AMHERST — Two days removed from a loss to Harvard, UMass coach Matt McCall is still trying to put the pieces together.
The Minutemen returned to practice Wednesday with the type of fight and resilience McCall was hoping for, but that didn’t fully ease his mind ahead of Friday’s 7 p.m. game against Howard at the Mullins Center.
“I have concern going into this game, I’m calling like it is, just with where we’re at as a team right now and how we’re feeling” McCall said. “That’s the thing about basketball, you’ve got 33 games you have to get yourself emotionally and physically ready to play every single night. What happened in the past, you have to move past it, learn from it and grow from it. With an inexperienced team, we’ve got to work through some of this stuff and really teach them and coach them on how to win. Bottom line is no one on this team has.
“We have to learn how to win and the other night was a good test for us with regards to that. We’re going to find out a lot about our team (Friday) with how we respond.”
Friday marks the beginning of what will be the most grueling test of the season for the Minutemen (2-1). They’ll play four games in eight days as part of the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. After home games against Howard and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Monday), UMass flies to Las Vegas on Tuesday to prepare to face Southern Illinois on Thanksgiving Day before playing either Nevada or Tulsa the next day.
It is a stretch that McCall said will tax his players physically and mentally, but junior Curtis Cobb said it’ll help make the team stronger for the tougher parts of the season.
“It’s helping us build our mentality for every time we’re on the court,” Cobb said. “There’s going to be time when we have bad stretches, we’ve got to put us past us. If we win, we always celebrate the wins, but if we lose, it’s always a 24-hour rule then you’ve got to move onto the next game. If you hang your hat on it too much, it’ll affect the next game.”
The Minutemen have no reason to overlook the Bison despite the fact they’ve gone 3-0 against non-Division I opponents to begin the season. Howard returns a pair of 20-point scorers in RJ Cole and Charles Williams, who will challenge the Minutemen’s defense off the dribble, a weak spot in the first three games of the year.
“This is going to be a big test for us and we’ve got to be ready to go from the jump,” McCall said. “We’ve got to get ourselves physically and mentally ready to play this game because they’re a really good team.”
THE RIGHT PLAY: Carl Pierre did something Tuesday he never did in his first 35 college games — went scoreless.
In every other game he’s played for the Minutemen, the sophomore guard has at least made a shot. Yet against Harvard, Pierre went 0-for-5 from the floor, including missing all three 3-point attempts.
It’s indicative of a larger problem McCall has seen with the UMass offense this season. He said there are numerous moments when players aren’t making the most ideal play for the team, such as taking an off-balanced floater when Pierre is open behind them. He said it’s a mindset that he needs to continue to coach into his team this season.
“This goes back to coaching and teaching these guys how to win … we’ve got to continue to show them on film how to make the right play,” McCall said. “I don’t think our guys are selfish by nature or trying to look off a teammate, I just don’t think they see it, and we need to help them see it.”
SIGNING DAY: UMass officially announced its two newest players Thursday after the pair signed their letters of intent. The two recruits — 6-foot-10 center Jalen Thomas and 6-6 wing Preston Santos — both signed during this one-week early signing period for basketball that runs through Wednesday.
McCall said Thomas will make an impact as a shot-blocker, erasing defensive mistakes whether in half-court or press situations. He also complimented the Detroit’s native touch around the basket and athleticism to space the floor and shoot 3-pointers.
Santos, who hails from Warwick, Rhode Island, and plays at Woodstock Academy in Connecticut, is an athletic wing who can fit into UMass’ press schemes and is a decent shooter despite an abnormal release. McCall said he’s “oozing with ability and upside” and will be another versatile piece who can play multiple positions.
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.