a credit to RU BB. Very pleased to hear that he continues to come back to visit the program at the RAC.

 

[Russ Wood]

Was Sanders suspended from participating or something?

 

[colbert17]

Great job! Thanks for the info.

 

[ScarletKid2008]

What was the crowd like ? Was it well attended and have a good buzz ?

 

[RUJMM78]

What was the crowd like ? Was it well attended and have a good buzz ?

Crowd size small needs more school ads.

 

[knights1212]

Corey was there and he participated. I think most of us know what he can do but were more interested in the new guys. Myself, I think Geo Baker and Mamadou Doucoure will be big contributors. Doucoure is very athletic and can run the floor and seems very strong. We need him to be cleared for games as soon as possible. Doorson did not participate in the brief scrimmage as he is still recuperating from his foot surgery. I think Myles Johnson will help in the future but will get some time now. He still needs some work. He is really tall. Souf Mensah will contribute as well.He is very quick and strong and is a pass first point guard. Peter Kiss looks pretty good but as a transfer he must sit out this coming season. I was glad that Jake Dadika won the 3 point contest. His shot was really falling. Peter won the dunk contest but some guys tried being too fancy and couldn't complete their attempts. Overall it was a fun night.

 

[Russ Wood]

Corey was there and he participated. I think most of us know what he can do but were more interested in the new guys. Myself, I think Geo Baker and Mamadou Doucoure will be big contributors. Doucoure is very athletic and can run the floor and seems very strong. We need him to be cleared for games as soon as possible. Doorson did not participate in the brief scrimmage as he is still recuperating from his foot surgery. I think Myles Johnson will help in the future but will get some time now. He still needs some work. He is really tall. Souf Mensah will contribute as well.He is very quick and strong and is a pass first point guard. Peter Kiss looks pretty good but as a transfer he must sit out this coming season. I was glad that Jake Dadika won the 3 point contest. His shot was really falling. Peter won the dunk contest but some guys tried being too fancy and couldn't complete their attempts. Overall it was a fun night.

So what I'm getting from your first sentence is "Same old same old from Corey. No signs of improvement."

Amirite?

 

[higgins3]

BigeastPhil, great post. I am also very high on Baker. His release and jump for his shot is so high. He has a funny stride to him to where his legs are ahead of his frame. I thought Peter Kiss seemed more fluid in that sense. Still, very high on Baker.

Mike Williams seems to be an improved player. His step was faster, and he was a little bit more agile with moves than years past. It seems like a new part of his game that he has been working on.

Sanders still is very cordial, but does not seem like he treats this as a job. He is still the goofy, attention loving kid that we know. Overall, I do not think the team improves from a 3pt shooting perspective that much besides Geo Baker. Sanders might move to .300 if lucky. Just my take.

Souf Mensah impressed with his speed. He does not respect Sanders spot that much, and clearly wants to compete for more playing time. I would not be surprised if Sanders sees 25 mpg, or 23. I think we will see a lot Sanders, Baker, and Williams and Souf,Baker and Williams Souf competes and leads.

Overall, it was a fun night. The time has length and will defend in a similar fashion. From shooting, I think Baker will be the one to really impress, but the rest will stay fairly similar.

It was still fun to make some noise in the RAC, and support some great players and student athletes.

 

[biazza38]

Nice to hear about Geo and Duke. I totally totally forgot about Kiss

 

[knights1212]

Russ, I think Corey might have improved a little. He did hit a few nice jumpers and still drove nicely to the basket but I think he wants to buy more into a team concept. I hope that is the case.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Was Sanders suspended from participating or something?

I focused on the new players basically. I 'll add about Sanders; Williams; Freeman etc as well

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Sanders still is very cordial, but does not seem like he treats this as a job. He is still the goofy, attention loving kid that we know..

Very true. Sanders loves the spotlight. Five students heaved half-court shots to win $10,000. They all missed, although two came quite close. After the first or second student attempted their shot, Sanders threw up a half-court shot of his own. Swish!

 

[TobyTyler1]

Who else recruited Baker?

 

[dpwhite]

Who else recruited Baker?

Kansas State was the threat.

 

[Russ Wood]

Who else recruited Baker?

IIRC, finalists were Rutgers, George Mason, George Washington, Kansas State, and Louisiana Tech.

 

[bowlgoal]

I thought a lot more than 1000 people were there. I would guess double that. We took up the whole bottom portion on both sides plus behind the hoop was at least 75-100 students. Eugene is stacked. He will be a big defensive player imo

 

[mikefla]

Thank you guys for the posts.... especially the guys that attended.
As a guy in Florida still reeling from frayed nerves due to Hurricane IRMA(and watching RU vs OSU on tv)
hearing about Midnight Madness was uplifting!

 

[RUsojo]

So what I'm getting from your first sentence is "Same old same old from Corey. No signs of improvement."

Amirite?

Not sure how you were getting that from his post. I kept reading it to understand why you thought that but couldn't figure it out.

I thought Corey looked great and was in great shape.

 

[higgins3]

Not sure how you were getting that from his post. I kept reading it to understand why you thought that but couldn't figure it out.

I thought Corey looked great and was in great shape.

Corey will always be liked for his contagious energy. I just wish for himself he would take the job more seriously. Because if he took it seriously, he could have a very well paying job post college. His shooting in the contest showed no signs of improvement, and he was gassed during the scrimmage when everyone else was fine.

I want these guys to do well. It just seems like the level of commitment is not there. Also, the coaches will not be too happy if he does the same thing next summer when the team on the banks is practicing. They want leaders for the build.