UNI exhibition

[Wufan]

Sounds like UNI had a nice performance in their blowout win. Buss and Olivier might be real contributors this year. Both have a lot of size and skill and could push the Panthers ceiling significantly.

[Khan4Cats]

The Valley clearly has nothing to worry about with the Panthers.

Conditioning is clearly a problem as the four returning starters (Sonnen, Mitchell, Koch and Tuttle) plus Chip Rank were only able to go 63 minutes combined and we had to rely heavily on newcomers to play.

Our defense is nowhere near at the level of past teams as an NAIA team with only one player bigger than 6'7" was able to put up 33 points in the second half against our tired reserves and 48 overall including shooting 50% from 3 point land on us.

Offensively we were bailed out by 18 points from sophomore G/F Nate Buss who played only about 8 minutes in two games before being lost for the season with an injury as well as 9 points from Marvin Singleton and another 8 from Chris Olivier (who led the team with 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots).

Just not the kind of performance one would expect from a team expecting to compete for the top third in the Valley and possibly even position itself for an NCAA bid.

[Wufan]

Did Buss, Singleton and Olivier look legit or was it the level of competition?

[UNIFanSince1983]

I was not at the game, but it sounded promising from what I have heard. Granted it was an NAIA DII team, but they were in the tournament last year. I think Nate Buss will give teams trouble this year. He is a legitimate 6'8 wing. I hope Olivier is as good as it sounds like he looked yesterday.

Again I wish I could talk more about this game, but I was not there. I am not sure how much we learned because of the level of competition. I think we can find out more next Sunday when we play Northern State as I think they should be a little better than Briar Cliff, but I don't know for sure.

[PantherSigEp]

Buss definitely looked as good as people are saying. Those workouts with Farokhmanesh this summer looked to be paying dividends as his shots from last exhibition season (before his injury) to now looked much better and he drained nearly every one. We saw him go to the hoop, pull up midway and hit from long range. It'll be interesting to see how he does with a more athletic Valley defender on him but it was very promising IMO.

Singleton and Olivier still haven't sold me. Singleton was able to make some good scoring plays due to his own athleticism but he also had a few silly mistakes. He needs to be more comfortable on the floor in order to be more effective. I think he is struggling with his role as a 3. But he isn't a F and big enough to play the 4/5 so I think he'll need to keep at it and grow into that role. I doubt he'll really see as many meaningful minutes this season as many of us hoped.

Olivier still doesn't even look completely comfortable in his body as he just played a bit out of control at times. Still may be a year away from being a big-time contributor, but after some of the things I had been hearing about him going into this game I was left optimistic on him. His big body and post abilities could be very valuable off the bench if he keeps progressing throughout the year and there were several times where he made a mistake, whether it was a missed pass, a travel or foul, missed assignment, and he went to a teammate or an official and asked them exactly what he did wrong. His maturity and work ethic have been questioned in the last year but that showed me something.

I'm not sure the depth of meaningful minutes is as deep as UNI fans thought but I see around 8-9 players getting solid minutes on the floor each game and then guys like Martino, Pehl, Olivier and Singleton coming in and providing some relief.

[valleychamp]

Buss looked very good. Olivier still is pretty raw, and has a ways to go. Singleton looked good, but not great.

I expect Buss to be an important player for UNI this year.

[Wufan]

An effective 6-9 stretch 4 or wing forward will be a big plus for UNI.

Does Buss have the quickness to play SF against the athletic 6-5 wings he will see on occasion?

[unifight789]

Olivier is very raw but if he pans out. Watch out. Big, Strong, Athletic, very long arms, and pretty good offensive game and shot blocking ability. Doesnt have the best hands in the world. Id bet on about 10 minutes a game from him this year.

The only problem with Buss may be his quickness and on ball defense against athletic wings. He's quick for that size but still. But that guy is an offensive machine.

A lot of people say that Singleton still looks like hes lost and is a ways away but I really think coach Jake likes him. He was in the first rotation (ahead of both buss and olivier) and it was apparently down to him, bohannon, and martino for the other starting spot (bohannon got it)

Bohannon will be a solid player this year. Isnt going to be flashy but he can really shoot.

[uniftw]

An effective 6-9 stretch 4 or wing forward will be a big plus for UNI.

Does Buss have the quickness to play SF against the athletic 6-5 wings he will see on occasion?

I see him playing a role very similar to that of Kerwin Dunham during his time at UNI (07/08-10/11).

Kerwin was a 6'6 wing player. He didn't to a lot that stood out, and often was forgotten about by even UNI fans. To be honest, his stats aren't great (20 mpg, 3 ppg, 2 rpg, 1apg) but he often drew the assignment of some very good 2-4 men. Kerwin averaged something like 28 ppg in HS but became a defensive style player at UNI.


To me, Buss seems like an upgraded Kerwin. He is 2-3 inches taller, was just as effective in HS as a scorer (led the state in scoring his senior season, along with 11 boards and 3 blocks per game), and fits the same type of "mold". The difference is I think Nate's offense translates better into the college game. I don't think he is quick enough to guard the 2's like Kerwin did, but I think most wings he can "keep up" with on defense and create some match up problems on the other end.

I'm not expecting him to put up 10+ppg this year. However, I do see him in the 6-8 ppg and 4 rpg range type player this year. He easily could have games, with how well he shoots, where he goes for 15-20 and games where he is better off on the bench.


All that boils down to I see him as a Kerwin Dunham player this year....with a little more scoring.


Olivier is a player I can't get a read on. When he signed I was very excited. Then all the reports about lack of a work ethic came out and scared the piss out of me....however, it's clear that he wants to get better and wants to learn. By the end of the year he could be a important player for UNI, but he needs to adjust. He has a great amount of skill though. Once he gets comfortable with his body (yes, as it was said he still doesn't look comfortable with his 6'10 250lb frame) he will be dangerous.


Singleton I would like to see red-shirt this year. However, it sounds like he was in the final discussion for the final starting spot. He is very strong and very athletic....however, I don't know if he has the wing skills yet.

[Khan4Cats]

Did Buss, Singleton and Olivier look legit or was it the level of competition?

My post was in jest. The competition and the obvious coaching decision to try different combinations and work on things makes it very difficult to guage where the players are. I suspect that if we had played our regular rotation (minus the suspended James) that Briar Cliff would have been lucky to get to 30 points.

As for my take without the tongue-in-cheek approach:

Tuttle is stronger and should be able to stand a little more pounding this year. He could still use another 10-15 pounds to become a real force. Would love to have him attempting to convert and-ones this year rather than just the two free throw variety as he drew a ton of fouls last year.

Mitchell has lost weight and is quicker. Showed better understanding on defensive positioning and was more under control with his speed on the offensive end.

Koch looks to better than last year when he hadn't been able to condition in the full fashion most of the summer following ankle surgery.

Sonnen, Rank and Morrison look about the same as last year but only played limited time.

Pehl is Pehl. he'll eat a few minutes down low but I don't expect much more than a big body with 5 fouls to give.

Bohannon looked tight in his first collegiate action. You could see a noticeable change in demeanor after he made his first bucket in the second half and he followed that shortly with a nice pull up shot in traffic. He'll be a nice weapon at 6'5" with range.

Buss came in and took over the game in a short time frame. A rebound put-back in traffic, a dunk on a fast-break alley-oop and back to back treys (one set, one coming off a motion). He's another weapon that would have been nice to have last year as an instant offense-type. How much of a grasp of defense he gets will determine how much playing time he gets.

Olivier is a big body with some potential. It is a bit of a black hole once the ball goes inside to him, but he has some offensive skills. He also looked good on his two free throw attempts, but it's a small sample. On defense, he has good timing and is aggresive going after blocks and rebounds, but has a lot to learn and the more veteran posts will take advantage of him early in his career. But he has more upside than Pehl and if he works at it, could be really good by the time he's done. Gives us at least an inside threat when Tuttle needs a break.

Singleton was working at the 3/SF spot in our line-up. Not sure he's quick enough to handle the more guard-like 3's in the league, but some of the forwards he will match up with. Battles well inside for rebounds but is undersized for trying to score inside. Would like to see if he has an outside shot.

I really don't see Martino playing much but brief spells for defense. Rarely looks to shoot if ever.

AJ was in warm-ups on the bench but I don't expect much different from him this year though I hope his shot selection/percentage improves.