AMHERST — Tre Wood has the hardest job of any player at UMass practice.
On most days, the freshman guard is the one who has the honor of defending Luwane Pipkins as he runs the first-team offense. That challenge comes with a fair share of jaw-dropping moments, but it has also given Wood a front-row seat to learn from the Minutemen’s leader.
“At times it’s frustrating because he makes the craziest shots,” Woods said. “It helps me with every guard that we play now, whoever we’re facing, it won’t be that much of a challenge because I’m going against arguably the best guard in our conference. It’s a challenge going at him, but I know it’s making me better, and he’s making me better.”
It’s a budding relationship that coach Matt McCall knows will be vital to the success of his team this season. He credited Pipkins and sophomore Carl Pierre with being strong leaders for the three freshmen this year.
But he also said the on-court experience of Wood and Pipkins battling in practice will make a big difference for Wood, as well, as the season progresses.
“It’s only going to make him better as we continue to move on and play,” McCall said. “Pip has done a great job at talking to Tre both on and off the floor. It’s a challenge for him every day at practice to guard one of the best guards in the country, so it’s going to make him improve each and every day.”
Wood’s minutes will fluctuate as the season progresses, but he has already proven he is ready to run the UMass offense when called upon. In Friday’s 104-75 win over New Hampshire, Wood played 24 minutes and led the team with eight assists, as McCall gave his younger players more time on the court.
Pipkins said postgame Wood probably played a little too quick for his own good against the Wildcats and was anxious at times to lift the pace. He said his main message in huddles was for Wood to slow down, trust himself and let the game come to him.
“I coach him every day in practice, off the court, on the court, in the games,” Pipkins said after Friday’s rout of the Wildcats. “I just try to keep him in a positive state of mind so he’ll be ready to go.”
Wood will try to string together two solid performances in a row Tuesday when the Minutemen (2-0) welcome Harvard (1-1) to the Mullins Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The freshman said his decision making has improved since arriving on campus and he has decreased the turnovers he’s committing in practice. He had just one against New Hampshire despite having the ball in his hands for about half the game.
However, McCall said the biggest strides Wood have taken have come on the defensive end. He said the young guard is fitting into the system better and learning how and when to take risks. Wood came up with a pair of steals against New Hampshire thanks to his positioning and a little verbal cue from McCall on the sideline.
“Defensively, he’s getting better,” McCall said. “To start the season he kept getting extended, and his point of pickup was way too high, and he kept hopping into pick-and-roll coverage and not crawling into it like we teach. He’s just got to continue to get better every day in practice and every day as we play games and continue to move forward here.
“He’s going to have good games, he’s going to have bad ones, everyone is. Especially as a freshman, there’s going to be nights where maybe he struggles. It’s just understanding it’s not about that particular game, but getting better every single day.”
NEWMASS TO NEW HEIGHTS — A sweep of then-No. 4 Providence last week has propelled UMass to its best ranking in program history. The Minutemen checked in at No. 4 in both the U.S. College Hockey Online and the USA Hockey polls Monday, beating out the previous high ranking of No. 5 set on Dec. 31, 2007.
UMass is 8-1-0 overall and sitting atop Hockey East with an unblemished 5-0-0 record, three points clear of Northeastern.
Sophomore goalie Matt Murray was named the Hockey East Player of the Week, as well, Monday after the Minutemen’s victories over the Friars. He stopped all 15 shots he faced in the third period as part of a 29-save effort in Saturday’s 3-2 road win. He also made 29 stops in Thursday’s 3-2 win at Mullins Center.
This season, Murray is the first goaltender in UMass’ Division I history to start a season 6-0-0. He currently leads Hockey East with a .943 save percentage, which ranks seventh nationally, and is second in the conference and No. 9 in the country with a 1.67 goals-against average.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.