The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Basketball Blog - Donnie Marsh
11/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2010
As the now infamous new commercials say, "Here we go"! It's absolutely amazing to think that the season tips off this coming weekend. The "off-season" flew by. Our guys have done a solid job both on and off the court. That's not to say there haven't been a few hiccups, but we've survived them and we are now looking forward to the start of a new season. If you ask me (or if you saw the exhibition game), I would sure like to have an extra week to feel more comfortable with our defense. But as they say, "ready or not, it's here". We have some areas to sure up and we will. This might be a work in progress defensively, but we are capable. I like our athleticism, I like our length, I like our willingness to listen & learn. That now has to translate into a complete understanding of our system (being where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there), and then bringing some physical & mental toughness with you when get there. We lacked a lot of both in our exhibition game. There's an APB out for it now and you can bet we'll have it in time for Saturday's opener against Southeast Missouri.
We are trying to incorporate several new players into our rotation and that takes time. Practice is one thing, but games are a completely different animal. We are expecting to get solid contributions from the guys we red-shirted last year as well as our two incoming freshmen. This is all new to them. Everything will be for a while. The first scrimmage was an eye opener; the exhibition game in front of a very nice, supportive and enthusiastic crowd was new; and certainly Saturday's real live action will produce some butterflies and moments of apprehension and amnesia. In time though and with each game they will become more comfortable and confident. We also have high hopes that our JUCO transfer big man will continue to develop and improve. He shows progress each day. It's important not to get to high when you play well in exhibition games or too low when you don't play as well as you'd like. I'm sure Georgia Tech & Xavier can speak to the latter. The bottom line is we have to get better every time out. We have to take both positives and negatives from each game and use them to be better the following night. Patience will be key for us as a staff and for you as fans.
What a great time of year this is! Leaves turning colors, a little chill in the air, and the great atmosphere in Bartow Arena...doesn't get much better than that. It's great to be back! I'll look for you all on Saturday night. Come ready to push this team beyond even what they think they're capable of achieving. And let's enjoy this ride together.
GO BLAZERS!
