Finishing Touches

It is always a battle to determine where your team is and to evaluate all your players and how they fit in with the team.  We have a week to go before we leave for Carroll College and their tournament.  We play Carthage College on Friday night.  More on them later.  We have one more scrimmage which is coming at a good time.  Our first scrimmage was after 8 practices, now I think we will have a better gauge of where we are as a team.  Especially in the last week, we have shown steady improvement.  There is a saying, “You are what you emphasize.”  I think some of those things are starting to show through, and starting to look like a good basketball team.  Our young guys are also starting to get it going.  It is tough to start for them, but now they can feel they are starting to belong.

4 More Newcomers

James Shelman – Guard – Solon, Iowa 

James has improved so far this year.  He has not played a whole lot of organized basketball to this point, and it showed early on.  But now he is starting to hold his own.  He does a good job of leading the team into offense and will get better each week.

Jordan Mensen – Wing – Maquoketa Valley

Jordan was a solid wing player and athlete in high school.  He is an excellent shooter and knows the game real well.  As Jordan gets stronger, he will continue to find his way.  He has a very good shot, but needs to quicken it up a little bit so that he can get more of them off.  We will see some very good games from him on the JV team this year.  He has the ability to make a few shots in a row.

Austin Perry – Post – Norwalk

Austin is an excellent rebounder.  He comes from a good basketball program in high school, and was well coached.  He has to battle against Wes Nordquist everyday, and that can do nothing but get you better.  We are starting to notice him making some good plays and is improving all the time.  Austin has a good inside out game, and we need to get him to be more versatile.  As we get to that point, we will see even more strides.

Alex Satchell – Post – Colorado

Alex, is our first player in my program from Colorado.  It is a big change for him to leave home and be 10 hours from your house.  He has adapted very well.  He shoots the ball from 8 -15 feet very well.  He needs to add strength to his body to be able to handle himself around the basket.  This is always the biggest challenge for our young post players.  His defensive fundamentals are improving and we are glad he is here.

I love coaching this team and I can’t wait to get going.  What I love about all 27 guys is that they love to compete.  They aren’t afraid of the moment, and I hope that doesn’t change within the season.  This is a good group that will improve a lot as the season goes along.

Go Beavers!!!

Coach VH