Drove over to Roseville on Friday afternoon to take in Northwestern's late afternoon/early evening practice. I got to Ericksen Center shortly after 4:30 and was greeted by a very hospitable Head Coach Aaron Kahl and we discussed his squad and his hopes and expectations for the upcoming season.
After the team works on various warm-up and stretching exercises, the first order of the day for the team is working on short jump shots from near the "elbow" and on lay-ups that stress both accuracy and consistency as it's those small things that often count in critical moments in a close game. Another important early drill that Kahl has his squad do is what Kahl terms as "star passing"; i.e., where the team is in four small groups near center court and they work on various passes to each other. At first glance, it may not seem like that big of a deal but it's definitely harder than what it looks like and accurate and precise passing is crucial if the team is to be successful.
The next drill is an interesting one that is called "4 minute lay-ups" whereby two players are at each free throw line and then you have a line of players on each end of the floor. The players at the free throw line feed the players from the baseline who run down in transition and finish with a lay-up. But the drill that follows, "4 trips in :32" is really tough. Here, you have three players working together in a full-court drill where the goal is to make four successful trips up and down the court and finishing with a lay-up without making a mistake. It's definitely a challenging drill and considering the fact that you've got the clock working against you makes it even more difficult. But it's these types of drill that helps make Kahl's teams as successful as they are during the season.
The next drill has players starting out in a 5-on-0 "shell drill" down the court where they finish with passing and a lay-up but, on the trip back down, these five players are met by five defenders where they then battle it out in the half-court. Here, Kahl is stressing defense and it gives the squad a great opportunity to work on that 2-3 zone that Kahl is a strong believer in.
Then comes the 5-on-5 full-court work and here's where you really see the intensity and desire that this squad has. There is great chemistry and teamwork and a lot of encouragement for each other on this team and that's one of the big reasons why Northwestern has been as successful as they've been over the last few seasons. They are very close-knit and are really one big family. Finally, to wrap up the day, Kahl has his team work on some more short shots and some three-point shooting as well and finish the night up with the "big shot" whereby players take their chances with a half-court Hail Mary heave. It's a low-percentage shot to be sure but inevitably there are times when teams find themselves in those desperate situations and it doesn't hurt to practice it even if it's just for fun.
Outtakes: This is a relatively young team that features three seniors, five juniors and a handful of sophomores and freshmen. They do have senior forward/post Regan Cooper back but they do not have a lot of size. Jacki Smith, who used her lanky 6'2" frame to swat away shots last year has graduated and now is a volunteer assistant coach. What they do lack in size, however, is largely made up for with their athleticism and speed and the ability to hit the "3" and senior forward Kim Campbell along with junior guard Tiffany Stubbs appear to be the premier three-point threats for the Eagles. Junior forward Emily VanLith is a versatile player who can rebound and hit those tough shots in the paint and junior reserve post Rachel Hart figures to be counted on heavily for the tough work down low. So while the starting five appear to be solid and there are some good parts coming off the bench as well, the big question for Kahl then becomes how quickly can he develop his younger players......The entry of UW-Superior into the UMAC for the 2015-16 season drastically changes the mix as the Yellowjackets figure to be the favorites in their inaugural season in the conference. UM-Morris should once again be in the mix despite having some key graduation losses to a squad that won the UMAC Championship game and played in the NCAA Tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment