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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team will open its regular season schedule at the NSU Arena in the Don Taft University Center against old rival St. Thomas (3-0) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on 640 Sports.
The game will follow a pregame party at the Flight Deck in the Don Taft University Center. Free pizza will be offered at 4 p.m. and the Big O Show will broadcast live from the Flight Deck from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Sharks will look to put on a show for the fans in their season-opener, but will have to do it against a team that has already proven its strength. The Bobcats are undefeated, and have wins over Florida Southern (89-85) and Barry (53-51).
“Obviously we’re not opening the season against ‘cupcake university’ from some island off the coast of Florida,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “St. Thomas is unbeaten and more impressively they’re 2-0 against teams in our Sunshine State Conference.
“Their pressure defense is excellent, their ability to defend the 3-point shot is as good as any we’ll see this year, and they know their roles on the offensive end and stay within them as well as anyone. On top of that, they are the ‘little school’ coming five miles up the road to play the ‘big school’ and their players will definitely approach the game with a chip on their shoulders. They play with a lot of emotion anyway, but the renewal of our rivalry will just fuel them more. They’re doing a lot of this with some pretty good players sitting out. When they get those big guys back in the lineup they will be even tougher, and they’re plenty tough enough right now.”
To combat a rolling St. Thomas squad, Tuell has put together a fast, guard-heavy team that is poised for success in 2012-13. Returning to the Sharks is 2009-10 Freshman of the Year
Brian Cahill (So., Arlington, Va.), alongside fellow guards
Jacob Reed (Jr., Perth, Australia),
Justin Jeangerard (So., Weaverville, Calif.) and
Louie Schonauer (Sr., Lincoln, Ill.). Up front, Tuell brings back seniors
Iran Hollis (Hollywood, Fla.) and
Lukas Roesch (Sugar Grove, Ohio).
Despite the level of talent on the floor, Tuell still has his own reservations at this juncture of the season.
“From a coaching perspective we are a long way from being ready to play a game, We are really limited in the things we can do, both offensively and defensively," said Tuell. "But I’ve always believed that nothing important is won in November or December. This is a time to work on different things, give different guys an opportunity to show us what they can do in certain situations, and begin the discovery process in terms of who we are and what we might be able to become. I don’t think you really know much about your team until it plays four or five games. It takes that long to get a firm grasp on your strengths and weaknesses and to see who or what will surprise you, both in a positive and a negative way.
“As coaches we’d like to practice another month before opening the season, but I’m sure our players are excited to get going. They’ve been working hard and doing everything we’ve asked of them. We’ve had a lot of two-a-day practices leading up to this game, and I know our guys are happy to see those end.”
Tuell has looked at Thursday’s contest as a learning experience for the rest of the year, win or lose. The offense is meant to challenge the Sharks and create havoc for opposing defenses. Getting an actual game under their belts will help each player better understand their wide variety of roles on this team.
“We have all five guys playing all five positions on the floor, which hopefully makes us harder for people to guard,” stated Tuell. “You can’t have a room temperature IQ and do what we’re trying to do offensively, and so far I’ve been very pleased with the way all of our guys have responded and picked things up. Our offense is sort of a Princeton hybrid and it’s going to be a work in progress all season. We’re in something of a transition period in our program. We’ve had some success in the past, but not as much as we want. Our coaches and our players understand that, and we’re all in the transition together. The guys have bought in. The coaches have bought in. And we’ve agreed to work together and have as much fun learning as we go during the transition. It’s tough enough teaching one guy to play one position in a new offense. But teaching 14 guys to play five different positions is a huge challenge for all of us. We’ll see where we are Thursday night and go from there. It should be interesting.”
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