Marquette Nation has been starved for basketball content since MU’s run to the Sweet 16 came to a not-so-sweet conclusion. Thursday Night offered a few hundred fans a first look at the 24-25 squad. I was lucky enough to be in attendance and because I’m a nerd I videoed the whole practice so I could break it down later and offer some of my observations. Of course, seeing is a lot more exciting than reading so be sure to check out Andrei’s compilation of videos from the open practice. Also if you prefer the observations of a trained sports journalist (and want to encourage the continued spectacular MUBB coverage by the MJS) be sure to read Ben Steele’s spectacular summary of the event.
The Format:
Unlike past open practices, this was pretty much just an open scrimmage. There were a few minutes of warm-up drills at the beginning before the team divided into Blue and Gold squads for 2 12-minute halves of scrimmage. This wasn’t quite a real game simulation. Dead balls were mostly checked to the possessing team rather than having them run in-bounds plays (though Shaka did have them in bounds a few times). At the end, Shaka added more time to the clock so the teams could work on active play rather than the game becoming a free throw shooting contest.
The Stats:
As mentioned I watched my video of the practice afterward and made an unofficial box score. I am not a trained scorekeeper and while I tried to capture everything, it would not surprise me if I missed something here or there. So take all subsequent stats with a grain of salt. I’m pretty sure I got them right but apologize for any small errors.
The Blue Team:
Kam Jones: 10 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 1 defensive rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls committed, 3 fouls drawn, 4/4 2P, 0/1 3P, 2/2 FT. Don’t let the modest scoring numbers fool you, Kam is still elite in that department. Kam had either a self-imposed or Shaka-imposed mandate to focus on creating for others instead of creating for himself. Kam did not attempt a single shot in the first half. In the second half, he mostly deferred but in the final minutes, he decided it was winning time and effortlessly got to the hoop for four near uncontested layups including two and 1s. Kam is the clear starting PG for this year’s team. He would have had more than 3 assists but his teammates could not hit a three to save their lives last night.
Stevie Mitchell: 12 points, 1 offensive rebound, 0 defensive rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 3 fouls committed, 2 fouls drawn, 4-5 2P, 0-2 3P, 4-4 FT. Stevie looks bigger and stronger and played very much like the tornado he was last season. He was disruptive, blowing up drives and deflecting lazy passes. Opportunistic in his offense converting all but one of his 2P attempts. Couldn’t find his 3P shot last night. Stevie looks like a clear starter whose minutes will only be restricted by his high-intensity style of play.
Zaide Lowery: 10 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 5 defensive rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 0 fouls committed, 0 fouls drawn, 5-7 from 2P, 0-2 3P, 0-0 FT. Zaide looks like he has taken another step physically. He was very aggressive on the boards and always in the right position. Zaide thrived in transitions as the beneficiary of several run-out plays. While he didn’t get any steals or blocks, he showed that he was a plus defender. Always stayed in front of his man and did so without fouling. Lowery certainly looked like he is going to have an increased role and will be an every-game member of the rotation.
Al Amadou: 5 points, 2 offensive rebounds, 0 defensive rebounds, 0 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls committed, 2 fouls drawn, 1-2 2P, 0-2 3P, 3-3 FT. The biggest surprise about Amadou from last night is that he was not playing like a forward but was rather out on the wing. Defensively, Amadou looked like he belonged. He stayed in front of guys like Ross and Owens more often than not and got his hands on a few passes. Offensively, Amadou had a nice offensive board and putback for an and 1. He also caught a nice pass from Gold that led to him getting to the foul line. Both of those happened early in the second half. Outside of that Amadou didn’t show much on that end. He missed badly on two threes and didn’t have any drives to the hoop. It felt a bit like 4 on 5 when he was on offense. I could see Amadou having a specialist role this season when we need to contain a quick guard using Amadou’s length.
Ben Gold: 8 points, 2 offensive rebounds, 3 defensive rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls committed, 1 foul drawn, 0-2 2P, 2-7 3P, 2-2 FT. Ben started the game showing an increased ability to put the ball on the floor. He had a nice drive that led to a scoop layup that bounced on the rim 3-4 times before rolling out. He also took a defensive rebound coast to coast before getting fouled at the hoop. He also had a great drive that led to a pocket pass to Clark who unfortunately fumbled what would have been an easy dunk. After that Ben reverted back to his style from last season, floating out to the perimeter and running the pick-and-pop with Kam. Gold hit his first and his last three but there were unfortunately 5 misses in between. All the shots but one looked like they were going in, so hopefully those go down for him. Defensivily it was hard to judge Gold. He never allowed Hamilton or Parham to score inside but it’s unclear if that was his defense or their offense that caused that. As expected, Ben looks like the clear starting C.
Josh Clark: 0 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 0 defensive rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 0 fouls committed, 0 fouls drawn, 0-0 2P, 0-0 3P, 0-0 FT. Clark played the least of the 12 active players, which isn’t surprising given his redshirt. Clark is extremely long, extremely thin, and seems to move pretty well. Clark’s lone highlight was some freshman-on-freshman crime when he swatted a Damarius Owens pullup out of the air. On offense, the Blue team tried to get him a pocket pass and threw him a few lobs but unfortunately, he bobbled all of them, resulting in 2 turnovers and no shot attempts.
Blue Team Total: 45 points, 5 offensive boards, 11 defensive boards, 4 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks, 11 turnovers, 9 fouls committed, 8 fouls drawn, 14/20 2P, 2-14 3P, 11-11 FT
The Gold Team:
Tre Norman: 7 points, 1 offensive rebound, 2 defensive rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 0 fouls committed, 1 foul drawn, 2/4 2P, 1/2 3P, 0/0 FT. After the first half, I found myself asking questions about Norman’s role on the team. Norman was playing his usual brand of very good but not flashy defense but he had 0 points including a badly missed layup after a forced drive. Most concerning was that Norman wasn’t bringing the ball up for the Gold Team, Owens was. If the staff view Owens as a PG, what role does that leave for Tre? Tre answered those questions in the second half scoring 7 points and dishing out two dimes. Tre hit a rhythm three, had a drive where he dissected the defense before finishing with a spin to the hoop for a layup, and had a nice heads-up play where a timely cut bailed out a trapped Joplin and gave him an uncontested layup. Norman is a good steadying presence. He defends well and does it without fouling. He also plays mostly mistake-free on the offensive end. He’s not flashy but if he gives 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists a game, we would be very happy. Norman looks to be another key member of the rotation.
Chae Ross: 10 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 2 defensive rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul committed, 2 fouls drawn, 2/2 2P, 1/3 3P, 3/3 FT. In case you were worried, Chase Ross still hates the rim. The two loudest dunks of the night belonged to Ross as he absolutely unloaded twice in transition, once uncontested, the other in traffic. Chase’s three-point shot looked good though only 1 of 3 went down. While we know Ross has elite athleticism, I still have questions about his handle. He hasn’t shown an ability yet to break down a half-court defense. He’s electric in transition but the next step has to take the form of driving against a set half-court defense. Defensively, Chase looked like the same bear trap that we know and love. His one block was a key one as he got a paw on Kam Jones’ lone 3P attempt of the night leading to a 30-second violation. Chase figures to make the jump from 6th man to starter this season.
David Joplin: 10 points, 1 offensive rebound, 0 defensive rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers, 1 foul committed, 5 fouls drawn, 2/6 2P, 1/3 3P, 3/3 FT. Joplin had a very different first and second half. In the first half, Joplin scored 8 points leading the Gold team. Joplin also attempted 7 shots in the first half which was half of the 14 shots attempted by the Gold team that half. In the second half, Joplin deferred to his teammates and Gold’s offense flourished. Joplin made two free throws in the second half while dishing out three assists. The thing I liked most from Joplin was that he managed to draw five fouls. Getting to the foul line was a weakness of Marquette’s last season that I’m hoping can be remedied this season. Joplin certainly looks like he’ll hold on to his starting spot this season but he may get pushed by the next guy.
Damarius Owens: 12 points, 1 offensive rebound, 6 defensive rebounds, 0 assists, 4 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls committed, 1 foul drawn, 3/6 2P, 2/4 3P, 0/0 FT. Owens was easily the MVP of the scrimmage. The freshman from Ohio tied with Stevie to lead all scorers, lead all rebounders by 2 boards, and had the most steals in a game full of them. Owens brought the ball up more than anyone else on the Gold Team. Owens is listed at 6’7″ but looked just as tall as Joplin who MU lists at 6’8″. It’s hard not to get excited about 6’7″ primary ball handler. Owens didn’t get any assists but he initiated the offense and created for himself on a couple of occasions. He has a quick release on his shot that he should be able to get off against Big East-level defenses. Owens was everywhere on the boards and has jump-out-of-the-gym hops. He put back his lone offensive rebound before his feet came back down. On defense he is disruptive. He was aggressive on passing lanes and had a few deflections on top of his 4 steals. The only damper on his performance is that he picked up two fouls pretty early and then his third early in the second half. While fouls were being called, it didn’t seem like there were going to be foul outs so Owens stayed in the game despite the foul trouble. In a real game, he may have been forced to sit. It’s hard to imagine Shaka starting Owens over any of the five upperclassmen who are projected to start, but if tonight’s performance is repeatable across a whole season, it will be hard to keep Owens off the court.
Royce Parham: 5 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 1 defensive rebound, 0 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers, 1 foul committed, 0 fouls drawn, 1/2 2P, 1/1 3P, 0/0 FT. Royce Parham had a very good 10 seconds. In the second half, Norman found Parham open in the corner for a catch and shoot three. A few seconds later, Kam made a lazy pass to Ben which Parham intercepted and took the other way for an uncontested dunk. It was a big swing in momentum that really helped the gold team. Outside that 10 seconds, Parham only managed a rebound, 3 turnovers, a foul, and a heavily contested missed layup. Defensively, Parham was lost at times which should be expected for a true freshmen performing in front of fans for the first time. All in all, Parham flashed his potential but seems likely to be towards the back of the rotation.
Caedin Hamilton: 0 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 1 defensive rebound, 0 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls committed, 0 fouls drawn, 0/0 2P, 0/0 3P, 0/0 FT. Caedin had the roughest night of anyone on the court. Defensively he looked pretty solid. He didn’t back down from Gold, he moved well for his size, and he poked a couple of passes away to create transition opportunities. His highlight was a nice block from behind on a Gold layup attempt. Offensively, Hamilton looked like he didn’t want the ball. Hamilton was quick to pass whenever it came to him and unfortunately, his passes were picked off all night. His 5 turnovers were as much as the 5 turnovers that his teammates Tre, Chase, Jop, and Owens combined for. Additionally, Hamilton didn’t manage a single FGA. There was an opportunity for Caedin early in the first half when he had Stevie isolated in the low post. Rather than backing down the much smaller defender, Hamilton quickly passed it off. Still, pundits like Rothstein and Shaka himself have been pumping Hamilton as the pick for Gold’s backup. A lackluster performance in a meaningless scrimmage, isn’t going to change that.
Gold Team Total: 44 points, 3 offensive rebounds, 12 defensive rebounds, 8 assists, 10 steals, 2 blocks, 13 turnovers, 8 fouls committed, 9 fouls drawn, 10-20 2P, 6-13 3P, 6-6 FT
Paint Touches 
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