January 10th, 2009 . 11:43 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

Welcome my friends to one of my favorite events of the year, the MLS Combine.

As usual on Day One I am going attempt my totally unscientific method of not looking at anyone’s name and only writing down numbers and my thoughts on them.  As I give you an evaluation of each player today I will at the end list his name.  The idea being to have some objectivity.  Although clearly some guys are so obvious having seen them before, it’s really impossible to do this completely.  I still find it fun to try.  To play along, try and not read the name until after the comments.

The first day is usually the worst set of game as no one knows each other.  If today is anything to go by this combine is looking much better than the last two.  The overall level of play is stronger and I only see one or two bad players.  Of course the very tip top talent is missing with Grella and Tracy both skipping the event.  Plus some of the best attackers have been picked out already via Generation adidas the last few years.  And Ike Opara didn’t come out.  Brad Ring is hurt and missing as well.

One Request:  If you are a friend or family member of a player at the MLS combine, you might not want to read these reports.  Really you should stop reading now. Some of the comments will not be very positive.  This is no longer college or youth soccer. It’s not Johnny’s turn to play.  This is now pro sports and we will occasionally be harsh. 

And if you think I’m tough you should hear what MLS coaches say. They are far harsher than I am.  I am looking for upside while MLS coaches are looking for flaws to eliminate a guy… which almost all of these players have in some way.

Ok, on with the show.

Game One: Predator PowerSwerve (Red) – 0 vs. adiTunit (Blue) – 2

Both teams in solid colors and both teams play a diamond 4-4-2.  Both of those things are true of the second game as well.  I’ll give you the formations and subs first then the player evals.  I’m sure somewhere I missed a sub. Any goals will be mentioned under the player evaluations cause the score isn’t really the point here.

Predator PowerSwerve (Red)

1st Half

2nd Half

adiTunit (Blue)

1st Half

2nd Half

Player Analysis: Predator PowerSwerve (Red)

17 – Shows nice hands. Not much chance to show anything else. Not really at fault on either goal. Might have been out a touch quicker on the second. (Evan Bush, Akron)

80 – To stiff to be quick and he’s far to static in the center channel during the first half.  In the second half he is much better, someone must have yelled at him.  Energetic and mobile, takes people on and creates chaos.  Very physical and intense, but still no pace to run by people.  No finesse to his game, all strength and power. (Quincy Amarikwa, Cal-Davis)

81 – An aggressive high defender at right back, cuts out a lot of passes.  Does look forward some.  Tends to over pursue and get caught out of position.  That might get you killed in MLS.  Couple tough fouls in the second half.   (Oscar Castillo, UConn)

82 – Solid soccer player, doesn’t get forward aggressively enough for my taste today. Not showing the pace to beat anyone.  Can combine but occasionally carries into the defense and losses it.  Better when he switches out left cutting inside and shooting.  Starting to see a little something.  Just an above average soccer player, but that may not be enough. (Jeff Harwell, SMU)

83 – Not good.  Bad touch, off the pace mentally, and turns the ball over almost every time. Didn’t beat anyone. On today’s performance he should not be here.  Hope he steps it up.  (Keum Sung Kim, Loyola-Chicago)

84 – Holds the ball well but never penetrates into the attacking third. Has good awareness of overlaping players but doesn’t create scoring chances for his forwards as he’s not pressing forward himself.  Still, an above average skill set here.  I’d like to see him play wider or deeper. (Akeem Priestley, UConn)

85 – Lanky and really wants to get forward.  Spent whole day running up and down.  An Ezra Hendrickson starter kit.  Great looking potential here to be a pro outside back. (Lyle Adams, Wake Forest)

87 – Smooth, plays with this head up.  Good D positioning. Holds the middle together for his team, they are worse when he goes out.  Makes some nice late trailing runs into the box, good timing.  The best player in Game One in my opinion.  (Sam Cronin, Wake Forest)

88 – Works back to midfield a lot.  Very smart and savvy player, good soccer brain. Good vision and awareness.  But is there enough athleticism and pace? Not seeing it today.  (Doug DeMartin, Michigan State)

89 – First half he wasn’t involved much, but looks ok. Second half he looks like a typical big college type striker without real top tier skill. Works hard.  (Bryan Irwin, Portland)

90 – Quick with good positioning.  Has some athleticism. Seems to be in the right place most of the time.  But his feet aren’t great.  Unpreserved blunder with the ball sets up the first goal.  Makes a few more mistakes with the ball in the second half.  Poor concenttration.  (Yohance Marshall, South Florida)

91 – Tall, thin defender, occasionally a touch slow to react but has recovery pace and toughness.  Some upside here perhaps, maybe with coaching.  His touch a bit heavy and he’s not passing well out of the back. (Ryan Mirsky, SMU)

92 – Looks like he might know how to play, but no pace.  Moves central in the second half and is far to static as he doesn’t seem to want to run.  Big drop off from 87 and 84 centrally when he moves in there.  (Patrick Murray, Furman)

93 – Good Range, solid awareness.  Has the pace to beat anyone on the dribble and the ball skills to make it pay of… which he does frequently.  Except that he’s cant finish and doesn’t have a great shot.  Would he be better as a wide mid?  (Steve Zakuani, Akron)

95 – Pretty good feet for a bigger player, but I don’t see a lot to comment on early.  Doesn’t get involved enough for my taste, but doesn’t hurt himself either.  (Nick Zimmerman, James Madison)

96 – Big tall thick defender who dominates in the air, even in the midfield.  He was never really challenged so other than be an immense presence hard to say much about him.  Didn’t get beat that I saw.  (Omar Gonzalez, Maryland)

Player Evaluations: adiTunit (Blue)

6 – Good shot stopper, terrific body positing… Body core behind the hands. (Stefan Frei, Cal)

40 – Solid if unspectacular outside back.  Makes a couple rash fouls early in the second half and has trouble with 88.  (Trevor Banks, Old Dominion)

41 – Great motor and work rate.  Wants to get forward and combine.  Shows some dangerous timing and a bent to attack.  Having trouble getting teammates on the same page.  Roams all over the place and can beat people with the ball and without.  (Josh Boateng, Liberty)

42 – Reads the game well. Terrific timing.  Arguably the best pure defender on display today but kinda small for the middle.  Could he be a Parkhurst? The skill level is very high.  (AJ Delagarza, Maryland)

43 – Getting into good areas.  Has a nose for the ball and the skill to do some things and enough pace.  Quick feet.  Came oh so close to making the key play in the second half but never pulled it off.  I like this kid a little bit. (Richard Jata, Campbell)

44 – A bit off the mental pace early but much better later.  Wants to run a lot but doesn’t get result getting forward. Get up and down a ton but can’t really combine in the box.  (Rodney Wallace, Maryland)

45 – Nice left footed cross after working back from the corner.  Hitting opposition hard and often a touch late… hope he doesn’t hurt someone.  He’s intense.  Wants to combine but it’s not coming off yet.  (Brandon Barklage, Saint Louis)

46 – Looks really nervous.  Passes are good but they are all backward.  No range and no real ball winning.  Far to static.  (Pavelid Castenada, Duke)

47 – Wants to overlap but isn’t getting the ball played out to him.  Hit a poor cross on his best overlap.  No notable mistakes as a defender.  (Paul Gretenberger, Boston College)

48 – Good defending but not a real playmaker, good long passes.  He’s playing to high as an a-mid, needs to be a holder or linker.  Tall for a midfielder.  (Andrei Gotsmanov, Creighton)

50 – Covers a lot of ground.  Cuts inside well, has pace and a good shot.  Runs all game long and consistently creates opportunity for teammates.  Good player with upside.  One of the most intriguing players in this first game.  (Kyle Patterson, Saint Louis)

51- Tactically very good, moves and reads well.  Nice on the ball. Best striker on display in this game.  His goal is a real cracker and he showed the skill to create space for the shot.  He got the ball via gift muff by the defender, but the skill to open gap and shoot were really nice.  (Chris Pontius, UCSB)

52 – To slow on the ball.  Every pass is backward.  Can’t beat anyone with the ball at his feet and is forced to go the other way.  Dogged ball winner, tackles hard but has limited skills. (Matt Poole, Virginia)

53 – Average defender, doesn’t look to get forward that I saw.  Got caught in possession once and had the ball stolen by 93.  (Kyle Russell, Coastal Carolina)

54 – Plays a lot of defense for a forward and is not great in combo play. Puts his first shot high into the bleachers but his second chance is better.  Doesn’t show the skill to separate from defenders, and has to look down when dribbling.  Scores the second goal (2-0) when a bad clear is played back in and falls to him.  He was two yards behind most of the D but is kept on side by someone.  Nice turn and shoot, he scores but if he had missed would have been horrific.  (Peri Marosevic, Michigan)

55 – Big, tall, strong, physical, intimidating, solid defense.  Feet aren’t wonderful but he’s solid and massive.  Someone might take him on the size alone.  He closes his eyes on the first header of the day and misses it, but after that is dominate in the air.  Covers up for some teammates and several times shoulders the opposition off the ball.  Project with upside.  (Babajide Ogunbiyi, Santa Clara)

56 – Solid game and he’s looking to try stuff, it’s just not coming off at this level.  Is he used to lower level of defender? 91 handling him without to much trouble.  Turning it over to much.  Keep it simple kid.  (Daniel Revivo, Winthrop)

Game Two: adiPure (Green) – 1 vs adidas Tiro (White) – 0

As I mentioned both teams in solid colors and a diamond 4-4-2.  White dominates possession in this game to a ridiculous extent, in fact some of the green players I can’t evaluate well cause they never really get to see much of the ball.  Although perhaps that should tell us something.  Unfortunately for white they don’t have much of a striker force it appears so they don’t get many shots off with a real chance at net.  Green seems to have a couple interesting forwards as they get some cahnces without having much of the ball at all.  Green grabs the lone goal on one of their few forays into the attacking third and make it hold on.

Undoubtedly when White did all the changes in the second half I missed something on the subs.

adiPure (Green)

1st Half

2nd Half

adidas Tiro (White)

1st Half

2nd Half

Player Evaluations: adidas Tiro (White)

13 – Tall, lanky looking keeper, aggressive coming out and agile.  Gets the most work of any keeper today during the first half.  Kept green in it early. (Steward Ceus, Albany)

14 – Played the second half with virtually nothing to do.  I don’t recall him even touching the ball beyond one tip.  (Milos Kocic, Loyola-Maryland)

60 – Can run by some people.  Not a great passer, but can really move with the ball in a vertical way.  Can cut inside and go by multiple defenders.  Missing the tiny difference making touch in the box.  But some really nice potential, maybe the most interesting pure winger today. a real run at people kind of player.  (Ryan Maxwell, Tampa)

61 – Staying home a lot, moves well side to side.  Plays with his head up and has some skill but isn’t winning many balls.  Looks like more of a linking kind of player.  Made a couple great runs forward.  Interesting.  (Michael Lahoud, Wake Forest)

62 – Working hard.  Smart soccer player.  But he’s not give much space to move by 25 and he couldn’t separate.  (Chris Salvaggione, UNC Charlotte)

63 – Some bad passes early.  Not looking great at left back, nervous and turns it over several times.  Worst white defender in the first 45.  Switches to right back in the second half and is much better.  Now he’s playing good defense and getting forward well.  I would swear this is not the same player as the first half.  Cuts out passes well. (Kevin Alston, Indiana)

64 – Playing back in midfield far to much, almost making it a 4-5-1.  Can turn and go at people, reads the game well.  Looks better late as a wide midfielder.  Combines well. (Graham Zusi, Maryland)

65 – Good tackler, good passer. Staying with guys and marks tightly.  Aggressive with physical side.  Rarely beat at all.  Showed pace to run with everyone but 20.  HIgh energy and chatty leader in back. (Calum Angus, Saint Louis)

66 – Sweet feet. Gets into the opposition box and almost scores twice.  Arguably his team’s best scoring threat and he was playing right back.  Truly modern overlapping outside defender.  Only average pace but almost always dangerous.  (Evan Brown, Wake Forest)

67 – Deep stay at home defender, almost plays like a sweeper.  Doesn’t mark tight enough, giving forwards too much space. (Chris Clements, Tulsa)

68 – Bigger wide player and has a solid game, would like to see more crosses from him. Covers a lot of ground for a larger player.  Did some good things early but tired in the second half and stepped on the ball once or twice.  (Dylan Curtis, Cal-Davis)

69 – Strapping looking wide player but not much else to say. He hurts his ankle and has to come out to have it taped.  Goes back in and I don’t notice him much after that.  Hope he’s ok as the injury limited the evaluation.  (Alex Grendi, Penn)

70 – Wow, what a first impression.  Terrific defender and really fast.  Loves to get forward and has relentless work rate.  So confident by game end he is almost fooling around and messing with people.  One of my favorite players all day today, blew me away. (David Hertel, Michigan State)

71 – Good work rate.  Wants to do stuff but it’s not coming together.  Chasing the game to much and having trouble finding the play.  (Ryan Maduro, Providence)

74 – Nice skills, but a bit… sloth like in movements.  Not a great athletic body or manner.  Undoubted skilled, but not my kind of player.  Much better in the second half when he’s deep in the midfield.  Can he tackle?  Good passer. (Baggio Husidic, Illinois- Chicago)

75 – Big, hard, and strong defender with fantastic looking feet for a center back.  Smooth and can pass really well.  Has he been a midfielder in the past? Organizes and run the back line. I like this one.  (George John, Washington)

76 – Decent feet for a big man, but not real fast.  To static central in first half, moves better later.  Not a lot of upside here I don’t think. Getting more involved, but not much going on with it. Tries to combine and work with oters. (Ross Schunk, Redlands U)

77 – A big lumbering kind of player. I don’t see enough skill today.  Not great in combination play.  Didn’t impress me. (Nick Perera, UCSB)

Player Evaluations: adiPure (Green)

9- Didn’t really have anything to do in the second half.  Only green chances weren’t really threatening. (Alec Duffy, Evansville)

10 – Not great feet on the ball back to him, played into stands.  Didn’t have to do much.  Perhaps could have done a little better on the goal but his D got caught napping. (Neal Kitson, St John’s)

20 – Can really run, and I mean really run.  Not amazing on the ball, but not terrible.  Moves with a long, loping gate.  Did hit a nice cross when he got the chance to set up 34. A project, but an interesting one.  (Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, George Mason)

21 – Passes well, has a quick step. Darting attacking minded player.  Looked like he could run all day. (Raphael Cox, Washington)

22 – Really wants to attack and is looking to combine.  Didn’t do much to stand out on the wing though.  Seemed a bit out of place wide. (Juan Guerra, Florida International)

23 – Outside back with something to offer.  I want to see more.  Not getting forward as much in the second half as he tires.  (Jack Traynor, Notre Dame)

24 – Scrappy hard working player.  Great tenacity and looks willing to try combination play.  Even in the late minute still working and fighting. Never has much luck against 70.  (Daniel Cruz, UNLV)

25 – Athletic, tight man marker type.  Doesn’t do much build out play.  Handling best white forwards without to much trouble.  Has some upside I think.  Played a little wide right late, I’d like to see some more of that..  (Darrius Barnes, Duke)

26 – Solid passer, good reader.  Sooth and smart player.  All around good defender.  Good feet, touch, and passing skills for a defender.  I’d like to see him as a d-mid cause I think he’s got the polish to play there.  (Matt Besler, Notre Dame)

27 – Active but not getting a lot of the ball.  This is one of the players I wasn’t able to get much of a read on cause green couldn’t get much possession past midfield.  (Graciano Brito, Quinnipiac)

28 – Good long passer, the kind of smooth and fluid player I personally like to watch play.  Can change the angle of attack on the run with the ball.  Tackles well but is not a ball winner but good linker maybe. I’ll be looking closely in the next few games here. (Aaron Clapman, Louisville)

29 – Covering lots of ground.  Almost always in the right place, never looks rushed in covering.  On the goal had a sweet weighted ball behind defense holding up just to far for the keeper. At least I think he did it on purpose.  (Jokul Elisabetarson, UNC Greensboro)

30 – Good turn to get out of trouble in the back once, solid skills.  Above average defender.  Shows up the side to help O but not truly dangerous getting forward.  (Wes Knight, College of Charleston)

31 – Good tackler but pedestrian with the ball.  Not really effective with his passing nor dangerous on the dribble.  Not notably quick either.  (Paul Nicholson, Rio Grande)

32 – Tough, big and physical and really looking to impact the game. Loves to hit and hit hard.  Playing as an a-mid but could be a strong safety instead.  Some soccer skills too, that’s a combination worth looking at.  I’d love to see him as a d-mid where he might be really great.  Good range and pressures well. (Jean Alexandre, Lynn)

33 – Good mover and worker, athletic, quick, has some game.  Looks the most dangerous of the forwards in this game and one of better on the day. Scores the lone goal when he gets behind D on a great weighted pass from 29.  (Jordan Seabrook, South Florida)

34 – Wide winger or striker.  Has a nice chance in the box and doesn’t finish, although it was a good save.  Made a few good runs into danger spots but didn’t wow me.  Touch isn’t good enough today. (Jeremy Hall, Maryland)

35 – A bit lumbering as a defender, not refined.  No big mistakes but not offering much beyond man marking.  (Michael Holody, Michigan)

A Couple Thoughts

 - These kinds of games are obviously a terrible way to evaluate keepers.  Only Ceus did anything notable.

- While the attacking talent took a big blow with the loss of Tracy and Grella, the overall play at this combine day one was good.  Better than recent years to my eye. 

- Those two missing names kills this being the year of the striker.  Now it’s just an average striker group with only one or two worth talking about plus a couple with potential.

- One coach joked to me that Sigi would now be on the phone shopping his #1 pick desperately.  I never was convinced about this Zakuani lock #1 to Seattle talk.  A college forward is not a great investment IMO for an expansion team when there are a couple strong defenders available.  I will not be remotely shocked if Sigi takes a center back who can start now #1, someone like Omar Gonzalez for example.

- A few notable positions…  What is Lahoud doing playing holding mid?  George John as a center back?  Trevor Banks at right back, confirming his apparent move to D.  Rodney Wallace as right mid and not right back?  Even Brown as a left mid late, hum.  Juan Guerra wide, I thought he was a central play makers kinda guy?

- Some players that helped themselves in my eyes: Kyle Patterson, Babajide Ogunbiyi, Josh Boateng, Richard Jata, Evan Brown, George John, David Hertel, Jordan Seabrrok, Matt Besler, and Darrius Barnes.  (If I already knew they were good, it’s hard for them to help themselves)

- Some players that hurt themselves in my opinion: Keum Sung Kim, Peri Marosevic, Quincy Amarikwa, Yohance Marshall, Patrick Murray, Chris Clements, Kevin Alston, Paul Nicholson, Michael Holody.

- Best player today IMHO: Sam Cronin.  Runner up: Chris Pontius.

In Closing, a Small Plea

3rd Degree doesn’t make money and these trips aren’t cheap.  Sure I’m here for my own enjoyment on a certain level.  But if you like the work you’re reading here, why not send us a $1 or $2.  Pay pal works: buzz@3rddegree.net.

And please forgive any typos. It’s late, this is a long piece, and I want to get it up on the site ASAP.

Categories: Features.

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