MOBILE, Ala. – Going into the season, University of South Alabama men’s basketball coach Ronnie Arrow knew what to expect from the first few days of practice. With eight new guards on the roster, the backcourt would be behind the rest of the group in learning the system.

The first three days of practice have reinforced that expectation.

“So far it’s been pretty much what we thought it was going to be–a lot of learning for the guards,” Arrow said. “The post men know from years past what we’re doing. For the guards, it’s a whole new ballgame. We’ve only been going a couple of days but yesterday we had a good practice. They showed that they learned a lot from the first day–not everything, but that’s expected.”

With the modern game revolving heavily around guard play, the coaching staff is attempting to build from the ground up and go step-by-step as to not overwhelm the newcomers, so they’ll be ready for the start of the season on Nov. 12.

“We’re trying not to overdose them right now—we’re trying to break it down as much as possible,” Arrow said. “I’ve tried to go back to four years ago when we had a really good team and I was new, the coaching staff was new and the players didn’t know our system. When you have all new guards, that’s pretty much how it is. I’ve tried to go back and break it down like that. They don’t react the way you want because their brains are still learning and it’s keeping them from going all out, but yesterday I saw a lot of improvement from guys that were bewildered out there.”

Thankfully not all positions require a fresh start. The post players, led by 2011 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Augustine Rubit, have stepped in as if the 2010-11 season never ended.

“Needless to say, Aug and Javier (Carter) are doing well and (Antione) Lundy has come back wanting to do really well this year,” Arrow noted. “He’s lost a lot of weight and is moving so much better. He’s looking like the old Lundy that we recruited, going after rebounds and doing those types of things. (DeAndré) Hersey has been a pleasant surprise—he’s showing more physicality and finishing power, which we were hoping to see. All of our post men are competing.”

The Jaguars will play the first of two exhibition games Wednesday, Nov. 2 against Spring Hill at 7:05 p.m.

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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