The animal kingdom (Soft Pretzel Logic)

The animal kingdom

Two Jayhawks and a Cougar walk into a gym...

Jaime in Seattle writes:

How are Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers of Kansas University doing? Does either have a good shot of making the first cuts?

Collins hasn't done much of note, really. I would say that he's pretty far behind on the pecking order of point guards. Drew Neitzel and Eric Maynor have been the most impressive thus far, with Derrick Low and Scottie Reynolds next, then Chris Lofton and Collins.

Chalmers is a different story, though, as he'd get slotted in at shooting guard. CSTV's David Scott has him on his mock roster along with Wayne Ellington, and Neitzel and Maynor are the only other two backcourt players on his list.

I still think Reynolds has a shot, but then again, I've been paying a lot more attention to him than I have the other guards because I've been trying to watch the local guys the most. Which brings me to the next email, from Ken Low...

Can you share your thoughts of Derrick Low's performance at the try outs.There is a ton of interest here in the islands.And what chances does he have in making the team? Mahalo for your expertise.

Low is from Honolulu, and I'm going to guess Ken is as well (and I'll also guess he's related). I thought he had a great day today at the point. He was going against Lofton in that scrimmage I wrote up earlier, and I thought Low got the better of the matchup when he was on offense.

Part of that is because Lofton's team was playing zone, and if they had been playing man we might have seen something different. But Low did seem to leave an impression today. By contrast, whereas Reynolds was pretty good early on, he was quieter today. Human nature being what it is about recent impressions, that probably works against Reynolds.

If the initial cuts are down to 14 instead of 12, I think Reynolds and Low have a shot. If it's to 12 and the committee goes for 3's and 4's instead of guards, it'll be a lot harder. Consider them on the bubble.

(And I guess we all know about selection committee chair Jim Boeheim's recent experience with bubbles...)

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Posted by Jonathan Tannenwald on July 14, 2007 11:07 PM | Permalink

Comments (1)

Eric:

Thanks for the great coverage!

Posted by Eric | July 14, 2007 11:35 PM

Posted on July 14, 2007 23:35

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Jonathan Tannenwald is a producer with Philly.com.

I fell in love with the Big 5 at first sight upon moving to Philadelphia in 2002. At various points in my journalistic career, I've covered all six of the region's Division I teams. During that time, I've eaten many soft pretzels from the Palestra's concession stands, which is how this blog got its name.

In addition to the blog, I host and produce the Inquirer's College HoopsCast. It's a weekly podcast that features all the latest news and analysis from around local and national college basketball. Regular guests include Inquirer writers Mike Jensen, Joe Juliano and Mel Greenberg.

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When not focusing on college hoops, I host and produce the Inquirer's PhilliesCast with Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki, and can occasionally be found behind the camera shooting videos of the Eagles, other professional sports teams and the tiger cubs at the zoo.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 14, 2007 11:07 PM.

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Soft Pretzel Logic

A blog about college sports in the Philadelphia region and across the country.