Rick Pitino Gives An Update On Individual Instruction

Our favorite blogger made his return this afternoon. Cardinal head basketball coach Rick Pitino posted a blog post at RickPitino.com, with an update on the first three days of individual instructions. Below is an excerpt.

Peyton Siva – One of the top point guards in the country

-Shooting much improved

-Strong and fast

-Solid smart defender

-Great Leader

Needs to work on: not much

Stephan Van Treese

-Shooting improved

-Rebounds and runs well

-Strong body inside

Needs to work on:   finishing inside and conditioning

Russ Smith AKA Russdiculous

-Much stronger, pound-for-pound only Peyton is stronger

-Improved finisher around the basket

-Rebounds from the guard position

Needs to work on:  My website not big enough (JK)

Gorgui Dieng

-245 lb at 5% body fat. Stronger and quicker

-Much improved off right shoulder inside

-3pt shot will come into play… Not!!

-Smart defender

Needs to work on: conditioning.  Senegal must be a party country.  I think he must have a butler when he goes home.

Wayne Blackshear

-Stronger and in better shape

-Improved one on one game

-Powerful around the basket

-Strong defender

Needs to work on: going left, arc on jump shot, and conditioning

Zach Price

-Improved footwork

-Stronger and in better shape

-Scores inside with soft touch

Needs to work on: conditioning and defensive footwork.

Kevin Ware

-Most improved so far

-Shot looks much better

-Terrific shot blocker from the guard position

-Quick and explosive

Needs to work on: passing away from the defense and being more active with his hands on defense

Angel Nunez

-Much stronger

-Improved defender

-Improved ball handler

Needs to work on: passing skills and consistency with his jump shot (looks great, but needs a higher percentage)

Chane Behanan

-Improved defender

-In great shape

-Powerful inside

-Reminds me a little of Charles Barkley.  Smart, tough and an excellent rebounder for his size

Needs to work on: like Sir Charles at his age, a consistent jumper. If he can put aside distractions and focus all season the way he worked the first week — look out.

Michael Baffour AKA Dark Slime

-Improving with each workout

-Quick and good driver to the basket.

-Good defender

Needs to work on: jump shot, passing skills and knowledge of offensive system.

Montrezl Harrell

-Strong and good offensive rebounder

-Runs well and finishes inside

-Hard worker

Needs to work on: offensive footwork, left hand, and one-on-one moves

Mangok Mathiang

-Extremely quick at 6’10

-Runs the floor

-Good defender and superb athlete

Needs to work on: jump shot and strength (similar to Gorgui, he came in at 187 lbs.). Great upside, will consider redshirting as a possibility

(his name is pronounced MANG-go like the fruit, with a silent “K”, MATH-ee-ang)

Luke Hancock, Mike Marra, and Tim Henderson will all start workouts soon.