In Reply to: I like what I saw last night. 9 guys who can contribute… posted by Fuzzy on October 29, 2025 at 09:34:04
I agree with just about everything you’ve concluded, but let me add a few thoughts.
Let me start with the almost obligatory disclaimer, I know this was just an exhibition game. That said, sometimes these matchups give us a glimpse of what’s to come. For example, in last year’s exhibition against CSLA, it became painfully obvious that Harris wasn’t going to be the answer at center. He had a hard time competing even against Division II talent that day.
With that, here’s what I saw:
Biladeao – Man, he’s a bucket. When he gets rolling, he can score at will, inside, midrange, or from deep. When his confidence is high, he’s capable of All-American type performances. On the downside, he continues to be a defensive liability. Much has been said about his toughness or physicality, but what worries me more are his frequent assignment misses. How many times is he going to get beat backdoor? Still, we’re lucky to have him.
Dent – He’s good, really good. He can get into the paint whenever he wants, and he’ll live at the free throw line, though in a different way than Bazz. Where Bazz was begging for calls, other teams have to put hands on Dent just to keep him from scoring. He’s going to be a pleasure to watch. You can see he genuinely enjoys being out there. There’s no slowing this kid down.
Clark – What we saw at the end of last season seems to be carrying over. He looks fantastic. He’ll be our best defensive player, which says a lot given his size. Still, I believe he and Dent will form one of the best backcourts in the nation. Like Dent, he was getting to the rim at will and finishing beautifully off the glass.
Brown – Fans are going to love this kid. He can really shoot it, but what stands out even more is his motor. He’s a JJJ type player, relentless, always challenging for loose balls and crashing the boards. Fouls might be a recurring issue just because of how hard he plays, but he’s a nice addition. I had some concerns about his defense, but it didn’t look like an issue yesterday.
Booker – Very raw, but you can see the potential. We know he can shoot from deep, and he showed a soft touch around the rim. Still, he’s not comfortable down there yet. Even entry passes can turn into adventures, and he’s susceptible to steals if he puts it on the floor. He’s a long way from being a strong post player. He can rebound, but he’ll get outmuscled by stronger opponents. A definite work in progress, it’ll be interesting to see how he develops over the season.
Jamerson – A solid player. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, though he did block a shot or two. He’s quite thin, so there’s a concern he might get bullied in the post by stronger players in the conference.
There’s much more to say, and I suspect I’ll be adding more as we move along, but those were my strongest opinions from what I saw yesterday.
Oh, I also want to add it was great to see the student sections pretty full.