Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Isles ignite during colorful scrimmage

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Sunday, October 31, 1999

Isles ignite during colorful scrimmage
A&M-CC men's starting five posts 84 points in 30 minutes at exhibition
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Islanders junior forward Damian Kirkaldy holds the ball away from defender Jesse Bibbs Saturday during the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's scrimmage.

With the first Division I game in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball history a mere three weeks away, the countdown to the Islanders' first exhibition game - Nov. 10 against Houston Flight - has nearly reached single digits.
   In other words, there's not much time left for coach Ronnie Arrow to tinker with his offense or defense.
   "We're learning; we're getting there," Arrow said after watching his team's 30-minute intrasquad scrimmage Saturday afternoon. "We have everything in now that we're going to have for the two exhibition games. Needless to say, we're going to need to refine them, but we've put everything in."
   As was the case at last week's scrimmage, the Islanders once again showed they are capable of scoring a lot of points - Saturday saw the first-teamers in white defeat the blue second-teamers, 84-53.
   Extrapolate that out to a full, 40-minute game, and A&M-Corpus Christi's starting five would have posted 112 points.
   Junior swingman Michael Hicks led all scorers with 27 points, followed closely by White Team teammate Vladimir Ryzhov, who tallied 23. Guard Lee Denmon added 16, splitting time between both squads, while Blue Teamers Dustin Shultz and Arunas Drasutis scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.
   Though he continues to harp on his players for improved defensive play, Arrow said the Islanders did make progress this week, particularly in their newly installed full- and half-court presses.
   "I thought the first team's press was good, and we've only had that in two days," Arrow said. "It doesn't look like it (based on the score), but our pressure up front was a lot better. Our pressure guarding the hole with our post men needs some work."
   The 30-minute scrimmage, up 10 minutes from last week, capped a long day for A&M-Corpus Christi, which had already held a 3-hour practice Saturday morning.
   The fatigue began to show late in the scrimmage, as shots started to fall short and passes got a little sloppy.
   Arrow is not disappointed to see his players physically drained, provided they gave their full effort.
   "I don't like to say 'tired,' " Arrow said. "We committed ourselves to fatigue rather than just pushing ourselves. But we've worked real hard."
   WOMEN'S TEAM MAKING PROGRESS: Like its male counterparts, the Islander women's team hit the court for an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday for the first time. The Blue Team knocked off the White Team, 39-33, in 20 minutes of play.
   "We've got a long way to go, but I was pretty encouraged," said coach Sheryl Estes. "We worked really hard this week, and we're starting to turn the corner on our half-court offense. There's still a lot of little things to work on, but I was pleased overall."
   Estes' group has even less time than the men's team to prepare for its first exhibition game. The Islanders host Houston Flight one week from Monday at Memorial Coliseum in what will be the first competitive basketball game for the university in 26 years.
   INJURY UPDATE: For the second straight week, freshman point guard Tra Arnold sat out the Islander men's team scrimmage with a bruised knee. Arrow said Arnold should be back at practice Monday.
   Sophomore center Pate Diene missed the scrimmage with shin splints, and junior Aaron Eneas, who scored 10 first-half points, sat out most of the second half after he had the wind knocked out of him from a hard fall on the court.
   WHOOPS: Several players on the men's team, after switching jerseys, scored points for both the White and Blue teams at Saturday's scrimmage.
   Shultz scored for both squads, but unfortunately he was wearing blue the entire time.
   Trying to beat a full-court press imposed by Team White, Shultz took an inbounds pass, saw a wide-open basket in front of him, and slammed home an easy basket . . . for the wrong team.
   "I guess we haven't worked on that yet," Arrow joked, "showing them what basket to go at."

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