http://goeags.com/sports/m-footbl/2012-13/Releases/12mbAugCanadaTripReview
Eastern Goes Perfect 6-0 on Canada Tour
Trip exceeded the expectations of Eagle head coach Jim Hayford,
who treasured the opportunity to see his nine newcomers on the
court
Going into his team’s six-game preseason tour of Canada,
second-year Eastern Washington University head coach
Jim
Hayford knew it was an opportunity for his team to gain
experience and blend together.
But he and the Eagles got more than they bargained for.
The six-game, seven-day trek across British Columbia not only
helped blend nine newcomers on the floor with his veteran players,
but off-the-floor the experience was even more valuable.
Hayford’s biggest chore during the trek was developing
camaraderie and a team-first attitude among a melting pot of a
roster consisting of Germans, Australians and Americans from five
different states. On the floor, he had to blend together returning
letterwinners, redshirts, four-year transfers, a junior college
transfer and lots of incoming high school players.
“It really was a great trip,” said Hayford as his
team prepared to head back to Cheney. “Our team enjoyed and
got to know one another better, and we improved in many
areas.”
“We took a portion of each day going through a mental
fitness curriculum and I’m very pleased with the buy-in each
player had,” he continued. “We know the competition in
the regular season will be more difficult, but we were pleased with
our play and the outcome of the games.”
The team’s trip was captured on a blog that included game
recaps, videos and facts about the players. It was another tool
Hayford utilized to bring his team together. The blog may be found
at: http://ewuhoops.blogspot.com
NCAA Division I schools are allowed to make one preseason
foreign trip every four years, including up to 10 practices and six
games. Of the 15 players on his roster, 14 of them played during
the tour.
The team departed on Sept. 6 and played six games in six nights.
After opening with an 87-70 win over Thompson Rivers University,
Eastern headed west and edged the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver, B.C., 77-73. Eastern then defeated the University of
Victoria 77-58 on Sept. 9 before another narrow triumph over the
University of The Fraser Valley, 84-79. Eastern concluded its tour
with overwhelming victories over Quest University in Squamish
(93-46) and Trinity Western (86-57) in Langley. The Eagles returned
to Cheney on Sept. 13, with classes at EWU beginning on Sept.
26.
In winning six games in six nights, Hayford’s squad had a
different leading scorer each night.
“I think that shows we are going to have a deeper team
with more balanced scoring,” he predicted. “We have a
team with a lot of newcomers and we know there are adjustments that
need to be made. This trip goes a long way to expedite the process
of becoming familiar with one another on the court.”
The Eagles open the season Nov. 10 at Washington State, but
won’t play at home until Nov. 30 when Cal State Fullerton
visits. Although the Eagles officially don’t open at home
until Nov. 30, they will host an exhibition game versus Concordia
(Oregon) on Sunday, Nov. 4 at approximately 3:30 p.m. at Reese
Court, following an exhibition game for the Eastern women’s
squad.
After losing four seniors to graduation from his first Eastern
team, Hayford’s 2012-13 squad will return two starters and
four other returning letterwinners. His team also includes three
players who redshirted last season – featuring a pair of NCAA
Division I transfers – with six newcomers rounding out his
squad.
Eastern finished 15-17 overall and was 8-8 in Big Sky Conference
play to finish fourth, and the Eagles won their first Big Sky
Conference Tournament game since 2006. Eastern improved by five
victories from the year before, as the Eagles equaled their most
wins since Eastern made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
in 2004.
