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Post by sader1970 on Sept 23, 2019 11:31:00 GMT -5
Dear XXX,
I am so excited to write to you today as head coach of your Holy Cross Crusaders. Since joining this great family in July, Holy Cross has blown me away, and I am eager to begin practice in less than a month.
In my short time on Mount St. James, our entire staff has been welcomed with open arms and we have truly seen the passion people have for Holy Cross Athletics. This passion -- coupled with the administration's investment into athletics and the foundation set by former Crusaders -- positions us and drives us to be successful. You can read more about our staff here.
Every day, I am getting to know our team better and better, as a unit and as individuals, and this process will continue as we move towards our first season together. Our motto as a program is to ATTACK and SERVE, and we approach every day in this manner. Our players have worked extremely hard in the weight room, classroom and on the floor so far this semester -- and we will continue to do so throughout the year.
The Patriot League is a competitive conference, and we have a tough non-conference schedule to prepare us. Our non-conference slate is highlighted by games at Maryland on Nov. 5 and a multi-team event in Boca Raton, Florida, where we will play three games Nov. 29 through Dec. 2. We will also play at home three times in November, with Fairfield (Nov. 12), Northeastern (Nov. 19) and Harvard (Nov. 22) coming to the Hart Center. Click here to view our 2019-20 schedule.
The players who have worn the purple jersey before us mean so much to both the present and future of this program. You are always welcome to come check out a practice, workout or a game. We want our current players to build relationships and identify with guys who have been successful here in the past.
One date to put on your radar is fall Homecoming on October 19. We would love to see our alumni come to practice that day before heading to the football game at 1 p.m. Please SAVE THE DATE and SPREAD THE WORD. More details to follow.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you this year, whether it's here at home or on the road. I appreciate your passion for this program. See you soon!
Go Cross Go!
Brett Nelson
Head Coach
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Post by WorcesterGray on Sept 23, 2019 11:34:10 GMT -5
I'm there.
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Post by rgs318 on Sept 23, 2019 11:52:30 GMT -5
That certainly answers our questions about seeing a practice!
That letter is a good start.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Sept 23, 2019 13:53:42 GMT -5
I think Coach Nelson customized the letters as mine is a bit different from sader1970's in the fourth paragraph, whish I've reproduced below:
The players who have worn the purple jersey before us mean so much to both the present and future of this program. You are always welcome to come check out a practice, workout or a game. We want our current players to build relationships and identify with guys who have been successful here in the past. I also hope you'll continue to provide the keen insights that you always bring to the Crossports message board. Keep up the good work!
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Post by HCFC45 on Sept 23, 2019 13:57:41 GMT -5
I think Coach Nelson customized the letters as mine is a bit different from sader1970's in the fourth paragraph, whish I've reproduced below: The players who have worn the purple jersey before us mean so much to both the present and future of this program. You are always welcome to come check out a practice, workout or a game. We want our current players to build relationships and identify with guys who have been successful here in the past. I also hope you'll continue to provide the keen insights that you always bring to the Crossports message board. Keep up the good work! LOL!!!   !!! Good one KY! |
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Post by WorcesterGray on Oct 19, 2019 7:20:14 GMT -5
Bump. Hope we get some reports from those attending.
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 19, 2019 20:47:21 GMT -5
I went to the practice today...A totally different vibe in the gym..The offense is much more motion, off a big hard push...Looks like they will look to run most of the time..Defensively, they are playing M2M all the time...extending it to full court with traps...Coach Nelson stopped the scrimmage early today because the team was shooting too many 3's! He wanted the players to attack the rim! He also wants his team to be physical and REBOUND!!!
Nelson is very detailed..He pointed out a number of times when players were a step out of position on offense...and told them why they needed to be where he wanted them...
The one player who stood out in my eyes was....Marlon Hargis...He looked comfortable in the new offense, a big difference from what he showed last season...The 4 freshman all looked good, and I think they will all see time..Kyle Copeland is out of the boot, but didn't play today..Joe Pridgdon looked solid, but he did tweak an ankle today...They iced him, and held him out after the incident..Butler, VerBleak, Conner N. and Faw all are adjusting to the new system, and look pretty comfortable out there...
I think this team will surprise a lot of people!
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Post by hchoops on Oct 19, 2019 20:50:38 GMT -5
Thanks Di
By the 3 freshmen, I guess you mean Lowder, Wade and Pridgen, right ?
Is Hargis playing the 4 or 3 ?
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 19, 2019 21:17:46 GMT -5
Thanks Di By the 3 freshmen, I guess you mean Lowder, Wade and Pridgen, right ? Is Hargis playing the 4 or 3 ? 4 freshman...Lowder, Wade, Pridgdon and Reilly....I think Hargis was at the 4, but it really doesn't matter because of the movement...Reilly looked very comfortable out there, and he shoots it with a lot of confidence.. |
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Post by hchoops on Oct 19, 2019 21:36:39 GMT -5
Thanks again
On offense it may not matter if Hargis was at the 3 or 4, but was he playing with 1 or 2 bigs, and covering a Butler/Pridgen or a Niego/Faw ?
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Post by hchoops on Oct 19, 2019 22:52:03 GMT -5
Next up is the closed scrimmage vs Bryant on Thursday
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Post by trimster on Oct 20, 2019 7:31:18 GMT -5
Next up is the closed scrimmage vs Bryant on Thursday Maybe someone can sneak in and hide behind a strategically placed potted plant. |
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Post by trimster on Oct 20, 2019 7:35:06 GMT -5
I went to the practice today...A totally different vibe in the gym..The offense is much more motion, off a big hard push...Looks like they will look to run most of the time..Defensively, they are playing M2M all the time...extending it to full court with traps...Coach Nelson stopped the scrimmage early today because the team was shooting too many 3's! He wanted the players to attack the rim! He also wants his team to be physical and REBOUND!!! Nelson is very detailed..He pointed out a number of times when players were a step out of position on offense...and told them why they needed to be where he wanted them... The one player who stood out in my eyes was....Marlon Hargis...He looked comfortable in the new offense, a big difference from what he showed last season...The 4 freshman all looked good, and I think they will all see time..Kyle Copeland is out of the boot, but didn't play today..Joe Pridgdon looked solid, but he did tweak an ankle today...They iced him, and held him out after the incident..Butler, VerBleak, Conner N. and Faw all are adjusting to the new system, and look pretty comfortable out there... I think this team will surprise a lot of people! Hargis looked good the day I watched the open practice two weeks ago. |
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Oct 20, 2019 7:43:45 GMT -5
I also attended, and concur with DiMarz regarding Hargis. I would put him in the top 6-7 for sure, and he might climb up the list as the season moves on. Looks more comfortable than he did at any point last season. Hoops, looked like he was usually one of 2 "bigs" out there for the most part. Problem was/is, there really are only 4 guys in the rotation (him, MF, BV and CN). Lovisolo appeared in drills but did not scrimmage. Same with Damon Hart. Unlike the last practice, when it seemed like one of the teams in the scrimmage was the first team, there was some mixing and matching going on yesterday (pretty sure Connor played on both teams, for example). They started practice with a long period of 3 man up and down fast breaking (no weaving, just straight up and down), followed by a long stretch of 3 on 3 half court defensive drills.
One surprise for me (and I think DiMarz agrees): while I am not really surprised about Hargis, the one kid who really opened my eyes in terms of improvement was Lincoln Y. Now, his role may not change at all this year. But I get the feeling Coach N. likes him, and he looked like he belonged. He actually played off the ball for the most part; remembered one strong drive for a hoop, and and a 2 from the corner. Pretty tough too; in the early drills they worked on crashing the boards, and all 6 kids on one play collided under the hoop. Lincoln really hit the floor hard, and was clearly hurting. Each of the coaches asked him if he was ok, but he continued on.
My biggest concern is whether or not our big guys can stay out of foul trouble (and can stay healthy). Need them all. Many won't want to hear this, but we've got to be patient. You can see the talent in the frosh, but they can't be miracle workers from day 1. Wish we had Rabinovich THIS year! But, I feel like we are heading in the right direction. Really looking forward to seeing what they look like around the beginning of February. Who knows, maybe they can spoil the season of one of the coaches who picked them for last.
The transformation continues.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 20, 2019 7:51:38 GMT -5
Thanks NAD
If the 4 bigs stay healthy and play well, a 4 man rotation for two spots should be deep enough.
How did the AA2 look ?
How about Verbeek ?
Encouraging that Yeutter is playing well, but it is a bit unrealistic to expect walk ons like Lovi and Hart to be contributors.
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Post by DiMarz on Oct 20, 2019 8:25:59 GMT -5
"One surprise for me (and I think DiMarz agrees): while I am not really surprised about Hargis, the one kid who really opened my eyes in terms of improvement was Lincoln Y. Now, his role may not change at all this year. But I get the feeling Coach N. likes him, and he looked like he belonged. He actually played off the ball for the most part; remembered one strong drive for a hoop, and and a 2 from the corner. Pretty tough too; in the early drills they worked on crashing the boards, and all 6 kids on one play collided under the hoop. Lincoln really hit the floor hard, and was clearly hurting. Each of the coaches asked him if he was ok, but he continued on. "
Yes I agree on Lincoln....He may have been the leading scorer in the scrimmage (4 10 minute periods)..
One other thing that Coach Nelson did was to change the score near the end of the periods, to set up different scenarios ..white down 4 with 2 minutes left, or up 3 with a minute and half left and the ball...He then let the players play it out, and would only speak to them at a dead ball to explain what happened and what should have occurred.. At one point, I think it was Lowder, put up a quick 3, Coach was just staring at him and Butler went to Lowder and told him "We need to get a better shot than that"...Nice to see him be a leader....
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Post by efg72 on Oct 20, 2019 8:36:54 GMT -5
Lincoln knows the game, is fundamentally solid and plays hard. Having watched him in high school, the questions I had about his ability to play at this level were about his quickness, speed and ability to shoot the three. If those areas have improved I can see him earning some minutes this season.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Oct 20, 2019 9:04:34 GMT -5
With BV,I think he continues to be a work in progress. I think he had 1 three (the team as a whole did not shoot it particularly well), and was fighting a lot for offensive rebounds. He's far from a finished product, and I think will benefit from another productive offseason where he continues to add size and strength (and improve lateral quickness).
I look at it this way: the team's collective minutes odometer has been severely turned back with the losses of JF, JG, CG, PB and MZ. I want to see what our newbies look like when they have 200-250 minutes under their belts.
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Post by Tom on Oct 20, 2019 9:14:28 GMT -5
Lincoln knows the game, is fundamentally solid and plays hard. Having watched him in high school, the questions I had about his ability to play at this level were about his quickness, speed and ability to shoot the three. If those areas have improved I can see him earning some minutes this season. In general, the most you can hope for a walk on is to push the starters in practice. Usually any minutes outside of garbage time from a walk on is an emergency situation. If Yeutter really knows the game, he can be valuable as being able to mimic upcoming opponents' offense to help prepare the D |
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 20, 2019 9:27:12 GMT -5
Respectfully disagree. I believe our AD, Marcus Blossom was a walk-on at Northeastern: "A 2001 graduate of Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Blossom was a four-year letterwinner for the Huskies’ men’s basketball team. He finished his career with 1,475 points scored, while being a three-time All-America East Conference and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. " But, I agree with your premise, " in general" as I have left myself open for your expected "he's the exception that proves the rule" response. |
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Post by efg72 on Oct 20, 2019 9:40:41 GMT -5
Lincoln knows the game, is fundamentally solid and plays hard. Having watched him in high school, the questions I had about his ability to play at this level were about his quickness, speed and ability to shoot the three. If those areas have improved I can see him earning some minutes this season. In general, the most you can hope for a walk on is to push the starters in practice. Usually any minutes outside of garbage time from a walk on is an emergency situation. If Yeutter really knows the game, he can be valuable as being able to mimic upcoming opponents' offense to help prepare the D In general I agree with your statement about walk-ons, their role and playing time. My comment was made based on remarks made about Lincoln and his play during the practice yesterday. I didn’t say he was getting minutes or expected him to play, but did say if those gaps in his game improved/developed he could earn SOME minutes. With the inexperience on the roster and a new system for the team to learn, playing hard seems to matter to this coach so maybe this year a non scholarship player could see the floor for “some” minutes. |
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Post by hchoops on Oct 20, 2019 11:07:56 GMT -5
Spitler, Sanchez,Vaval, Reid
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 20, 2019 11:09:35 GMT -5
Doug Downey and Kevin Daley
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Post by WorcesterGray on Oct 20, 2019 11:27:30 GMT -5
Maybe someone can sneak in and hide behind a strategically placed potted plant. Some of our more dedicated posters have been working on the issue over the last several months.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Oct 20, 2019 11:29:51 GMT -5
Spitler, Sanchez,Vaval, Reid Vaval played about 15 minutes in his career. The others all were pressed into service due to injuries. If Lowder or Reilly get hurt, Yeutter will no doubt see some minutes. |
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