There were lots of viewing options last night.  NLCS Game 7.  Monday Night Football.  Presidential Debate.  {Ridiculous reality show inserted here for juxtapositional laughs}

I chose grainy internet feed from Assembly Hall.  Which, by the way, was weird with no announcers.  Squeaky sneakers squeaky sneakers squeaky sneakers MYYYYKE HENNNNNRY squeaky sneakers squeaky sneakers.  It was an odd way to watch a game.

But don’t get me wrong – I loved that I was able to.  About 3:30 in the afternoon yesterday, I considered bailing on work and driving up for the scrimmage.  Thankfully, I never cancelled my All Access pass from the scrimmages last year (I don’t even want to know what I’ve been paying per month), so I hopped online and was able to listen to squeaky sneakers.

Here’s some quick thoughts on each guy:

DJ Richardson – I thought DJ was the most impressive guy on the floor.  Impressive in terms of aggression, mostly.  DJ wasn’t Floaty Hang Around The Perimeter Guy last night.  He got after it.  Best stat of the night: we shot 25 free throws between the two teams, and DJ had 10 of them.

Brandon Paul – BP3 was kind of Floaty Hang Around The Perimeter Guy last night.  Granted, it’s a scrimmage, and they’re changing jerseys and teams every quarter, so it’s not like we can read a lot into the flow of the game.  But DJ was clearly more aggressive than Brandon.

Tyler Griffey – I was really hoping to see more from Tyler.  I was fully prepared to write this post with lots of “he’s going to be the perfect Stretch Four for this new offense”.  But he was just OK.  In fact, if we’re talking fours, I maybe liked McLovin a little better.

Nnanna Egwu – Star of the game in my book. I’m a huge fan of bigs who use their wingspan to get a hand on this pass here or that rebound there.  If they can out-reach everyone on the court, I want them disrupting everything.  And Egwu did that.  And hit a few jumpers.  And grabbed some rebounds we might not have grabbed last year.  He still has a ways to go on post moves and such, but as of right now, he might be as irreplaceable as anyone on the roster.  Meaning, if he were to transfer, we’d be in big trouble the next few seasons.

McLovin – No, I will not refer to him as Sam McLaurin.  He’s McLovin from now until he graduates.  I kind of like where he fits in our rotation of bigs.  John Groce has been talking a lot about starting Henry at the 4 with Egwu at the 5, and if that’s the case, I like Griffey to come in as the stretch four and Shaw as the bouncy four and McLovin as the dirty work big.  I’d guess McLovin gets all the minutes at the 5 when Egwu is out.

Myke Henry – Probably the most intriguing player on the roster.  Overwhelmingly negative view: he never figures out defense, let alone how to defend a guy four inches taller than him, and because of that, he rarely plays.  Overwhelmingly positive view: he’s a nightmare for Big Ten opponents at the four with his scoring ability and athleticism.  And he uses that athleticism to become a solid post defender and rebounder.

Joseph Bertrand – I don’t really remember much from Joe in this scrimmage other than “hey, JoeBert hit a three… hey, JoeBert hit ANOTHER three.”  If he can grow his range, he can be a very dangerous offensive player.  If he can’t, and every defender plays five feet off of him and dares him to shoot from the outside, he’ll struggle to find his shots.

Tracy Abrams – I always find myself wanting more from Tracy while at the same time wanting him to get credit for all the little things he does.  I might keep a chart this year of Tracy Abrams Rebounds That No Guard Had Any Business Grabbing.  TARTNGHABG’s.  Bet he has 20 of them.

Devin Langford – I’m guessing Langford played in the scrimmage last year, but I have zero recollection of such.  Because of that, I’m treating this as the first time I’ve watched him play.  My thoughts.  He’s really tall for a wing.  And a bit of a chucker.  The end.

Mike Shaw – If this was a hockey game and I was picking three stars, I’d probably have Shaw as the third star (behind Nnanna and DJ).  Shaw made a couple passes that opened my eyes.  Like, in a “bigs don’t usually see that pass” kind of way.  And he was bouncy, too – pulled down 11 rebounds.  Next year’s team desperately needs Mike Shaw to be ready for 28 minutes per game.  Hopefully, he’s ready to be our 8th/9th man this year as well.

Rayvonte Rice – Speaking of players who will be needed next year, Drake transfer Rayvonte Rice will need to step into the void created by Brandon and DJ’s departure.  He’s also a bit of a chucker – maybe took two too many threes – but I’m a sucker for aggression.  And he had one play on defense where he anticipated a pass and tipped the ball away in the backcourt that showed he can maybe be a glue guy doing the little things in the next few years.  This year, though, he has to sit out.

Ibby Djimde – He had a nice up and under move on a pass from Tyler Griffey that showed he might be more than just a banger down low who trolls for putbacks.  But as of now, I still see him as a banger down low who trolls for putbacks.  And uses all five of his fouls.  Deliberately.

Mike LaTulip – You all know I’m a sucker for walkons, right?  Well, put LaTulip on the “might contribute down the road” list.  I like his stroke (very hold-both-hands-high-after-the-release Sean Harrington-y), and he seems to be able to handle the ball a bit.  Long way to go to find the court, obviously, but I think this kid is more in the Nate Mast category and less the late-game-Krush-calling-his-name kind.