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OCT 14 VIDEO & PHOTO GALLERY OF THE "Official" 1ST Practice. Check out the Sep 23 Practice Photos. Nunge is FULLY CLEARED & Practiced on Oct 14

Here are Sep 23 Practice Photos.

Do you like my...I mean, do you like Fran's face covering? ;)

Other than the fact that we look extremely FAST, what stands out to you as you look at the full photo gallery, which is here:

A couple of those pictures:

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aHR0cHM6Ly9zdG9yYWdlLmdvb2dsZWFwaXMuY29tL2hhd2tleWVzcG9ydHMtY29tLzIwMjAvMDkvZDJiMzVkZjYtMjAyMDA5MjNfaW93YW1lbnNiYXNrZXRiYWxscHJhY3RpY2UwMDMuanBn.png
@Hendy hawk , practice started Sep 23 ;)
 
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The idea that Fran is going to keep this to a 9 man rotation is just plain wrong.
 
P Mac has noticeably gained needed weight. Bohannon looks thinner, in better shape. Both good improvements from what we've seen before. I really have no idea how many freshman could or should see minutes this year. Hopefully there are some positive surprises.
 
P Mac has noticeably gained needed weight. Bohannon looks thinner, in better shape. Both good improvements from what we've seen before. I really have no idea how many freshman could or should see minutes this year. Hopefully there are some positive surprises.

Yeah, I was really surprised by how filled out PMac looks. I'm really excited to see how he'll fit in this year. Could be a huge spark off the bench.
 
If Nunge's knee is fine, and I see that it looked heavily wrapped in that video, Josh O will redshirt. Probably should in any event.
 
If Nunge's knee is fine, and I see that it looked heavily wrapped in that video, Josh O will redshirt. Probably should in any event.
With winter athletes now officially receiving a 'free year' from the NCAA, nobody has to redshirt because it will not impact eligibility at all. Ogundele probably will not be needed much in important games unless there is an injury to Garza or Nunge or if one if both get in foul trouble against a Big Ten team with a big frontcourt. But I would for sure play Ogundele in blowout games against inferior teams, or garbage minutes Big Ten games. That can be a huge added benefit for his development specifically.
 
"There's no question that Fran McCaffery has his deepest team, most talented team & a team that can not only win the Big Ten, but challenge for a national championship."

Check this out & watch:

 
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I think other than defense, the key to a special season is Nunge. He will be taking the Kreiner role. I think Jack has the potential to be better than Ryan as a scorer but the real key will be his physicality during a very tough schedule. If he can have the same level of aggressiveness that Luka displayed last year, he can potentially take this team up a notch on both offense and defense. While he hasn’t been able to practice much against Luka over the last two years, hopefully he has seen the level of toughness that Luka has displayed in order to produce at a high level.

I am hoping that when Luka gets rest there is little fall off commanding a presence on the block on both sides of the ball. While I know Jack is a good 3 pt shooter, I hope he is just as aggressive taking the ball to the hoop and if nothing is there, he has plenty of shooters to kick it out to. I think he has that ability but it will all be about his mindset.
 
I think other than defense, the key to a special season is Nunge. He will be taking the Kreiner role. I think Jack has the potential to be better than Ryan as a scorer but the real key will be his physicality during a very tough schedule. If he can have the same level of aggressiveness that Luka displayed last year, he can potentially take this team up a notch on both offense and defense. While he hasn’t been able to practice much against Luka over the last two years, hopefully he has seen the level of toughness that Luka has displayed in order to produce at a high level.

I am hoping that when Luka gets rest there is little fall off commanding a presence on the block on both sides of the ball. While I know Jack is a good 3 pt shooter, I hope he is just as aggressive taking the ball to the hoop and if nothing is there, he has plenty of shooters to kick it out to. I think he has that ability but it will all be about his mindset.

I think that this is a really good point of discussion....and assuming Nunge does fill Ryan K's role on the team, I don't think that it's got to be an exact replication of numbers (I know that isn't what you said).....so, what I am saying is that Ryan K was physical and that in certain games he provided some significant offense and in others not much at all. I could forsee Nunge performing similarly in that his offense will be inconsistent. In some games Ryan K did a pretty good job of blocking shots, but this is an area where Nunge was actually pretty good when he played. I think that defensively they could be similar.

I think that in the Ryan vs, Jack comparison the positive for Jack is that last year, prior to the start of the year, Jack was recognized as the better player. On the flip side, he has to prove it on the floor. In that sense I could see it taking him a number of games (maybe 10?) to get his footing and his confidence. Jack could look worse to begin with and then be stronger (look better) later in the season.

I also think that the limited role that Pemsl played could be significant.....His replacement will most likely be a better offensive player but not as good on the defensive end. Pemsl was physical and played decent post defense. He was most likely much stronger than Patrick M or Keegan Murray....so, it may boil down to team defense.....more pressing? Better in the zone? I think that Patrick and either of the Murray's can be more effective on offense than Pemsl was.

Bottom line, I can't wait to see how all of this plays out.
 
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I think that this is a really good point of discussion....and assuming Nunge does fill Ryan K's role on the team, I don't think that it's got to be an exact replication of numbers (I know that isn't what you said).....so, what I am saying is that Ryan K was physical and that in certain games he provided some significant offense and in others not much at all. I could forsee Nunge performing similarly in that his offense will be inconsistent. In some games Ryan K did a pretty good job of blocking shots, but this is an area where Nunge was actually pretty good when he played. I think that defensively they could be similar.

I think that in the Ryan vs, Jack comparison the positive for Jack is that last year, prior to the start of the year, Jack was recognized as the better player. On the flip side, he has to prove it on the floor. In that sense I could see it taking him a number of games (maybe 10?) to get his footing and his confidence. Jack could look worse to begin with and then be stronger (look better) later in the season.

I also think that the limited role that Pemsl played could be significant.....His replacement will most likely be a better offensive player but not as good on the defensive end. Pemsl was physical and played decent post defense. He was most likely much stronger than Patrick M or Keegan Murray....so, it may boil down to team defense.....more pressing? Better in the zone? I think that Patrick and either of the Murray's can be more effective on offense than Pemsl was.

Bottom line, I can't wait to see how all of this plays out.

I just hope with as difficult as this schedule could be I hope Jack hits his stride by game 3 or 4 rather than game 10. This is going to be a fun year with so many pieces and matchups to play with plus an extra free year of eligibility to play with.
 
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Like to see Josh O get some minutes, if he's ready. I suspect there will be times when his big frame will come in handy.
 
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