Friday, October 14, 2011

First Practice - 10/14/11

DENVER - It's the ides of October, which can only mean one thing. That's right, college basketball practice started Friday at 5 p.m. MT.

The Pioneers hit the courts in Gates Fieldhouse inside the Ritchie Center. Some teams perform skits and sing songs, but Denver is all about the basketball, and there's something peaceful about just having the players, the coaches and the court. By 5:01 p.m. the team was at full speed.

The freshmen have a lot to learn, but they look as though the older guys have done a great job of preparing them for this practice. In fact, Royce O'Neale just broke down low past a couple of upperclassmen and got a layup.


Followers of the program no doubt noticed the absence of Rob Lewis in a Denver jersey last year. Well, he's back on the court tonight and looking like he's ready to make up for lost time.

After a few individual drills - layups, three-point shooting and fast breaks - the teams split into five-on-five for full court team drills.

Head coach Joe Scott appears to be in midseason form, coaching each player and making suggestions about how to perfect each cut, pass and drive. Every player and coach on this team is very upfront and vocal about wanting to improve each and every day.


The facilities at DU are outstanding. The normal practice facilities are Hamilton Gymnasium, where there are three full basketball courts. However, since there's a volleyball game tonight, the team is in Gates, which is a great alternative with two full courts. In fact, one of the actual courts used to be in Magness Arena before the team got a new one a few years ago.



A little over halfway through practice, the team is split up on both courts, so half the team is working two different aspects of the Denver offense. In a while, the players will switch sides in order to get everyone familiar with it.

One thing is clear this evening: everyone in this program is happy that practices have started, and the countdown is on for the first game on November 11.

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