Went to the games tonight. Missed the first one so I didn't get a chance to see John Lamb (walk on from Indianola), Darian Anderson (not sure if he played) or Chris Babb (he did play I was told). Also, I Railey isn't in Ames yet and I didn't see Godfrey or McKnight.
However, the guys that I did see played well, or at least as well as you can in summer league ball (read: NO DEFENSE). Keep in mind this is all just pick up ball and pretty much drive and kick offenses. Anyway...
EJIM: Has a much better offensive game than I expected. Took a lot of shots and easily had 30+. Had a good mid range jumper and also played well with his back to the basket when he was posting guys up. He's the explosive athlete that we all thought he is and had several nice dunks. Didn't go to hard on defense (nobody really did), but he was situationally good and controlled the boards when he wanted to. I'll be shocked if he's not starting game one.
Christopherson: Glad that we get two more seasons from him. He's a grinder and does the little things. Scottie can score in bunches and tonight was no different. He was knocking down his 3's and using a good pump fake to get into the lane for floaters and drops offs to the big men. SC is really our only proven shooter that's returning in the back court and it was nice to see that he was on. I think he'll have a much better JR year, especially if he's not battling any illnesses and he's now several years removed from his knee surgery.
JVB: Was nice to see JVB out there. We definitely missed him last year and he's our only known commodity inside. He was easily the biggest guy there and didn't have much trouble with smaller guys on him. JVB is our other proven shooter, but it's going to be interesting to see how much time he spends on the perimeter now that he doesn't have CB on the inside. My guess is that we'll run a lot of pick-and-pop plays between him and DG just like two years ago. JVB also looked in shape and wasn't huffing and puffing up and down the court, which is always encouraging to see from your bigs.
DG: He was pretty much just distributing out there. No need to break guys down and risk an injury. Knocked down a couple 3's and mid range shots though, which I know everyone loves to hear. DG is going to control the tempo and he's the catalyst and leader for next year's team. Nothing that we didn't already know of course. We all know what DG needs to do as a senior and I fully expect him to have his best season yet, as he's progressed and gotten better each of his first three years at ISU.
Bubu: I really hope he stays with the program. For the time being, I think Bubu is really going to push guys in practice and make our back court even stronger. There's probably a chance that he sees time this year, especially if there are injuries or foul trouble. He's becoming a much better outside shooter and he can break down anyone and get into the lane. Not only that, but he can finish as well. I know a lot of people are excited about Bubu, but he's only a RS Frosh and I think as long as he keeps developing his body (probably his biggest weakness) and improving his game, Bubu will be a fan favorite in Hilton before all is said and done.
Take all of this with a grain of salt of course. The Drake guys are really the only ones that can push our guys athletically and as I've said, nobody is exactly trying to take charges and hustle on defense. Anyway, I know people like to hear updates on these games and how guys are doing, so if you have any questions, let me know.
