Blue White Recap

Wow. That wasn't what I expected.

Based on previous year versions of the Blue White Scrimmage, I figured that there would be three ten-minute segments. I figured that the Blue would be more of the first unit for the first segment, there would be a switch or two for the second segment, and the third segment would be with all players mixed together.

That is what we got.

The result is what surprised me.

The White - consisting of six players you would expect to come off of Coach Milan Brown's bench ran the Blue with the anticipated five starters ragged in that opening segment. A 27-10 beatdown that left me almost at a loss for words.

Credit senior Will Holland and sophomore Lamar Trice with providing much of the damage. Holland knocked down three open threes, and Trice ran the offense with efficiency consistently getting into the paint and making wise decisions. He finished when he needed to and dished when he should have. All in all, the offense that the white employed worked a lot more than that of the blue. The Blue had some shots that normally would go down, but the white was crisper and got more open looks. And they made the shots when they had them.

The Blue recovered a little bit in the second stanza. Jeremy Goode handed out four or five assists during that segment and knocked down a three-pointer to boot as the Blue controlled that segment. His behind the back pass that Kelly Beidler finished with a soaring left-handed slam was the highlight of the night.

During that second segment, the Blue got everyone involved a little bit more. And the let the basketball do a lot of the work, moving it quickly around the floor, and seeming to make that extra pass. It was during that segment, that I thought Goode could lead the nation in assists this season. He has the game and the teammates to do that. And the team seems to play better when he is a playmaker and not a scorer. Now don't get me wrong, he can still score the basketball. But this is the type of team that can have four or five guys in double figures and anyone of them having a big night. Goode is the catalyst to make that all happen.

And his backup sure proved that he seems much better suited to handle the role than he did during his freshman campaign. Trice played hard. He played with a confidence and a passion that we never really saw in his freshman season.

Holland shot the ball extremely well. He knocked down the jumpers that weren't falling a year ago. He seemed to look for the shot and was ready to catch and shoot. He has the ability to be a key component for this team and tonight proved that he should not be forgotten about.

I also liked the play of Danny Thompson. The post player is still a little rusty, but two years of injuries will do that. Still he flashed a little bit of ability offensively and I think he may become a key factor in the team as the season develops.

The freshman Kristian Krajina made one open three-pointer, he missed his other attempt. But he has a great looking shot and gets rid of it fairly quickly. He also showed some good post moves. He is still trying to get back to full strength after his knee injury of last year.

Dave Golladay the other recruited freshman to suit up seems to have the ability to do a lot of things. He is very athletic. I was impressed with him, and figure this could be a good year for him to learn the college game and work on his jump shot.

I know many Mount fans have been concerned about what type of depth this team will exhibit. I came away from today's scrimmage encouraged by some guys who I hadn't seen before in the past.

We all know that Goode, Beidler, Cajou and Shawn Atupem can play. We weren't sure what contribution would come from Thompson, Krajina and Trice off the bench. We knew that Holland would play hard and could be counted on for solid minutes, but when he makes those jumpers he adds an extra dimension. It was good to see them go in today.

The regular season starts two weeks from Saturday in Norman against the Sooners. Coach Milan Brown and his staff got to see plenty in today's intra squad scrimmage to work on between now and then. You can be sure they'll get to work on it tommorrow afternoon.

Other reports on the scrimmage:

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