MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team officially tipped off the 2017-18 campaign with its first practice of the new season Sunday afternoon.

The Jaguars worked out for about two hours in the Striplin Practice Facility.

"I'm excited that Oct. 1 is finally here and we get a chance to really get into the nuts and bolts of what we want to do as a basketball team," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "I'm excited for the different position competitions for minutes and looking forward to seeing how this team will really grow and develop over the next five months.

"I want to see us be able to play at a pace that we can sustain throughout the entire 2 ½ or 3-hour practice. One of our emphasis over the summer and in the fall was conditioning. We want to be able to transition from drill to drill them and what we're trying to do and see how quickly some of the newcomers are going to pick up on not only terminology but the drills and different things that we put in throughout practice."

South Alabama returns two starters and seven letterwinners from last year's 14-18 team. Five of the Jags' top six scorers graduated, leaving sophomore Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) as the USA's leading returning scorer (10.6 ppg) and rebounder (5.4 rpg).

The roster consists of four seniors, one junior, and 10 freshmen and sophomores. Ajayi started 25 times in 31 appearances, and Trhae Mitchell (Austell, Ga.) earned a starting assignment 11 times in the final 13 games of the season.

Sophomore Jordan Andrews (Abita Springs, La.) redshirted last year after transferring from Youngstown State. He was a Horizon League all-Freshman Team honoree in 2015-16 after averaging 7.9 points and converting 50 times from behind the 3-point arc.

"I think the thing I want to see is those guys that have been in our program for multiple years. Josh and Trhae, being three-year guys in this program, despite just being listed as sophomores, I want to see if they're going to step up and take some ownership and really help the younger guys so at the end of the day, we can all achieve what we want, and that's obviously an opportunity to compete for a championship."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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