Preparing to face South Florida on Saturday in the Yuengling Center, UTSA Men’s Basketball brought incredible energy to their Thursday afternoon recovery practice. The team began with their routine stretch and dribble drills before previewing different offensive sets to run against the Bulls.
“They’re playing really well, we have to be locked in,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “They’re a nice team playing with confidence, it’s going to be kind of the same thing we have to defend. We have to rebound and take care of the basketball.”
Running through multiple sets, the Roadrunners (8-13, 2-6) focused mainly on finding the open man from the low post area. Preparing for the man defense of the Bulls (13-5, 6-1 AAC), UTSA will look to score through quick kick-outs off of drives to the basket and low post passes. With a high emphasis on ball security, offensive scrimmage sets were executed with a strong game-like intensity.
Junior guard Christian Tucker continued to handle the ball, as sophomore guard Adante’ Holiman’s injury absence has moved Tucker to the primary ball handler. With still no definite return date for Holiman, Tucker will look to play the point heading into Saturday’s matchup.
Once finished running through offensive plays, a defensive screen drill was created to simulate the South Florida constant moving and screening. Game planning for Bulls’ guard Chris Youngblood, the ‘Runners practiced switching and helping off of multiple screens to keep the guard from creating shot separation.
“I’m ready for it, it doesn’t matter who I’m going to go against, I’m going to give my everything,” Tucker said on guarding Youngblood.
After a quick rest period shooting free throws, the team then broke into a scrimmage. With a large emphasis on transition defense, players were tasked with quickly getting back and finding a man after every offensive shot attempt. Once back on defense, the team ran against a simulated version of South Florida’s offense to prepare for the Bull’s experienced guard play.
“You really got to be locked in, those wings are good at what they do,” Henson said. “You have to be aggressive, you can’t be lazy.”
The ‘Runners will look to capitalize on their high energy by securing their third conference win in South Florida.
“We’re locked in, we’re ready for the game Saturday,” Tucker said.
