MU vs. Hartford advance story for Saturday Press
By TONY GRAHAM
STAFF WRITER
WEST LONG BRANCH - As Monmouth University defenders swarmed him during Friday's men's
basketball practice, former Hawk Blake Hamilton threw the ball away.
On a day when coach Dave Calloway had vowed to find "five players who
could guard the ball,'' the Hawks appeared to perform much better at the task
than Thursday night when their defense was riddled by Long Island U. shooting.
Now the task will be for Monmouth (3-7), which has yielded an average of 78
points in consecutive losses to Seton Hall and LIU, to transpose Friday's work
into action in Saturday's non-conference game vs. the University of Hartford
(3-4) at Boylan Gym.
Hamilton said Monmouth ""picked up the intensity" in the wake of
Thursday's defeat. The
2004-2005 Northeast Conference Player of the Year has been staying sharp by
practicing with Monmouth while seeking a professional job overseas.
""There was a sense of urgency,'' said Hamilton of Friday's practice.
""That's what the coaches
asked for and that's all they need to do in order to win.''
Hamilton said defense is not necessarily about athletic ability. ""It's
about toughness,'' he said. ""If you're tough then the defense will come
naturally.
""As a team I think they'll improve as the games go on. I've played many
games and sometimes our defense was terrible.
""We had to work,'' he said. ""We had to get that right mind set. The
coaches are trying to put that in their heads.
""As (assistant) (Ron) Krayl says, "be receptive to coaching. '' "
Calloway, whose team rallied Thursday behind a three-guard alignment,
said he was "undecided" about a starting lineup and rotation for Saturday
night. But he also said there might be no change from this year's standard
starting five which opened Thursday.
""Based on today's (Friday's) practice you won't see much change in what I
do,'' he said. ""But hopefully you'll see much change in what the performers
are doing.''
Hartford, under first year coach and former Temple assistant Dan
Leibovitz, owns a
64-49 victory over LIU, just fell shy of an upset at Penn State Wednesday
where
it lost, 56-55, and bowed by just 10 points in ite season opener at
then No. 8 Georgetown.
Freshman guard and leading scorer Joe Zeglinski (12.2 ppg.) was recently named
America East Rookie of the Week after averaging 18.0 points
and 5.5 rebounds while leading the Hawks to wins over Cornell
and LIU.
""They do a great job, they shoot the ball well, and play with a lot
of confidence,'' said Calloway. ""They're quick in what they do.''
NOTES...Dejan Delic (knees) went through a light practice while rookie Yaniv
Simpson (knees) continues to be sidelined...After Saturday Monmouth is off
until Dec. 17 when it hosts Division III Richard Stockton College in an
exhibition game.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
STAFF WRITER
WEST LONG BRANCH - As Monmouth University defenders swarmed him during Friday's men's
basketball practice, former Hawk Blake Hamilton threw the ball away.
On a day when coach Dave Calloway had vowed to find "five players who
could guard the ball,'' the Hawks appeared to perform much better at the task
than Thursday night when their defense was riddled by Long Island U. shooting.
Now the task will be for Monmouth (3-7), which has yielded an average of 78
points in consecutive losses to Seton Hall and LIU, to transpose Friday's work
into action in Saturday's non-conference game vs. the University of Hartford
(3-4) at Boylan Gym.
Hamilton said Monmouth ""picked up the intensity" in the wake of
Thursday's defeat. The
2004-2005 Northeast Conference Player of the Year has been staying sharp by
practicing with Monmouth while seeking a professional job overseas.
""There was a sense of urgency,'' said Hamilton of Friday's practice.
""That's what the coaches
asked for and that's all they need to do in order to win.''
Hamilton said defense is not necessarily about athletic ability. ""It's
about toughness,'' he said. ""If you're tough then the defense will come
naturally.
""As a team I think they'll improve as the games go on. I've played many
games and sometimes our defense was terrible.
""We had to work,'' he said. ""We had to get that right mind set. The
coaches are trying to put that in their heads.
""As (assistant) (Ron) Krayl says, "be receptive to coaching. '' "
Calloway, whose team rallied Thursday behind a three-guard alignment,
said he was "undecided" about a starting lineup and rotation for Saturday
night. But he also said there might be no change from this year's standard
starting five which opened Thursday.
""Based on today's (Friday's) practice you won't see much change in what I
do,'' he said. ""But hopefully you'll see much change in what the performers
are doing.''
Hartford, under first year coach and former Temple assistant Dan
Leibovitz, owns a
64-49 victory over LIU, just fell shy of an upset at Penn State Wednesday
where
it lost, 56-55, and bowed by just 10 points in ite season opener at
then No. 8 Georgetown.
Freshman guard and leading scorer Joe Zeglinski (12.2 ppg.) was recently named
America East Rookie of the Week after averaging 18.0 points
and 5.5 rebounds while leading the Hawks to wins over Cornell
and LIU.
""They do a great job, they shoot the ball well, and play with a lot
of confidence,'' said Calloway. ""They're quick in what they do.''
NOTES...Dejan Delic (knees) went through a light practice while rookie Yaniv
Simpson (knees) continues to be sidelined...After Saturday Monmouth is off
until Dec. 17 when it hosts Division III Richard Stockton College in an
exhibition game.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
posted by Tony Graham at 7:41 PM
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