The New Kid is Coming On
JCG, a regular in the peanut gallery, requested an update on Nikita Mescheriakov, the transfer from Georgetown who joined the Deacons this semester. It just so happens that Michael Jennings of Scout.com and I watched Nikita go through his paces at yesterday’s practice and we agreed that he certainly looked like he belonged on the court.
By way of disclaimer, I’m hesitant to draw too many conclusions about a player based simply on practice because I’ve seen too many be a beast at 3:45 in Miller Gym and a bust at 9 o’clock in Joel Coliseum playing against Duke in front of a nationally televised audience. I’ve also heard so many times about the newcomer, a transfer or a redshirt, being absolutely unstoppable in practice, only to find out the next season that he’s not really all that after all. Mescheriakov didn’t exactly leave a lasting mark at Georgetown. There was little apparent anguish when he left. His stats were nothing to text home to Belarus about.
Having hedged, I will say this about Mescheriakov. He’s tall, taller than the 6-7 he was listed when he played at Georgetown. That’s rare. Usually the 6-7 guy that shows up is actually 6-5 1/2, if that. Nikita looks every bit of 6-8 and may be close to 6-9. He and sophomore Ty Walker are on a separate weight-training regimen under Todd Hedrick, the basketball strength and conditioning coach, that has them both lifting four times a week. It is beginning to show in Mescheriakov’s upper arms and shoulders. He looks stronger than he did a month ago.
He’s left-handed and his shot is a line drive. But his touch looks pretty good. And he has 3-point range.
He also has spring in his legs and moves well. Again, he looks like he belongs on the court.
Coach Dino Gaudio said one reason he took Mescheriakov on the rebound was he liked his versatility. Dino felt he could play three or four positions on the court. He’s a natural wing forward, and I didn’t really see him as a power forward in his first days at Wake. But if he continues hitting the weights all through the off-season and puts on another few pounds of hard-rock muscle, then he might give the Deacons some minutes inside next season. He’ll definitely have the experience that the five incoming freshmen will not.
I’m not ready to climb out on the limb and say he’s a lock to start next season. But if he keeps working hard and developing, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the rotation.