"We Are, A-R!" Weekly Update #2

The official start of practice is almost here!  We’ll get going officially on Saturday, October 1^st.  The start of the season always approaches quickly and before you know it we’ll be heading to NIACC for our first two games of the season.

This past week has been much of the same compared to the previous report. 

We’ve continually been working on fine-tuning things on both ends of the floor.  Our primary concern right now is having enough of an offense in to put in a good showing at the JUCO Jamboree on October 9^th.  There are still a lot of things to add before games officially start, but we’ve approached the pre-season, and will approach the first week of practice, the same way the NCAA Division I teams do when they go on a foreign trip at the end of summer.  That means we’ve been concentrating on team offense and team defense as opposed to individual skill development.

Once the JUCO Jamboree passes, we’ll start working more on fundamental skills as well as putting in more details of our offense and defense.

Some good news off-the-court, we’re getting closer to having our games webcast online.  The details are still being worked out so we don’t want to reveal any more right now, but all signs are pointing to this getting done.  That will be great for our out-of-state family members, as well as potential recruits and other college coaches, to follow along with the Golden Rams!  To my knowledge we’ll be the first team in the MCAC to have games webcast.

It’s an exciting time to be a Golden Ram!

Say it with me...

“We Are, A-R!”

2011 JUCO Jamboree Schedule

The 2011 JUCO Jamboree schedule has been set.  The games will be played on Sunday, October 9^th at the University of Northern Iowa Wellness and Recreation Center in Cedar Falls, IA (2501 Hudson Road).  The Golden Rams will play at the following times:

1:00pm – Anoka-Ramsey vs. Southeastern Community College #2 – Court 6

3:00pm – Anoka-Ramsey vs. Southwestern Community College – Court 2

5:00pm – Anoka-Ramsey vs. Sauk Valley Community College – Court 4

Southeastern and Sauk Valley are NJCAA Division I members.  Southwestern is an NJCAA Division II member.

"We Are, A-R!" Weekly Update #1

We’re kicking off a new feature where we’ll highlight what’s gone on in the past week with Anoka-Ramsey Men’s Basketball.  This feature will run once a week until our first official game on November 11^th, then sporadically, if at all, after that.

This first installment will cover things that have occurred from the beginning of the school year up to this point.

The biggest thing we’ve learned about our team thus far is that we have a lot balance…as well as a lot of unknowns.  Let’s start with the unknowns:

·         The biggest thing we’ll be curious to find out is how the team responds in game situations.  We have very limited game experience on this year’s roster with only a handful of guys who have played collegiately before.  The JUCO Jamboree on Sunday, October 9^th at the University of Northern Iowa will be our first test with competition outside of intrasquad scrimmages.

·         Since it’s still so early, we also don’t know who is going to crack the regular rotation.  We have talent, that much is certain, but who will separate themselves in the next six weeks or so will be interesting to watch.  It could come down to who can quickly pick up the team concepts offensively and defensively.

·         Again, since it’s early on, and official practice hasn’t yet begun, there are a number of things we have yet to teach.  The beginnings of our base offense and defense have been installed but the details of those things haven’t been worked on much to date.  Things like defending screens (all types), transition defense, plays/sets, and how to use a ball screen, are just some examples of things yet to come.  The good thing is our guys continually are improving in their comfort level with the base offense and defense.  That’s an encouraging sign for us coaches.

·         Health.  While overall we’re healthy there have been the usual bumps/bruises/ankle tweaks that are to be expected, but also a bit of the flu bug has hit some guys.  Hopefully it’s not a sign of things to come and we’re just getting it out of the way early.

Let’s talk about some positives so far:

·         As we said before, we have a lot of balance on this year’s team.  In addition to having guys that are true point guards, true wings, and true post players, we also have guys who can play multiple positions.  That gives us a lot of flexibility should there be injuries, if someone hits a tough stretch individually, or if we need to make adjustments based on who we’re playing.

·         Not only are we balanced in terms of position, but we also have a lot balance in terms of skills. We have true point guards who can handle the ball and create for others; we have combo guards that can shoot it as well as put the ball on the floor; we have true wings that can slash to the basket and finish at the rim; we have guys that can flat out stroke the ball from deep; we have inside-out forwards that can cause matchup problems; and we have true posts that can score with their back to the basket.  Oh, and they’re all willing to DEFEND!  We’re typically not the type of coaches to get too excited too early (after all, there’s plenty we need to work on), but as of right now the pieces are there from a talent standpoint.

·         The work ethic of this group is simply amazing.  The guys take part in two one-hour sessions of conditioning with our athletic trainer each week.  Our trainer also has his own personal training business, and he’s remarked at how shocked he’s been by the level of intensity our guys have brought to the sessions.  The same thing can be said about our basketball workouts.  We definitely have a competitive bunch.

·         Grades.  We have grade checks every two weeks and after four weeks of school the grades are looking great!

On top of the on-the-court stuff, there are also some great off court things in the works:

·         Groundbreaking for the new Health and Wellness Center was held on September 7^th.  We’re not sure on the timetable for completion, but this will be a fantastic addition to the college as well as our athletic programs once it’s completed.  The project includes a new fieldhouse with one college length court and one high school length court, a renovation of the current gym, concourse, locker rooms, equipment rooms, fitness center, and offices.

·         We’re currently working to get all our home games streamed online for free.  That way all our out-of-state friends and family members can follow along with the game action (we have players from France, Arkansas, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Indianapolis).

That's all for now.  Say it with me....

“We Are, A-R!”