Week mark
So, at 2:45pm today we will begin practice, and upon completion, one week of practice will be history. We have had a good 1st week of practice. When I compare the past week to each of my first two seasons here--- it definitely has been the best. We have kept a good intensity level as well as improving execution every day. When I look at my game individually, the big question I have to ask myself is - Do I see improvements in the areas that I focused on in the offseason? The answer is yes, I definitely do. It is a good feeling to be able to answer that question positively because it reinforces the fact that there is no substitue for hard work and its results. I am in more control of my game as well as helping those around me get better. Instead of playing at one full speed the whole time I am able to switch gears when necessary. When I sat out the year before last because of transferring, though I didnt realize it at the time, I lost some court sense from not being involved in game situations. When I reflected back on my first season here at UNCA I was able to recognize this and it is something that I have focused on in the offseason and I feel confident that it is returning and improving. Going into the second week of practice, my focus is on team defense and making sure everybody is in touch with our defensive principles--including myself.
My third matchup, also gets a lot of publicity because it is another power conference school and another opportunity for UNCA to make noise. North Carolina vs. UNCA. There is no need to go into detail about the UNC lineup because everybody in the country is familiar with it. They have a couple preseason all americans in Tyler Hansborough and Ty Lawson. They also have a great shooter in Wayne Ellington. Obviously, these are not the Tarheels only weapons because in addition to these household names they have a bench full of McDonald's All Americans. A very exciting game for my team and I but the game plan is very simple. ---- Unc is very tough, especially in the Dean Dome. When they play us, they come out of the gates quickly and try to bury us within a couple of minutes. If we are able to sustain their intial push and defensive pressure, we will put ourselves in a position to compete to win the game. Where we got ourselves into trouble last year was digging a deep hole from the start and against a good team like the Tarheels, there is no recovering. 7ft 9 Kenny George will be big factor in this game because of his size, which allows him to dominate anybody in the country when he is healthy. He also opens things up for guys like myself to create from the outside --- this happened last year and it was tough for UNC to stop me. However things turn out in this game, it is priceless experience for our team going into conference play.
