The Palestra welcomed the men’s hoops team back for the annual Red and Blue Scrimmage, the squad’s first open practice.
In the first 15-minute game, the significantly more experienced Blue team — featuring every returning player who logged more than 150 minutes last year — pulled away from the Red team in the waning minutes to net a 30-25 victory.
After an intermission, the teams were mixed up, and they headed back onto the court. Led by junior forward Tyler Bernardini’s three-point shooting and strong interior play from senior center Andreas Schreiber and sophomore forward Larry Loughery, the Reds dismantled the Blues, winning by nine.
While no statistics — including fouls — are kept for the scrimmage, the game still offered a glimpse of what’s to come in the 2009-10 season.
On the road to recovery. Perhaps the most uplifting part about Saturday’s scrimmage was the return of numerous injured players. At least seven Quakers were hurt by the end of last season, but a full 17-man roster dressed for the scrimmage.
Some returning players thrived, with Schreiber throwing down the game’s only dunk off an offensive rebound, and Loughery and Bernardini unofficially leading the scrimmage in scoring. Altogether, the team seems to be in a significantly better place health-wise than they were last winter.
“The biggest difference [from last year] is everyone’s healthy,” Bernardini said. “People don’t need surgery right now. Last year at this point we already had people who needed surgery. Maybe some tape jobs here or there, but for the most part everyone’s healthy and we’re all ready to go.”
A welcome addition, too, was senior guard Darren Smith. After starting as a freshman on the 2006-07 NCAA Tournament team, he broke his kneecap in the opener of his sophomore campaign and has not played since. But he played in the scrimmage, and hopes to again be an impact player, even though he admits he is not quite 100 percent.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time for this day to come around. I’m just excited to be able to get up and down with the fellas again.”
Through the first week of practice, nearly the entire lineup has suited up every day. The only exception is senior forward Justin Reilly, who is still recovering from double hernia surgery. He dressed and warmed up with the team, but saw limited action.
Do They Got Game? This scrimmage also provided fans their first look at the squad’s incoming freshmen. And it may be the last extended look they see for a while, as these freshmen will not be forced into the lineup as quickly as newcomers have the past couple of years.
“It’s kinda nice for a team to kinda have a solid group that’s all back and a solid group that’s going to learn from older guys,” Bernardini said.
The biggest surprise of the game, however, was “preferred walk-on” Malcolm Washington. The point guard — generously listed on the scrimmage program at 5-foot-11 but not yet on the official roster — unofficially scored eight points, including a three to open the game’s scoring. He started at point for the Blue squad, effectively defending sophomore point guard Zach Rosen.
“He has the opportunity to make the team; our roster is not final right now,” Miller said. “He needs to be an energy guy, a sparkplug guy, and I think to this point in the preseason he’s done that. … If he keeps on doing what he’s doing, I think he’s gonna be in good shape.”
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