Basketball Preview

[mslacat]

Fot those who are interested

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Mick Durham won't need name tags when his 15th
Bobcat basketball team begins practice Saturday at 5 pm in Worthington
Arena, but it won't be far from that. Durham welcomes seven newcomers to
the Bobcat squad this year.
"It will be different," Durham says of his overhauled roster,
which features junior college transfers Branden Miller (6-1, 175),
Ja'Ron Jefferson (6-0, 180), Marvin Moss (6-6, 230), Al Beye (6-11,
210), and Taylor Pratt (6-7, 205). All five will challenge for starting
spots during camp, Durham indicated. "I think we're more talented than
we've been, and hopefully that translates into better offensive play."
As usual, Durham's offense centers on scoring balance and
unselfish play. Those tenets guide the Bobcats during the early part of
pre-season practice, he said. "We always try to have balance," said the
Big Sky's all-time winningest coach. "We like balanced scoring, we like
inside-outside balance. I think we'll be a better-shooting team this
year."
Durham said the focus during the first few days of practice --
MSU also practices Sunday afternoon -- will be big-picture issues.
"We'll concentrate on being unselfish, shot selection, we'll try to keep
it pretty basic. The more thinking players have to do, the less they're
able to just play and react. But we'll focus on the way we want things
done in our program."
Durham said a returning point guard -- junior Frank Brown -- is
a good starting point for any team. He won't begin defining roles this
early in the fall, however. "I'm not hard-core into roles yet," he said.
"There is plenty of time to deal with those issues. I like the fact that
we have a lot of guys that seem to be able to do a lot of different
things well, that will make us a versatile team."
Durham foresees Miller and Jefferson joining Brown in the
backcourt, with holdovers Nick Dissly and Carson Durr at the small
forward spot. Returning letterman Dennis Woodall and Moss form an
athletic power forward combo. Returning starter Matt Towsley, who will
miss the first few days of practice with a recurring back injury,
anchors the middle. Beye, Moss, a physical power forward who can play
center, and lanky Pratt can all chip in at center if need be. Freshmen
guards Ryan Holmes and Casey Durham, a redshirt, will each help on the
perimeter, and forward Martrel Johnson is an undersized inside player.

-msu-