When the Mustangs take the floor on Saturday night, there will be a lot of new things to notice.
The first thing will be the court, which was replaced earlier in the season. If you went to any volleyball games you’ve already received a preview. The new floor has a darker wood and a new paint job, although it no longer has the large Mustang in the center.
The second thing you’ll notice will probably be the Mustangs’ uniforms. The switch from the school’s sponsorship by Nike last year to Adidas this season means new uniforms, sneakers and even balls.
But the most dramatic change will be the players on the court.
The Mustangs graduated three key components of the roster in Donatas Rackauskas, Devon Pearson and Ike Ofoegbu, and have brought in seven freshmen.
Papa Dia, Ryan Harp, Tomasz Kwiatowski, Alex Malone, Robert Nyakundi, Bennie Rhodes and Mike Walker join seniors Jon Killen, Derrick Roberts and Paulius Ritter, junior Bamba Fall and sophomore Cameron Spencer.
“We’ve now gone 22 practices, not including two scrimmages, so we have a pretty good feel by now,” head coach Matt Doherty said about the freshmen.
Doherty cited Dia, Walker and Malone as the three freshmen, along with Harp, who might see some playing time early in the season.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how these guys grow and develop with playing time,” Doherty said. “First you put guys out there that over 22 practices have proven to you that you trust what they’re going to do on the floor, then the other guys have to continue to earn that.”
Senior captains Roberts and Killen have taken it upon themselves to help the freshmen acclimate to the team and to SMU.
“The jump coming from high school to college is a big shock as far as the demands a coach puts on you and the demands from the classroom,” Roberts said. “The biggest thing is, from a senior’s perspective, is to give them as many pointers as I can.”
Roberts said that one of the biggest things is letting the freshmen know what coach Doherty expects so they can get the most out of the practices.
Killen talked about the importance of getting the freshmen integrated into the team as early as they did. All seven of the players were able to come in over the summer and work with the upperclassmen. Killen said they played a lot of pick-up games and spent a lot of time in the gym together.
“I think the most important thing is to make sure they are comfortable with us as leaders,” Killen said. “Letting them know that if they need anything they can get with us for whatever they want to talk about, or work on something in the game, or try and understand what’s going on, on the court.”
But it is Doherty who truly realizes the important role that Roberts and Killen will play in the development of the freshmen class.
“I think it’s huge, to have Jon and Derrick in particular, the two captains, they are really hard workers, they’re the two hardest workers on the team and two of our better players,” Doherty said. “Those two captains have been great leaders, they push the guys and they push themselves.”
The Mustangs will hit the floor for the first time Saturday night against Southern and again Sunday afternoon against Alabama State.
