Shrewsberry discussing various players
by DukeSinatra (2023-06-09 11:05:20)
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I thought this was interesting...excerpt of free article from Irish Illustrated.

MATT ZONA
"His leadership is going to help us. He's never been in that position, but he wants to be in that position. The guys especially the guys who are coming back listen to him and follow him. He's going to lead by example and using his voice.

"He's dying for an opportunity to play. He's just dying for an opportunity to play. If he gets it, he'll be able to run with it and be productive with the minutes that he has."

J.R. KONIECZNY
"We just watched a lot of film on him. We really worked with him this spring on improving his shot. Becoming more consistent in that way. Now the next phase for us is him being a guy that can be an attacker versus closeouts. Being able to read a closeout and attack it. Get to the rim and use your athleticism. But also get to the rim, make decisions as a passer, and then be a great cutter as well.

"He's a guy that can put pressure on the rim and that doesn't always have to be with the ball in his hands. He's a really good athlete. He can become a really physical driver. He's gotten stronger. Being able to attack closeouts, be a straight-line driver, bump guys off, get to the rim and finish…I'm excited to keep working with him. I think he's going to be able to help us."

TONY SANDERS JR.
"Not being around him much, I think using his shooting is something we can do at that size. But we've got to get him to do it at a full-speed pace. We run our guys off screens. If you look at (the Penn State) team, Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk were sprinting off screens and getting shots. That's who he's got to be. He's got to be a guy that can run off screens, catch and shoot, and can be a threat to put pressure on the defense to be aware of where he is at all times."

MARKUS BURTON
"Everybody wants an opportunity…well, here it is. I'm excited about him. There are going to be days where it's going to be tough. Everybody has those days as a freshman. His mental makeup has to be really good to bounce back. We've really got to work on constantly being positive, moving on to the next thing, whether it's good or bad.

"His ability to get into the paint and live in the paint is something we're using a lot. His decision-making will be big. That's what we're going to work on early on with him. He's a good mid-range, pull-up jump shooter. He's going to be allowed to shoot that shot. Not everybody will.

"I don't want to change who he is. I want him to be a scorer. Be who you are. We can rein it back in if we need to. Don't change who you are as a player. It's working. Keep doing that."

TAE DAVIS (SETON HALL TRANSFER)
"We recruited Tae at Purdue. We ran out of scholarships and we couldn't take him. He signed with Louisville, going with his brother. They transferred. He was coming to visit at Penn State. We were recruiting them both. Two days before they came to visit, two guys committed to Penn State and I couldn't take them. So he was like, 'Coach, I'm not missing out on this a third time!'

"Watching him on film from this year, his rebounding is the first thing that stood out. He was rebounding like crazy on the offensive and defensive end. He's a long, athletic kid. He's a perimeter player for as tall as he is. He played the point at Warren Central his senior year. He's a guy that didn't show it last year because he looked unsure of himself. But he can handle the ball, he can shoot the ball, he can make decisions.

"He's a good offensive player, but he can move his feet, he can slide his feet, he can guard a bunch of different positions. His versatility will be really helpful for us. He'll also be a guy that handles the ball for us."

KEBBA NJIE (PENN STATE TRANSFER)
"Kebba should be a freshman in college this year. He started almost every game for us in the Big Ten last year. He was going against Zach Edey (Purdue), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Cliff Omoruyi (Rutgers)…on down the line.

"He should have been playing at La Lumiere last year. He turned 18 the first day of classes last year in late August. He's a young, young kid. He hit halfway through the year. His production and confidence really took off. I can't wait to get him back to see the next stages of his development. He's like clay that you're molding. He's our rim protector."

JULIAN ROPER II (NORTHWESTERN TRANSFER)
"Roper played with Blake (Wesley). They were AAU teammates. He was a big-time scorer in high school. He played as a spot-up shooter, junkyard guard at Northwestern because they had Boo Buie who had the ball in his hands and took a majority of their shots. He's got the ability for his scoring to go up. He's a good shooter. He can attack the rim.

"He brings a nastiness to the game that we need here. He's going to bring some toughness on the defensive and offensive end. He's a tough kid. That's what's going to stand out. He's going to be able to put the ball in the basket but he's going to be nasty, tough and set the tone for us."

CAREY BOOTH
"He's like Kebba. He won't turn 18 until the middle of July. We signed Kebba at Penn State and he showed up at campus looking like a totally different kid. We signed Carey and when he came here for his official visit, he was a totally different kid. He's growing up. He was a really shy kid. Really quiet because he was just 17-years-old.

"He changed from his time at Brewster (Academy) last year. He became more confident. His abilities going against guys like J.P. Estrella, who's going to Tennessee, and Taylor Bowen, who's going to Florida State, have really shown. He's going against those guys every single day and his confidence is getting better and better.

"He's going to come in here and get stronger working with our guys. He has the ability to really take off. Who he is June to who he's going to be in August to who he's going to be in November to who he's going to be by the end of the year will be a constant, gradual improvement.

BRAEDEN SHREWSBERRY
"You talk about the ability to stretch the floor, that's his calling card. His shooting. But he can do it in different ways. He can run off screens. He can catch and shoot. He can shoot off the dribble. You've got to be aware of where he is.

"Just like Markus, he's one of the most confident kids you'll ever come across. You know he belongs, but more importantly, he knows he belongs. Imes would be ahead of him in terms of handling the basketball."



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