While many other NCAA schools were hosting Midnight Madness on Friday night, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team opened the 2009-10 season with old-fashioned hard work at the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers held their first official practice of the year without fanfare, but it gave head coach Dan Monson the opportunity to work with his full squad for the first time this season.
LBSU had 14 of 17 players on the roster able to fully participate in practice even though there had been early injury concerns that left some players’ status uncertain. Jules Montgomery and Brandon Nevens participated in very limited action, but transfer Tristan Wilson was forced to watch from the sidelines as he is still recovering from knee surgery.
Many of the 49ers came out anxious, and it led to a shaky start in the first team drill. The turnovers that were being committed also caused Monson to slow his players down.
“You don’t have to impress me in the first five minutes.” Monson told his team.
After settling down, the ‘Niners broke into smaller groups, allowing their individual skills to be put on display.
Old Faces
Many of the returning players made great strides over the summer to get stronger and improve their skill set.
Sophomores Eugene Phelps and T.J. Robinson both appeared to have improved their strength, and both players seemed to have more enthusiasm when finishing at the rim. Phelps and Robinson also showed improvements in their mid-range game as well, and Robinson was even able to convert from beyond the arc with some consistency on one drill.
The 49ers lost two team leaders in Donovan Morris and point guard Maurice Clady, but sophomore Larry Anderson seems to be on his way to filling that void. Anderson could prove to be the vocal floor-leader for the 49ers this season.
“I think Larry has done a good job of maturing and growing up as a sophomore,” Monson said at Big West Media Day on Tuesday. “And I think [Stephan] Gilling. …Those are the two that are standing out and shouldering some of that responsibility.”
New Faces
Community college transfer Lin Chang showed glimpses of being extremely versatile in many of the drills. While he still demonstrated signs of being a raw player, Chang looked to be more than comfortable shooting from distance as well as playing with his back to basket.
The 49ers’ two new walk-ons, Jerramy King and Sean Starkey, also showed some promise in their first practice with the team. King is a quick guard – although not as speedy as Casper Ware – who was often on the ground fighting for loose balls against bigger teammates. Meanwhile, Starkey showed decent athleticism as he was comfortable enough to dunk the ball on more than one occasion.
The Beach will have four more practices over the course of the weekend.