Coach Bobby Collins minced no words in assessing his men's basketball team at Winston-Salem State, calling it "the best team we've had since I've been here."
The Rams, coming off an 8-22 finish, will have one more day of freedom today and a meet-and-greet with students and fans at 8 p.m. at the Gaines Center. Then Saturday morning they'll have their first full practice.
"They better be ready to go," Collins said. "I know I'm ready."
Collins is excited about his new players, notably guards Andrew Jackson, a junior-college transfer, and Marcus Wells, a freshman from Durham. Jackson is a point guard who can score, and Collins said he has the play-making ability of Roy Peake, a former WSSU point guard, and a good jump shot. Wells, a 6-1 combination guard, will give Collins more options.
"I think I have a lot of weapons, and I talked about that in a meeting we had the other day about having the different things in place to help us win," Collins said. "We have shooters, we have scorers, we have an inside presence, so I think it's the complete package."
Collins also has his biggest roster in his four seasons at WSSU -- 18 players. However, two injuries could slow the team early. Center Paul Davis (hip) and guard Diontae Gibson (knee) had offseason surgery.
"Paul should be a full go in about a week or so," Collins said. "And Diontae … it might be two weeks before he can be at 100 percent."
Collins also has two frontcourt newcomers who should get extensive action -- Ignas Palaima, a 6-11, 230-pounder from Lithuania, and 6-8, 210-pound Sam Johnson. They were teammates at Asheville Christian.
The Rams have returning starters in Davis, Gibson and guard Brian Fisher, last season's leading scorer with a 13.9-point average.
"My expectation level is high," Collins said.
The Rams will open Nov. 13 in a three-day tournament at Oregon. They will play Oregon, California Davis and Colorado State.
jdell@wsjournal.com | 727-4081
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