Last season, Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters always talked about how he was going to constantly use a full-court press next season. Waters' idea becomes a reality, starting with Sunday's first full-length practice.
Waters said he would spend about 20 percent of his practices working on the press. "What we did last year was pressure. We pressured in the half-court. We got up into people and pressured them off the floor. I haven't gotten away from that," he said "What I have done is gone to pressing. We are going to extend to 94 feet, but we are going to apply pressure in that 94 feet. Our goal is to wear teams down so the last eight minutes we can control the game."
"We are not going to be like Louisville, who (presses) one time and out and goes back to a zone. In our system, we are going to press numerous times. The thing we are different at is when we get into the half-court we (will) pick up man-to-man and still apply pressure to you."
Last season, CSU only pressed for about 15 minutes a game as a change of pace, or when they needed to.
Waters said his press would be similar to the full-court press Bruce Pearl used at Milwaukee, which propelled the Panthers to two Horizon League championships, and a Sweet 16."
The last time, Waters used a full-court press was in his final season at Kent State, when the Golden Flashes went 24-10, defeating Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.
In order to press, you need to have lots of interchangeable bodies. That shouldn't be a problem for the Vikings as Waters said this year's CSU team is much deeper then any team he has had at Kent. "At Kent, we were about 10 deep," he said "(At CSU), we are about 12-13 deep."
Viking Madness tonight: CSU's men's and women's basketball teams will hosts its annual "Viking Madness" celebration tonight at Woodling Gym to tip-off the first day of practice.
Doors open at 4 p.m. for team autographs and food. Viking Madness is scheduled to get underway at 5 p.m.
One lucky fan will get a chance to shoot a half-court shot for $10,000. Other prizes that will be given away include: Airline Tickets, a semester of free parking, and book scholarships.
The first 1,000 fans will get a free t-shirt. Also available is a Family Fun Fest from 1-4 p.m. at the MAC Gym, located on the lower level of the CSU Recreation Center.
No tickets are required. Parking is available in the CSU East garage located on Chester Avenue, between East 24th Street and East 30th Street.
Tickets go on sale Monday: Single game tickets for all 18 CSU men's basketball home games during the 2009-10 season go on sale beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. Single game tickets are $8 (endzone), $15 (between baselines) and $25 (center court). Tickets for Butler and West Virginia games are $10, $20 and $30. Tickets can be purchased at the Wolstein Center box office and at all TicketMasters outlets and online
News and notes: So far, CSU has sold 10,000 tickets for the 2009-10 season. Last year, CSU had only sold 20,000 for the entire 2008-09 season.... CSU will receive their 2009 Horizon League championship rings prior to the Nov. 28 Wichita State game..... At least 13 CSU games will be on TV this season on multiple channels (STO, ESPNU, BTN, CCS, FSN)..... According to ONPSS, 6-foot-9 power forward Ludovic Ndaye of Phoneix Westwind Prep, is visiting CSU this weekend.
