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Tomasz Gielo is by far the Flames’ best offensive threat.
Gielo led the game with 27 points with the next highest scorer tallying 19. He looked comfortable knocking down shots from long range. Despite the departures of Coronado, Vander Pol, and Burress, it looks like Gielo will continue to play the small forward role, rather than move inside.
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Peter Moller is poised and ready to start.
Moller tallied 15 points and also led all players with 7 assists. There’s a huge hole at 2 guard, and last night convinced me that Moller is the guy to fill it. He can also play the point whenever Joe Retic isn’t in the game.
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James Johnson is a solid addition at center. Evan Maxwell can step in as a role player.
James Johnson scored 11 points last night, and will be the starter at center come November 14. Evan Maxwell looked very solid with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Maxwell can come in for Johnson this year and be competent for the Flames. With the exact same body, I think Maxwell will learn from Johnson, and has unlimited potential for the Flames in years ahead.
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A.C. Reid will be a valuable role player because he can play the 2 or 3.
The Flames don’t have much depth this year, especially at guard. Reid proved last night that he can play multiple positions, and that should pay huge dividends for his playing time as well as the Flames hopes this year. Reid had an impressive nine rebounds last night, but didn’t do much on offense. David Andoh is another guy that we will see at the 3, but last night it seemed that Reid was the superior option.
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Theo Johnson looked great.
The biggest takeaway from last night’s scrimmage was how much of an impact transfer, Theo Johnson, will make. Johnson’s long athletic body gives him an advantage on both ends of the court. I thought Johnson would be more of a defensive specialist coming in, but he tied for the white team lead with 19 points. He reminds me of a smaller, more skillful Drew Smith. It’s tough to say where exactly Johnson’s minutes will come from with Gielo dominating the small forward, but I have a feeling Layer will work him into the game plan as much as possible.
Overall, it’s tough to gauge where the Flames are at just based on the scrimmage, but one of my biggest worries was that we would be too thin this year, and some of younger guys really stepped up and proved themselves. I think our guys off the bench will be fine.
Tomasz Gielo looks ready to put the offense on his back, and we all know what Drew Smith brings to the defensive end.
The biggest thing we were able to take away from the game was some information about the new guys, and I believe there is a lot to be excited about there. Evan Maxwell, Peter Moller, and Theo Johnson looked great. A.C. Reid and James Johnson will also bring plenty to the table for the Flames this year.
Oh and by the way, the blue team (Gielo, Smith, Johnson, Moller, and Reid were starters) won 75-72 in a fairly tight game, if that means anything.
