Image: Todd Ryden

The men’s basketball team continued preparation for Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Foster-Stevens Complex today.

Barbee and his runnin’ Miners hit the hardwood today and defensive intensity was at an all time high.  Coach Barbee made sure that no detail went unnoticed on the defensive side of the court.

For almost 30 minutes, the Miners conducted a high energy defensive 4 on 4 drill working on movement and pressure.  Every player was instructed to stay low and keep their feet moving or else more time was added to the clock.

After working basic rotation schemes and pressure exercises, Barbee and his staff turned up the heat and incorporated the drill in a scrimmage style setup.  The only way the defense could get off the court was to create two stops within 3 minutes.  With a set of 5 rotating in and out of play, the team had no time to get lazy or let the intensity wane.

Players responded well to the drills and competed at a high level, as many are vying for starting spots or increased playing time.  Barbee and his staff emphasized that player attention to detail would be the fast ticket to playing time, and singled out several players for their lackluster effort.

Defense and rebounding has been the focus all through preseason and the early part of the regular season.  After the team completed their defensive drills for that segment of practice, the Miners went straight into rebounding and boxing out drills.

From my observation, there was already stark improvement in defensive rotation at practice  and I expect a significant drop in opposition field goal percentage this Wednesday.

The UTEP Miner men’s basketball team will host it’s second SWAC opponent  Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at the Don Haskins Center this Wednesday at 7p.