James takes over men’s program

With four practices under its belt, the 2013 men’s basketball team is still searching for its identity.

“Defensively we’re trying to build an identity of a tougher basketball team that defends and rebounds better than what we have been in the past,” interim head coach Joey James said. “Once we do that I think this team has a chance to take off on their own.“

The team is looking for a new look on offense as well, James said.

“Offensively, we want to play fast,” he said. “We’re going to come right at you as fast as we can but be disciplined when we do it.”

These changes on either side of the ball come along with a slew of other changes prior to the start of the season, most importantly the departure of longtime head coach Dave Boots and the hiring of James as interim head coach Sept. 6.

James, who has been with the program for 11 years, both as a player and a coach, said he’s more than ready to take the team over.

“I’m ready for this. It’s one of those deals where I was an assistant and very familiar with the program,” James said. “I feel I’m very prepared to take over and coach Boots did a great job of guiding me to this point. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Junior guard Brandon Bos said the adjustment to James as the lead man hasn’t been a tough transition.

“We’re adjusting very well,” Bos said. “James has been here for 11 years, and he’s always been very vocal in practice, even when Coach Boots was here. It’s been a very easy adjustment for us, and I think we’re doing very well, and we love his intensity.”

Bos said James has already stressed some of Boots’ main values, defense and rebounding and knows those two areas will need improvement heading into the season open opener vs. St. Bonaventure Nov. 9.

“Over the offseason, we worked on defense and rebounding that’s what Coach James has been stressing the most,” Bos said. “That’s where we’ve struggled in the Summit League. If we improve in those areas we can be really good because we have a lot of offensive talent.”

Aside from a switch at head coach, the Coyotes will have to try to replace top scoring guard Juevol Myles. Myles averaged 15.4 points per game as well as 3.0 assists per game.

With the role of replacing Myles, sophomore Trey Norris and first-year Rico Thompson will take over most of the minutes at point guard. Both players are very inexperienced, so the point guard position can be viewed as a question mark. However, James said both players have been impressive in practice and are going to help the team plenty this year.

“I never think you can replace a specific individual. Everyone has their own abilities. The one thing this year is our two point guards are going to manage the game better for us,” James said. “And those two should be able to get 13-14 points per game between the two of them.”

One familiar face for the Coyotes will be senior center Trevor Gruis who, along with Myles, was the only other Coyote to start all 30 games in 2012-13. Gruis averaged 12.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game last season, earning fourth-team All-Summit League honors.

“Trevor has taken some big steps for us,” James said. “We’ll lean heavily on him; he’s going to be a leader for us. He’s a guy that has to demand the ball more, so he has to make sure to get his post touches.”

Last year’s Coyotes team struggled in conference play, posting a 5-12 record against conference foes.

“In the Summit League, it’s pretty even top-to-bottom,” Gruis said. “Last year we lost seven games by five or less points, and that comes down to a couple possessions going either way. We just have to figure out how to finish those games.”

The Coyotes made it to the conference tournament last year in Sioux Falls as a seventh seed. The Coyotes fell in a heartbreaker to second-ranked Western Illinois 54-53.

This year the Coyotes, now two years removed from the transition to Division I, face yet again another strong conference and non-conference schedule.

“We want to win the conference, and most importantly we want to win the conference tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament,” Bos said. “It’s a long way away. Right now we’re focusing Nov. 9 (against St. Bonaventure).”

This year the Coyotes travel across the country and back before playing a home game, including stops in New York and Texas. The Coyotes non-conference schedule also includes two games against Wyoming (one in Rapid City), Kansas State, Texas State, and Air Force.

Before playing St. Bonaventure on Nov. 9, the Coyotes have over 20 more practices to prepare.

“Practices have been competitive, I mean very, very competitive, which is what a coach wants,” James said.

Projected Starting FivePG: Trey Norris, So.

SG: Brandon Bos, Jr.

SF: Tyler Larson, Sr.

PF: Tyler Flack, So.

C: Trevor Gruis, Sr.