Originally Posted by
CDu
Note: I'm doing this scouting report hesitantly, as it may prove to be a waste of time based on what we've already seen happen this season. But, here goes.
Coppin State is a program in transition. Juan Dixon has brought in 7 new faces (2 freshmen, 3 JuCo transfers, 2 regular transfers) to a team that was pretty bad last year (11-20 overal, 7-9 in the MEAC). They also lost their starting center (Medley-Bacon) to transfer to VCU and a few other key players to graduation. It's going to be a very different looking team this year.
They will play small and fast, and will shoot a lot of 3s. They don't get many rebounds and they don't block shots, but they are not awful at forcing turnovers. It's likely to be a bad team again (that's life in the MEAC).
C: They only have one on the roster in Kenan Sarvan (6'10", 225lb redshirt freshman from the Netherlands). It's unclear how much he'll play this year, as he was a redshirt last year. I suspect they'll go more forward heavy given their incoming group in the frontcourt (see below).
Forwards: Anthony Tarke (6'6", 220lb grad transfer from UTEP/NJIT), Domantas Sakickas (6'7", 230lb JuCo transfer from Lithuania), and Bryce Hunt (6'7", 225lb junior JuCo transfer) are new to the lineup and are likely to make up the frontcourt for the Eagles. Tarke is athletic with a chiseled frame, and plays a high-energy game. He's not a great shooter (not abysmal for a forward, but not great), and is sort of in the Henry Coleman ilk. Bryce Hunt is a slightly bigger version of the same concept, but with less shooting skill. Sakickas is a little more of a shooter and less athletic than the other two, but he's still got the rugged build to bang inside.
Wings: Koby Thomas (6'6", 190lb fifth-year senior after 2 years at RoMo) is the star of the team, a senior returning as their leading scorer last year. Thomas is a fantastic athlete whose skill set is playing catchup. He's dangerous in transition, plays above the rim, and is capable of picking up steals and blocks, but his shooting touch is quite raw. He's the type of player who feasts off mistakes and opportunity buckets rather than a polished scorer. Because of his length and athleticism, he could play some smallball 4 for them if needed. Chereef Knox (6'5", 210lb sophomore transfer from St Joe's) is not as athletic but more smooth and polished on the wing, with a little more of an outside shooting touch. Reggie James (6'4", 195lb sophomore) is athletic with a decent shooting touch coming off the bench. Redshirt freshman Isiah Gross (6'4", 210lb) Anthony Tarke's little brother Nendah Tarke (6'4", 190lb freshman) round out the group, but should probably play sparingly.
Guards: Dejuan Clayton (6'2", 185lb 5th year senior) is the other star of the team. He's a downhill-type lead guard who forces turnovers, scores in transition, and handles the ball really well, but isn't much of a shooter. He's a veteran and one of the stars of the MEAC though, so our guards should be wary. Behind him is Dwaine Jones (6'5", 175lb freshman). Jones is a role-playing style PG, pass-first and defense-first.
The team should be a bit more dynamic and versatile this year, and could give a guy like Hurt trouble with their physicality and athleticism. So that'll be a nice first test for our sophomore F/C. Clayton should be a nice test for Roach as well, given his experience and savvy. And the Thomas/Moore matchup could be fun as well.
In all, it's a veteran opponent that plays a frenetic style, so that could be challenging for an opener. But in terms of talent, we're talking night and day between Duke and Coppin State, even with this not being as top-heavy a Duke team as we are used to seeing.