Ball State University Athletics
Photo by: Ball State Athletics
First Week of Men’s Hoops Practice a Continuation of Summer Work
September 25, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Cardinals held first official practice of 2019-20 season Monday afternoon
RELATED: A Letter from Coach Whitford as Practice Begins
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The opening day of practice isn't really what it once was.
There were times when basketball teams would eagerly await that moment when they could finally get out on the floor together for the first time. The Midnight Madness era.
These days, with the amount of time coaches are allowed spend with their teams for summer and fall workouts, the first day of practice is really more of a continuation of work that started several months earlier. Especially for a squad like Ball State that practiced with its full team over the summer in preparation for its Costa Rica trip.
"We're certainly further along since we played this summer," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "The first few days are really just trying to get refreshed on the stuff we put in already, getting back to where we're playing 5-on-5 again. We'll start adding to it here by the end of the week."
Gallery: (9/24/2019) MBB Practice Day 1
Even the Ball State freshmen, guys who might have been wide-eyed for the first official practice in days gone by, carry themselves like veterans out there. It's already old hat for them.
Ball State has three of them – Luke Bumbalough, Lucas Kroft and Ben Hendriks – and three guys who will play for the first time after redshirting last season – Miryne Thomas, Jarron Coleman and Kani Acree. With those six added to a returning group of nine, Whitford will experience both the luxuries and the challenges presented by a deep roster.
"There's competition for playing time, and that's a good thing; it's healthy," he said. "The challenge is designing a practice that allows everybody to get the right number of reps."
Tahjai Teague is the Cardinals' top returning scorer (13.5) and rebounder (7.0) from a season ago. Ishmael El-Amin, completely healthy from last year's wrist injury, led the team at 14 points per game over three wins in Costa Rica.
Ball State will have six weeks of practice, with a mandated number of off-days sprinkled throughout, before getting the 2019-20 season started Nov. 5.
The schedule features home matchups with 20-game winners Loyola Chicago and Northern Kentucky, a visit to Georgia Tech, a holiday trip to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic, and a the usual 18-game Mid-American Conference slate.
Season ticket holders can renew their seats online at ballstatesports.com/myaccount or by calling 888.BSU.TICKET.
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The opening day of practice isn't really what it once was.
There were times when basketball teams would eagerly await that moment when they could finally get out on the floor together for the first time. The Midnight Madness era.
These days, with the amount of time coaches are allowed spend with their teams for summer and fall workouts, the first day of practice is really more of a continuation of work that started several months earlier. Especially for a squad like Ball State that practiced with its full team over the summer in preparation for its Costa Rica trip.
"We're certainly further along since we played this summer," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "The first few days are really just trying to get refreshed on the stuff we put in already, getting back to where we're playing 5-on-5 again. We'll start adding to it here by the end of the week."
Even the Ball State freshmen, guys who might have been wide-eyed for the first official practice in days gone by, carry themselves like veterans out there. It's already old hat for them.
Ball State has three of them – Luke Bumbalough, Lucas Kroft and Ben Hendriks – and three guys who will play for the first time after redshirting last season – Miryne Thomas, Jarron Coleman and Kani Acree. With those six added to a returning group of nine, Whitford will experience both the luxuries and the challenges presented by a deep roster.
"There's competition for playing time, and that's a good thing; it's healthy," he said. "The challenge is designing a practice that allows everybody to get the right number of reps."
Tahjai Teague is the Cardinals' top returning scorer (13.5) and rebounder (7.0) from a season ago. Ishmael El-Amin, completely healthy from last year's wrist injury, led the team at 14 points per game over three wins in Costa Rica.
Ball State will have six weeks of practice, with a mandated number of off-days sprinkled throughout, before getting the 2019-20 season started Nov. 5.
The schedule features home matchups with 20-game winners Loyola Chicago and Northern Kentucky, a visit to Georgia Tech, a holiday trip to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic, and a the usual 18-game Mid-American Conference slate.
Season ticket holders can renew their seats online at ballstatesports.com/myaccount or by calling 888.BSU.TICKET.
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