Spring Break
The Daily OrangeWBB | WNBA hopefuls christen Hillsman's career at Syracuse in 1st exhibition
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 11/2/06, 9:42 PM EST Section: Sports
Typically coaches schedule non-threatening opponents for their opening exhibition matchups. Apparently Quentin Hillsman missed the memo.
The Syracuse women's basketball team gets its first look tonight at 7 in Manley Field House against Team Adidas, a team Hillsman believes will be one of the best Syracuse will play all season long.
"They're going to be very good," Hillsman said. "Honestly, they might be one of the top four or five teams that we play this year. So it's going to be a tough game for us. If we don't come out and play with some effort they are going to get us."
Hillsman kept on repeating Friday's exhibition will be a tough matchup and mentioned that Team Adidas is a roster of post-graduate players looking for the opportunity to play professionally, complete with a legitimate coach - former Cincinnati assistant Bret McCormick - and players that don't see the game as an exhibition.
If Hillsman wanted to make his coaching debut a difficult one, he succeeded.
Thankfully for him, his official record at SU doesn't begin until Nov. 12 against Penn State. These next two games will only determine how prepared Syracuse is to start the regular season.
"The focus is just to get a good game pattern, get a good feel for the things we need to do for the regular season," Hillsman said. "We're just trying to build a foundation offensively and defensively."
Hillsman said he has drawn up game plans and expects to run several different schemes both offensively and defensively but acknowledges that execution may still be a work in progress. SU has only had about a dozen formal practices since Media Day on Oct. 14.
For the players, tonight's game will be an opportunity to read each other in a real game situation.
"I treat (the exhibition) as important as a normal game," junior center Vaida Sipaviciute said. "At the same time we just want to see how our team has developed. I just want to see how good we are as a team."
The Syracuse women's basketball team gets its first look tonight at 7 in Manley Field House against Team Adidas, a team Hillsman believes will be one of the best Syracuse will play all season long.
"They're going to be very good," Hillsman said. "Honestly, they might be one of the top four or five teams that we play this year. So it's going to be a tough game for us. If we don't come out and play with some effort they are going to get us."
Hillsman kept on repeating Friday's exhibition will be a tough matchup and mentioned that Team Adidas is a roster of post-graduate players looking for the opportunity to play professionally, complete with a legitimate coach - former Cincinnati assistant Bret McCormick - and players that don't see the game as an exhibition.
If Hillsman wanted to make his coaching debut a difficult one, he succeeded.
Thankfully for him, his official record at SU doesn't begin until Nov. 12 against Penn State. These next two games will only determine how prepared Syracuse is to start the regular season.
"The focus is just to get a good game pattern, get a good feel for the things we need to do for the regular season," Hillsman said. "We're just trying to build a foundation offensively and defensively."
Hillsman said he has drawn up game plans and expects to run several different schemes both offensively and defensively but acknowledges that execution may still be a work in progress. SU has only had about a dozen formal practices since Media Day on Oct. 14.
For the players, tonight's game will be an opportunity to read each other in a real game situation.
"I treat (the exhibition) as important as a normal game," junior center Vaida Sipaviciute said. "At the same time we just want to see how our team has developed. I just want to see how good we are as a team."
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