ICYMI: Will Wade’s annual “Merry Hypemas” took place this week

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"Penn is gonna affect more shots than he blocks, very cerebral player, very smart player," Wade said. "He understands our philosophy and he's used to playing a matchup zone, he's used to playing in a zone. Penn has an advanced understanding of what we're doing which has helped him adjust quickly."

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Jalen Cook might be the best on-ball defender I've seen since I was at VCU and we had Briante Webber, who's the second all-time NCAA steals leader," Wade said. "Cook is as good as I've seen at hounding the ball and guarding the ball."

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Thomas is one of the best scorers he's seen at the high school level in all of his years recruiting. Wade said it's gotten to the point in practice where if Thomas shoots the ball and it doesn't go in, it's a disappointing result.

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Remember the shots that Tremont [Waters] used to hit? Those are the kind of shots he can make while he's getting fouled. He's the real deal. As soon as the ball leaves his hand you think it's going in. The part I'm excited about is he gets fouled, he's a 90 plus percent free throw shooter, he's able to get in the paint and score a lot of different ways

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On the floor, Wade says Watford is shooting the ball extremely well and has the capability to shoot 38-40% from three, which would open up the driving lanes. "Trendon's done a phenomenal job, the first thing is just leadership. He's more vocal leading, he's talking to guys and has a great way about him," Wade said. "He's playing a lot more physical, whether it be posting up or rebounding and the area that fans will be excited about is he's shooting the ball really well."

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