Impressions from the Summer League

Some Xavier Players were in action today in the semifinals of the Deveroes Summer League. The Deveroes League is what you expect from a Summer League, i.e. severe lack of defense, a few flashy dunks, and a lot of one on one play. Despite playing under severely different conditions than their normal defense oriented system under Sean Miller some of the Xavier players did have good games.
Derrick Brown:
After undoubtedly clearing some space on mantle for the hotly contested and highly prestigious Deveroes League MVP Award, Brown had a somewhat disappointing performance as his favored “Gameday Communications” team was upset. Brown well in man to man defensive situations, coming up with a few blocks and steals, yet was hurt by a lack of helpside defense on drives at times. After deferring to teammates for much of the first half, Brown was more demonstrative after halftime with his team down by double digits. He collected three of his customary eye popping dunks, but the more impressive aspect of his offensive game to me was his ability to put the ball on the floor with a better ability than he displayed last season. Brown was able to get to the rim against B.J. Raymond, UC’s Alvin Mitchell, and Kenny Frease. Many people have said that Brown is a jump shot away from the NBA, and Brown had said that he would focus on improving his range this summer. By my count Brown missed both of the jumpers that he took (not too many stats available for these games as you would expect). He looked good at the line, if that is any consolation. I promising sign is that Brown looked confident taking the jumpers, as opposed to a look of “Well if you are not going to cover me then I will shoot this I guess” on his long range shots last year. Once Brown became aggressive in the second half he seemed to be able to score at will, the only problem was he did not focus on his own game until it was too late for is team to come back.
Mark “Cheeks” Lyons
This was my first opportunity to see Lyons and I came away thinking that the scouting reports on Lyons were accurate. Lyons can score his points. He has a great first step and can blow by a lot of defenders. Once he gets to the rim he showed great athleticism to be able to finish. The most notable finish of his day was a posterizing dunk right in the face of Alvin Mitchell. Lyons did handle the point guard responsibilities for his team, although that basically entailed dribbling up the floor and passing to a wing. He looked good on a high pick and roll with Derrick Brown, getting to the rim and being fouled. The pick and roll is a vital part of Xavier’s offense, so Lyons being able to negotiate the high screen effectively is important. Lyons’ jump shot is suspect at best. Neither of his two three point attempts were anywhere close, and he seemed to be tentative to look for anything from the outside after that. His shot is very long, but difficult to block since he brings the ball up over his head before releasing. I suspect that the Xavier coaching staff will have a lot to say about his mechanics, but don’t expect him to be firing up too many threes this season. Lyons is a solid on ball defender, but makes some mistakes in team defensive situations. Lyons occasionally will drift off of his man too far for help side, perhaps to try for a steal or blocked shot, and leave his man open for a three or a layup. Also he is extremely undersized in terms of strength, so I expect him to improve defensively once he gets consistent defensive coaching and is entered into a strength program. I don’t expect Lyons to factor too heavily into Sean Miller’s backcourt equation this season, especially if Jordan Crawford is ruled to be eligible for this season. He will be a solid spark plug to come in and add a scoring jolt, and perhaps an electrifying dunk, but overall he is not ready to be a starting or major contributor for a top 25 team at this point. Probably five minutes per game, and maybe three points per game is a decent guess at what Lyons will contribute this season. The 09-10 season will probably be when Lyons becomes a major contributor if he improves his jump shot, adds strength, and improves his defensive awareness.
B.J. Raymond
Raymond has become as close to automatic with an open three point jump shot as there is in the country (with apologies to Stephon Curry, Deonta Vaughn, Jon Diebler). With a severe lack of defense on display in the game Raymond was able to shoot jump shots without a hand in his face, and took advantage. Raymond and Alvin Mitchell’s three point shooting was the difference in the game. Raymond rained in threes from all over the court, usually from five or six feet beyond the three point line. I had heard rumblings that Raymond turns into more of a selfish player in these games, but I did not see too much of that. Raymond took what was given to him, mostly open jump shots. Granted some of the shots that he was taking were from very deep, but he was making them so it is hard to say they were forced. Raymond is very competitive, so competing against his friend Brown was especially important to him. When Brown started to take over the game in the second half Raymond switched onto Brown, but did not have much success in keeping Brown from getting to the rim. Raymond’s defensive struggles are nothing new, and Xavier has tried to mask them before in the past. Raymond’s lateral quickness is just not the same as some other players so he is liable to be beaten off the dribble. You can accept some of his shortcomings on the defensive end if he continues to shoot the way that he did today. The thing that Raymond seems to be adding to his game is his ability to put the ball on the floor more effectively. Raymond was able to face up on defenders and get into the lane on multiple occasions, an improvement over last season. With his demonstrative style I expect Raymond to step into Stanley Burrell’s shoes as the vocal leader of the team, and will probably be the go to guy for a last second shot.
Kenny Frease
Frease was a beneficiary of some crafty summer league dealings, and was a late addition to his team. As such he did not get much more than 15 to 20 minutes of action. Even in that short time Frease showed quite a few excellent post moves. His footwork is advanced far beyond the level of what you would expect from an incoming freshman. Frease also rebounded well, grabbing some defensive rebounds that were a bit out of his area. While Frease is already a big guy at 7’0 270, he could stand to add some muscle to his frame. If he is able to get stronger than he will be able to execute more power moves in addition to the excellent finesse moves that he showed today. His jump hook over his left shoulder was on display a few times, and is a great move since it is so difficult to block. Frease also displayed a soft touch on a few short shots in the lane. Adding strength, particularly lower body strength, will also help Frease get and hold better position on the block. Stronger, older defenders were able to push Frease off of the block. Defensively Frease has all the tools to be an All-Conference defensive player multiple times in the next four years. He blocked quite a few shots, namely those put up by Derrick Brown. Frease was also able to defend on the perimeter reasonably well, playing a step or two off of smaller players and using his length to contest any shots. Frease comes in to Xavier ready to contribute to the frontcourt right away. With Jason Love now developed into an All-Conference type big man and the frontcourt crowded with Derrick Brown, C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, Frease will join and strengthen the rotation. Although he probably will not be on the floor at crunch time, I expect Frease to contribute about what he did today: 15-20 minutes, a shade under ten points per game, around five rebounds per game and a spot on the All-Conference first team. Frease certainly has the tools to be a superstar, and will probably start to step into that role in 09-10.