Thunderwolves’ Nation:
Happy Holidays and Seasons’ Greetings!
I hope this note finds happiness for you and yours during
this celebratory time of year…. with respect to the more obvious reasons to
celebrate, one of the more exciting byproducts of the Christmas season is that
it represents the unofficial change of “football season” to “basketball
season”. High School rivalries heat up,
college and university conference foes collide and professional play-off spots
are solidified all over the next 8-12 weeks.
The New Year also marks the unofficial half-way point in the
CIS season and I thought it time to update you all on my experiences in Maine
for the season with the
Red Claws of the NBA D League. (As well address the
Lakehead Thunderwolves progress below!!!).
While the CIS season is at a mid-point, the “D-League”
season is still in the early stages. Our
squad in Maine, for example, is currently 5-4 with 41 games left to play.
After a 2-0 start the team’s best player,
Jermaine Taylor,
was lost for the year with a torn ACL.
I
was elected to take Jermaine to the Celtics’ surgeon both after his injury and
again last week for pre-surgery and we talked of the Lakehead players who had
similar injuries and I believe he was comforted a little bit hearing of the
success and determination of Mac, Henry and Ryan throughout their
recoveries.
My role with the staff is quite demanding from a time
perspective but, admittedly, the least stressed I have been on game days in ten
years! Just like the players in the D
League are “grinding” to try and break the NBA “Bubble”; the staffs and coaches
are all trying to do the same thing in their respective fields. Whether it be coaching, training, scouting
or operations… in order to be respected, keep up, and contribute each person
has to really put in long hours at their respective tasks.
Much like I had hoped when I left for Maine, I have been
given a variety of areas in which to work that is providing me the full feed of coaching at this level. My
main role is to provide an advanced scout on each opponent from both a team and
personnel perspective. I work ahead of
the schedule and try to have the next opponent ready for the other coaches to
review on the evening of our previous game.
(If we play Delware Dec 31, I have the Delaware scout ready on Dec 28
when we play Iowa for example). What I
like about this job is that I am learning every team’s offensive and defensive
system. I also have a good handle on all players on each team which comes in handy in practice and walk-thru with the team. So far the best player I have scouted is Pierre Jackson who played at Baylor last year.
The other part of the job I am enjoying is the “individual
development” with the players. Each assistant
(there are 4 of us) has 3 players
assigned to them for development. The
average week this would include 2-3 on court workouts (usually 30-40 minutes
after practice) as well as a 10 minute 1 on 1 film session where I cut clips of
those players in practice or games and go over some points to improve with
them.
Any coach would like this aspect of the job because it has a
direct affect on the players but also I enjoy learning how to best “get
through” to different personalities….
While the players here are all talented for the most part, they still
have similar strong and weak characteristics like any high school or college
player.
I am also very fortunate to have a great group of coaches to
work with here for the season.
Head Coach Mike Taylor has a wealth of pro experience and coaches with a positive
and energetic demeanor.
He is a big
Lakehead (and CFL) fan as he used to work camp with Coach Erdman’s uncle Mark
and has known of Coach Erd for a long time.
My main guys on staff include Jim Moran & Ron
Nored.
Jim is from Long Island and
recently retired after a 10 year career in the ACB (Spain’s top league).
He brings a player’s viewpoint and I have
been learning from him the expectations and attitudes that a successful pro
player must portray.
Jim played in
Spain for multiple seasons with Canadian Carl English, who of course is the
cousin of Coach Mark English.
Ron Nored was a starter at Butler University and was the
“Greg Carter” of t
hose Butler final four teams a couple of years back.
When Coach Stevens left Butler for the
Celtics this summer, he hired Ron with Boston.
Ron spent the summer and fall with the Celtics, learning their system,
before switching to his other role as our assistant coach in Maine for the D
League season.
Ron is a mature and
knowledgeable basketball person who has a bright future in coaching.
We spend many hours discussing X’s and O’s –
often comparing what they did at Butler to what we do a Lakehead.
He has also been a great teacher to me of
the differences between university style and NBA style as it pertains to things
like team defense. (which we both share a love for)
In addition to these guys there are many other excellent
people involved in the organization - I
am doing my best to represent both Lakehead and Canada to the best of my
abilities by working hard and contributing where I can. There is not a day that goes by that I do
not miss being with the team back home, but that is also one of the strongest
motivators for me to continue working hard to learn and become a better coach
for our program next season so that this time away can be a positive addition to our quest for a CIS title.
While it is hard (for me) to avoid looking ahead to next
season – 2013 has brought us (Lakehead basketball) much to be thankful for and
reflect on.
A quick review of 2013 would
include reaching new heights as the team defeated Windsor in the old Maple Leaf
Gardens in Toronto to qualify for a 4
th straight CIS Final 8.
Of course the team would
ride the momentum to Ottawa and send off a group of 6 graduating players with a
CIS national Silver medal in March.
The off-season was also exciting as we welcomed in some new
members of the “Lakehead Family” that would quickly show in late 2013 that they
have all the potential to fill the big shoes left for them by their most recent predecessors.
We also have many “New Year’s Resolutions” to look forward to
for 2014. Both the players and coaches
in Thunder Bay have a great opportunity to make a run at the OUA West
competition and drive us into the post season.
Coaches Erdman, English, Searle, Jones and Charlebois continue to do a
great job and will build on what they have learned in October and November in
addition to their own extensive post-season experience. Veteran players have shown a desire to
step up and now will be their chance to put their own stamp on the leadership
of our team. Transfer players have a few
months under their belts and should be comfortable in the blue/white while our
young guys are eager to show that a few good games in the first semester are a
sign of things to come on a regular basis as they look to become the foundation for this next era of Lakehead Basketball.
Like you all I look forward to watching the guys grow and working with them toward
these goals over the next number of months – I also look forward to seeing or
speaking with you all in the near future.
Until then, Happy New Year and all the best from Portland, Maine to
wherever you are spending your holidays.
Yours in Basketball
Coach Scott Morrison
Lakehead Thunderwolves
