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.
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