Minnesota Sports Forum

Thanks for the report Lip. I just finished watching the game.

I'll post some thoughts here before I go back to the game thread.

Jim Peterson made a comp of Sean Elliott for Culver. I decided to look up a bit of video and some stats. I can see where he is coming from its an interesting comp. I can see some similarities in the way they pay. the Comp I thought of was actually a sort of different one. Tyus Jones. When Tyus was in the game people said the ball was faster. It wasn't until the offense started. Tyus often brought up the ball slower especially if he had a PG that picked up him early. HE can't just blow past anyone. Meanwhile Tyus just knew what he was doing. Culver isn't as gifted as Tyus at running a team but he looks to have some savy beyond his years and does things that dont require quick twitch abilities. Obviously He has more size and able to play more positions so he doesn't have to he a PG but it would be nice. He has been solid out there.

Naz on that block basically was pulling down the guy from the back. LOL he played well.

One thing I will say about the competition is they had some fringe NBA players on the roster. Norris Cole Brandon Rush Young are guys that are just outside being in the NBA. Down the stretch when the Wolves were playing deep bench guys the other teams still was playing their main guys so...Eh.

I'd guess martin has some sort of minor injury. The end of this one they had a bunch of ball handlers in there he could have been in there. If he isn't hurt...I have no idea.

Wigginton looked interesting. He showed ability to score and his athletic ability looked legit. He will be in Iowa and that team should be pretty fun to watch.

Lip I saw a few times Nowell was beat fairly easily he didn't give up on the play but I saw something different than you did. We could have been looking at different plays. I'm pretty sure neither of us was locked in on him the whole time he was in there. =) I like him though for alot of the same reasons you mentioned.

Graham is gonna be playing rotation minutes for this team. The guy he sorta reminds me of is a Deng replacement. Solid does stuff but not too much. He obviously isn't the same guy but a consistent player like that would be a surprising factor for this team.

One thing that should be forgotten about Vonleh is his ability to help as a rebounder.

Napier had a good game.

There is probably more but I will head over to the game thread now.

EDIT

I don't think Okogie's offense is coming around at all. I'm starting to wonder if it ever will. I think he can and will defend but on offense he is out of control but able to make a pass...Bazz. I see a reasonably good outcome as a premium defender with Corey Brewer's offensive game. That's actually probably a worthwhile starting wing in the the league. I don't really have any real interest in moving him but if it brought a young All-star level player in a trade I would seriously consider cashing in on Okogie right now. Thats just the way I am feeling right now.

Murphy and Wigginton were waived today. Sounds like they are going to be signed for Iowa. Wolves signed Bruce Bowen and Tyus Battle to exhibit 10 contracts today also

leado01 wrote:I will say it was great to see Jake Layman block a shot on one end, and get out ahead of the fast break on the other end and take a great pass from Napoer

That was fun to see. Layman and Nowell both impressed me with their defense last night. And Layman is definitely a high level athlete.

This team has some young talent. I'm still not expecting more than 32 wins from the Wolves this season and I could easily see the team end up with no more than 27. But there is some hope over the horizon if a few of these young guys develop to their full potential. And there's always the chance that a couple of them break through in a big way this season. I see Culver, Okogie, Graham and Layman having the best chance to break through by the second half of this season. Actually, Graham looks ready to make an impact right away. But I wouldn't write off Vonleh or Reid.

lipoli390 wrote:

leado01 wrote:I will say it was great to see Jake Layman block a shot on one end, and get out ahead of the fast break on the other end and take a great pass from Napoer

That was fun to see. Layman and Nowell both impressed me with their defense last night. And Layman is definitely a high level athlete.

This team has some young talent. I'm still not expecting more than 32 wins from the Wolves this season and I could easily see the team end up with no more than 27. But there is some hope over the horizon if a few of these young guys develop to their full potential. And there's always the chance that a couple of them break through in a big way this season. I see Culver, Okogie, Graham and Layman having the best chance to break through by the second half of this season. Actually, Graham looks ready to make an impact right away. But I wouldn't write off Vonleh or Reid.

The thing I like about Graham is he isn't just a scrappy 3 and D type. He can handle the ball enough to push it up the floor, attack more than just a straight line drive and dribble out of a paper bag without making it rustle too much. He isn't a scorer but he has enough to be a threat and keep things moving. Okogie could learn some things from him...