FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton head men's basketball coach Dedrique Taylor and the squad completed the first official practice of the 2017-18 season on Friday afternoon. The Titans host La Verne in an exhibition matchup on Nov. 4 before their season-opening game takes place on Nov. 10 at USC.
With 42 days until the Titans face the Trojans, the squad took the court and worked on offensive and defensive fundamentals while also focusing on conditioning and getting in shape with a basketball. Taylor and his coaching staff went over some offensive and defensive principles as well, allowing the team to apply the things they learned in a five-on-five setting.
"I think we got a little better today," Taylor said. "We were on the floor a lot longer than we have been in the past (during workouts) and I think the guy's handled it pretty well. We got a long way to go but I thought there was some good things that we did today, particularly for a first day with quite a few new guys on the floor."
.@CSFCoachTaylor was pleased with the work the squad put in after day one. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/4fV0HAaw8U
— Titans Basketball (@FullertonHoops) September 29, 2017
The Titans return nine student-athletes, including three starters, from the 2016-17 squad that went 17-15 overall, 10-6 in the league play and earned a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The team also welcomes seven newcomers to the squad, including five freshmen and two junior college transfers.
"It's a hell of an argument (when watching the offense go against the defense)," Taylor said. "It's a push-pull type of a situation, as good as you want your offense to be, you want your defense to always be better and vice-a-versa. It's just one of those deals where you're constantly trying to improve, you're constantly evaluating one to the other. At the end of the day, you just hope that you're getting better day-by-day."
Today began a five-month grind for the Titans, who will roughly practice six-days-per-week leading up to the season opener before commencing their 28-game regular season.
First day in the books. 42 days until the season opener on Nov. 10. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/ZcpJracCEX
— Titans Basketball (@FullertonHoops) September 29, 2017
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