Good afternoon! After spending much of our OUA East schedule on the road to this point we are all thrilled to be entering into our final five games of the regular season at home in the friendly confines of the ARC gym. Our performance in the East portion of the schedule has unfortunately continued to be inconsistent. We have had our high points with some close losses (York by 3, Ottawa by 8, and Carleton by 13) and a very solid win at U of T. However, those high points have been matched by poor performance in 3 of our last 4 games on the road. Those poor performances have resulted in lop sides losses which at times can leave me scratching my head and searching for answers. The easy excuses (some of which are certainly valid) are that we are very young and lack scoring depth across the line-up, however, the reality for me is that in two of those 3 losses we did not come mentally prepared to play with our competitors. This is something that I as the coach certainly must take responsibility for and also the players are being asked to look at how they are mentally approaching games so as to be better prepared to compete every single night.
We currently find ourselves stuck in 7th place, sitting one position out of a playoff spot. Our goal as a team for this year was to earn a playoff spot, however, in order to do so we will have to play near flawless basketball and will need a bit of help from our competitors. In all liklihood we will need to win 4 or perhaps all 5 of our final games while also hoping that Laurentian is not successful in their final contests. Any combination of 3 (made up of our losses and their wins) will eliminate us from consideration.
Despite knowing this reality we are certainly trying to maintain a "one game at a time" attitude for our players and for ourselves as coaches. I honestly believe that if we play close to our potential we can win enough games to force our competition to have to keep their spot. It will take a grand effort by every single member of our program, but that is exactly what we plan to do. This group has fought hard all year through a great deal of change and at times adversity and through it all they have been great teammates to one another. In the last two weeks some small cracks have appeared as we have several players playing a ridiculous number of minutes each night and also many true freshman that are beginning to mentally and physically feel the toll of such a long and demanding season. However, at this point we need to continue to push the limit and be as prepared to win as we possibly can. I can promise you all that we will represent ourselves well for the remaining 5 games regardless of the outcome.
We kick off our final home stand this Friday against the U of T Varsity Blues at 8 PM and follow on Saturday versus the Ryerson Rams also at 8 PM. Saturday night is of particular importance as we will be hosting our 2nd Annual Marco W. Alessio Memorial Game and will be welcoming back a large number of Mark's former teammates to celebrate his life and memory.
I know our home schedule has made it difficult to start much of a buzz this year, however, we have 5 in row to finish and we certainly need your support. We hope to see and hear lots of Queen's fans in the stands this weekend.
Duncan Cowan
Go Gaels Go!
The official blog of Queen's University - Athletics and Recreation.
Showing posts with label Basketball-M. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basketball-M. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Basketball-M - Coach's Report - November 24th, 2010
This weekend marks the final two games of the OUA East and West Interlock schedule and we will finish with the tough task of facing two very talented and deep squads in Windsor and Western this Friday and Saturday night respectively. Windsor currently sits tied atop the west divsion with a record of 5-1 while Western has suffered from some inconsistency and has a record of 3-3.
At this point our focus has very much shifted internally as the players continue to battle hard to have the opportunity to win games. With a record of 1-5 through our first six games we have shown the ability to compete by being in 4 very competitive games and have also shown the ability to falter in losing two lopsided contests to very good teams in WLU and Lakehead. For the most part we have continued to improve defensively and have been able to hang around in games due to our defensive efforts. This is not to say that we are happy with our defense as we have unfortunately shown a consistency for having a poor defensive quarter in each game and in most cases that has coincided with us losing an opportunity to win.
Ultimately, our biggest hurdle remains the ability to score consistently and from a variety of sources. 4th guard Dan Bannister has been tremendous in this area averaging 20.33 PPG to this point in the season placing him in 4th place amongst OUA scoring. Other veteran guards Tim Boyle and Chris Barrett have been steady for the most part at 10 and 8 PPG respectively, however, the depth of our scoring after that becomes inconsistent. At this point in order to get better in the immediate future we must be extremely efficient at converting easy basket opportunities. For example, this past Saturday night at Lakehead we found ourselves down by 17 at the half against a very good team. However, in that first half we missed what I would consider 5 uncontested layups and went 1-6 from the free throw line. Those 15 points can mean all the difference in making an early blow out into a tight contest. The bottom line is that collectively we as a team must grasp the easy opportunities we create while also working to get more efficient at creating those opportunities. The later of these two falls primarily to the myself and the coaching staff as we continue to explore other ways in which we can generate more consistent offense.
As a team we have struggled in certain areas, however, there is no doubt that the players are competing night in and night out and are determined to improve as are we as coaches. This weekend we will approach each game separately and prepare in a way that will give us the best opportunity to win. Our hope is that we can take at least one win away from this weekend which will allow us to stay with the pack in the OUA east.
We have had two long weeks on the road and I think that all of us are really looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of the ARC. I hope that some of you are able to get out to see the games this weekend and support the players in their efforts.
Note: Many of you have been asking how Mitch Leger has been doing with his professional experience. Mitch is playing in the Pro B League in Hamburg, Germany and after taking a bit of time to adjust to the nuances of the European game (and officiating) Mitch has settled in well. He recently put together two spectacular back to back performances which saw him win player of the week honours in his conference. We wish Mitch continued success with this challenge. If you would like to follow Mitch the following link will provide you with up to date statistics:
http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=GER&PlayerID=123029
Thanks for all of your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Duncan
At this point our focus has very much shifted internally as the players continue to battle hard to have the opportunity to win games. With a record of 1-5 through our first six games we have shown the ability to compete by being in 4 very competitive games and have also shown the ability to falter in losing two lopsided contests to very good teams in WLU and Lakehead. For the most part we have continued to improve defensively and have been able to hang around in games due to our defensive efforts. This is not to say that we are happy with our defense as we have unfortunately shown a consistency for having a poor defensive quarter in each game and in most cases that has coincided with us losing an opportunity to win.
Ultimately, our biggest hurdle remains the ability to score consistently and from a variety of sources. 4th guard Dan Bannister has been tremendous in this area averaging 20.33 PPG to this point in the season placing him in 4th place amongst OUA scoring. Other veteran guards Tim Boyle and Chris Barrett have been steady for the most part at 10 and 8 PPG respectively, however, the depth of our scoring after that becomes inconsistent. At this point in order to get better in the immediate future we must be extremely efficient at converting easy basket opportunities. For example, this past Saturday night at Lakehead we found ourselves down by 17 at the half against a very good team. However, in that first half we missed what I would consider 5 uncontested layups and went 1-6 from the free throw line. Those 15 points can mean all the difference in making an early blow out into a tight contest. The bottom line is that collectively we as a team must grasp the easy opportunities we create while also working to get more efficient at creating those opportunities. The later of these two falls primarily to the myself and the coaching staff as we continue to explore other ways in which we can generate more consistent offense.
As a team we have struggled in certain areas, however, there is no doubt that the players are competing night in and night out and are determined to improve as are we as coaches. This weekend we will approach each game separately and prepare in a way that will give us the best opportunity to win. Our hope is that we can take at least one win away from this weekend which will allow us to stay with the pack in the OUA east.
We have had two long weeks on the road and I think that all of us are really looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of the ARC. I hope that some of you are able to get out to see the games this weekend and support the players in their efforts.
Note: Many of you have been asking how Mitch Leger has been doing with his professional experience. Mitch is playing in the Pro B League in Hamburg, Germany and after taking a bit of time to adjust to the nuances of the European game (and officiating) Mitch has settled in well. He recently put together two spectacular back to back performances which saw him win player of the week honours in his conference. We wish Mitch continued success with this challenge. If you would like to follow Mitch the following link will provide you with up to date statistics:
http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=GER&PlayerID=123029
Thanks for all of your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Duncan
Monday, November 8, 2010
M-Basketball: Opening Weekend 1-1
Our first weekend of OUA West inter-lock play has come and gone and we find ourselves with a 1-1 record. Our goal going into the weekend was to compete hard in both games and come away with at least a split. We accomplished our second goal in getting the split, but fell short of competing up to our potential for two games.
On Friday night we faced a mature and talented WLU team that has played well so far this year including wins against two preseason top ten predicted teams. Laurier's top 7-8 players are big, strong and play with a high level of confidence that will make them tough to beat in the West this year. Starting games has been a challenge for us this year and that issue continued to hinder us as we went down 14-0 off the jump and despite battling back for the remainder of the corner it is extremely difficult to recover from that type of disadvantage so early in the game. The frustration of this is that Laurier did not fool us or make plays that we were not expecting, but rather on 12 of their first 14 points we made fundamental mistakes that can only be attributed to a lack of concentration and likely nerves. Throughout the game we struggled to find any type of offensive rhythm and were badly out rebounded on the night.
On Saturday night we had a chance to redeem ourselves and as coaches we tried to keep the message very simple. The message was just to compete hard for the entire game. I know that sounds simple, however, we have talked to the guys about the fact that it will continue to be difficult to improve our execution and make adjustments in both ends if they are not playing with a high level of concentration and effort. With that in mind the guys came within about 3 minutes of giving us a complete game at this point in the year. We started the game fairly well and played with good intensity and as a result found ourselves ahead 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was going well until the late stages when Waterloo moved to a zone and we struggled to get organized against it while at the same time allowing that frustration to influence our defensive mindset. In the last few minutes of the quarter Waterloo outscored us badly and went into the half up 14.
At halftime we reinforced that the effort was good and that this allowed us to worry about adjustments and execution. We changed a couple of defensive rotations and assignments and also clarified what exactly we wanted against the zone and headed back out to try and make it a game. The players responded tremendously, both by increasing their level of play and also executing our adjustments nearly flawlessly. In the 3rd we held them to only 7 points while scoring 22 to take a one point lead. In the fourth we continued to defend well only allowing 10 points for a total of 17 second half points and more impressively of those 17 points only two baskets were scored on what we would consider easy shots.
Our defensive effort in the second half showed that there is potential there to stay in ball games every night if we commit to it and also rebound well. I am not sure that the consistency is there yet, however, I do think that the team understands from the weekend that it will be pivotal in our success.
Our three senior guards were very solid on Saturday night as Dan Bannister led us in scoring with 20 points in only his second game since returning from a shoulder separation, Chris Barrett had 15 and handled the ball effectively for most of the game and Tim Boyle provided a sensational second half defensive effort while also recording 9 points and 6 rebounds as well as the game winning free throw. In addition to those players we had strong performances from a number of other players that all provided energy and toughness throughout the game.
We still have a lot of work to do to get to a point where we are going to be competitive with the top teams in the West and East division, however, the players seem committed to giving it their all and as a result we are going to continue to improve.
Thanks to all that attended this weekend. See you in a few weeks when we return home. I will try to post a preview of our games versus Guelph and McMaster later this week.
Sincerely,
Duncan
On Friday night we faced a mature and talented WLU team that has played well so far this year including wins against two preseason top ten predicted teams. Laurier's top 7-8 players are big, strong and play with a high level of confidence that will make them tough to beat in the West this year. Starting games has been a challenge for us this year and that issue continued to hinder us as we went down 14-0 off the jump and despite battling back for the remainder of the corner it is extremely difficult to recover from that type of disadvantage so early in the game. The frustration of this is that Laurier did not fool us or make plays that we were not expecting, but rather on 12 of their first 14 points we made fundamental mistakes that can only be attributed to a lack of concentration and likely nerves. Throughout the game we struggled to find any type of offensive rhythm and were badly out rebounded on the night.
On Saturday night we had a chance to redeem ourselves and as coaches we tried to keep the message very simple. The message was just to compete hard for the entire game. I know that sounds simple, however, we have talked to the guys about the fact that it will continue to be difficult to improve our execution and make adjustments in both ends if they are not playing with a high level of concentration and effort. With that in mind the guys came within about 3 minutes of giving us a complete game at this point in the year. We started the game fairly well and played with good intensity and as a result found ourselves ahead 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was going well until the late stages when Waterloo moved to a zone and we struggled to get organized against it while at the same time allowing that frustration to influence our defensive mindset. In the last few minutes of the quarter Waterloo outscored us badly and went into the half up 14.
At halftime we reinforced that the effort was good and that this allowed us to worry about adjustments and execution. We changed a couple of defensive rotations and assignments and also clarified what exactly we wanted against the zone and headed back out to try and make it a game. The players responded tremendously, both by increasing their level of play and also executing our adjustments nearly flawlessly. In the 3rd we held them to only 7 points while scoring 22 to take a one point lead. In the fourth we continued to defend well only allowing 10 points for a total of 17 second half points and more impressively of those 17 points only two baskets were scored on what we would consider easy shots.
Our defensive effort in the second half showed that there is potential there to stay in ball games every night if we commit to it and also rebound well. I am not sure that the consistency is there yet, however, I do think that the team understands from the weekend that it will be pivotal in our success.
Our three senior guards were very solid on Saturday night as Dan Bannister led us in scoring with 20 points in only his second game since returning from a shoulder separation, Chris Barrett had 15 and handled the ball effectively for most of the game and Tim Boyle provided a sensational second half defensive effort while also recording 9 points and 6 rebounds as well as the game winning free throw. In addition to those players we had strong performances from a number of other players that all provided energy and toughness throughout the game.
We still have a lot of work to do to get to a point where we are going to be competitive with the top teams in the West and East division, however, the players seem committed to giving it their all and as a result we are going to continue to improve.
Thanks to all that attended this weekend. See you in a few weeks when we return home. I will try to post a preview of our games versus Guelph and McMaster later this week.
Sincerely,
Duncan
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Men's Basketball - Queen's versus Laval
We had our first game against CIS competition this past Saturday night as we hosted a strong and mature Laval team. As mentioned, this year is one of change for us as evidenced by 7 new faces in our 12-man game roster. Therefore, this game was an opportunity to see our relatively untested team go head to head with a group that should make the top ten in preseason rankings.
Heading into the game our biggest concern was whether we would be able to physically hold our own at this point in the season. We realized that there would be breakdowns on both ends of the floor as the new and old players continue to get to know our systems and each other. However, the questions of whether we would be able to rebound and defend well enough physically were the more pressing points of interest.
With a starting lineup that included Dan Bannister, Tim Boyle, Bernard Burgesson, Matt Baker and Greg Black (the latter two both being first year players) we started the game very well. The starting group showed good poise and physicality from the outset as we were able to hang in the game early while working out the expected jitters of our first game. Dan Bannister and Tim Boyle provided some early scoring and both showed flashes of their all-around improved offensvie ability throughout the night. In the defensive end we rebounded the ball extremely well and for the most part limited their second chance points.
Despite scoring early we began to find it more difficult to score as the game progressed. After the opening few minutes Laval quickly made the decision to move to switching every single screen on the floor. In doing this they took away a lot of the reads and looks that our players have become accustomed to seeing in practice over the past month. This is where our youth hurt us a bit at this point in the year. In the past with a more senior group this method would likely have been less successful, however, with so many new players we had a difficult time adjusting. Nonetheless, we defended and rebounded well as group and shot the ball well from the perimetre in the first half and as a result led by two going into the half.
We knew that we would see a much more aggressive and determined group of Laval players in the second half and we were right. Laval came out of the half very hard and played much more physical in both ends of the floor. At the same time our guys did not answer back as they are capable of doing and the result was a 27-10 drubbing by the end of the third quarter. In that ten minute time frame our guys got a clear indication of just how quickly a game can turn around if you are not completely focussed and determined to compete. During that run we struggled to score without question, however, the lesson that was of greater importance to our players is that when things are not going well in the offensive end we have to be able to dig down and defend our basket even harder. On this night that was not the case as our frustrations on offense directly translated to a lack of discipline and concentration in the defensive end.
Despite the loss there were a great deal of positives that can be taken from this game as we move ahead. I think without question we now know that we can compete physically in the defensive end and on the boards in both ends (rookie Greg Black finished with 5 offensive rebounds) and in fact Rob and I both feel that this group will eventually be capable of being the best defensive group we have had at Queen's (hopefully sooner than later). In addition, several of our rookies showed flashes of the potential to contribute in different ways to our growth as a program. No question, there is a great deal of work to be done and progress is crucial throughout this preseason so that we can be prepared to compete when the OUA season begins in November.
For anyone interested we host Bishop's in the ARC at 6 PM this Friday night. It should provide another unique challenge as we will see a much quicker, pressure oriented team this week. The following week we are off the Saskatchewan for a very tough tournament and the week after that we will close out our exhibition schedule at the McGill Invitational.
I hope this post finds everyone doing well and in good health.
Duncan
Heading into the game our biggest concern was whether we would be able to physically hold our own at this point in the season. We realized that there would be breakdowns on both ends of the floor as the new and old players continue to get to know our systems and each other. However, the questions of whether we would be able to rebound and defend well enough physically were the more pressing points of interest.
With a starting lineup that included Dan Bannister, Tim Boyle, Bernard Burgesson, Matt Baker and Greg Black (the latter two both being first year players) we started the game very well. The starting group showed good poise and physicality from the outset as we were able to hang in the game early while working out the expected jitters of our first game. Dan Bannister and Tim Boyle provided some early scoring and both showed flashes of their all-around improved offensvie ability throughout the night. In the defensive end we rebounded the ball extremely well and for the most part limited their second chance points.
Despite scoring early we began to find it more difficult to score as the game progressed. After the opening few minutes Laval quickly made the decision to move to switching every single screen on the floor. In doing this they took away a lot of the reads and looks that our players have become accustomed to seeing in practice over the past month. This is where our youth hurt us a bit at this point in the year. In the past with a more senior group this method would likely have been less successful, however, with so many new players we had a difficult time adjusting. Nonetheless, we defended and rebounded well as group and shot the ball well from the perimetre in the first half and as a result led by two going into the half.
We knew that we would see a much more aggressive and determined group of Laval players in the second half and we were right. Laval came out of the half very hard and played much more physical in both ends of the floor. At the same time our guys did not answer back as they are capable of doing and the result was a 27-10 drubbing by the end of the third quarter. In that ten minute time frame our guys got a clear indication of just how quickly a game can turn around if you are not completely focussed and determined to compete. During that run we struggled to score without question, however, the lesson that was of greater importance to our players is that when things are not going well in the offensive end we have to be able to dig down and defend our basket even harder. On this night that was not the case as our frustrations on offense directly translated to a lack of discipline and concentration in the defensive end.
Despite the loss there were a great deal of positives that can be taken from this game as we move ahead. I think without question we now know that we can compete physically in the defensive end and on the boards in both ends (rookie Greg Black finished with 5 offensive rebounds) and in fact Rob and I both feel that this group will eventually be capable of being the best defensive group we have had at Queen's (hopefully sooner than later). In addition, several of our rookies showed flashes of the potential to contribute in different ways to our growth as a program. No question, there is a great deal of work to be done and progress is crucial throughout this preseason so that we can be prepared to compete when the OUA season begins in November.
For anyone interested we host Bishop's in the ARC at 6 PM this Friday night. It should provide another unique challenge as we will see a much quicker, pressure oriented team this week. The following week we are off the Saskatchewan for a very tough tournament and the week after that we will close out our exhibition schedule at the McGill Invitational.
I hope this post finds everyone doing well and in good health.
Duncan
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Update and Alumni News
Hi Everyone! We have buzzed through the early stages of training camp and our roster is now fairly set as we begin to move towards exhibition play. Despite there being a number of new faces on this year's team we are genuinely excited by the potential and the attitude that they have shown to this point. The players that remained in Kingston all summer have shown tremendous growth and several new additions appear to be ready to fight for their opportunities to contribute early in the 2010-2011 campaign.
I will begin to slowly profile the roster in coming weeks once things are official. However, I do want to take a minute to make you aware of our early season schedule. We open our CIS exhibition season at home this year hosting Laval on October 2nd and then follow that up with another home stand versus Bishops on October 8th. Laval returns a nearly complete line-up in addition to a couple of very talented NCAA transfers and are expected to compete again this year for tops in the 'Q'. Bishops continues to evolve under coach Rod Gilpin and will be welcoming a very good young group of recruits and transfers that will add to their athleticism and growth. After that we become road warriors for a couple of weeks as we head to Saskatchewan Graham Construction Shootout where we will play Calgary, Brandon and the defending CIS champion Huskies. The following weekend we head east to McGill to play Western , UPEI and the host Redmen. Throughout those games I think it is safe to say that we will play 5 teams that will be anticipated to be in the top ten in pre-season rankings. It will be a tough stretch, however, it will certainly be a great measure as to where we are in our own process and will expose our players (particularly rookies) to the level to which we aspire to compete right away. FYI....we open our OUA season at home this year with Wilfred Laurier and Waterloo visiting the ARC on November 5th and 6th.
In alumni news....
Former alumni Iain Reid has just had his first book published and it has created quite a stir. I just purchased my copy on Tuesday and my first impression is similar to others. Fellow alumni, Mark Blackman says that his synopsis simply couldn't do it justice. The book has been extremely well received and has garnered early praises from a variety of sources. Below are a few links provided by Mark, where you can read reviews, interviews, etc. about Iain's work.
http://books.torontoist.com/2010/08/coming-soon-iain-reids-one-birds-choice/
http://www.anansi.ca/assets/catalogues/Anansi_F10_Ir.pdf Refer to pages 16-17 for a quick/funny excerpt.
It would be great to have everyone support Iain and his passion and get out and bye a copy of your own. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. To order a copy go the link below or you can get a copy in most large book stores.
http://www.amazon.ca/One-Birds-Choice-Iain-Reid/dp/0887842437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284241579&sr=8-1
Hope everyone is well. Talk with you again soon.
I will begin to slowly profile the roster in coming weeks once things are official. However, I do want to take a minute to make you aware of our early season schedule. We open our CIS exhibition season at home this year hosting Laval on October 2nd and then follow that up with another home stand versus Bishops on October 8th. Laval returns a nearly complete line-up in addition to a couple of very talented NCAA transfers and are expected to compete again this year for tops in the 'Q'. Bishops continues to evolve under coach Rod Gilpin and will be welcoming a very good young group of recruits and transfers that will add to their athleticism and growth. After that we become road warriors for a couple of weeks as we head to Saskatchewan Graham Construction Shootout where we will play Calgary, Brandon and the defending CIS champion Huskies. The following weekend we head east to McGill to play Western , UPEI and the host Redmen. Throughout those games I think it is safe to say that we will play 5 teams that will be anticipated to be in the top ten in pre-season rankings. It will be a tough stretch, however, it will certainly be a great measure as to where we are in our own process and will expose our players (particularly rookies) to the level to which we aspire to compete right away. FYI....we open our OUA season at home this year with Wilfred Laurier and Waterloo visiting the ARC on November 5th and 6th.
In alumni news....
Former alumni Iain Reid has just had his first book published and it has created quite a stir. I just purchased my copy on Tuesday and my first impression is similar to others. Fellow alumni, Mark Blackman says that his synopsis simply couldn't do it justice. The book has been extremely well received and has garnered early praises from a variety of sources. Below are a few links provided by Mark, where you can read reviews, interviews, etc. about Iain's work.
http://books.torontoist.com/2010/08/coming-soon-iain-reids-one-birds-choice/
http://www.anansi.ca/assets/catalogues/Anansi_F10_Ir.pdf Refer to pages 16-17 for a quick/funny excerpt.
It would be great to have everyone support Iain and his passion and get out and bye a copy of your own. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. To order a copy go the link below or you can get a copy in most large book stores.
http://www.amazon.ca/One-Birds-Choice-Iain-Reid/dp/0887842437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284241579&sr=8-1
Hope everyone is well. Talk with you again soon.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Congratulations to Mike Gleeson
This weekend was a great occasion for a large group of Queen's Basketball alumni to gather in celebration of the marriage of former star guard Mike Gleeson (1995-2000) to his new wife Leanne Shaughnessy. It was a spectacular day for everyone that attended despite the 30+ degree temperatures (Mike's handkerchief was well used) during the ceremony. There were over 20 former players in attendance so it was a really great opportunity to catch up and reconnect with so many teammates and alumni.
I would like to wish Mike and Leanne all the happiness in the world as they move into this new and exciting stage of their lives.
All the best!
Duncan
I would like to wish Mike and Leanne all the happiness in the world as they move into this new and exciting stage of their lives.
All the best!
Duncan
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Mitch Leger
Just wanted to offer up our congratulations to graduating athlete Mitch Leger on his second consecutive selection to the All-Star Charity Shootout at York University on July 17th, 2010. Mitch is one of ten CIS athletes that will join 20 of the top players in country from the OCAA, CIS, NCAA and the professional ranks. If anyone is in the area on the 17th it would be a great chance to see some high quality basketball and support Mitch, while contributing to a worthwhile charity.
Good luck Mitch!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
First Blog
Hey Everyone!
For those of you that follow Queen's Basketball this serves as the dawn of a new era...we have officially joined the blogging world. Over the coming season I will be using this blog to post frequent updates regarding important news and current events surrounding our basketball program. During the off-season the posts will be a bit more spread out as things are bit slower around here during this time of year, however, once September rolls around I am hoping to use this source a couple of times a week to offer you an inside look into what is going on with the team.
So, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and I hope that you will find it worthwhile enough to become a regular user. Here we go...
Despite, what some people may think (more than a few people have asked me "What exactly do you do at this time of year?") the off-season is actually an incredibly busy time of year for us. Following the conclusion of the season we go through our individual meetings with players and begin to finalize our off-season training schedule. We are fortunate again this year in that many of our returning players have decided to remain in Kingston to follow a very busy traininig schedule. This summer we have (between recruits and returning players) roughly 11-12 guys that are here for the majority of May-August. The benefit of this is that we can spend a great deal of time catching up on individual development during this time of year. Unfortunately, the reality is that in season (particularly post-Christmas) it can be very difficult to continually address individual needs when the pressure for game preparation is so demanding. Therefore, the off-season represents an opportunity to really start to address particular weaknesses in each of our players and/or in the group as a whole and to move forward in addressing them. In addition to our on-court work the players also follow an intense strength and conditioning program that is administered by our strength coach, Rodney Wilson. Currently the guys are lifting weights 3x per week with one additional agility/speed session outdoors. Despite only having been at their offseason workouts for 6 weeks, the results are evident and as a group there is no question they are pushing each other a great deal.
Looking ahead we are eagerly anticipating our annual Alumni and Friends Golf Event on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at Black Bear Ridge in Belleville, ON. If anyone is interested in joining us please do not hesitate to visit http://www.gogaelsgo.com/ for more information. This was a great event last year and we look forward to seeing our support grow again this year.
I think I will leave it at that for today. I will try to update you again sometime early next week. Recruiting is the main focus for us right now and we are only a week or so from finalizing our incoming class. Once all decisions are final I will update you on some of the exciting new additions that we will be welcoming to our program for 2010-2011.
Thanks. Have a great day!
Duncan
For those of you that follow Queen's Basketball this serves as the dawn of a new era...we have officially joined the blogging world. Over the coming season I will be using this blog to post frequent updates regarding important news and current events surrounding our basketball program. During the off-season the posts will be a bit more spread out as things are bit slower around here during this time of year, however, once September rolls around I am hoping to use this source a couple of times a week to offer you an inside look into what is going on with the team.
So, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and I hope that you will find it worthwhile enough to become a regular user. Here we go...
Despite, what some people may think (more than a few people have asked me "What exactly do you do at this time of year?") the off-season is actually an incredibly busy time of year for us. Following the conclusion of the season we go through our individual meetings with players and begin to finalize our off-season training schedule. We are fortunate again this year in that many of our returning players have decided to remain in Kingston to follow a very busy traininig schedule. This summer we have (between recruits and returning players) roughly 11-12 guys that are here for the majority of May-August. The benefit of this is that we can spend a great deal of time catching up on individual development during this time of year. Unfortunately, the reality is that in season (particularly post-Christmas) it can be very difficult to continually address individual needs when the pressure for game preparation is so demanding. Therefore, the off-season represents an opportunity to really start to address particular weaknesses in each of our players and/or in the group as a whole and to move forward in addressing them. In addition to our on-court work the players also follow an intense strength and conditioning program that is administered by our strength coach, Rodney Wilson. Currently the guys are lifting weights 3x per week with one additional agility/speed session outdoors. Despite only having been at their offseason workouts for 6 weeks, the results are evident and as a group there is no question they are pushing each other a great deal.
Looking ahead we are eagerly anticipating our annual Alumni and Friends Golf Event on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at Black Bear Ridge in Belleville, ON. If anyone is interested in joining us please do not hesitate to visit http://www.gogaelsgo.com/ for more information. This was a great event last year and we look forward to seeing our support grow again this year.
I think I will leave it at that for today. I will try to update you again sometime early next week. Recruiting is the main focus for us right now and we are only a week or so from finalizing our incoming class. Once all decisions are final I will update you on some of the exciting new additions that we will be welcoming to our program for 2010-2011.
Thanks. Have a great day!
Duncan
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