Had this Friday off from work - and thankfully so as I was still very much hungover from UCLA's Thursday night debacle up at Stanford. Nevertheless, I was able to make the 0900 Friday A.M. practice for Anoka-Ramsey and to see what Head Coach David DeWitt has for his 2015-16 squad. One thing is for sure - there are a LOT of new faces on the squad but there is also a lot of talent and athleticism as well and while the refined product will obviously take some time to reveal itself there's a sense that this program can get back to its winning ways and have a solid shot at getting back to the National Tournament as well.
After an initial "sit-down" meeting on the floor to discuss things such as getting better and playing hard as well as the upcoming jamboree on Saturday, DeWitt has his team doing its first drill which consists of having three players at a basket as the players move to different areas on the perimeter to work on their perimeter shooting. DeWitt stops the drill about a third of the way through as he not pleased with the lack of talking and communication between the players during the drill. Specifically, DeWitt wants his shooters yelling for the ball.
The next significant drill has one player from the baseline pass the ball out to a player near the top of the key and then the baseline person has to come out and defend the shot at the top of the key. A bit later, DeWitt has his squad do a 3-on-0 "shell" drill that emphasizes setting a good screen. Unfortunately, however, the drill is not going anywhere near the level that DeWitt expects and he vents his displeasure to his squad which in the end results in two sets of sprints.
After working on a variety of passes, DeWitt then has his squad in a 3-on-2 half-court drill that emphasizes ball movement and defending on a transition opportunity. Another 3-on-0 "shell" drill is done afterward that emphasizes crisp passing and movement. But again, the drill is not done to DeWitt's liking and he lets the team know about it under no uncertain terms. To have his squad fully understand what he wants, he has his team "walk through" the drill at a slow pace
Another 3-on-2 half-court drill and a 3-on-3 full-court drill are performed that emphasize defense and movement to the ball. Then comes a 5-on-0 "shell" drill where movement and positioning is emphasized. Several times during the drill, however, DeWitt has to stop the action to point out mistakes made by players coming off the screen that was set for them.
Finally, it's time for some 5-on-5 full-court action and this is where I got my first glimpse of the team's potential. But DeWitt has to stop the action several times again to point out various deficiencies that have to be corrected. And again, being that this is only mid-October, I fully expect that. Particularly when you have, for the most part anyway, a whole new group of players getting used to a new system. As I've told DeWitt myself on more than one occasion, "Rome wasn't built in a day."
DeWitt wraps up the morning practice by having the players work on their perimeter shooting some more before a short team meeting and having the squad set up things for the Saturday jamboree. Again, I think this squad has a ton of potential and the ability to make up for last year's disappointing season. The big thing for me that I want to see is who/whom develops as a leader for this squad. It becomes an interesting question considering that you have at least two players that are sophomores that transferred into Anoka-Ramsey after playing their first season on other teams. Chemistry is another thing that has to be developed as well although I think that will take care of itself as the season progresses. Certainly Anoka-Ramsey has to be considered one of the favorites in the MCCC along with Rochester and possibly Minnesota West.
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