Cullowhee, N.C. – After multiple individual workouts and skill development sessions during the summer, the Western Carolina men's basketball team held its first team practice Tuesday afternoon in the main arena of the Ramsey Center with a mix of familiar faces and talented newcomers.
During the energetic and up-tempo opening session, the Catamounts worked on getting better in their system, making minor adjustments, limiting mistakes on both sides of the ball and reviewing play calls on both offense and defense.
“I think the first few practices are going to be a bit sloppy, but we have a nice blend of returning guys and it helps because they have been in our system the last 18 or 19 months where as we come into the first practice, everything isn't brand new to everybody,” head coach Mark Prosser explained. “We have some freshmen who haven't heard everything but we have some great leadership from our players and coaches who can help get them on the same page and build them up.”
WCU has five freshmen joining the team in 2019-20 including forward Xavier Cork, forward Nick Evtimov, forward Ahmir Langlais, guard/forward Tyler Harris, and guard Travion McCray. Junior Malik McCrimmon joins the squad as a walk-on. They complement 10 returning players including 2018-19 All-SoCon Third-Team selection Carlos Dotson and SoCon All-Freshman Team member Kameron Gibson. Dotson along with forwards Onno Steger and Adam Sledd and guard Jason McMillan represent Western Carolina's four-member senior class.
“It's exciting to get back on the court and get back to work,” Steger stated. “I'm excited to see what our freshmen can do. For me, helping them understand the system as quickly as possible and get them comfortable is something I can do to help them get acclimated. We're looking to get better every day.”
WCU opens the season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Georgia before hosting NCAA Tournament team Gardner-Webb on Nov. 9 at Noon in a doubleheader with the Catamount football team. All patrons with a ticket to the football game including season, flex, or a single-game ticket, will receive FREE admission to the hoops home opener. Season tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now by calling (800) 34-GOWCU or online at www.catamountsports.com.
