The Augusta University Men’s Basketball team is off to a good start this season, going 5-2 in their first seven games of the season.
After starting the season ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division 2 pre-season coach’s poll, the Jaguars started the season with a three-game winning streak before dropping back-to-back games Flagler and Georgia Southwestern. The Jags were able to bounce back, however, and win two straight at Columbus State and Lander University. The two losses knocked had impact, as the Jan. 26 coaches’ poll has Augusta looking outside the Top 25.
[adrotate banner=”22″]
Head Coach Dip Metress recently sat down to talk about how the team has played so far this year, what they need to improve on, and what they are doing well.
“We are rebounding the wall pretty well,” said Metress. “We are defending pretty well. We are a little anemic offensively at times. We are lacking some three-point shooting. Some guys are having to play some different roles for us, but for the most part we’ve been really pleased with the effort and hopefully we can continue to get better. It will be a challenge to get better.”
Metress said the team’s offense could be improved with better spacing on the court.
[adrotate banner=”19″]
“It’s a little bit of a spacing issue from a technical standpoint,” said Metress. “We have to continue to play for each other. Share the ball, move the basketball. We have to be careful of quick shots because that will hurt us defensively going the other way. We are scoring a lot of points within two feet of the basket.”
The Jaguars will hope to improve on their winning record to try and qualify for the NCAA tournament for a third straight year this March. The Jaguars have been participants in the NCAA championship tournament 13 times since the 1970s, and ten times in the last 14 years under Metress.
RiverGracey is a contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at River.Gracey@TheAugustaPRESS.com
[adrotate banner=”35″]
