One of the nice things about being on the retired side is that I now can do more things and go more places on the basketball front and this day was no exception as I made the trip across the St. Croix River on this sunny and decent early November afternoon to River Falls, WI and the Falcon Center on the campus of UW-River Falls. The Falcon Center is an absolutely beautiful facility (and I'll have more on this later) and an awesome place to visit. I was greeted by Falcons Head Coach Shelby Lyman shortly after I entered the facility. Lyman led me to the home of the UW-River Falls Falcons - Don Page Arena; an absolutely gorgeous home floor if there ever was one. After we were able to get caught up on some things, Lyman had to meet with her team for a quick film session and then Lyman and her staff came out onto the floor of the arena a bit later.
To start things off, Lyman and the team met at center court after the players had a chance to stretch a bit and get some shots up as well to go over the agenda on this day. For the first drill on this day, Lyman had the team split into three groups where the players first have to perform a crossover dribble and then get to the hoop for a lay-up. After the requisite number is made, the drill is modified to finish with a floating jumper in the lane. A little later, the drill is modified even more as the players now have to finish with a lay-up with their non-dominant hand. The last modification includes finishing with a jumper from the elbow areas.
Next, Lyman has the team in two groups at each end of the floor and here the players start working on 1-on-1 situations. Then, after a few minutes, these two groups start working on 3-on-3 situations in the half court.
Next, Lyman has her team do an interesting drill where you have two players at one end of the floor and three coming from the other end with the ball in a simulated transition opportunity (3-on-2) One of the three players does a lay-up coming down but one of the two players feeds a ball to one of the other three and they have to knock down a pull-up jumper. After this drill is completed, Lyman then has the team run lines from one end and back again.
Another interesting drill follows with players at each end of the floor. One player shoots a free throw and then you have a 2-on-1 situation in transition the other way. This drill then morphs into a 3-on-2 situation to a 4-on-3 situation and then a 5-on-4 situation. Another round of running lines awaits the team after this drill is completed.
Next, Lyman has the team work on free throws for a bit in groups of four. Still another intense round of lines comes afterward and then the players get a well-deserved water break.
Next, Lyman shifts the focus to the defensive side of the ball. Here, she has the team split into two groups - one group works on proper rotation and switching while the other group works on handling screens.
Next is some 5-on-5 half-court where Lyman and her staff hope to put some of the things they worked on earlier all together. The losing group of players has a round of lines to run afterward.
After that, Lyman has the team in groups of four again to work on free throws and then the team gets to run another round of lines before a well-deserved water pit stop.
Next is another interesting drill (called "lo-po" I believe) where guard and wing players have to run down the floor to shoot "3s" from each corner while the forwards have to work on shots from the elbow and free throw line area and behind the arc at the top of the key. It's very interesting to watch.
Then Lyman and her staff have the team going 5-on-5 full court to see where the players are and what areas still need work.
Lastly on this day, Lyman has the team split into two groups where the players work on a variety of shots and situations. With the Falcon volleyball team itching to take the floor for their practice, Lyman and her staff and the team call it a day. After that, Lyman and Assistant Coach Cassie Heinrichs take me on a tour of the Falcon Center and I was just wowed at all of the excellent facilties at Falcon Center. The huge weight room area, the training facilities with full-time athletic trainers who help keep athletes healthy and injury-free and just so much more. If you're a high school athlete, it's easy to see why you might be easily enticed to attend UW-River Falls with the Falcon Center and all that it provides. It's one of the realities of college athletics these days and in ultra-competitive conference such as the WIAC, you have to keep up with the Joneses.
Outtakes: First, I just want to say that there's so much to like about this team. It's obvious that they're a class act on the floor as well as off and that goes for the coaching staff as well. I can't thank them enough for their wonderful hospitality and I definitely NEED to cover some of their games this season (am glad I can FINALLY get the time to get a little WIAC action in my blog for a change 😄). Okay, first I think this team has a TON of potential and that was easy to see just watching this practice. I asked Lyman about the up-and-down nature of this team from last season and she admitted that there were instances where the team didn't handle adversity as well as they could have. When I look at the statistics provided by the WIAC website, there are some things that catch my eye right away - and also provides some answers (I think) as to what ailed this team last season. For instance, you'll see that the Falcons were dead last in team FG percentage at 0.374% and sixth in team offense averaging 59.4 ppg. UW-River Falls was much better in team defense; in fourth place giving up an average of 59.2 ppg but in team free throw percentage they were in sixth place at 0.686%. Combined team rebounds was another area that hampered the Falcons as they were tied in last place with 33.7 rebounds per game and they were dead last in the WIAC in combined opponent rebounds at 36.9 rebounds per game. Things weren't any better in team offensive rebounds with the Falcons bringing up the rear with an 8.4 average per game. Throw in the fact that UW-River Falls was dead last in the rebounding margin at -3.2 and you can see that there's a number of items that the Falcons have to shore up in order to give themselves a better chance. That said, I strongly believe that the pieces may be in place this time around to do just that. Senior combo guard/forward Olivia Hoerl led the team last season in scoring at 14.9 ppg and senior guard Zoey Buchan wasn't far behind averaging 13.6 ppg and it's easy to see from this practice that she can be incredibly disruptive on the defensive end as well. She doesn't back down from a challenge and definitely gets after it on the floor. Senior guard Karleigh Creasey will also be an important piece in the Falcon backcourt once she is fully recovered from an injury suffered last season. Where this team really gets a boost are the new players who recently transferred in - senior forward Emily Kulstad (Southern Utah) fifth-year senior Olivia Boily (CSB), sophomore guard Sammie Buss (Bemidji St), and sophomore guard Taylor Clarey (Lake Superior St) that not only adds length but also augments an already-very experienced team. The catch? Well, when you play in a conference like the WIAC that last year sent FIVE of its eight teams to the NCAA Tournament and then two of those five teams made it all the way to the Final Four, that gives you a pretty good idea of how crazy competitive this conference really is. It's almost like every conference game is like an NCAA Tournament game. As many of the players on the team told me on this day, you just never know what to expect. That said, this team certainly is not shying away from any challenges this season if you look at the early part of their schedule. They open up things this weekend at home against two powerhouse opponents from the MIAA - and NCAA Tournament teams from last season - Calvin on Friday 11-7 and then Hope on Saturday 11-8. Then the Falcons go on the road - first down to Pella, IA to take on Central out of the ARC on Wednesday (11-12) and then the dreaded trip up US Highway 10 and the BNSF Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead to take on a Concordia team from the MIAC which is itching to make amends from last season's disappointment on Saturday (11-15). If that wasn't enough, UW-River Falls then goes down US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to take on four-time MIAC Champion (and Elite Eight participant) GAC in St. Peter on Wednesday (11-19) before finally getting something of a "respite" with home dates against UM-Morris out of the UMAC on Saturday (11-22) and St. Kate's of the MIAC on Tuesday (11-25). Thanksgiving weekend finds the Falcons at Carthage in Kenosha, WI on Saturday (11-29) before a trip to Mad-town to play Edgewood on Wednesday (12-10). But two more MIAC teams await UW-River Falls - most notably a quick trip to the Twin Cities to take on another MIAC powerhouse - Bethel on Saturday (12-13) before hosting Augsburg on Saturday (12-20) before Christmas break. After the first of the year, the Falcons delve into the meat-grinder otherwise known as the WIAC. So this team does have a huge opportunity to build up that all-important SOS but as we all know, the caveat is that you have to win some of these games too.
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