--West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries said that his team has made some great progress in the last ten days and it has been very noticeable. The connectivity is improving at both ends of the floor.
--The team still has plenty of stuff to improve with zone offense and defense and late game situations. But the bulk of all the stuff is in now it is about tidying up loose ends.
--West Virginia will have a closed scrimmage after the exhibition game. They are supposed to keep that secret. He will talk to the opposing coach in order to see what they want to let loose on stats and whatever, but he doesn't care what gets out there.
--The zone offense is unique from the man offense. A lot of what they do you're able to utilize all the coverages so you don't have to change a lot but tweak it some depending on what coverage they are going against. Some of it is read and react, but a lot of it is game prep.
--It certainly adds challenges when you have as many new faces as they have and a new coaching staff but he has done it twice now in his career. His first year at Drake he brought in ten guys and last year, ten guys. They've done it before but he does like the fact they had the trip to Italy to learn things and spend a lot more time. It feels like the last couple weeks it's starting to come together.
--It's one thing to get it to go in practice, it's another to do it in games. They have to learn to win together in games. How do they react against somebody else and moving forward those first couple months of the season you're going to learn a lot.
--DeVries said it was important that were able to cover nationally from a recruiting perspective with the staff and a good mix with how they were able to coach on the floor. It's a very good staff that has strong ties to the area and some that go outside of that. With all of the assistants there was a level of knowing each other that was different but as you're deciding what direction you want to go you have to make sure you reach out to different people to find out more but he felt comfortable with how each of the assistants fit into the equation.
--Javon Small has been terrific he has been as advertised on offense, but has really made some strides on the defensive end. DeVries thinks if you add him and some others they could have a good strong back court.
--First court they will be a little under sized so they need to be creative but they need to be physical. They need to get great at rotations and communications to bring an extra body. The defense will have to be played a little differently.
--Hansberry has put a lot of time in this summer in being a pick and pop option. DeVries wants that to be in that four to eight range on game day and he has proven more than capable out there and he wants to see that continue to grow. He also is a terrific passer as well.
--Mostly calm on the sideline, he's never had a technical foul. He doesn't put a lot of focus on officials even though there is times you want to talk to them.
--Getting all those guys to buy into roles and everybody is in a different role than where they came from. Connectivity how do they fit together and play well together and as coaches how do you continue to utilize the strengths of every individual and how does the group benefit. Hopefully the team will grow from November to March.
--The hardest thing when you bring two to the ball, you're playing a numbers game so that early anticipation to get a good trap and make sure the other guys are getting to their spots and the recovery on it because there is going to be a long close out somewhere. If you can be great at it, you'll get turnovers but otherwise there will be open shots. You have to have different ways to double team.
--There will be adjustments but some of the things that worked in the MVC will need to be altered and the focus shifted some.
--Nick Norton is a great young coach and he will be in this game a long time. He loves the enthusiasm he brings every single day and you need to have as many people as possible bringing that. He trusts him a lot and is excited about bringing him here.
--DeVries will break down sometimes to assign assistants certain positions but they will work with everybody on the team and making sure they are continuing to grow and develop as well.
--The team still has plenty of stuff to improve with zone offense and defense and late game situations. But the bulk of all the stuff is in now it is about tidying up loose ends.
--West Virginia will have a closed scrimmage after the exhibition game. They are supposed to keep that secret. He will talk to the opposing coach in order to see what they want to let loose on stats and whatever, but he doesn't care what gets out there.
--The zone offense is unique from the man offense. A lot of what they do you're able to utilize all the coverages so you don't have to change a lot but tweak it some depending on what coverage they are going against. Some of it is read and react, but a lot of it is game prep.
--It certainly adds challenges when you have as many new faces as they have and a new coaching staff but he has done it twice now in his career. His first year at Drake he brought in ten guys and last year, ten guys. They've done it before but he does like the fact they had the trip to Italy to learn things and spend a lot more time. It feels like the last couple weeks it's starting to come together.
--It's one thing to get it to go in practice, it's another to do it in games. They have to learn to win together in games. How do they react against somebody else and moving forward those first couple months of the season you're going to learn a lot.
--DeVries said it was important that were able to cover nationally from a recruiting perspective with the staff and a good mix with how they were able to coach on the floor. It's a very good staff that has strong ties to the area and some that go outside of that. With all of the assistants there was a level of knowing each other that was different but as you're deciding what direction you want to go you have to make sure you reach out to different people to find out more but he felt comfortable with how each of the assistants fit into the equation.
--Javon Small has been terrific he has been as advertised on offense, but has really made some strides on the defensive end. DeVries thinks if you add him and some others they could have a good strong back court.
--First court they will be a little under sized so they need to be creative but they need to be physical. They need to get great at rotations and communications to bring an extra body. The defense will have to be played a little differently.
--Hansberry has put a lot of time in this summer in being a pick and pop option. DeVries wants that to be in that four to eight range on game day and he has proven more than capable out there and he wants to see that continue to grow. He also is a terrific passer as well.
--Mostly calm on the sideline, he's never had a technical foul. He doesn't put a lot of focus on officials even though there is times you want to talk to them.
--Getting all those guys to buy into roles and everybody is in a different role than where they came from. Connectivity how do they fit together and play well together and as coaches how do you continue to utilize the strengths of every individual and how does the group benefit. Hopefully the team will grow from November to March.
--The hardest thing when you bring two to the ball, you're playing a numbers game so that early anticipation to get a good trap and make sure the other guys are getting to their spots and the recovery on it because there is going to be a long close out somewhere. If you can be great at it, you'll get turnovers but otherwise there will be open shots. You have to have different ways to double team.
--There will be adjustments but some of the things that worked in the MVC will need to be altered and the focus shifted some.
--Nick Norton is a great young coach and he will be in this game a long time. He loves the enthusiasm he brings every single day and you need to have as many people as possible bringing that. He trusts him a lot and is excited about bringing him here.
--DeVries will break down sometimes to assign assistants certain positions but they will work with everybody on the team and making sure they are continuing to grow and develop as well.
