A preseason event
Avery: "We practiced at 6 a.m. this morning. I liked our physicality. I didn't like that at the end of last year, and definitely not the way we played against Creighton. This morning, one of our (inside) guys got 5 offensive rebounds and the other two got 2 between them, so you see who has to improve. It was a major scene in some of our rebounding drills this morning to see some bodies on the floor.
"We were around 320th in the nation in offensive rebounding, down there with a bunch of teams that didn't make the (NCAA) Tournament. That's not who we want to be with.
"Bola (Olaniyan) is a rebounding machine and we needed that. He brings us rebounding and energy, and Corbin (Collins) brings us ball-handling and leadership, which is what we were looking for in fifth year guys. We needed more competition in the front court. Bola has a skill set, an undersized center who can play some 4 (power forward)
"It was pretty seamless with Corbin as far as the transition.
"At point guard, we don't have Retin (Obasohan) to get 17 to 25 points a game, but we have four guys who are capable of 12 or 15. We need better guard play. We can't have those silly and unforced turnovers like last year when a team comes out and extends its defense. Dazon is working there with Corbin, Junior and Braxton Key. Braxton can play all five positions of the floor. Nick King is versatile enough to push the ball up if necessary.
"Armond Davis --- for Armond, every shot is a good shot. He took me at my word when I told him not to be afraid to shoot. He'll shoot it from southern Idaho. Now, we're trying to get him to take a few more shots from western Alabama."
***Practice was closed Friday because of recruits (Alex Reese and Herb Jones) on campus. We hope to have a chance to view practice early next week,
Avery: "We practiced at 6 a.m. this morning. I liked our physicality. I didn't like that at the end of last year, and definitely not the way we played against Creighton. This morning, one of our (inside) guys got 5 offensive rebounds and the other two got 2 between them, so you see who has to improve. It was a major scene in some of our rebounding drills this morning to see some bodies on the floor.
"We were around 320th in the nation in offensive rebounding, down there with a bunch of teams that didn't make the (NCAA) Tournament. That's not who we want to be with.
"Bola (Olaniyan) is a rebounding machine and we needed that. He brings us rebounding and energy, and Corbin (Collins) brings us ball-handling and leadership, which is what we were looking for in fifth year guys. We needed more competition in the front court. Bola has a skill set, an undersized center who can play some 4 (power forward)
"It was pretty seamless with Corbin as far as the transition.
"At point guard, we don't have Retin (Obasohan) to get 17 to 25 points a game, but we have four guys who are capable of 12 or 15. We need better guard play. We can't have those silly and unforced turnovers like last year when a team comes out and extends its defense. Dazon is working there with Corbin, Junior and Braxton Key. Braxton can play all five positions of the floor. Nick King is versatile enough to push the ball up if necessary.
"Armond Davis --- for Armond, every shot is a good shot. He took me at my word when I told him not to be afraid to shoot. He'll shoot it from southern Idaho. Now, we're trying to get him to take a few more shots from western Alabama."
***Practice was closed Friday because of recruits (Alex Reese and Herb Jones) on campus. We hope to have a chance to view practice early next week,
