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Here and There in Friartown

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News, notes, and opinions on Friar basketball (and other topics) while waiting for the first exhibition game next Saturday against Carleton University.

  • Ben Bentil being waived by the Celtics was not really a big surprise. The surprising part is that he will not play for the Maine Claws in the D League. Bentil did land on his feet, however, as he signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers and will play on their D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne, IN.
  • The Big East coaches picking the Friars ninth in their preseason poll should give Ed Cooley some bulletin board material for the upcoming season. I am also sure that Rodney Bullock noticed that he was left off of all the Big East preseason teams.
  • I am picking the Friars to finish sixth this year. Cooley’s coaching and a very deep bench should give the Friars an extra three wins. But then again, I am the ultimate homer.
  • Shaquille O’Neal was probably the second largest man that I have ever seen in person. Who is the largest you ask?

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  • At 60 years old late Night Madness is a bit much for yours truly, but the students and recruits absolutely love it and each year PC makes it a little better. A big win for the program once again this year.
  • Speaking of Late Night Madness, Friar fans will be happy to know that in person Dajour Dickens looks every bit of seven feet tall. And Nate Watson is a very imposing individual.
  • As of right now the frontcourt for the 2017-2018 Friars is going to consist of 7’0 Dajour Dickens, 6’8 250lb Nate Watson, 6’9 260lb Kalif Young, 6’7 Emmit Holt.
  • The Big East Conference is off to a very good start getting commitments for the class of 2017. To date, 10 players in 247’s 2017 top 100 have committed to Big East schools next year, including:
  • Paul Scruggs, 6’4 pg, Xavier, 27th
  • Tremont Waters, 5’11 pg, Georgetown 37th
  • Jermaine Samuels, 6’6 sg, Villanova, 41st
  • Naj Marshall, 6’6 sf, Xavier, 57th
  • Myles Cale, 6’4 sg, Creighton, 73rd
  • Kyle Young, 6’6 sf, Butler, 82nd
  • Zach Brown, 7’1 c, St. John’s, 84th
  • Nate Watson, 6’8 pf, Providence, 90th
  • Christian David, 6’5 sg, Butler, 91st
  • Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, 6’9 pf, Villanova, 92nd
  • The Friar coaching staff had Khavon Moore, a 6’8 wing from the class of 2019, on campus this past weekend. Moore is a big time player who is in the top 10 nationally in most recruiting services, once again showing that Cooley and his staff are going after the very best players in the country.

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  • Here are a few takeaways from a Friar practice that I attended last week:
  • Kyron Cartwright is playing with a lot of confidence and looks ready to take over the point guard duties for the Friars. Here is an interview he did before the media availability before that practice:

  • Kalif Young is the real deal. At 6’9 and a solid 26o lbs he is going to be a terror to opposing Big East frontcourts as early as next year.
  • Don’t expect Jalen Lindsey to spend too much time in the backcourt this year as he has added 20 lbs. of solid muscle in the off season and should be splitting his time between the three and the four positions.
  • The Friars could be a stronger rebounding team this year as they add two potential “glass cleaners” in Holt and Young, and lose only Bentil from last year’s frontcourt. They will, however, need to work hard to replace Kris Dunn’s rebounding from the guard position.
  • Kris Dunn has had a rough go of it offensively in the preseason, but turned it around during his last exhibition game with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block in 26 minutes of action. These are the kind of stat stuffer numbers Friar fans are used to seeing Dunn put up, and hopefully is a sign of good things to come for him as the NBA regular season approaches.

Email Craig at craig.leighton@friarbasketball.com

 

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