CSB Practice 10-26-22

 Made my way up US Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline up to the St Cloud area and the short jaunt over to nearby St. Joe to take in this late Wednesday afternoon practice at CSB.  Was my first time up there in a while and was running a little late thanks to traffic and a missed turn (😖 my fault on that one!) but CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin was more than understanding and, in fact, the team had just started out on things after a team meeting earlier so I actually didn't miss much.  

When I got settled inside Claire Lynch Hall, Durbin and his staff had the squad split into two groups at both ends of the floor where the squad did some 3-on-0 "shell" drills that emphasized on movement and getting into position to set screens for teammates.  Not long thereafter, the team was back as one again; this time to do a full-court 5-on-0 "shell" drill that simulated up-tempo and transition situations.

Next, Durbin and his staff have the team split into two groups again to do some 2-on-2 half-court work and here it appears that the emphasis is the drive and dribble aspect and the inside game.  Not long after, the team is back together as one group again and two items that I've never seen before - The Big Cones - are brought out onto the court for a drill that has the player come out to the cones and guard them as if they were offensive players with the ball.  They then move to a player that actually has the ball and prepare for on-ball defense.  

Back in two groups again, Durbin and his staff have the team do some 3-on-3 half-court work where the emphasis appears to to having players get through screens to get set up for on-ball defense.  There's also work done to emphasize the "help side" defense and having defenders switch properly on defense.  Durbin then changes things around a bit; bringing the team back together and makes it a 5-on-5 half-court drill where the emphasis stays the same.

Split up into two groups again, Durbin has the team do some 2-on-1 work to emphasize setting a proper screen to free up the other offensive player for either a lay-up or a mid-range jumper.  A bit later, Durbin has the team back together for some more 5-on-5 half-court work to see if some of these finer points (switching, setting screens) are being done properly.

Next, back into two groups again at each end, Durbin has the team work on a variety of shots where a certain number of each shot has to be made by the players - lay-ups, short-range jumpers off the glass and mid-range jumpers - before moving on to the next type of shot. Staying in two groups, Durbin then has the team groups do some 5-on-0 "shell" work to work on some different plays that are being installed.  Then, with the squad back together again, Durbin then has the team do some 5-on-5 half-court work to see how well the team executes some of these plays against a defense.  

To wrap up things for the night, Durbin has the team back into two groups again to work on some more lay-ups and a variety of jump shots.  Finally, Durbin has the squad into four different groups to work on a requisite number of free throws.

Outtakes:  I have to confess that the first thing that stood out in my mind when I started watching this group work was, "My God this team is long!"  Even at the guard and wing positions, this team has length it seems like.  I think that, without question, when it comes to the guard and wing positions, Durbin and his staff are set up as well as maybe anyone in the MIAC.  Durbin is not the only person who is high on junior guard Carla Meyer who played her HS ball at Totino-Grace ("I'll put her up against any guard in the MIAC" Durbin confided in me.), I am as well and she's got the goods to be one of the top players in the conference, IMHO.  Durbin also had high praises for sophomore guard Sophia Jonas out of Hudson, WI as well.  To me, the big questions looming around this team and its fortunes this season will revolve around the #4 and post positions where Durbin and his staff will need to find some consistency.  Defensively as well, there have been some issues on that front from last season and that's something that will have to be worked on.  All in all, this team has more than enough weapons to be firmly in the MIAC race and a solid contender for a MIAC playoff spot.......The Bennies will start the season on 11-12 with a road game at UMAC opponent UM-Morris before going into a string of six conference games; the most important ones will be GAC paying a visit to Claire Lynch on 11-22 as well as successive trips down to the Cities to face Augsburg on 12-3 and Hamline on 12-10.  You can bet that the team will be looking forward to the weekend of 12-18/12-19 when they fly out to Hawaii where they'll first take on Worcester St out of the MASCAC on 12-18 and then perennial powerhouse DePauw out of the NCAC the next day (12-19) before delving back into the meat-grinder of the MIAC schedule right after the first of the year.     

St. Kate's Practice - 10-24-22

 Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this cold, rainy Monday night to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University to take in this early season practice of the St. Kate's team.  I got there early enough to have time to chat with Head Coach Don Mulhern and catch up on things on the basketball front.  I've known Don for a while now and consider him a very good friend and I truly enjoy the times we get to talk about not only basketball or sports but life in general. 

Once the team is on the floor, Mulhern and his assistants have the squad get loosened up and stretched out for the evening of work ahead and there's a wide array of items that Mulhern has his team work on for this Monday night.  The first drill that the team does on this night is a drill called "Kentucky Shooting".  The team is split up into two groups at each main basket and starts with both right- and left-handed layups.  It then transitions to short- and mid-range jumpers from both in the lane and near the elbow areas.  Then it transitions to jumpers from three-point land.  A specific number of shots from each area must be made before the two groups can move to the next area.  Then it starts coming back to the short- and mid-range jumper area before closing out with some more layups.  

Next is an interesting 4-on-4 drill that actually starts out with four offensive players taking on three defensive players with the fourth defensive player coming in from the side to try and simulate (I think) an up-tempo situation where adjustments have to be made on both sides of the ball.  

Next, Mulhern and Assistant Coach Ben Fleming has the team do some half-court work that focuses first on perimeter screens and proper defensive switching.  Later on, Fleming has the squad focus on some newly-installed defensive tactics that will hopefully improve this squad's efforts on the defensive end and enable them to be more disruptive against opponents.  Mulhern also has the team do a 3-on-3 drill that focuses on the post area where defensive players have to move along the baseline in relation to where the ball is moving and the defensive players must know when to switch as well.  

Mulhern has the team do a few other other interesting drills as well.  One; called the Tim Kjar Sprint Helpside drill (for former St. Kate's Assistant and Head Coach Tim Kjar; a good friend of mine) where the team gets in two lines and has to sprint from basically an on-ball position to either the sideline or the mid-court area.  Another interesting one that I've never seen before is the "Winona Offense" drill that Mulhern has the team do which starts as a 5-on-0 "shell" drill that eventually becomes a 5-on-5 half-court situation.  Still another interesting drill that Mulhern has the team to is termed the "Inbounds Mabel Boston" (and don't ask me where this term came from either).  It's another 5-on-0 "shell situation that focuses on in-bounds situations and the team is split into two groups to work on this.  It then morphs into a 5-on-5 halfcourt drill with the team back as one group.  

Another area where Mulhern hopes to have his squad become more aggressive on the defensive side is with some full-court press work.  From remembering when Dr. Tom Davis employed this strategy several times during his days as head coach at my alma mater, Iowa, it's an incredibly effective strategy when you're attempting a comeback, especially in the latter stages of the game when you need to rattle your opponent.  True, it helps if you have the right kinds of athletes to employ a press but it can very effective at times.  

Lastly, to close things out for the evening, Mulhern has the team split up into small groups to work on free throws for a bit; always a very important area of the game and I've always been a firm believer that a player can never shoot too many free throws in practice.

Outtakes:  First, right off the bat, the one thing I really like about this team is the great leadership on the floor that Mulhern and his staff have with this squad.  Two fifth-year seniors - Sam Orth and Mackenzie Kurczek along with senior Bree Glynn - are as good a trio as any in the MIAC and I picked up right away how they're able to lead the younger players on some of the finer points of the game and what needs to be done during drills.  This trio is as good as they come when it comes to leadership.  Junior Karis Zezza out of STMA has also quietly come along with her game and is a solid player.  Lanky 5'11" sophomore Greta Schimnowski out of Mahtomedi now has a year of experience under her belt and should figure prominently in the St. Kate's frontcourt.  I also like fellow sophomore Sydney Elliott out of Rochester Lourdes to figure more and more into the equation for this St. Kate's team.......As it seems in so many years past, the key items for this squad's success always seem to hinge on these items:  (1) Can they find some level of consistency when the first of the year rolls around in the meat of the brutal MIAC schedule?  (2) Can they develop some of the younger faces on this team so that they can provide some quality minutes in relief?  (3) Can this group collectively become better on defense? (4) Most importantly, can they stay relatively healthy?  If they can answer "Yes" to these questions, there's no reason why this team can't be a factor in the MIAC race and contend for a conference playoff spot........  Speaking of those "younger faces", Mulhern does indeed have some good ones and they were able to show their stuff this last summer at the Midtown YWCA Women's College League........The Wildcats start things off this next Wednesday night with an exhibition game against DII Concordia St Paul over at Gangelhoff Arena.  The following weekend has the team taking a trip to Florida where they'll face off against Webber International University on Friday (11-11) and then another exhibition game where they'll face Trinity Baptist College.  Then come six MIAC contests before the holiday break.  The team will also visit the shores of Gitche Gumee up in Superior, Wisconsin just before the first of the year; taking on host UW-Superior on Friday (12-30) and Finlandia on Saturday (12-31) before delving back into MIAC play.      

Back At It Again For Another Season!

 Have been a little busy as of late and following the up-and-down fortunes of both my LA Rams and UCLA Bruins (along with the alma mater, Iowa) hasn't helped but another season is now officially upon us.  And with being on vacation this week, that gives me the opportunity to do a few things so while my time is a bit limited this week, I do plan on taking in a couple of practices and will have full reports on them.  And, soon anyway, I'll have my annual MIAC predictions for this upcoming season.

Where'd the summer go to?  Well, the cooler temps and falling leaves are indicative of another season upon us and it's time to get ready.  Bring it on!