TCU men’s basketball coach has team cramming for season opener

Posted Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By STEFAN STEVENSON

sstevenson@star-telegram.com

There are not enough hours in the day for TCU men’s basketball coach Jim Christian.

Implementing offensive plays and defensive schemes over the course of three weeks before the Horned Frogs’ Nov. 13 season opener against Mid-America Christian at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum is a burden for players and coaches.

"You don’t get a lot of time to put your system in with college basketball," said Christian, whose team started practice Oct. 16. "How quickly the guys can pick things up is going to [determine] how we play early [in the season]."

Christian has been pleased with the progress of the four recruits he has available on the floor, three freshmen and Midland College transfer Greg Hill, a junior. Two additional recruits, Cheick Kone, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Howard College is recovering from a knee injury, and Hank Thorns, a transfer from Virginia Tech, can’t play in games this season because of NCAA transfer rules.

Along with Hill, the three freshmen — post Nikola Cerina, and guards Garlon Green and Xavier Roberson — have immersed themselves in film and ask a lot of questions.

"They’ve done a really good job of it," Christian said. "As a freshman class, they’re a lot more advanced than I’ve had in a while. They come in and watch a lot of tape. They want to know, they want to be good players and have an impact on our program."

It’s a desire to put in the extra time that impresses Christian.

"They’re not going to be satisfied getting through practice and thinking, 'Over time, I’ll get better,’ " he said. "They want to learn and catch up as quickly as they can and it has helped our whole team."

The Frogs, who finished 14-17 and seventh in the Mountain West Conference last season, are scrimmaging two opponents the first week of November. Christian prefers the practice-like atmosphere of a scrimmage, as opposed to a more structured exhibition. Preseason scrimmages, per NCAA rules, are closed to fans.

"We feel like we get more reps [with a scrimmage]," he said. "You get to see guys in extended minutes and in more situations. You have a ton of film to break down and watch. I think it’s really going to be helpful for our team."

Stefan Stevenson, 817-390-7760

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