Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Wraps-Up First Week of Practice
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 8, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Wake Forest women's basketball team officially opened practice for the 2010-11 season this week. The Deacs held three full practices on campus in the team's practice facility, which is in the Miller Center.
The team had a workout on Monday and then officially kicked-off practice with a three-hour session on Tuesday. Wednesdays will be the Deacs' off-day this season and after the break, they finished the week with two more practices on Thursday and Friday.
Wake's roster this season features a veteran group with 90 percent of the scoring from last year returning. Because of the experience, head coach Mike Petersen was not only pleased with the first week but he is expecting a competitive preseason.
"I think it's been really good. I've been encouraged by the way our returning players have come back in shape and have retained some things from a year ago," said Petersen. "That enabled us to start at a little higher level than I think were able to in the past."
The Deacs are also welcoming four talented freshmen into the mix this fall and so far, Petersen likes what he's seen.
"The freshmen have done very well so far," Petersen said. "They've been competitive and are learning pretty quickly. There's a lot of new stuff for them to take in and I think they've taken it in pretty well."
With essentially five returning starters, finding the right five players may be a little easier this year than in the past, but finding the best group of players remains the top-priority.
"I think the biggest thing is to make sure we're all on the same page," said Petersen. "One of the things I talked with the players about before we started practice is that my job is not to identify the five best players. My job is it identify the best five players. Who's going to play together the best. I don't care who the five best players are, I only care who the best five players are. So I think that's what the next few weeks will be about. Identifying which players are playing together the best and which players function the best as a group. Certainly it won't just be five but it will be that group of players that are going to play during the game."
The Deacons will continue practice for the next month before hosting Queens College in an exhibition game on Nov. 10. Wake will then open the season on Sunday, Nov. 14, when it hosts NC Central at 2 pm.
