Uncle Bills Practice Report

Today's BB practice sessions were spirited, upbeat, and purposeful. Jay Wright and his staff were dynamic yet patient. For instance, Jay often stopped the session to make a point or make a correction. Yet, these corrections were made in a constructive way. He often emphasized rebounding and getting the ball upcourt. He and his staff did a lot of teaching. They not only told guys what to do but also why, and how their actions fit into the big picture. There was plenty of movement in this offense, plenty of cutting to the basket, passing, shooting, and situational drills were conducted, and plenty of hustle took place.

Doug West and James Bryson were there for the a.m and p.m. sessions but only Bryson participated in the a.m. one, but both in the p.m. joined by Johnathan Haynes. All VU players participated except for Marcus Austin and Chris Charles. Other notables there in the p.m. were Curtis Sumpter and Eric Ferguson along with Allan Ray who was along in the a.m. too. Dickie Weiss and Dave Pauley, coach at Pharmacy who once taught for me, and Oldtimer joined in as well.

Derrick Snowden, as expected, is definitely the floor leader. He, Reggie Bryant and Gary Buchanan all played very well, hitting crucial outside shots and moves to the hoop. Gary really stood out with some terrific moves to the basket. All three are improved players.

Andrew Sullivan really played well: hustling, hitting the boards, and making shots including outside shots. He might be the most improved player. I'm confident he'll be a contributor this year.

Ricky Wright was a force on the boards and showed great confidence in his play.

Brooks Sales played with plenty of hustle and was a force on the glass.

Jair Veldhuis showed some flair on followups and slams. I think he's got promise.

Andreas Bloch played best in the three on three half court play and showed some super outside shooting. He also got some boards and played some decent defense but sometimes was out of place on D during the p.m. scrimmage.

Johnny Holley and B.J. Johnson also played, but only B.J. will be on the team.

There was plenty of energy in Nevin from the coaches and the players. The coaches are welcoming. All of the players walked over to shake hands with Allan, Curtis, and Eric. Many players seemed to be getting comfortable with the new system, yet I'm sure there's still room for improvement. Some guys are going to really flourish under it especially our two soph. guards.

Also, Jim Haggerty is a new volunteer assistant who will accompany the team to the boot.

All in all it was fun watching this team practice. Tomorrow they practice again at 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., then off to Italy on Wed. I think we'll be in for some pleasant surprises this year.

Uncle Bill/Bill Nolan is an 1957 graduate of Villanova University. We will be asking him to write stories from time to time throughout the season. His views do not necessarily reflect those views of the management of VUSports.com or AllianceSports.