The first of countless whistles blew at 1:02 p.m. Saturday in Willett Hall as the LU men’s basketball team began practice in front of a small crowd.
A brand new staff of head coach Jayson Gee; assistant coaches Andy Farrell, Jake Luhn and Cade Lemcke; Director of Basketball Operations Mario Huffman and graduate assistant Jake Gritzmacher looked on as if they were the ones in class. They studied each player dressed in blue – signifying their ability to practice fully – as a moment over six months in the making finally came to pass.
The ease gave way quickly enough, however, as a four-corner passing drill brought with it volume, much of which came from Gee, and a frenetic pace.
That first drill honored one of Gee’s mentors, Gary Waters, the longtime head coach at Cleveland State. Gee said, “He started every practice with that fundamental passing drill that he did to honor his coach that he was paying tribute to by doing the drill that he did. That was to honor him and at the same time enhance our fundamentals of passing, catching and communicating. I really believe in enthusiasm. I believe God named me Gee to stand for ‘Great Encouragement and Enthusiasm.’ When I can transfer that to our players, I think we’re making progress.”
Much of the time Saturday, and this weekend as a whole, was spent focusing on defense. In 2012-13, the Lancers gave up an average of 81 points in 33 games, and gave up over 90 points seven times. “I think whatever you believe in, whatever is going to be your staple, has to be reflected in the priority you give it,” Gee said. “At the early stages, 75-85 percent of our practices will be defense. As time goes on closer to the season, we’ll add more offense … [Defense] has got to be our pillar. Defense has got to be how we even the odds – that if we play great defense, and we force people to miss shots and we rebound the basketball, it’s going to put us in a position to be successful.
“We were last in the league defensively [last season], and we’ve got to turn that around because most teams that finish last in the league defensively, finish last. That was our number one problem and we have to attack that. It’s the foundation of my system.”
Throughout the gym, there was always something going on, whether the scheduled drills for the fully fit players, or players off to the side working on other issues. TT Carey and David Robinson did not fully participate, due to injuries that are expected to heal in time for the season opener at South Carolina on Nov. 9. Robinson is rehabbing from a separated shoulder that he sustained over the summer and Carey is also healing from a recent broken hand.
When asked how Gee felt about the first couple days of practice, he said, “I thought we were able to establish a tone of work ethic, energy and enthusiasm. When you’re turning a program around and introducing a new system, those three things have got to be at the foundational core of what you’re doing. I thought I saw great work ethic, great intensity and great enthusiasm.” He also said that sophomore guard Lucas Woodhouse and sophomore guard Leron Fisher looked good, while adding that there were many others that stepped forward and that “in the early stages, when you’re doing a lot of fundamental work, it’s hard to evaluate someone that really stood out.”
There was plenty of spirit from those in the program on Saturday as the Lancers’ second season in the Big South Conference approaches. It seemed like the only thing that was missing was the capacity crowds that filled Willett Hall a handful of times last season.
