Jerome Tillman and Michael Allen walked off the court exhausted following a 4-hour practice session Sunday evening.
Following ten minutes of stretching, Tillman and Allen admitted they were tired from conditioning, which, along with defense, is something new head coach John Groce is trying to focus on.
We've conditioned hard so far
Allen said. Coach Groce has already taught us some things on defense that I was unaware of.
Groce was announced as the team's head coach in June after serving as an assistant and associate head coach at Ohio State the last four seasons.
Groce guided teams to the postseason in 13 of the last 14 years. He's been to a Final Four, two Elite Eights, and won a National Invitation Tournament championship and multiple conference titles.
Senior starters Tillman and Allen are excited to play for him.
According to Tillman, Groce brings a lot of energy and a fast-paced style of basketball to the team.
I think it helps play into the strengths of our team Tillman said. We were up-tempo in the past but Coach Groce has us playing even more up-tempo than before.
Allen said he is excited to play for his new coach, because he believes that Groce's philosophy on helping each individual player is something that can help the team improve.
Coach Groce brings a more hands-on approach
Allen said. I believe it has helped our team so far. One of the goals Coach Groce told us he had was to help every individual get better
and I believe that will help us overall.
Tillman said that Groce helped him.
He has already added new facets to my game that will help me get better and ready for the season
Tillman said.
Last year Allen started 29 games and was second in the Mid-American Conference with 142 assists, while averaging 4.8 points and more than a steal per game. -
Allen said. We have to make sure everyone buys into the system.
Tillman and Allen said they do not see anything holding the team back. They said they are prepared to start the season with Groce at the helm.
I'm a firm believer in that things happen for a reason
Tillman said. I believe Coach Groce coming here is something that was meant to happen to help us win basketball games.
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