Men's Basketball Preseason Report No. 5
11/4/2008 5:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team enter their final week of preseason practice in preparation for their season opener on Monday.
The game against Houston, which is the first NCAA Division I men’s basketball game in the nation, takes place Nov. 10 in Durham, N.C. as part of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
“It’s going to be hard to get a true test until we play in a real game,” said head coach Jeff Price. “The scrimmages have been helpful, at least somewhat for me to evaluate our new guys and individuals to see where they’re at. Scrimmages and real games are two different things and it will be interesting to see how we react on Monday.”
The Eagles took part in their second scrimmage Sunday against Stetson in Jacksonville.
“I think we got a lot out of it,” said Price. “We had a chance to work on a lot of different things, which is why I think scrimmages are much better for us than exhibition games. We got a look at a lot of individuals and rotations so from that perspective it was good. We had some positive points and we had some major concerns, but at this time of the year you’re going to have both of those things.”
POWER BROKERS
The Eagles were hit hardest at the power forward position with the loss of Louis Graham and Matthew Fields to graduation, but replaces them with two talented junior college transfers in Tyler Troupe and Sandy Perry.
“We’re really athletic but I’m concerned with our physical ability up front,” said Price. “Kenny and Krzysztof give us that when we need to be physical and Sandy, Tyler and Trumaine are more slashing-type players. We have some good scoring ability up there and the ability to run the court but I’m concerned with our physical strength.”
Troupe and Perry transferred in from Iowa Western CC and Barton County CC, respectively, and will be asked to contribute immediately due to the team’s key losses and lack of experience.
“They’re learning right now,” said Price. “They’re both talented but anytime you’re new to a system you won’t look as talented as you really are, but they are guys that can really get up and down the court, rebound the ball well and are extremely athletic.”
Returning is senior Trumaine Pearson who averaged 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 21 appearances last season, his first in a GSU uniform.
“We’ve been really pleased with his play in the last two scrimmages,” said Price. “He’s really improved from last year, more than anything with understanding what we’re doing and his intensity levels are a lot better.”
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