Newcomer Report

[Blers]

Always like hearing how Valley newcomers are performing as non-con enters it's third week. Here's the Loyola report:

Aher Uguak- Struggling a bit to be honest; great athlete, but seems to be in his head and playing way too tight. Had a nice showing against Niagra with a poster dunk though. I would almost say his skill set is that of a discount Milik Yarbrough; but the confidence isn't there right now. Similar body type, not a great shooter (thus far), does his best work getting to the rim/put backs etc. Has shown the ability to pass but at this point is turnover prone. IF he can relax he'll be a good player.

Cooper Kaifes- Great shooter early on; he's bound to cool off but as of now he's 8-11 from 3. He's had two great games against UMKC and Grambling going for 19 and 10 points. He already understands making the extra pass, and only has taken good shots thus far. Defense is a work in progress, but he's made some strides in two weeks.

Isaiah Bujdoso- After last night, Bujdoso is potentially our most game ready freshman (11 points against Richmond). Custer went out of the Richmond game last night with foul trouble and the team went on a tear with Bujdoso out there; really good on ball defender out there, rock solid handles at 6'4 and excellent finishing around the rim. He's also had a couple of really nice passes for wide open bucks. Reminds me a lot of Williamson with a better inside game (though after yesterday Williamson may have expanded his game more than most thought). Bujdoso is gonna be a good one.

Frank Agunanne- At this point he's pretty foul prone, but just a physically massive presence inside. When he doesn't foul he's forced some really bad shots by opponents with his size, also had a massive block against Grambling and hustles hard for a big and is very vocal a lot like Krutwig. Offense is a work in progress, though he's farther along than I expected. He's going to be an elite rebounder before his career over.

[BCPanther]

UNI--

AJ Green--As advertised. Some things to clean up as far as defense and taking care of the ball. Just shy of 20 PPG at this point and he is running the team. Kid is embracing the hype and playing really, really well. It'll be a massive upset if he's not Freshman of the Year and should find himself on one of the all conference teams barring injury.

Trae Berhow--Has started every game and has been UNIs leading rebounder so far. Plays with tons of energy but hasn't shot it well to this point. Can tell he's trying too hard at this point. We'll see if he stays in the lineup once Pickford is off his minute restriction. Still a lot of positives and two more years of eligibility.

Biggie Goldman--Has played in every game and minutes are increasing. Smooth player. Still needs work on defense as he's not the strongest guy in the world. Played well in the Virgin Islands. Should continue to be a solid contributor going forward.

Tray Croft--Redshirting

[Bradleyfan1]

Far as Bradley goes.

Boya: injured but we project him to be a real force inside.

Brummet: deep reserve for now, solid defender ,good athlete.

Henry: Missed a game due to injury but has been the best newcomer so far. Aggressive, finisher at the rim, if he misses he follows it. High energy.

Henry and Brummett I think will be real good in two years.

Boya hopefully winds up Newcomer of the year. Waiting for him is brutal.

[ACECARD]

Always like hearing how Valley newcomers are performing as non-con enters it's third week. Here's the Loyola report:

Aher Uguak- Struggling a bit to be honest; great athlete, but seems to be in his head and playing way too tight. Had a nice showing against Niagra with a poster dunk though. I would almost say his skill set is that of a discount Milik Yarbrough; but the confidence isn't there right now. Similar body type, not a great shooter (thus far), does his best work getting to the rim/put backs etc. Has shown the ability to pass but at this point is turnover prone. IF he can relax he'll be a good player.

Cooper Kaifes- Great shooter early on; he's bound to cool off but as of now he's 8-11 from 3. He's had two great games against UMKC and Grambling going for 19 and 10 points. He already understands making the extra pass, and only has taken good shots thus far. Defense is a work in progress, but he's made some strides in two weeks.

Isaiah Bujdoso- After last night, Bujdoso is potentially our most game ready freshman (11 points against Richmond). Custer went out of the Richmond game last night with foul trouble and the team went on a tear with Bujdoso out there; really good on ball defender out there, rock solid handles at 6'4 and excellent finishing around the rim. He's also had a couple of really nice passes for wide open bucks. Reminds me a lot of Williamson with a better inside game (though after yesterday Williamson may have expanded his game more than most thought). Bujdoso is gonna be a good one.

Frank Agunanne- At this point he's pretty foul prone, but just a physically massive presence inside. When he doesn't foul he's forced some really bad shots by opponents with his size, also had a massive block against Grambling and hustles hard for a big and is very vocal a lot like Krutwig. Offense is a work in progress, though he's farther along than I expected. He's going to be an elite rebounder before his career over.

Man, would I hate to be a play-by-play guy doing one of your games.

[tribecalledquest]

Far as Bradley goes.

Boya: injured but we project him to be a real force inside.

Brummet: deep reserve for now, solid defender ,good athlete.

Henry: Missed a game due to injury but has been the best newcomer so far. Aggressive, finisher at the rim, if he misses he follows it. High energy.

Henry and Brummett I think will be real good in two years.

Boya hopefully winds up Newcomer of the year. Waiting for him is brutal.

The Newcomer of the Year is AJ Green. The only race is for who finishes second.

[DUBulldog]

For Drake:

Nick Norton (grad transfer) averaging 16.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.0 apg, 69% from field, 62% from 3-pt. Pretty sure he'll be on all-newcomer team

Brady Ellingson (grad transfer) 7.7 ppg, really struggling with his shot thus far (5-20 from 3)

Tremell Murphy (JC) 9.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg

Anthony Murphy (JC) 8 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Liam Robbins (Fr) 5.3 ppg 9 fouls in 31 minutes

One more newcomer will start playing lots of minutes soon. It will be either Roman Penn or Garrett Sturtz. They're both in a holding pattern now. Penn is a transfer from Siena, and Drake has filed an appeal to get him eligible this season. If he is eligible, Sturtz will redshirt. If he isn't, Sturtz will play alot. They're holding Sturtz out now because they don't want to lose the ability to redshirt him if Penn can play. I hope the NCAA decides real soon.

Freshman Matt Gray is redshirting.

[sixth ace]

For Evansville
Shea Feehan #21 averaging 15 points a game shooting @ 44% from 3 point line and 44% overall 6 steals 5 assists and 8 t/o
Shamar Givance #5 shooting @ 35%overall and 20% from 3. 15 assists, 2 steals, with 8 turnovers Plays @18 minutes a game
Juwaun Newton #3 shooting @46% in 3 games getting 16 minutes a game averaging 4.3 points per game 2 steals 2 assists 3 steals and 3 t/o

the other 3 newcomers are out this year per NCAA rulings.