Dwayne Evans is a sophomore forward for the Billikens men’s basketball team. Last season, he was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie team and led SLU in rebounds. He now checks in as a guest columnist from Ottowa, Canada, where he and his team are preparing for the 2011-2012 basketball season.
Hello from Canada! We are currently in Ottawa in the midst our five-game summer exhibition schedule. The games, as well as the practices at Chaifetz Arena leading up to it, have been great. We’ve won our first two games against the University of Windsor and the University of Western Ontario, and play the final three here in Ottawa before heading back to the STL.
On behalf of the team, I want to first thank all the fans that came out to watch us in our open practices.
We had some tough practices, and looking up into the crowd and seeing the support from the fans really helped us get through some of the sessions.
Being able to go on this trip will only generate positive things moving forward. Usually, we aren’t able to have full-team practices until the middle of October.
Being able to gather as a team in the summer gives us a head-start in learning the plays and system, as well as becoming familiar with one another. Our freshmen, John Manning and Grandy Glaze, have been able to play, which is an awesome experience for them.
In terms of the trip itself, the coaching staff put together a great schedule that allows us to have some fun while also mixing in plenty of ball.
At our first stop in Windsor, we played several games of laser tag. Cody Ellis rigged the system and won both games. We also rode go-carts. John Manning and Rob Loe are both 6-foot-11. Imagine those guys on go-carts! Hopefully someone got a picture.
After getting into Ottawa early Wednesday morning, we had a pretty eventful day. The team and I spent the day white-water rafting on the Ottawa River.
It was one of the best experiences of my life, we even jumped off a cliff into the river! It took a little persuading to get some of the guys to do it, no names though (ahem, Cory Remekun!).
Eventually, though, everyone jumped in (“Team Together!”). Afterward, we had a great barbecue. It’s been great getting to know my new teammates and just hang out with the rest of the guys.
As a team we are really excited about the upcoming season and we look forward to putting all of our hard work on display in November. I think our student section is one of the best in the Atlantic 10.
The student section at our games is a vital part to the college basketball experience and our team’s success, so when we take the floor for our first home game it would be great to have a sea of Billiken blue in the stands.
We as a team are focused on winning and we want you to be a part of that! We hope to see you at Chaifetz Arena this season!
