MOBILE, Ala. --- The University of South Alabama men’s basketball program is in its first full week of practices leading up to the Nov. 13 season opener against Houston Baptist.

“It’s like all practices at the beginning of the year,” said head coach Ronnie Arrow. “You start out strong, they start fading for a couple of days and then they come back pretty hard. The attitudes have been good, we just have a whole lot of new guys that we’re trying to go in the same direction. But the main thing is they’re working, we have to get their concentration a little bit better than what it is.”

The challenge for the 15 new players is developing a familiarity with one another. This year’s edition will be a more up-tempo group thanks to more athletic players.

“We’re going to be really athletic,” said Arrow. “We’re pushing the ball well but the decision making has to get better. Like a lot of teams right now we’re having to learn where to take good shots and not bad shots and getting used to working with one another on the court.”

ON THE POINT

As with most positions on the floor, the Jaguars will be breaking in new blood at the point guard spot. Junior Raymond Sims (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas), both junior college transfers, have been handling the bulk of the work so far.

“They’re good kids but it comes down to work ethic,” said Arrow. “They still have no clue yet how hard it is at this level and the intensity they have to bring to practice every day. They have to understand that there are other people working this hard and that we have to work even harder.”

 Sims was a second team all-conference and all-region performer at Paris Junior College and led the league with 5.9 assists per game.

“Doodles has experience and I don’t know if anyone can keep him in front of them,” said Arrow. “He has exceptional acceleration and should be one of the top two or three guys in the country in assists. He turns down shots that are wide open; he has to shoot the ball more in his range.”

Pushing Sims is Cooks who averaged 16.6 points and 7.6 assists at Temple Junior College.

“Allyn is learning,” said Arrow. “He has a few too many turnovers than what we want but he’s working at it.”

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

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