Got up early on my day off from work to drive over to the St. Paul side of town for the Friday morning (9:00 A.M.) practice at St. Kate's. I got over there early to catch up with both Head Coach Sean Pinkerton and Assistant Coach Tim Kjar. Both are excited for the upcoming season and the challenges that lay ahead as they seek to make amends for a disappointing 2014-15 season.
After I get settled in, one of the first things Pinkerton has the squad work on is on lay-ups in transition opportunities. This is a squad that definitely has the athleticism to get out and run but the overall work in the drills is not to Pinkerton's liking and not a good way to get this Friday morning practice started. As a result, full-court sprints are in order for the squad and they get an earful of Pinkerton's displeasure as well.
The next drill keeps the focus on transition as well. Here, one group of players are lined up on the baseline and two more groups are lined up along each sideline. Off of a mock rebound, one player from each group go down the court in a transition situation to finish with a lay-up. On the trip back down, a screen is set and the idea is to get the ball kicked out to the point guard. A similar drill is performed a bit late with three players going down the court in a mock transition opportunity but on the trip back, one of the players turns into a defensive player to represent a 2-on-1 situation.
After the team is split into two groups that allows the players to do a little one-on-one work, the focus then switches to defense in a 2-on-2 drill where the emphasis for the defenders is moving with the ball. This later morphs into a 3-on-3 half-court drill where the emphasis appears to be setting a good screen and coming off the screen as well. Later, a 5-on-4 half-court drill is done and the emphasis here is defensively moving with the ball.
The team then gets to do more work on lay-ups as they are split into two groups but in this drill, each player comes off of a screen set for them. Then, one of the last big drills of this morning workout is some 5-on-5 half-court work where the starters are on offense and the reserves are on defense. The starters definitely get the best of their understudies but, to make things halfway fair, the roles are later reversed where now the starters are on defense and the understudies get to show their stuff with the ball. Very good to watch and it gives the bench players a chance to showcase their skills. Finally, with fall break going on during the week, Pinkerton wraps up this morning practice as he has the players work on both their three-point shooting and their mid-range jumpers as well.
Outtakes: I've always felt that St. Kates is a team that you should keep your eyes on as they have the coaching and the athleticism to "topple the applecart" so to speak; i.e., spoil the hopes of another team's playoff chances and sneak into the MIAC playoffs. To do that, though, two things need to happen: (1) They have to, without question, stay healthy and (2) they have to find some consistency as they endured a nine-game skid from mid-January to mid-February last season. The twin sister duo of Audra and Meg Clark is more than just a fun show to watch. They work incredibly well together and they're only sophomores. Sharpshooting senior forward Shauna Horsch has developed into a true leader for this team and she's shown one more than one occasion that she can be a game-changer with her three-point shooting ability. Junior forward Mari Lee has blossomed into a very solid player and I expect big things from her this season. Junior guard/forward Kennedy Jennings is a very versatile, athletic player and, oh, let's not forget about junior guard/forward LaShay Holt who can single-handedly electrify a gym floor with her sensational ability on both ends of the floor. On the downside, depth again will be an issue so it'll be crucial for the reserves to develop as much as possible between now and January once the 'Cats delve into the meat of their schedule. Again, it's going to come down to (1) staying healthy and (2) finding consistency some consistency along the way. And it wouldn't hurt if they were able to steal a game or two that they're not supposed to win on paper.
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