Game Notes
Happy Osborne doesn't want his team to focus on their opponent's record Thursday night.
Kentucky Wesleyan takes the court with Cedarville at 6:45 p.m., a team with just one win to their name, in their first road conference road game this season. Some might argue it's classic "coach speak," but the first-year coach said the Yellow Jackets are "one of the best teams" in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
"Cedarville is going to play 3-2 zone. Cedarville is going to play a 2-1-2 full-court press," Osborne said. "Both of those are things that we haven't seen a lot of. Cedarville has probably played the best schedule in the G-MAC. I think that's fair —probably us and them.
"I think they're much better than their record. They're athletic inside. I think when the year is said and done, they'll be one of the top teams in the conference."
The Yellow Jackets (1-10) have three scorers averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-2 junior guard Marcus Reinke's 15.7 points per game average.Â
Osborne used the work "awkward" in how he expects some of the game flow to be with his team attacking Cedarville's defensive style for the first time.
He said the keys to the game will be how his team rebounds and defends.
"We've got to show composure with those two things," he said. "We've got to do a better job in transition defense, too."
KWC has had some time off since its last game, a 68-60 loss at Southern Indiana on Dec. 21. The Panthers (7-6) got back to practice with two-a-days on Monday and Osborne liked what he saw.
"I thought the first practice was really, really good. I thought the second practice was good," he said. "We slowed it down in the second practice with zone. That slowed it down but we had some people who really gave great efforts."
The players also practiced calling plays themselves on the floor as Osborne will sit Thursday's game out due to suspension. The assistant coaches will carry out the game plan.
Perhaps the biggest boost for KWC this break has been getting forwards Donovan Johnson and Devin Langford comfortable. Both have played just three games since returning from suspension but are getting more comfortable, particularly Langford.
"First of all he's more aggressive," Osborne said. "He's rebounding better and he's running the floor better. At the end of the day, he's probably just way more comfortable."
KWC will be right back at it at 3 p.m. Saturday with a game just five miles down the road against Central State.
