Written by JASON PETERS
Citizen staff
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Friday, 05 September 2008 |
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NORTHERN SPORT CENTREDUCHESS PARK
"I'm pleasantly surprised," Raimbault said Friday. "I think we have a great group of guys to work with and we have tremendous young men involved in our program. Everyone seems to be of the utmost character and that's extremely important to me as a coach. That's something that I'm very happy with so far."
Raimbault's group of players was assembled by former head coach Zane Robison, who now works in student recruitment and advising at UNBC. The new sideline boss conducted his first practice on Tuesday and also held court sessions Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday night at the Northern Sport Centre, UNBC consultant Ken Shields led practice, and he'll do the same today and Sunday. The first floor-time for the UNBC men today is at 11 a.m.
Raimbault, who was head coach of the Brandon Bobcats last Canadian Interuniversity Sport season, declined to say which UNBC players have been standouts so far.
"I don't like to hand out praise to individual players all that often," he said. "More than anything, I'm happy with the way that we're working and where we're at so far. We're off to a good start."
The UNBC women's basketball team has also been practicing since Tuesday and also spent time with Shields on Friday night. Today and Sunday, Shields -- one of Canada's most well-known and respected coaches -- will also share his knowledge with members of the women's team. The first court session today is at 9 a.m.
Loralyn Murdoch, head coach of the female Timberwolves, said Friday she has been impressed with how her veteran players have handled the start of the practice schedule. In particular, their overall fitness levels have improved.
"Aerobically, they're all in a little bit better shape than they were last year, so no complaints there," said Murdoch, who guided the 2007-08 team to the playoff championship in the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association. "Our starting point is a little higher and we know where we want to be. And they're now working with Tom Masich (of the Prince George Track and Field Club) twice a week so that's hopefully going to give us a little edge."
One player who's a UNBC veteran and rookie at the same time is guard Erika Johnson. She has three years of U.S. college basketball under her belt but last played competitively in 2003-04 at the University of Northern Colorado. Johnson, a Duchess Park graduate, is resuming her playing career with the T-wolves and, so far, has earned a 'thumbs-up' from Murdoch.
"As I said earlier in the summer, I wasn't 100 per cent sure what her commitment level was going to be, and she has been fantastic," Murdoch said. "She tested well long distant and sprint-wise and she has been a great person in practice -- a great attitude and has been working really hard. She has already been pushing people like (fifth-year guard) Jaclyn (Nazareno) and (fifth-year forward) Laurel (Wallace) so she's a very nice addition."
n Both UNBC teams will be in action Sept. 20. That night, the second annual alumni games will be on the court at the NSC.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 05 September 2008 )
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