Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers open hoops practice Friday
10/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Long Beach State men's basketball team will open practice for the 2010-11 season Friday at the Gold Mine.
Dan Monson's team will hold four practices over the weekend beginning with Friday night's session which will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 49ers will hold a pair of practices on Saturday in the Gold Mine, the first at 9 a.m. and the second at 4 p.m. LBSU wraps up the weekend with a practice on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.
After finishing just one win shy of advancing to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Long Beach State looks to be in prime position to take the next step and join March Madness. The Beach returns four starters, including first-team All-Big West selection T.J. Robinson and second-team all-league pick Casper Ware. Robinson, one of just 20 players in Division I basketball to average a double-double last season, and Ware are joined by fellow juniors Larry Anderson, a first-team All-Big West honoree as a freshman, and Eugene Phelps as returning starters. Sixth-man Greg Plater looks to move into the starting lineup giving the 49ers a five-some that averaged 79.2 percent of their points last season, as well as 70.2 percent of their rebounds and 79.5 percent of their assists.
LBSU is battle tested coming into the season. In 2009-10, The Beach faced the toughest non-conference schedule in the country squaring off against five top 25 teams, including Duke (National Champion) and West Virginia (Final Four), while playing 10 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The 2010-11 schedule could be nearly as tough with at least seven games against teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year as well as games at North Carolina and Arizona State.
