I was at practice yesterday. I have some thoughts to share. Some good some not so good.
- Catchings can get a shot off anytime, anywhere on the court, anywhere. He has a high release, super long arms, big time hops, and is so smooth. At my most athletic when I was tightly defended I’d be hesitant to shoot because of how the defender might affect my shot. With Catchings it’s like the defender isn’t there and doesn’t matter.
- In the words of a VERY senior BYU athletics official yesterday, he said “Egor is our Magic Johnson. Just watch.” Well I watched. His court vision and passing are unbelievable. Twice he hit guys in the chest with passes that would have been easy dunks but the guys were not looking for the ball because no normal person could have made the pass. Egor made another pass in the half court to Keiba for a big dunk and I’m still trying to process how that pass was even POSSIBLE. Egor is every bit of 6’8 or 6’9” and also has a great handle and will be able to bring the ball up court alone against pressure if necessary. He is a STAR.
- During the scrimmage time (with 3 officials in uniform), both Egor and Catchings were perfect (maybe 4/4 each) from the FT line, all net and feathery.
- Keiba is truly monstrous. Picture a much taller, much better jumping, much faster, and much stronger Fouss. Live up close it’s hard to believe Keiba’s size and athleticism. He and Fouss were getting AFTER each other in practice.
- At one point in half court drills over the span of about 15-20 minutes I saw Dawson hit 9 straight catch and shoot 3s. If he has 4-5 seconds with the ball, he will score. His quickness and change of pace with the ball in small spaces is very impressive, and he has too many instinctive moves for defenders to stay on him.
- The 1s spent about 15 minutes on a half court drill with Egor on the wing splitting a double team and kicking the ball to Richie on the opposite elbow, and Richie catching the ball and as the defense rotates taking it HARD to the rim. At that point the D is totally out of position and depending on which defender helped, it was Richie scoring at the rim, dropping it to Keiba for a dunk, our kicking to the corner for an open 3. Egor with the ball gives BYU options in the half court that frankly I’ve never seen at BYU (short of old film of Kosic, who to me is the best BYU comparison to Egor).
- Yes Egor is eligible to play.
- No Bosko is not cleared to play.
- Dallin was in a boot with a recent foot injury. I can’t say what I was told but doesn’t look like a long term problem.
- Trey Stewart was out with a knee injury-again I can’t say what I was told but it’s not as bad as originally feared.
It was so fun and awesome to see these guys on the court!