Podcast with Sherman Dillard

[HellaHawk]

I really enjoyed the podcast with Sherman Dillard. You should all listen, but I thought I'd summarize what I learned and open it up for discussion.

Rotation:

• He thought a rotation of nine players was about right. Wouldn't surprise me if we had a larger rotation in preseason and narrowed to nine in the Big Ten.
• Competition for playing time among the newcomers is wide open. We can speculate all we want (and why not it is fun) but doesn't seem like the coaches know right now as practice just started.

Moss:

• Compared his skill set to a shorter Scottie Pippen
• Said that he was a bit behind because of not being here in the summer but thought he was talented enough to make it up.

Flemming:

• Very confident player. Thinks he is the best player on the Court and was launching 35 foot threes in practice (Kingsbury-esque), but needs to work on shot selection.
• Hard worker. Sherman saw him in the gym late just the other day.

Hutton:

• Very tough defender but also needs to work on defensive technique (which I'm sure is true of all the freshman).
• Sherman explained that teaching technique can slow players down because they have to think about what to do so whey they really learn it well can just do it by instinct is when they get really good.

Wagner:

• Strongest player on the team, but a bit undersized for a 4. Sherman said he was a legit 6'6 though.
• Sherman thinks he can compensate for being a bit undersized with really good footwork near the basket.

Jones:

• Great shooter (which they knew) but also a very good rebounder (which surprised them). So far he is leading the team in rebounding in practice.
• Needs to work on his defense, but is eager to learn.

Williams

• Compared his skill set to Devyn Marble. The difference is that Marble came to campus with a lot of confidence even though at the time he couldn't really shoot. Didn't say that Williams lacked confidence but seems like that is something he needs to work on.
• Williams is a legit 6'7. This is interesting because he is listed at 6'6 whereas Wanger is listed at 6'7. Yet, Sherman suggested that Williams is taller.

Ellingson

• Wasn't directly asked about him but noted that the players may look different when they implement more of their sets. The implication I think was that Ellingson is probably a player that has difficulty getting his own shot (like Ogelsby) but perhaps is most like to knock down a 3 coming off of a screen.