Nevill Plays in Scrimmage -- But Not Especially Well
Looks like the extra rest helped center Luke Nevill.
The 7-foot-1 junior center played in the Utes' scrimmage on Saturday, after all, despite missing practice a day earlier to rest a sore knee. But he hardly dominated. Nevill scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in a 47-32 loss to a team of reserves in the main 20-minute game at the Huntsman Center, missing four of six shots inside and seeming to have a harder time than he should against smaller defenders Kim Tillie and Morgan Grim.
"He wasn't going to play," coach Jim Boylen said, "but he came up to me before the scrimmage and said he wanted to go."
Guards Johnnie Bryant and Carlon Brown, forwards Luka Drca, Tillie and Grim led the victorious White team -- Bryant was 8-for-9 shooting, hit a three-pointer from the corner just before the final horn and scored 21 points -- with forward Sayre Brennan and walk-on guard Tre Smith coming off the bench.
Guard Lawrence Borha led the Red team of projected starters with 11 points and three rebounds, but did not play particularly well. Boylen said Borha could be "playing his way out" of a starting spot, along with forward Shaun Green.
"We had some guys play really well, but I still believe we're struggling to become a team," Boylen said. "We need to trust each other more."
The Utes played two subsequent halves after mixing up the teams, but frequently looked lethargic and drew criticism for their coach for committing too many turnovers. (The press-break situations after the main scrimmage were stunningly disastrous, until Boylen yanked several starters off the press-breaking team.) Green, in particular, seemed uninvolved. At one point, Boylen told Green he would bench him, if only the coach had anybody to take Green's place.
While Nevill was able to play in the main part of the scrimmage, guard Curtis Eatmon was not so lucky. The backup guard did not play because of his lingering groin injury, which he said could be worse than originally feared. (He's seeing a doctor about it Monday.) And once the Utes started switching up the teams and scrimmaging some more to experiment with different lineups against different defenses, Nevill left the floor to stretch, get treatment on his knee, and ride a stationary bicycle.
"We're making strides," Boylen said, "but we have to get better."
Boylen allowed that the team is exhausted from all of the conditioning it has been doing -- the players worked out in the morning before the scrimmage, too -- and that some players like guard Tyler Kepkay have their "heads spinning" while trying to adapt to the new system.
The Red team, by the way, included potential starting guards Tyler Kepkay and Borha, forwards Stephen Weigh (who couldn't buy a basket, it seemed) and Green and Nevill, with guard Chris Grant and walk-on forward Jonathan Downie off the bench.
The 7-foot-1 junior center played in the Utes' scrimmage on Saturday, after all, despite missing practice a day earlier to rest a sore knee. But he hardly dominated. Nevill scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in a 47-32 loss to a team of reserves in the main 20-minute game at the Huntsman Center, missing four of six shots inside and seeming to have a harder time than he should against smaller defenders Kim Tillie and Morgan Grim.
"He wasn't going to play," coach Jim Boylen said, "but he came up to me before the scrimmage and said he wanted to go."
Guards Johnnie Bryant and Carlon Brown, forwards Luka Drca, Tillie and Grim led the victorious White team -- Bryant was 8-for-9 shooting, hit a three-pointer from the corner just before the final horn and scored 21 points -- with forward Sayre Brennan and walk-on guard Tre Smith coming off the bench.
Guard Lawrence Borha led the Red team of projected starters with 11 points and three rebounds, but did not play particularly well. Boylen said Borha could be "playing his way out" of a starting spot, along with forward Shaun Green.
"We had some guys play really well, but I still believe we're struggling to become a team," Boylen said. "We need to trust each other more."
The Utes played two subsequent halves after mixing up the teams, but frequently looked lethargic and drew criticism for their coach for committing too many turnovers. (The press-break situations after the main scrimmage were stunningly disastrous, until Boylen yanked several starters off the press-breaking team.) Green, in particular, seemed uninvolved. At one point, Boylen told Green he would bench him, if only the coach had anybody to take Green's place.
While Nevill was able to play in the main part of the scrimmage, guard Curtis Eatmon was not so lucky. The backup guard did not play because of his lingering groin injury, which he said could be worse than originally feared. (He's seeing a doctor about it Monday.) And once the Utes started switching up the teams and scrimmaging some more to experiment with different lineups against different defenses, Nevill left the floor to stretch, get treatment on his knee, and ride a stationary bicycle.
"We're making strides," Boylen said, "but we have to get better."
Boylen allowed that the team is exhausted from all of the conditioning it has been doing -- the players worked out in the morning before the scrimmage, too -- and that some players like guard Tyler Kepkay have their "heads spinning" while trying to adapt to the new system.
The Red team, by the way, included potential starting guards Tyler Kepkay and Borha, forwards Stephen Weigh (who couldn't buy a basket, it seemed) and Green and Nevill, with guard Chris Grant and walk-on forward Jonathan Downie off the bench.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 7:07 PM |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home