Men's Basketball Preseason Report No. 5
11/5/2007 5:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team enters its final week of preseason practice Monday in preparation for the season opener Nov. 12 at Florida State.
“We’re slowly starting to understand the level we have to play at from an intensity standpoint,” said Price. “I think that’s gotten better. We’re starting to see some individuals get better. Willie Powers and Julian Allen are improving each day and starting to get better [but] I knew that would take some time. They’re going to have to play so it’s going to have to happen sooner rather than later. But I really don’t think we’re going to be able to tell about our progress until we play in a game. Once we get these first few games under our belt we’ll have a better idea of where our team is.”
Saturday the team held its final scrimmage of the preseason against Coastal Carolina and new head coach Cliff Ellis. Regarding the squad’s performance Price said, “[It was] better than the previous scrimmage. I did think we improved. We learned from tape what we didn’t do well and I thought we did some things better. We were definitely better defensively, so I thought that was a positive.”
Since the start of preseason, Price and the staff have focused intensely on improving the Eagles’ offensive rebounding play.
“We’re getting better, but it’s something that we just have to watch every single possession and point it out on tape and show them. In order for us to score like we need to score, we need to have people on the glass every single time. As coaches, it’s our job to make sure that everybody’s going every single possession. Our players are becoming more aware of how serious we are about it.”
THE POWER COMPANY
Price believes that the power forward position is the deepest on the team. Anchoring the group is senior Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) who is the team’s top returning scorer (14.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.2 rpg), and is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (153). He also led the Southern Conference in double-doubles (13) last season.
“He’s working hard in practice,” Price said of Graham. “He’s going to have to get used to being double-teamed in the post. It’s happened in both scrimmages and he’s got to learn how to handle that better. He certainly has become more multi-faceted in his game. He can step out and shoot it.”
Among the returning players that gained experience last year are senior Matt Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) and junior Kenith Ward (Warner Robins, Ga.). Fields can play both the ?three’ and the ?four’ position on the floor while Ward does a lot of the dirty work under the basket.
Also in the rotation are junior college transfer Trumaine Pearson (Stuart, Fla.) and redshirt freshman Jared Collins (Lyons, Ga.).
“I’ve been pleased with Jared Collins. He gives us good energy. As a player, he’s not ready yet, but he gives us some really good energy and we need that. Matt Fields is off to a slow start. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that he couldn’t work out all summer or during individual workouts because of his foot. Matt looks like he hasn’t played in awhile. So I’m a little concerned with that. Kenny Ward has been excellent ? he looks like an experienced player ? and Trumaine Pearson is slowly starting to come along.”
