Hoops thoughts

O.k., you guys kept hounding me, so I figured I'd finally chime in on hoops. I've started my work for the preview, in fact it's almost ready to be written. We'll have tons of good stuff in the paper, so make sure you pick that up. I'll let you know when it's going to run.

Some early observations from talking to coach Dickenman and seeing the team practice. First off, Tristan Blackwood is a machine. Gosh that kid is the real deal. Nicest kid you're ever going to meet, too. He'll likely be at the point. I have a feeling he'll be an Iverson-type point, though. If possible, his shot looks even better this year.

Dannie will be back, and I think he'll be more confident this year. He'll never be a big scorer, but he'll be a very good defender and able to help out for good stretches at a time.

I talked to Joe the other day, and he seems much more comfortable. I think he's ready to take on more responsibility.

The newcomers are intriguing. Coach is right, Ken Horton looks like a young Donyell. Now, obviously he has leaps and bounds to go to even be close to that level as a player, but in terms of the way he carries himself, it's a scary resemblance.

There's a few guys banged up right now, but I like their potential. There are some big bodies, and certainly more depth than last year. I'm not saying there's the same quality yet, but the quantity is better. If some of them pan out (and a couple show some serious offensive potential) this team has a chance to be better than we think.
There are a couple of potential rebounders, a couple of people to play point, and some potential scorers. If any of the new guys can contribute right away, CCSU will be in good shape.

The key will be defense. The Blue Devils need to find five guys to stop the other team at key times. If that happens, this year could be far from lost.

We'll have plenty more before the season, just wanted to give you a quick progress report. The main thing to take from this blurb is that Coach may have some options, especially by the time NEC play rolls around.