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Post by lionsarm on May 21, 2015 16:28:05 GMT -5
Looking at the expanded roster for the usa, youth is the name of the game. are we possibly looking at a golden generation for usa volleyball? more importantly, whether we ultimately win gold medals, world leagues, world championships, i'm looking forward to the usa competing with brazil and russia for the podium consistently every tournament. not just win one, and then not medal again for a couple of years.
i really think that we are at a point of significance for usa volleyball with so many quality young players in the pipeline, either those already in the usa gym, or those who are knocking on the door.
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Post by bAnthony on May 21, 2015 21:29:46 GMT -5
I have to say my excitement level mirrors your's. Sander was a surprise last year, and I am not going to jump the gun on all of the good NCAA players by immediately thinking they will be at that level (I know you aren't either). I think we have hands covered for a while with Christenson, Shoji, McIlvaine (and West still hasn't gotten in with the senior team). I also think we are insanely deep at middle: Holt and Smith are two of the best in the world right now, McDonnell had a huge season, Davis came into his own, Kevorken is on fire, I think Johnson has a lot of upside. We know what we get with E. Shoji, and I think Brinkley has an insane amount of potential. I think we are a bit thin at the right side. I am a huge fan of Troy, but after that I am not sure (maybe Mochalski will grow into that role, I expected more out of Smalzer this year). I would like to think that the Anderson/Sander tandem will be fruitful for years to come. After that, no one is really proven yet on the left side. I really like what Jaeschke has to offer, we'll see what Russell can do this year. I also like seeing that Cook is in the gym. I think he has a good chance to land on a good team next year and further develop.
We seem to have fewer guys playing pro indoor, but there are a number of guys playing integral roles on good teams which is very encouraging. I also think USAV is in a good place organizationally. There are good staffs in place with both genders. There were years where the US had great professional players who were very instrumental in big leagues and competitions, but we still were not succeeding. Kevin Barnett was one of them, and I remember hearing him say on The Net Live he was a part of USAV when it was not a fun thing to be a part of. When you talk to guys who are playing for USAV or even just in the gym trying to get looked at, they all say it is a great experience. I think that will help keep USAV competitive.
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Post by lionsarm on May 21, 2015 22:38:58 GMT -5
The big question mark for me about this young group are Jaeschke and Russell. for me, if one of these guys can be a good/elite primary receiver, then it really opens up the possibilities for this team. meaning, if they can become reid priddy like in serve receive.
the player i'm thinking of most is kevin tillie. he is probably the best passing outside hitter i have seen come out of NCAA for a while now and was inserted straight into the french national team as a primary passer, he even takes two-man with grebenikov sometimes and gives ngapeth a free run for the bic or outside attack.
for example: if Jaeschke can become this type of player, he can be immediately put in the starting line up with sander as outside hitters and have matt anderson back on the right side, not b/c our passing is in need of a bail out hitter...but b/c this lineup could be a more powerful and dynamic option compared to having anderson/sander + troy at opposite.
with anderson/sander OH's, i still think there are some questions to be asked about their ability to consistently serve receive. time will tell with this group, but it's definitely exciting that we now have these possibilities to ponder.
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Post by ocmyhome on May 21, 2015 23:57:25 GMT -5
Sander's receive is noticeably better this year. Italy has sharpened that saw for him. His serve seems more consistent as well. Arguably the best OH tandem w/ Anderson in the world..?
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2015 7:26:34 GMT -5
Question - Does Jaeschke play for Loyola this upcoming year or redshirt since it is a qualification year for Rio 2016?
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2015 7:32:08 GMT -5
Not sure on schedule of FIVB qualification competitions in 2015-2016 and 2016 NCAA schedule.
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Post by jna on May 22, 2015 8:57:06 GMT -5
I have to say my excitement level mirrors your's. Sander was a surprise last year, and I am not going to jump the gun on all of the good NCAA players by immediately thinking they will be at that level (I know you aren't either). I think we have hands covered for a while with Christenson, Shoji, McIlvaine (and West still hasn't gotten in with the senior team). I also think we are insanely deep at middle: Holt and Smith are two of the best in the world right now, McDonnell had a huge season, Davis came into his own, Kevorken is on fire, I think Johnson has a lot of upside. We know what we get with E. Shoji, and I think Brinkley has an insane amount of potential. I think we are a bit thin at the right side. I am a huge fan of Troy, but after that I am not sure (maybe Mochalski will grow into that role, I expected more out of Smalzer this year). I would like to think that the Anderson/Sander tandem will be fruitful for years to come. After that, no one is really proven yet on the left side. I really like what Jaeschke has to offer, we'll see what Russell can do this year. I also like seeing that Cook is in the gym. I think he has a good chance to land on a good team next year and further develop. We seem to have fewer guys playing pro indoor, but there are a number of guys playing integral roles on good teams which is very encouraging. I also think USAV is in a good place organizationally. There are good staffs in place with both genders. There were years where the US had great professional players who were very instrumental in big leagues and competitions, but we still were not succeeding. Kevin Barnett was one of them, and I remember hearing him say on The Net Live he was a part of USAV when it was not a fun thing to be a part of. When you talk to guys who are playing for USAV or even just in the gym trying to get looked at, they all say it is a great experience. I think that will help keep USAV competitive. I second that. But, what do you mean by " I expected more out of Smalzer this year"?  As far as I know, he did a very good job in finland. He led all scores in pretty much 98% of the matches. Trouble was, his team was not very strong on the whole. I've always thought he was worth a shot. Not only is he a good attacker, but also a good server and i kind of think that now was his time to try out. His age is going to be an issue moving towards Tokyo 2020. Ben Patch will probably be the frontrunner of the next cycle. |
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Post by bAnthony on May 22, 2015 10:54:14 GMT -5
I have to say my excitement level mirrors your's. Sander was a surprise last year, and I am not going to jump the gun on all of the good NCAA players by immediately thinking they will be at that level (I know you aren't either). I think we have hands covered for a while with Christenson, Shoji, McIlvaine (and West still hasn't gotten in with the senior team). I also think we are insanely deep at middle: Holt and Smith are two of the best in the world right now, McDonnell had a huge season, Davis came into his own, Kevorken is on fire, I think Johnson has a lot of upside. We know what we get with E. Shoji, and I think Brinkley has an insane amount of potential. I think we are a bit thin at the right side. I am a huge fan of Troy, but after that I am not sure (maybe Mochalski will grow into that role, I expected more out of Smalzer this year). I would like to think that the Anderson/Sander tandem will be fruitful for years to come. After that, no one is really proven yet on the left side. I really like what Jaeschke has to offer, we'll see what Russell can do this year. I also like seeing that Cook is in the gym. I think he has a good chance to land on a good team next year and further develop. We seem to have fewer guys playing pro indoor, but there are a number of guys playing integral roles on good teams which is very encouraging. I also think USAV is in a good place organizationally. There are good staffs in place with both genders. There were years where the US had great professional players who were very instrumental in big leagues and competitions, but we still were not succeeding. Kevin Barnett was one of them, and I remember hearing him say on The Net Live he was a part of USAV when it was not a fun thing to be a part of. When you talk to guys who are playing for USAV or even just in the gym trying to get looked at, they all say it is a great experience. I think that will help keep USAV competitive. I second that. But, what do you mean by " I expected more out of Smalzer this year"? As far as I know, he did a very good job in finland. He led all scores in pretty much 98% of the matches. Trouble was, his team was not very strong on the whole. I've always thought he was worth a shot. Not only is he a good attacker, but also a good server and i kind of think that now was his time to try out. His age is going to be an issue moving towards Tokyo 2020. Ben Patch will probably be the frontrunner of the next cycle. I know he scored well, but he was very inefficient in attack all season long in a league that is not one of quality. I think he will build on it to make a good career if he chooses to stick with it, but I would not say it was of a caliber to be on the NT at this point. In the 30 or so matches he played he hit about .200 (I think 0.207 to be exact). In only 7 of those matches did he hit above 0.300. In half of the matches he hit below 0.200. |
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Post by memorybankrupt on May 22, 2015 11:51:38 GMT -5
The big question mark for me about this young group are Jaeschke and Russell. for me, if one of these guys can be a good/elite primary receiver, then it really opens up the possibilities for this team. meaning, if they can become reid priddy like in serve receive. the player i'm thinking of most is kevin tillie. he is probably the best passing outside hitter i have seen come out of NCAA for a while now and was inserted straight into the french national team as a primary passer, he even takes two-man with grebenikov sometimes and gives ngapeth a free run for the bic or outside attack. for example: if Jaeschke can become this type of player, he can be immediately put in the starting line up with sander as outside hitters and have matt anderson back on the right side, not b/c our passing is in need of a bail out hitter...but b/c this lineup could be a more powerful and dynamic option compared to having anderson/sander + troy at opposite. with anderson/sander OH's, i still think there are some questions to be asked about their ability to consistently serve receive. time will tell with this group, but it's definitely exciting that we now have these possibilities to ponder. I like Jaeschke a lot. I think he can become an elite serve receiver. He seems to be a little more physically gifted than some of these other collegiate star OHs like Ciarelli and Lawson that haven't quite panned out. Russell I'm not sure about. Will his SR ever get good enough? Perhaps he'd be a better candidate for OPP. What about Powell from Lewis? Could he be someone that could help Team USA down the road? I haven't seen too much of him but was impressed by what I saw in the recent NCAA Final Four. Kinda reminded me of Reid Priddy w/ his dynamic movement. |
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Post by akbar on May 22, 2015 12:08:23 GMT -5
The big question mark for me about this young group are Jaeschke and Russell. for me, if one of these guys can be a good/elite primary receiver, then it really opens up the possibilities for this team. meaning, if they can become reid priddy like in serve receive. the player i'm thinking of most is kevin tillie. he is probably the best passing outside hitter i have seen come out of NCAA for a while now and was inserted straight into the french national team as a primary passer, he even takes two-man with grebenikov sometimes and gives ngapeth a free run for the bic or outside attack. for example: if Jaeschke can become this type of player, he can be immediately put in the starting line up with sander as outside hitters and have matt anderson back on the right side, not b/c our passing is in need of a bail out hitter...but b/c this lineup could be a more powerful and dynamic option compared to having anderson/sander + troy at opposite. with anderson/sander OH's, i still think there are some questions to be asked about their ability to consistently serve receive. time will tell with this group, but it's definitely exciting that we now have these possibilities to ponder. I like Jaeschke a lot. I think he can become an elite serve receiver. He seems to be a little more physically gifted than some of these other collegiate star OHs like Ciarelli and Lawson that haven't quite panned out. Russell I'm not sure about. Will his SR ever get good enough? Perhaps he'd be a better candidate for OPP. What about Powell from Lewis? Could he be someone that could help Team USA down the road? I haven't seen too much of him but was impressed by what I saw in the recent NCAA Final Four. Kinda reminded me of Reid Priddy w/ his dynamic movement. Powell just doesn't have the power to compete at the highest level. Jaeschke and Russell will be in the mix for 2016 and after but again even that will come down to needs, opportunities and ceilings for each of those two. Both have separated themselves. If I were a betting man I go with Russell as he bring more to the table in most all aspects and from both pins. |
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Post by jna on May 22, 2015 14:21:29 GMT -5
Geoff Powell is very athletic, a high jumper, but I define him as the male version of Megan Easy ( former Hodge) on the women's side - tremendous attacker, horrendous passer. I prefer Greg Petty who's been involved with the youth and junior programs not long time ago. That's why he looks a better prospect at the international level. Regarding Jaeschke and Russell, I think both seem pretty even in quality, though I think Russell looks more error-prone compared to Jaeschke. Cody Kessel and Kyle Russell should be considered top prospects as well.
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Post by akbar on May 22, 2015 14:41:50 GMT -5
Regarding Jaeschke and Russell, I think both seem pretty even in quality, though I think Russell looks more error-prone compared to Jaeschke. Since we really only have collegiate numbers to look at the error prone that you elude to might have to do with Russell taking over 200 more swings and yet they had the identical. .381 hitting percentage...hmmmm. In addition to this Russell had more blocks, aces and scored 634 pts to Jaeschke's 473. Thomas surely had the benefit of a much more balanced team surrounding him which can also lead to an elevated perception that he produces less errors. I would wager at the end of the year and going into this USA training period Thomas has a slight more spring in his step to being not as tired. You take your guy and in my opinion I'll my guy who imo has the higher ceiling and can offer more to the squad. We will both be in good shape either way. |
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Post by notsocal2 on May 22, 2015 15:21:08 GMT -5
The big question mark for me about this young group are Jaeschke and Russell. for me, if one of these guys can be a good/elite primary receiver, then it really opens up the possibilities for this team. meaning, if they can become reid priddy like in serve receive. the player i'm thinking of most is kevin tillie. he is probably the best passing outside hitter i have seen come out of NCAA for a while now and was inserted straight into the french national team as a primary passer, he even takes two-man with grebenikov sometimes and gives ngapeth a free run for the bic or outside attack. for example: if Jaeschke can become this type of player, he can be immediately put in the starting line up with sander as outside hitters and have matt anderson back on the right side, not b/c our passing is in need of a bail out hitter...but b/c this lineup could be a more powerful and dynamic option compared to having anderson/sander + troy at opposite. with anderson/sander OH's, i still think there are some questions to be asked about their ability to consistently serve receive. time will tell with this group, but it's definitely exciting that we now have these possibilities to ponder. I like Jaeschke a lot. I think he can become an elite serve receiver. He seems to be a little more physically gifted than some of these other collegiate star OHs like Ciarelli and Lawson that haven't quite panned out. Russell I'm not sure about. Will his SR ever get good enough? Perhaps he'd be a better candidate for OPP. What about Powell from Lewis? Could he be someone that could help Team USA down the road? I haven't seen too much of him but was impressed by what I saw in the recent NCAA Final Four. Kinda reminded me of Reid Priddy w/ his dynamic movement. +1 Interesting you brought up Lawson - who I Jaeschke reminds me a lot of. Looks like he has already caught some eyes of the coaches and has jumped a whole group of folks. Not sure if this is Speraw only, but he certainly does not allow for age as being the requirement. Sander blasted through that, Christensen has done that already with little international experience. Great to see Holt and Shoji's and Troy doing it as well and none of these guys are old by any means. I'm impressed. |
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Post by akbar on May 22, 2015 15:38:07 GMT -5
Geoff Powell is very athletic, a high jumper, but I define him as the male version of Megan Easy ( former Hodge) on the women's side - tremendous attacker, horrendous passer. uh...what? Outside of Hodge being African American I don't agree. |
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Post by bAnthony on May 22, 2015 16:20:43 GMT -5
the player i'm thinking of most is kevin tillie. he is probably the best passing outside hitter i have seen come out of NCAA for a while now and was inserted straight into the french national team as a primary passer, he even takes two-man with grebenikov sometimes and gives ngapeth a free run for the bic or outside attack. for example: if Jaeschke can become this type of player, he can be immediately put in the starting line up with sander as outside hitters and have matt anderson back on the right side, not b/c our passing is in need of a bail out hitter...but b/c this lineup could be a more powerful and dynamic option compared to having anderson/sander + troy at opposite. with anderson/sander OH's, i still think there are some questions to be asked about their ability to consistently serve receive. time will tell with this group, but it's definitely exciting that we now have these possibilities to ponder. As good as Tille is, it still took him a year out of college to be a serious option on the French NT. He got just a bit of court time in the WL right after his senior year and then had a lot of the passing duties thrust upon him at Latina in Italy. I think that first pro season was a huge part of the success he had with the NT last summer. A lot of people consider Sander shady in reception (not saying you are), but he was a top 5 passer in Italy this year. |
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As far as I know, he did a very good job in finland. He led all scores in pretty much 98% of the matches. Trouble was, his team was not very strong on the whole. I've always thought he was worth a shot. Not only is he a good attacker, but also a good server and i kind of think that now was his time to try out. His age is going to be an issue moving towards Tokyo 2020. Ben Patch will probably be the frontrunner of the next cycle.