Tishman cleared give Gators depth
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:31 pm
Concerns about backcourt depth were eased a bit for Billy Donovan Monday evening when he got a call from the NCAA letting him know that Rod Tishman, the freshman point guard from Israel, has passed all his obstacles with the clearinghouse. Tishman has been practicing with the Gators but now he has been fully cleared to play, giving the Gators a backup for Erving Walker at the point.
“We just found out late last night that he got cleared so he’s all set,” Donovan said Tuesday afternoon. “Rod is aware of it and we were able to make contact with his dad this morning. Right now he’s fully cleared to play and he’s been practicing. That’s good news for him and our team.”
Tishman is a 6-5 point who was a star on Israel’s national 18-and-under team at the European championships where he averaged18 points per game, leading the team in assists and leading the tournament in getting to the foul line nearly ten times per game. Tishman’s strengths are ball handling and passing.
Donovan has been pleased with the level of conditioning that Tishman has shown in the first 10 days of practice but there are a couple of deficient areas of his game that must be addressed such as physical strength and defense.
“I think the one thing with him is he has some huge adjustments on the defensive end of the floor because I think the game is played totally different in Europe than it is here so that’s an area of concern,” Donovan said. “I think that he’s shown at least the first ten days that he can play some point. He has really good vision and I think in our style of play when we try to run and press conditioning always becomes a factor and you’re always worried how a guy at that position can handle that.”
Through the first 10 days of practice, Tishman has shown enough skills that Donovan thinks he will be able to make contributions to the team as a freshman.
“He’s picked up things very well,” Donovan said. “He’s got a very high basketball IQ. He’s a very good passer. He’s going to be able to give us some minutes in the backcourt.”
* * *
Donovan said he is pleased with the chemistry he sees developing with his team already, particularly in the backcourt where Walker and freshman Kenny Boynton are playing well together.
“I think the chemistry between he [Walker] and Boynton is very good,” Donovan said. “I think those two get along very, very well. They complement each other very well and they like playing with each other.”
Walker, who Donovan says is faster from end line to end line with the ball than any guard he’s had since Jason Williams, played mostly as a shooting guard last season because Nick Calathes played the point. Now that he’s playing the point almost exclusively, however, Walker has had no problems making the adjustment.
“I don’t have any concerns with him back there at all,” Donovan said. “He has played very well. He’s passed the ball very well.”
* * *
The addition of Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin has enabled Donovan to shift Alex Tyus back to his more natural power forward position and Dan Werner to the small forward although Werner will also provide some backup minutes at power forward when Donovan wants more passing in the post.
Tyus, who averaged 12.5 points per game last year while playing center, has blossomed now that he’s playing facing the basket.
“Alex is a guy who has really improved his perimeter shooting,” Donovan said. ‘I wouldn’t say that he has three-point range but he’s probably as consistent a 15-17 foot jump shooter as we have on our team now.”
Werner and Chandler Parsons are playing on the wing right now but both can spell Tyus at power forward. Ray Shipman, who will back up Boynton at the shooting guard, can also play small forward to give the Gators a quick, physical defender against smaller, athletic small forwards.
“Dan has to play some power forward spot for us because he’s such a good ball handler and sometimes with our offense it does go through our front court players,” Donovan said. “Dan’s a real cerebral player. He’s real smart and he can play a couple of positions for us. He knows in a game he could be at the power forward spot and the power forward spot. I think Chandler is the same way. We’re fortunate with those guys they have a pretty high level basketball IQ that when you put things in they have the ability to absorb those things at a couple of different positions. We have a team that we can go somewhat big with Werner (6-8, 225) at small forward, Tyus (6-8, 225) at power forward and Macklin (6-10, 255) We can also go a little bit smaller. (Erik) Murphy (6-10) can even play some at the five. We can do some different things with this team.”
Murphy has been a pleasant surprise so far. The freshman from Massachusetts has shown he can shoot from the outside, but he also has some post moves. While he needs to get stronger (he’s 228 pounds now), Donovan has no problems playing him in the low blocks at times.
“He’s a guy that keeps trucking along,” Donovan said. “He’s not the fastest and the most athletic but the ball goes in the basket when he shoots it. He’s got to get stronger. That’s going to be a little bit of an issue He’s good enough with his back to the basket to provide some low post scoring.”
Macklin and Kenny Kadji have both looked good in practice. Expectations are high for Macklin, who was the nation’s #7 recruit coming out of high school. Donovan doesn’t want Macklin to think of himself as the team’s savior since he is a tremendous step up in terms of a physical presence at center. He just wants Macklin to concentrate on the things he does best.
“I wouldn’t say that he’s a guy that’s dominated low post scoring but there is no reason that Vernon should ever have a bad practice or a bad game,” Donovan said. “With his athleticism, if he’s running the floor, if he’s chasing rebounds, if he’s blocking shots, it he’s defending or if he’s giving us a post presence, those are all things he can control. He’s done a very good job in that area. I think Vernon has been very coachable. He wants to get better. He’s been a positive contributor as it relates to the chemistry on our team. He’s a good passer for a big guy.”
Kadji’s issues have had everything to do with conditioning. Last year Kadji never really pushed himself to get in great shape but that has changed and as his conditioning level continues to improve, so does the level of intensity and consistency he’s shown in practice.
“Right now for him he can see there is an area of consistency he needs to be better at and it’s more consistent with his effort at running the floor and doing those things but he has gotten better and improved,” Donovan said.
“We just found out late last night that he got cleared so he’s all set,” Donovan said Tuesday afternoon. “Rod is aware of it and we were able to make contact with his dad this morning. Right now he’s fully cleared to play and he’s been practicing. That’s good news for him and our team.”
Tishman is a 6-5 point who was a star on Israel’s national 18-and-under team at the European championships where he averaged18 points per game, leading the team in assists and leading the tournament in getting to the foul line nearly ten times per game. Tishman’s strengths are ball handling and passing.
Donovan has been pleased with the level of conditioning that Tishman has shown in the first 10 days of practice but there are a couple of deficient areas of his game that must be addressed such as physical strength and defense.
“I think the one thing with him is he has some huge adjustments on the defensive end of the floor because I think the game is played totally different in Europe than it is here so that’s an area of concern,” Donovan said. “I think that he’s shown at least the first ten days that he can play some point. He has really good vision and I think in our style of play when we try to run and press conditioning always becomes a factor and you’re always worried how a guy at that position can handle that.”
Through the first 10 days of practice, Tishman has shown enough skills that Donovan thinks he will be able to make contributions to the team as a freshman.
“He’s picked up things very well,” Donovan said. “He’s got a very high basketball IQ. He’s a very good passer. He’s going to be able to give us some minutes in the backcourt.”
* * *
Donovan said he is pleased with the chemistry he sees developing with his team already, particularly in the backcourt where Walker and freshman Kenny Boynton are playing well together.
“I think the chemistry between he [Walker] and Boynton is very good,” Donovan said. “I think those two get along very, very well. They complement each other very well and they like playing with each other.”
Walker, who Donovan says is faster from end line to end line with the ball than any guard he’s had since Jason Williams, played mostly as a shooting guard last season because Nick Calathes played the point. Now that he’s playing the point almost exclusively, however, Walker has had no problems making the adjustment.
“I don’t have any concerns with him back there at all,” Donovan said. “He has played very well. He’s passed the ball very well.”
* * *
The addition of Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin has enabled Donovan to shift Alex Tyus back to his more natural power forward position and Dan Werner to the small forward although Werner will also provide some backup minutes at power forward when Donovan wants more passing in the post.
Tyus, who averaged 12.5 points per game last year while playing center, has blossomed now that he’s playing facing the basket.
“Alex is a guy who has really improved his perimeter shooting,” Donovan said. ‘I wouldn’t say that he has three-point range but he’s probably as consistent a 15-17 foot jump shooter as we have on our team now.”
Werner and Chandler Parsons are playing on the wing right now but both can spell Tyus at power forward. Ray Shipman, who will back up Boynton at the shooting guard, can also play small forward to give the Gators a quick, physical defender against smaller, athletic small forwards.
“Dan has to play some power forward spot for us because he’s such a good ball handler and sometimes with our offense it does go through our front court players,” Donovan said. “Dan’s a real cerebral player. He’s real smart and he can play a couple of positions for us. He knows in a game he could be at the power forward spot and the power forward spot. I think Chandler is the same way. We’re fortunate with those guys they have a pretty high level basketball IQ that when you put things in they have the ability to absorb those things at a couple of different positions. We have a team that we can go somewhat big with Werner (6-8, 225) at small forward, Tyus (6-8, 225) at power forward and Macklin (6-10, 255) We can also go a little bit smaller. (Erik) Murphy (6-10) can even play some at the five. We can do some different things with this team.”
Murphy has been a pleasant surprise so far. The freshman from Massachusetts has shown he can shoot from the outside, but he also has some post moves. While he needs to get stronger (he’s 228 pounds now), Donovan has no problems playing him in the low blocks at times.
“He’s a guy that keeps trucking along,” Donovan said. “He’s not the fastest and the most athletic but the ball goes in the basket when he shoots it. He’s got to get stronger. That’s going to be a little bit of an issue He’s good enough with his back to the basket to provide some low post scoring.”
Macklin and Kenny Kadji have both looked good in practice. Expectations are high for Macklin, who was the nation’s #7 recruit coming out of high school. Donovan doesn’t want Macklin to think of himself as the team’s savior since he is a tremendous step up in terms of a physical presence at center. He just wants Macklin to concentrate on the things he does best.
“I wouldn’t say that he’s a guy that’s dominated low post scoring but there is no reason that Vernon should ever have a bad practice or a bad game,” Donovan said. “With his athleticism, if he’s running the floor, if he’s chasing rebounds, if he’s blocking shots, it he’s defending or if he’s giving us a post presence, those are all things he can control. He’s done a very good job in that area. I think Vernon has been very coachable. He wants to get better. He’s been a positive contributor as it relates to the chemistry on our team. He’s a good passer for a big guy.”
Kadji’s issues have had everything to do with conditioning. Last year Kadji never really pushed himself to get in great shape but that has changed and as his conditioning level continues to improve, so does the level of intensity and consistency he’s shown in practice.
“Right now for him he can see there is an area of consistency he needs to be better at and it’s more consistent with his effort at running the floor and doing those things but he has gotten better and improved,” Donovan said.