Cleveland State, Akron and Kent State all trying to make adjustments during the first few weeks of the 2011-12 season.
View full sizeAn energy-saving day before a game at Rhode Island made a difference for Cleveland State big man Aaron Pogue, says coach Gary Waters. "Aaron was a man among boys," Waters said after a 20-point effort in Sunday's victory over the Rams.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The early days of the college basketball season are a learning process, and Cleveland State coach Gary Waters said he has learned some things about his 6-1 team as it heads into a road swing at Wright State Thursday night and at Detroit on Saturday to begin Horizon League play.
"We have played better than I anticipated," Waters said.
And he said there is still a lot of room for improvement.
"I don't think we've matured offensively yet," he said. "We're still in the learning phase on the offensive end."
One of the early lessons was to not push the team so hard when it has so many games close together. Last week the Vikings played four road games, the last three on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Waters said the middle game of the three, which CSU lost, was due in part to fatigue.
Part of that was due to on-court preparation the day of the game. On Sunday, that prep work was limited to film study, and the payoff was a much livelier team. In particular, the rest seemed to help 6-9 center Aaron Pogue, who scored 20 points in the win over Rhode Island.
"Aaron was a man among boys," Waters said of the performance.
The right mix: Blending the old with the new has been a bit of a struggle this season for the Akron Zips, as veteran starters, transfers and young players have not found themselves on or off the court.
Two players, forward Demetrius Treadwell and guard Alex Abreu, are coming off one- and two-game suspensions, respectively. Treadwell was arrested in a bar fight, and Abreu violated team rules. Both losses affected the team, which stands at 3-3.
"We're a little immature, and a little undisciplined," coach Keith Dambrot said. "Guys have to understand the situation they are in, and a lot of these guys don't yet. But we'll get through it."
The two players missed Akron's latest game, a 21-point setback to West Virginia. The Mountaineers took advantage of the Zips' lack of depth at point guard without Abreu, and its lack of baseline muscle without the 6-7 Treadwell.
"Abreu practiced [Wednesday] and you could tell a big difference," Dambrot said. "The process still has to play out with Treadwell. So it's been hard."
Treadwell has been reinstated, pending investigation and outcome of his court proceedings.
Still searching: Kent State coach Rob Senderoff is trying to find a way to get his team off to better offensive starts, and to find a comfortable rotation. The first-year coach has five players averaging in double figures, all veterans, led by center Justin Greene at 12.8 ppg. Yet Kent is only averaging 69 points.
Prized 6-4 freshman guard Kris Brewer has seen sporadic action, dealing with a knee injury. "I have to find some minutes for Brewer," Senderoff has said.
The counter to KSU's offensive potential is 6-6 Rutgers transfer Patrick Jackson. The former regular and part-time starter for the Scarlet Knights is a defender, period. He has scored in double figures only once in his career and has never shot better than 29.4 percent from the field or 20 percent on 3-pointers. Jackson is not much of a rebounder (2.5 rpg), either. However, he can defend four positions at a high level.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2011/11/vikings_zips_and_flashes_playi.html
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