Columbus State Basketball Programs Open Practice Saturday
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Columbus – The Columbus State men's and women's basketball teams will take to the hardwood on Saturday, October 15 as both teams will conduct their first official practices for the upcoming season.
Each squad will have a double-session beginning with an early morning practice before they come back later in the afternoon to conclude their first training day.
The men's basketball team returns six letterwinners under second-year head coach Robert Moore who led his team to an 11-15 mark in his first head coaching position on the collegiate level. A team the features six returning seniors, the Cougars look to improve upon the little things this season as they lost 10 of their 15 contests by 10 points or less and four of them were single-possession losses. CSU also returns four of their top five scorers from a year ago including Columbus native Steve Peterson, who averaged a team best 13 points a game.
"We are really excited for this season because we bring back so many experienced guys who saw a lot of minutes for us last year," remarked Moore when discussing the start of the new season. "We were able to add a talented group of guys to the mix and we are eager to see how they gel with the returners."
On the women's side, Coach Jonathan Norton returns eight players from last years 15-12 team who lost in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament to eventual tournament champion Georgia College. Leading the way for the Lady Cougars will be Dominique Gilbert, the only player in the PBC to average a double-double during the 2010-11 season. Her 10 rebounds a game were tops in the conference while the senior's 13.8 points a contest were ninth best in the Peach Belt.
"We all know when the season starts every year, the fun and exciting part is, we as a team get to decide when our season is over," stated Norton. "Our group has a nice blend of returning players and newcomers and the team chemistry has been tremendous in conditioning workouts and individual sessions which will go a long way during the course of the season."
Both teams will begin the regular season on November 11 at the Nova Southeastern Tip-off Tournament. The men will take on Puerto Rico at Mayaguez at 1:00 p.m. while the Lady Cougars will face off against Barry at 3:30 p.m.
