The Howard males’s basketball group performed its first exhibition sport, webhosting Bowie State College. The fit became out to be a really perfect advent to the group.
The group was once in a position to emerge victorious with a last rating of 114-75. Even supposing the group makes use of exhibition video games as preparation for the common season, the camaraderie constructed all the way through the offseason was once on complete show. Howard’s Nyala Wright, a senior in sports activities drugs, mirrored at the group’s expansion since her freshman yr.
“It is without a doubt a special facet, how they play in combination, how they paintings as a group… I feel within the first yr they had been extra looking to paintings on my own and looking to be the big name.” participant, however now it is all in regards to the group and dealing in combination,” Wright stated.
Jordan Woods led the best way scoring with 24 issues whilst Steve Settle chipped in every other 20. The group was once additionally in a position to get important contributions from their bench unit with freshman Shy Odom contributing 15 issues and Ose Okojie chipping in 14.
Ose Okojie, a freshman from Canada, was once particularly spectacular to peer for the primary time. With this being his first sport within the authentic Howard uniform, Okoejie after all were given to peer his dream of enjoying Department 1 basketball come true.
“The power was once very prime. For me, when I used to be eager about enjoying my first Department 1 sport, I used to be very fearful however in a great way and really fearful to move in the market and play my sport. Particularly with the quantity of labor that the entire group installed, we had heaps of power with this being our first sport in entrance of the Howard group,” Okojie stated.
The bench unit was once in a position to deliver a spark to the group and assist them open up locker room. He highlighted the period and sportsmanship of the group, being the shortest participant out of doors of early substitutions at 6’4. Trainer Kenneth Blakeney has had a imaginative and prescient to place guys at the flooring who’re 6-foot-plus however can nonetheless are compatible into many positions at the flooring and achieve success.
“My imaginative and prescient for our program was once to have avid gamers who’re six-foot-four-seven-foot, who’re all interchangeable, who can play within the 5 other spots that we play from one offense, who can exchange from one to 5 and no longer be at risk. . to really feel like there is a mismatch that we’ve got at the defensive finish,” Blakeney stated.
Since that is simply an exhibition sport, the group nonetheless has a couple of issues to beef up earlier than the season formally begins. “I believed we did not do a really perfect process on our full-court transition protection, after which with 114 issues scored, you’ll have 20-plus assists, which intended it was once one-on-one and no person was once serving to every different. others to get extra environment friendly and more straightforward pictures,” Blakeney stated.
With the paintings they have got put on this offseason, the group is aware of that in the event that they center of attention on solving the little issues, the group will probably be high quality.
“Clearly there have been occasions the place we had psychological lapses, however with the best way our training body of workers set us up and with a large number of skilled guys at the group, I feel we had been in a position to return in combination as a unit and keep true to ourselves via the entire sport. sport,” Okojie stated.
The group is about to play every other exhibition sport towards Multnomah on November 1.St. earlier than dealing with Kentucky of their first authentic sport on November 7the.
Reproduction edited by way of Nhandi Lengthy-Shipman