First Practice of the Year - 8/12/10

DENVER - Practice has come early for the University of Denver men's basketball team. Because the team is heading to Spain for a 13-day, six-game tour later this month, the Pioneers are allowed 10 practice days before they leave.

Normally teams are limited to a pair of one-hour workouts per week before the official start of practice on Oct. 15. The NCAA permits this type of international trip every four years, but Denver has never taken one.

Seniors Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) and Andrew Hooper(Lakewood, Colo.); juniors Justin Coughlin (Yuma, Colo.), Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas), Trevor Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.), Alex Pickert (Carmel, Calif.), Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Colo.) and Tyler Thalken (Tulsa, Okla.); sophomores Blake Foeman (Weston, Fla.) and Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas); and freshman Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) all participated at today's practice.

This team has a lot of experience with juniors and seniors representing 10 of the 13 slots on the roster, and all of the players were enrolled in summer school in June and July, including Udofia in his first official college quarter, so they spent a lot of time in the gym together, working out and playing pick-up games.

The work they put in this summer was apparent, as all of the players looked bigger and stronger, and judging from the relative calmness of the coaching staff, it seems safe to say the players did what they needed to stay in shape since last season. There was a little rust, but it was considerably less than one could rightfully expect at the first practice of the year.

The energy level was high today, and there was excitement in the air. The guys know that these practices will help them prepare to face professional Spanish teams, which in turn will help them this season.

Head coach Joe Scott has been part of two teams that took European tours - Princeton before the 1997-98 season and Air Force in 2003-04 - and both teams were ranked the following season, won their conference titles and played in the NCAA Tournament.

This was the first time that Udofia got to experience a Denver practice, and as the only first-year player, he got a lot of one-on-one coaching today. It's also nice seeing Noonan out there and knowing he is finally eligible after spending last season on the bench as a mandatory redshirt after transferring from Air Force.

As you might expect, the returning players look a lot more confident in the Denver system than they did during first practices the past three seasons, and nearly every player pulled Udofia aside at some point to help explain something or just encourage him.

The Pioneers return to the gym again tomorrow for their second practice.