Made my way up to Coon Rapids yesterday afternoon to a place I hadn't been to in a while - Anoka-Ramsey Community College - to cover the Anoka-Ramsey team's practice on this sunny but cool October afternoon. I was able to catch up with Head Coach Samantha Doucette shortly upon my arrival and she's very excited and upbeat about the new season ahead. The Golden Rams actually have some in-game experience already as they participated in the ICCAC JUCO Jam back in my home state of Iowa earlier this month where the team went 1-2. Though far from being a barometer for how the team will perform this season, it gave Doucette a bit more vision as to where her squad is at and what they need to work on and improve.
After the team does various stretching and movement exercises to get themselves loosened up and ready to go on this Tuesday afternoon, Doucette has the team at the baseline for the first drill of the day where you have groups of three players come out and they have to make a requisite number of easy lay-ups in order to progress to the next level which is knocking down short/medium-range jumpers from near the elbow area. After the requisite number is met there, the drill then transitions out behind the arc to knock down a requisite number of three-point shots which is obviously a bit more challenging.
Next, Doucette has the team split into groups of two players where one player works on a variety of jump shots while their partner rebounds for them and after a bit, the roles reverse. Doucette goes by each basket; carefully watching her players' techniques with their shooting and offering encouragement and advice.
On the next drill, Doucette has her squad near the center court line for a 2-on-2 drill where the emphasis is defensive pressure in full- and half-court pressure situations. After a bit, Doucette changes up this drill whereby the players start at the baseline in a 1-on-1 situation to the half-court line to simulate pressure defense and some of the correct tactics to use.
Then it's time for the team to work on their free throw shooting as Doucette has the team split up into groups of two again where each player has to make a requisite number of free throws.
Next, Doucette has the squad to a 5-on-0 full-court "shell" drill where the emphasis is moving correctly in a transition situation. After a bit, Doucette modifies things to make this more challenging by making it a real 5-on-5 situation to see if the offensive squad can execute what the were practicing a bit ago.
Then, Doucette has the team doing a 5-on-5 half-court drill in hopes of doing some fine-tuning with both the offensive and defensive sides. Doucette has to stop the drill on a number of occasions to point out flaws with the defense as she sees too much standing around. In the first part of this drill, Doucette is experimenting with her 2-3 "match-up" zone defense to make sure her defensive players are moving correctly with the ball movement as they should be in any half-court situation. Doucette also changes it up a bit by having her defense in man-to-man to oversee movement and switching. Just judging how many times Doucette has to temporarily stop things during this whole drill seems to point out that there's a lot of work to be done here over the course of the next several weeks.
Next, Doucette wants to try and put it all together in a full-court 5-on-5 situation and it becomes clear after a bit to this observer that the team still has a lot of work to do on both ends of the floor. Specifically, the two things I saw - jacking up a few ill-advised three-pointers and a lack of defensive intensity - indicates that there's work to be done here. But you also see flashes of potential when you see the athleticism and speed that this team has. It's just a matter of harnessing it properly. Shortly before 6:00 PM, Doucette and the team gather near the center court area for one last little pep talk before wrapping things up for the day.
Outtakes: First, as I mentioned a bit ago, you definitely see the speed and athleticism that this team has and the potential that goes along with that. Keep in mind, too, that Doucette still has a couple of players involved in fall sports (volleyball and soccer) that should be with the team in about 3 weeks or so that will provide depth and stability once the season gets fully underway. A couple of items that Doucette and her new assistant are working on is (1) developing better team chemistry given some of the new players in the program this season and (2) working carefully but in a determined manner in getting her squad in top shape when they delve into the meat of this new season. Doucette and I talked a bit about how difficult the transition can be for some players coming from high school basketball to college basketball as the game is simply faster and more physical at the next level and there's that inevitable adjustment period for the new players coming into a new situation that's never easy. So that has to be factored in........Two players on this Anoka-Ramsey team definitely caught my attention during my visit: Sophomore combo forward/post Jordan McMahon from St. Louis Park and sophomore guard Sydney Hazuga out of Eau Claire, WI. Doucette will undoubtedly be counting on McMahon to patrol the area down low in the paint and one can definitely see her being a very versatile player at either the #4 or #5 spot and a rebounding machine as well. Hazuga may very well turn out to be the three-point threat that Doucette needs in her offensive attack. Her technique is very solid and you can tell she also has great touch in her short/medium-range jumpers as well.........You have to figure that Anoka-Ramsey will at least be one of the primary contenders for MCC honors this season in addition to RCTC (Rochester). Again, for the Golden Rams, it's going to come down to how quickly they can put things together on both sides of the floor and develop that consistency that's needed to be a top team. The tools are there for them to do that.
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