I will be attending the open practice tomorrow....anything or anybody you want me to keep an eye out for??

Interested in the PG position. Will we be running Dolan & Quinn as the main ballhandler more often to give Braden better looks & fresher legs?

Also interested in Rubin. How does he look? Does it look like he will be a legit contributor this year?

I'd watch for a few things:

1. Watch Drew Valentine's body language and facial expressions. Last year he looked absolutely beside himself in all the early public scrimmages and exhibitions. There are several new coaches this year.... I'd like to know how smooth the operation looks on the sidelines.

2. I would look for Norris' confidence/leadership. Is he being vocal? He needs to be vocal. If not, who's acting as the leader? Norris and Williamson (and even Knight) were really good leaders for the 2021-22 team. Norris wasn't as vocal last year.

3. How do the underclassmen look? Dawson and Quinn looked sheepish early last year, and they'll need to hit the ground running with confidence. How does Rubin look-- does he look like he's going to have an impact through the season (especially shot-blocking and rim protection)? We're going to lose a ton more seniors after this season--again-- and those guys need to get ready to vocal starters playing 28+ minutes as leaders next year. How's their energy and confidence? Those guys will be our tent poles the next few years.

4. Really hard to pick up in a practice/scrimmage, but I would really want to see some signs that we can return to the defense we used to play. I'm hoping Dez Watson's athleticism, size and speed can go some ways toward picking up defensive intensity, and Quinn/Dawson have a lot of potential as great on-ball defenders. Rubin was impressive in HS as a shot-blocker. Mwamba and Adelekun can take up some space and have better positioning than we got out of Golden, I hope. As The Almanac says in our season preview (they picked us for 6th), last year Loyola "ranked dead last in adjusted efficiency, 3-point percentage allowed, 2-point percentage allowed, effective field goal rate allowed and free-throw percentage allowed." That has to change, or we're back in the basement with 2024-25 looking to be a re-loading year.

New format for open practice this year, Drew's provided more of an explanation about team strategy/philosophy and then a drill to show that in action.

First drill was a pace drill, as coach says we want to play with greater pace. We also saw a defensive drill and then a drill breaking down players into three groups. Overall enjoyed the new format. We also still saw a scrimmage at the end.

Standouts were Greg Dolan, Phil and Miles as well as Mwaba and Dez Watson in my opinion. We certainly look longer than last year but I will reserve further judgement on quality until we see it against other teams. Though it does look like we have more guys who can dribble and run the offense so we shouldn't see full game Braden this year and hopefully be able to score more efficiently overall.

Thank you for the report. Looking forward to reading others.

I'm really excited to see what Dolan brings to the team this year. Experience. Can run the offense. And has a great 3 point shot. On paper, that sounds like it'll be huge for our offense to add that.

Fun,exciting day. Practice /srimmage was held in the new practice facility, very nice.
1. New Guys...The new guys are going to contribute and help. Patrick Mwamba was impressive. At 6'8 he can play inside/ouside offensively and defensively and can shoot the 3. Des Watson, a6'5 nice handle on the ball and can get to the rim not as quick as Marquise Kennedy. Greg Dolan was solid , good ball handler, good passer, decent ability to score and hit the 3 . There was discussion on whether he will start or be the sub for Norris...but either way someone to give Norris a break. Dame Adelekum did not play had an injury, did not look serious as he was walking around normally and riding the bike. Talked to Coach Clemons about him and he said he is to be a presence inside, a legitimate inside guy. Matthew Mortinson will probably not see the floor, did not play in the scrimmage.
Miles Rubin. first he is a pretty polished player, the moment did not seem to big for him. He handles the ball well, shoots the ball well, ran the high pick and roll well..and threw down a couple nice dunks. He got schooled by Welch however several times defensively. So could he play and be in the lineup? maybe but I think he has a rookie learning scale to climb especially on defense..He is not as skinny as I thought but probably still needs to put on some pounds. Coach Clemons says he has put on 10 already since graduation. Miles Rubin was a good get and by next year will be a cog in the wheel..this year? may see some minutes.

RETURNING GUYS
Jayden Dawson is completely healed and physically looks ready for A10 play. Handled the ball well, defended well..did not get any 3s off but know from last year has that ability. I expect to see him get at least 10 minutes a game.
Jalen Quinn, I thought Jalen was the most improved and most impressive player in the scrimmage, He got to the hoop anytime he wanted and finished with a really quick first step. He also looks to now have an A10 body. Got to meet his parents, super nice people. He called me Sir...that was a case of mistaken identity!
Sheldon Edwards. Looked to be fully recovered from any of his injuries last year. Kind of disappeared in the scrimmage but made a couple defensive mistakes..I think this is what keeps him off the court as he is a real 3 point threat still.
NOrris was Norris...obvious leader of the team
Welch. Tom looks like he has reached his physical limit and plays like a true center. He made positive things happen when he was on the floor. Best of the big man passers and finisher around the rim. everything seems a little calmer with him on the floor. He really schooled Miles Rubin a couple of times in the classic veteran vs rookie match up.
Phil Alston seems to have refined his game. several times he stopped a drive and kicked the ball back to open guys for 3s..I guess better decision making is how I would put it. He also nailed a couple of NBA 3s. They also isolated him down low whenever he got a mismatch. The guy is a presence.
Ben Schwieger did not show much in the scrimmage..but hey it is one scrimmage a full month away from the season. but looked a little heavier his minutes may be down this year?
I have always rooted for Trey Lewis but he may have to wait a year as well to make his contribution, He put on some weight but still needs to pick up on defense. Also looked a little unconfident He was big time in high school as a scorer now needs to go both ways.

OVERALL
overall this team seems to be better prepared physically and skill wise for the A10. Our young guys who made mistakes last year are better, Dawson and Quinn are not going to get bullied nor will they make unconfident turnovers. We now have several guys to handle the ball and share the duty with Mr. Norris. Nolan,Watson, Dawson and Quinn should all be able to handle the ball. We may see more of Brendon off the ball. He hit a couple lightening release 3s in the scrimmage. He is our best 3 point shooter.
We are going to be more physical inside with Mwamba and Adelekun and Welch and maybe Rubin and our guards are just more physical and taller.
It appears that Coach wants to return to the run and gun we saw at the start of last year. whether we can manage it without making all the turnovers we made last year remains to be seen...and when you move that fast on offense it is tough to be organized on defense...it is the opposite of Moserball...
More dependable depth than last year for sure and at the pace of the scrimmage we may see a 10 man rotation...and also the ability to mix and match with what we need against a certain team.
Not sure what the A10 will look like this year but we are better prepared physically and mentally for A10 play and should win more games.
Bottom line this is a really good bunch of kids that we can be proud our representing our LU

I agree with Nate regarding Jalen being most improved. When he was paired up with Braden, Jalen handled the ball most of the time, freeing up Braden to shoot. I expect more offensive output with this combo.

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Let's go Braden!

Open practice was fun. I agree with others that Quinn looks so improved. Mwamba impressed me with size and athleticism. Dolan looks like a Braden clone, but bigger. Miles Rubin looks good out there and shows he can play. I am so happy to have local talent stay home and hopefully do well for themselves and the program. Miles is my pick to click as a difference maker. Seems to me he can be a quick learner to get the defense down in time.
I didn’t get to see Dame on the floor today, but he is huge! Watson also seems a good fit w/us.
Lineups? Just the thought makes me dizzy…. Can’t wait for Nov 8. I hope we get a lot of students to Wintrust for the game.