First Practice - 10/16/09

DENVER - It's the first official practice of the year, so we're going to be blogging throughout.

5:00 p.m. - Coach Joe Scott gathers the players on the sidelines to let everyone know what the team is doing today.

5:04 p.m. - It's good to hear Coach Scott yelling out instructions again. It's been a long offseason without basketball.

5:05 p.m. - Andrew Hooper just drilled a three-pointer at the end of a play.

5:14 p.m. - The team broke up into three courts with each group working on different fundamentals.

5:18 p.m. - To outsiders, these practices probably look like chaos. Everyone is acting based on what other players are doing. It's part of the beauty of this offensive, because it makes everything fluid.

5:25 p.m. - The groups have already switched courts twice. Each rotation is quick, so it's important for the players to utilize their time and energy.

5:28 p.m. - When you see these guys nearly every day, you don't always noticed how much they are growing and how much stronger they look. But guys like Sabatino Chen and Rob Lewis look like they hit the weight room quite a bit over the summer. And, of course, Nate Rohnert has been seen in the gym or weight room nearly every day since he arrived on campus. Clearly all the players worked hard during the offseason.

5:34 p.m. - Former player David Kummer just stopped in to watch for a while. It's not too hard for him to get to the Ritchie Center, since he's working fulltime at the Daniels College of Business now.

5:42 p.m. - This is the first year the team has really had upperclassmen who can help the new players. Last year, DU was the youngest team in the nation. With Rohnert as the only fourth-year player, and Rob Lewis and Kyle Lewis as the only third-year players, this team is still young. However, these freshmen don't look quite as intimidated as they learn the system, and that is because guys like Nate, Rob and Kyle are doing a good job of making sure the new guys understand what's going on.

5:46 p.m. - Most of the early part of practice involved five guys running the offense, but now five more guys are out there playing defense.

5:48 p.m. - Backdoor cuts are tough to guard, even when it's our own guys playing defense.

5:49 p.m. - Even sophomore player/manager Alex Pickert is pulling the freshmen aside to give them pointers.

5:53 p.m. - Freshman 6-foot-7 forward Blake Foeman just swished a three-pointer in what was a well-run play.

5:55 p.m. - Freshman Chase Hallam is guarding his older brother Travis, a sophomore. There seems to be some healthy competitive fire between them.

5:57 p.m. - The women's basketball team is standing on the sidelines, ready to start their first practice of the season in a couple minutes. They kind of look like their in the starting blocks, ready to sprint. There's some obvious excitement in the air for the new basketball season for both the men and women.

5:58 p.m. - Just heard the first "knucklehead" comment of the season.

6:00 p.m. - With the women taking the court, the men's team heads into the locker room for a post-practice talk from Coach Scott. And so ends the first practice of the season.