Tuesday afternoon marked the first official practice of the 2018-19 season for Greg McDermott’s Bluejays.
Each offseason has seemed shorter and shorter lately and this one was no different.
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Nonetheless, the intensity on Tuesday was at a much different level compared to the skill workouts the team went through during the summer and early portion of the fall.
One of the main concerns as the first practice approached was the growing list of injuries that players were trying to recover from in order to be ready when it mattered.
That all seemed like an afterthought on Tuesday as everyone on the roster was a full participant:
- junior forward Martin Krampelj was cleared to participate in 5-0n-5 halfcourt activities as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL that he sustained in late January.
- Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson, Christian Bishop, Marcus Zegarowski, and Jordan Scurry were all limited at times throughout the summer and fall, but had no significant restrictions on Tuesday.
Defense drew the most attention on day one.
The Jays focused heavily on their man-to-man and transition defenses, especially in scramble situations against offensive groups that had a numbers advantage.
The coaches emphasized communication, especially for the newcomers, and playing without fouling while not compromising their ability to disrupt rhythm and timing. First-year assistant coach Paul Lusk has been tasked with the defensive side of the ball since he arrived. He has a low-tolerance approach and expects everyone on the roster to have a tough mindset, especially when it comes to guarding the ball and limiting straight line drives to the rim.
Fighting screens, tracing the ball, hedging, and stunting the gaps off the ball were key areas on Tuesday.
Notable observations:
Martin Krampelj (Click to Buy)
Martin Krampelj will obviously still be limited to a degree in order to have him as ready as possible when the regular season starts on November 6, but you wouldn’t know it by watching him on Tuesday. He had an impact on the offensive and defensive glass in 5-on-5, and his first full-court drill ended with him throwing down an alley-oop in transition and letting out a scream to make sure everyone in the gym knew how good that felt after an offseason of rehab and recovery.
Freshman point guard Marcus Zegarowski got nearly all of the reserve point guard reps and battled two-year starter Davion Mintz head-to-head for the majority of practice. The quarter-court sets are being implemented little by little each day, and while that is always a major hurdle early on for newcomers, it’s not hard to notice how solid Zegarowski looks when it was his turn to run the show. He just competes with a quiet, mature confidence.
Jacob Epperson (Click to Buy)
Sophomore center Jacob Epperson is clearly the best NBA prospect on the roster, but the gap between him and his counterparts at the five aren’t as big as you would think. The daily battles between Epperson and fellow Aussie Samson Froling are going to be the highlights of watching practice every day. Froling, a seven-foot, shaggy-haired lefty is ahead of where most freshmen are at this stage in terms of skill set and physicality. Epperson has a clear advantage above the rim, but everything else makes for a really fun matchup.
Denzel Mahoney might be next in a long line of impact players who joined the Bluejays for the second half of their collegiate career. The former Southeast Missouri State standout will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out this upcoming season, but he already looks like a potential difference maker. The first thing that stands out is his ability to score off the bounce and finish strong in a crowd. It’s no surprise he got the free throw line as much as he did at SEMO. He can score from anywhere on the court, but it was his defensive impact that impressed at times on during an open gym session on Monday and during 5-on-5 drills on Tuesday. He anticipates well and is really disruptive in passing lanes with his 6’10” wingspan.