Coach Kruger lets me get away with asking a lot of odd ball questions. But, I will never ask questions about starters, rotations, game strategy, or anything along that vein. I think that if did, I would be on the fast track to getting no information. There is a question along that line that I would like to ask. But, I won't.
That question is, why does Austin Mankin get so many practice reps with the
1's, but yet, never plays. Today was not unusual. Austin was the 1st player to rotate in with the first teamers. He rotated in before Tyler or Booker or Bennett. After coming out, he was the 1st to rotate back in. Other than the 5 starters, he had more red shirt time than anyone else. Austin does a good job when he is in there.
The start of today's practice was the same. They ran a lot and they ran hard. Today was a shorter version. They wanted to get out of town early enough to beat any bad weather. Also, Lattin has a game in Houston today at 4:30 that the staff wants to make.
Early in the practice they spent maybe 10/15 minutes practicing the lob to the rim for the back door cutter. That is something that I have rarely seen them actually practice. I guess that since they muffed 3/4 of them against the last opponent, some clean up work was in order.
After that they went into some very spirited half court defensive drills similar to yesterdays work. They looked good today. Better than yesterday. They were almost always switching on time and in time throughout.
From the defensive drills they moved on to a controlled full court scrimmage. What I am referring to as a controlled scrimmage is when Coach Kruger will stop the action frequently for teaching. And when action restarts, they will go from mid court after the defense has had time to set.
They finished up with a series of one minute games. These games are very entertaining and their purpose is to set up a variety of late clock/game situations for the team to practice. They don't do these all of the time. But, it is fun for the fans when they do.
For the most part, it was the usual suspects that looked good in practice. Bennett did fumble away a couple of passes. But, past that, he made several really nice plays around the basket. I thought that Booker had another good outing.
The kids were on their toes and enthusiastic throughout. They look ready to play.
That question is, why does Austin Mankin get so many practice reps with the
1's, but yet, never plays. Today was not unusual. Austin was the 1st player to rotate in with the first teamers. He rotated in before Tyler or Booker or Bennett. After coming out, he was the 1st to rotate back in. Other than the 5 starters, he had more red shirt time than anyone else. Austin does a good job when he is in there.
The start of today's practice was the same. They ran a lot and they ran hard. Today was a shorter version. They wanted to get out of town early enough to beat any bad weather. Also, Lattin has a game in Houston today at 4:30 that the staff wants to make.
Early in the practice they spent maybe 10/15 minutes practicing the lob to the rim for the back door cutter. That is something that I have rarely seen them actually practice. I guess that since they muffed 3/4 of them against the last opponent, some clean up work was in order.
After that they went into some very spirited half court defensive drills similar to yesterdays work. They looked good today. Better than yesterday. They were almost always switching on time and in time throughout.
From the defensive drills they moved on to a controlled full court scrimmage. What I am referring to as a controlled scrimmage is when Coach Kruger will stop the action frequently for teaching. And when action restarts, they will go from mid court after the defense has had time to set.
They finished up with a series of one minute games. These games are very entertaining and their purpose is to set up a variety of late clock/game situations for the team to practice. They don't do these all of the time. But, it is fun for the fans when they do.
For the most part, it was the usual suspects that looked good in practice. Bennett did fumble away a couple of passes. But, past that, he made several really nice plays around the basket. I thought that Booker had another good outing.
The kids were on their toes and enthusiastic throughout. They look ready to play.
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