The weekend sweep is complete, but there’s still a lot of cleaning up to do, says Lakehead’s second-year men’s basketball coach.
With the pre-season in the books thanks to Saturday’s 81-63 win over the visiting junior college Hibbing Cardinals, Manny Furtado’s Thunderwolves troops have six days to get ready for the start of regular-season play, which arrives next Friday when the Guelph Gryphons land at the Thunderdome.
He’s not sure his squad is up to the task.
“It’s not how you start,” he said, dismissing the team’s 9-2 non-conference record.
“It’s are we getting better? And right now, I think we’ve plateaued … I know next week we’re going to face a very tough and very scrappy Guelph team and right now I don’t know if we’re ready for that.”
The two-game set was supposed to be a chance for the Wolves younger players – and there are plenty of them – to get some on-court time and show they belong.
But despite knocking off the Cardinals by an identical 18-point margin on Friday with a lineup dominated by freshmen, Furtado was unimpressed with how they got the job done and relegated them to the bench for the lion’s share of Saturday’s rematch.
He’s hoping for controlled chaos in practice this week, some sign his players are ready for prime time.
“I hope guys understand what it’s going to be like come Friday night,” Furtado said.
Veteran guard Henry Tan said in order to succeed this season, coming off a trip to the OUA playoff’s second round, the Wolves are going to have to get better off the glass and in the defensive zone.
“In these preseason games we definitely got exposed on defense and in rebounding,” said Tan, whose 21 points on Saturday were second to backcourt partner Nick Burke’s 23.
“We’re an undersized team. Bacarius (Dinkins) and Tanner (Parrington) are our biggest players. So we need to be better defensively and rebounding because these teams here are very, very physical, very tough, very tenacious,” Tan said.
“We can’t rely on our offense because we’re not as talented.”
The Wolves are unquestionably a team in transition.
With starters Dwayne Harvey and Anthony McIntosh lost to graduation and veterans Ryan Doornick, Ashaunti Hogan, Addy Ogunye and Jamar Coke electing not to return, the Wolves have plenty of new faces in camp.
Furtado’s starting five – Burke, Tan, Dinkins, Alex Robichaud and the injured Mor Menashe (hand) – is set, although the Israeli import may be sidelined for the first half of the season, a cast covering his right hand.
After that’s it’s a bit of a crapshoot.
Mike Theodore, who had 16 in Friday’s win, has established himself as the No. 1 or No. 2 guy off the bench.
“I’m real happy with what he’s done the last two or three weeks,” Furtado said.
Forward Tanner Parrington has also earned playing time with his preseason play.
“From a guard position we certainly need a third to back up Nick and Henry and right now I think Anthony Flores is that guy.”
Furtado also has high hopes for rookies Quincy Johnson, Kache Kopec and Brendan Persad.
“They’ve got to come in and give us 10 to 12 minutes. We might have to hide them on defence and put them on someone they can defend and when called upon they’ve got to make some shots that Nick and Henry create for them.”
